No Quinn Martin shows

Mark To · 01-19-2005, 09:40 PM

Is there some kind of rights issue concerning QM Productions? I mean this guy produced many quality dramas, none of which have come out or are even being hinted at.
The Fugitive, The Untouchables, The FBI, Twelve O'Clock High, Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Cannon. I mean, cmon, what gives?

Joshua Lane · 01-19-2005, 10:06 PM

Well, did you consider that maybe they're just a bit on the old side? Most DVD consumers are in the 20-35 year old range, meaning they were born in 1970 or later. Most of these shows were already gone before the oldest even reached 10. And since the subject matter skewed more adult, I don't think many kids really ever saw these shows.

I'm not saying old shows don't have an audience today (that's obviously not the case), but I'd wager a studio might be looking at other titles before they get to these. So, in that respect, there probably aren't any rights issues at all. The shows just might not be on their radar yet.

Steve...O · 01-19-2005, 11:05 PM

The shows Mark names are all good shows and I'm surprised that none of them are at least in rumor stage.

Joshua, I know what you're saying but I wouldn't say that they're old. There is a fair number of product available of shows that are the same age to quite a bit older than these.

However, you do touch on what I think is a major factor in some of these series not being considered: lack of familiarity. I honestly don't remember the last time "Barnaby Jones", "Cannon", or "Streets" was ever syndicated regularly on a national cable network. (There were a few showings on TV Land, but that was before many cable systems carried it.) "The FBI" is currently seen in a late night slot on the Goodlife Network, which relatively few people get.

Who knows, if Kojak (which is in all liklihood is only being released because of a remake) does decent business maybe that will bode well for the other 70's crime shows to be released.

Steve

Dan McW · 01-20-2005, 12:31 AM

If I read Paramount's syndication website correctly, it appears that The Untouchables is only available in the full uncut 50-minute-plus runtime and that The Fugitive and Cannon are available only in times of 46:30 or so. I don't think it says what Barnaby Jones' runtime is, but I'd say it's never been edited or time-compressed for today's era of 3- and 4-minute commercial breaks. Could that explain their rare TV showings and thus the unfamiliarity to most oldies-TV fans? TV Land, Chopmark and most other outlets would require a runtime in the 42-43-minute range, although I'm sure they are capable of time-compressing and editing a longer package on their own. I have some non-QM shows taped for me from Goodlife by a friend in a "neighboring" cable system, and they don't seem to cut or time-compress anything at all. The FBI, if it is available only uncut, could only run on Goodlife or a commercial-free station.

I remember the TV Land showings of Cannon and (come to think of it) The FBI, but I don't think I've ever seen Streets in syndication, just on some Republic VHS. I remember seeing Barnaby Jones over 20 years ago, but memory fails as to whether that was in the early syndication of it or the latter part of the network run. The Fugitive turned up on Axe & Edit when the theatrical film came out and had a brief TV Land run a few years later, but that's about it for cable in the last 13 or 14 years.

The QM series' lack of availability is odd, given that the man cranked out so many shows that ran for years (plus the much-requested "The Invaders"). I'm 38, so I guess I'm too old for the target audience of most shows, but I'd buy up any QM series on DVD. Besides just plain enjoying the series, I love the QM trademarks such as announced guest-stars, "Act I-II-III-IV-epilog" intertitles, narrators, etc.

Incidentally, can the public access any other studios' syndication holdings and formats, as you can at paramounttv.com?

todd s · 01-20-2005, 09:32 AM

I am 36 and I would love for Barnaby Jones, Cannon and definitely the Untouchables to come to dvd. And I agree with Dan. That uncut 46-50 minute episodes are the reason these shows are not in syndication. Tv stations love those 40 minute shows for the 20 minutes of ads.

**HTF Ads**

Mark To · 01-20-2005, 01:12 PM

And that's why we need more networks devoted to classic TV. TV Land is the equivalent of oldies radio, which plays about one tenth of one percent of the songs that cracked the charts. I know it would be a revolutionary idea but I would gladly PAY for a network devoted to UNCUT television shows. And I don't mean the same classic shows that have aired ad nauseum for the last 30 or 40 years. We have a hundred movie channels showing the same garbage yet for TV we have TV (Only Most Popular Shows) Land, Chopmark (as Dan so aptly put it) and GoodLife, which is great but no one can get. Any of the majors could have a great network with just their shows alone, especially Viacom, which I think I read owns 55,000 episodes of television shows. Or you can get the shows for free on Chopmark with 30% of the content missing.

peggy · 01-20-2005, 02:03 PM

I belong to a group that would snatch up any QM productions in minute if they were available but then again I guess all of us aren't in the target audience of 20-35. That is too bad because back when I was in that age bracket I didn't have any spare money to spend on something like dvds. Now that I am in my forties and have a better income, I would love the chance to collect all those shows that I grew up watching. I would much prefer to watch them compared with the junk that is on tv right now.

Btw- I have a lot of Barnaby Jones episodes from syndication and they are all 45 minutes long and have been edited to get all those extra commericals in them.

Jeff Willis · 01-20-2005, 03:21 PM

Quote:

I would gladly PAY for a network devoted to UNCUT television shows.

Hi, Mark. I second this idea BIG-TIME

Quote:

I would much prefer to watch them compared with the junk that is on tv right now.

You said, it Peggy. I feel the same way. I have seen very little since ~'96 on series TV that I'd be interested in on DVD. At least, the TV/DVD market is really taking off now and there's a lot of '60's-'80's stuff getting released considering those of us that were watching then aren't all in the "target" market age. I think there's something to this theory: There are a lot of 'boomers ("Baby-Boomers", that is

) that have the income and want these older classic series on DVD. I think that's some of the reason that they're releasing the older stuff. Whatever it is, it's great! Kudos to the studios for releasing more than just the recent series DVD's!

Bert Greene · 01-20-2005, 06:03 PM

I've been quite flummoxed over the past decade, seeing hundreds of new channels burst forth, including a ridiculous number devoted to movies, yet nothing new on the "vintage tv" front. Surely you'd think some corporate outfit would fashion a new channel devoted at least to the action/adventure/drama vein of old shows. There's such a staggering amount of material out there, entirely underutilized. The thought crosses my mind virtually every time I flip through the channels, and see an endless parade of often banal film fare.

Jeff Willis · 01-20-2005, 10:21 PM

Quote:

The QM series' lack of availability is odd, given that the man cranked out so many shows that ran for years (plus the much-requested "The Invaders").

That's a big 10-4 Dan

That's a great SciFi series that I'd love to get soon.

Knoxville? I have relatives there

David Grove · 01-21-2005, 12:28 AM

Yes, I'd love the QM shows, too. I had forgotten about their format (Act I, etc.), but it was a, well, sort of dramatic touch (not suggesting that formating tricks replaces quality acting, scripts, etc.)

I also remember some of the QM title themes as being sweepingly dramatic, with an arc like from the musical Romantic Period. Think, for example, of the theme from Twelve O'Clock High, if you are able to remember it.

I guess I'm still on the TOH soapbox.

DG

Jason Bennion · 01-21-2005, 03:47 PM

I'm 35 and I fondly remember a lot of the shows mentioned in this thread. I was very small when they were on, but I remember watching them with my parents. I always liked the melodramatic voiceovers that introduced the QM shows: "Tonight's episode..."

I'd love to see more classic tv on dvd or, as someone suggested above, a new cable channel devoted to uncut re-runs.