Enough already Fox. Are we EVER going to see WKRP released? - Page 15

Marty M · 04-24-2007, 11:18 AM

Thanks for the links to the Rany Salas article. It was a nice article. I remember another article Randy had written about the woman who appeared behind Mary Tyler Moore at the end of the opening of her show.

TonyD · 04-24-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Hug

It’s getting lost in all of the controversy over “WKRP,” but there’s another classic comedy series that’s also being released today, season 1 of “The Odd Couple.” DVD Talk gives the release its highest rating:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=27656

thats nice but this isnt the "whats getting released this week topic."

hopefully someone will start a topic on the odd couple, if there already isnt one.

pitchman · 04-24-2007, 12:28 PM

All of this "fan boy" cheerleading is really getting tiresome. No matter how you cut it, Fox dropped the ball with this release BIG Time and people are voting with their wallets, which is their right (and their only recourse.) If you want to buy this inferior product, then by all means go for it. Just extend the same courtesy to those of us who are sitting this one out, okay?

MatthewA · 04-24-2007, 01:02 PM

Here's the address for those angry letters:

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2121 Avenue of the Stars, 25th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Albert_M · 04-24-2007, 01:10 PM

Quote:

All of this "fan boy" cheerleading is really getting tiresome. No matter how you cut it, Fox dropped the ball with this release BIG

As is the FOX bashing. I don't want to defend FOX, reading so many irrational posts, makes me want to respond (again) and end up in "defending' FOX.

Again, the music industry end of this is ridiculous. Sure credit and money should go to the artists etc., but when it becomes an extreme such as this, that's not reasonable.

Under current conditions, we will never, ever see the WKRP that we truly want. So much of this FOX bashing is beside the point. We all knew that was the reason for this having not come out already, so this shock is a little surprising considering that the music issue was known to us in some capacity.

Corey3rd · 04-24-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert_M

As is the FOX bashing. I don't want to defend FOX, reading so many irrational posts, makes me want to respond (again) and end up in "defending' FOX.

My bigger beef with Fox's TV DVD division is the quality of the transfers.

pitchman · 04-24-2007, 02:26 PM

I think Fox could have saved themselves a LOT of grief by just being more honest and forthright in their labeling.

I just picked up the first season of The Odd Couple. In every way, shape or form (when compared to WKRP) it is the COMPLETE first season of episodes (full network length, no cut episodes, music replacements, etc.) Yet, the front cover simply reads "The Odd Couple - The First Season."

Meanwhile, Fox labels their set, "WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete First Season." Yet, as everyone on HTF now knows, it is not even remotely COMPLETE. If they had simply removed that word from the title and were upfront with an appropriate disclaimer on the back, something along the lines of...

This set includes all of the first season episodes of WKRP In Cincinnati, but due to prohibitive music licensing costs, many of the episodes have been altered to replace original soundtrack music with substitute music and, in some instances, to remove dialog related to that missing music. This may result in episodes being shorter than their original network or syndication length.

That's honest and that is the product they have delivered.

If WKRP fans read that disclaimer and choose to buy the set, then as far as I'm concerned, they have no basis for a grievance with Fox.

Keith Paynter · 04-24-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaime_Weinman

That's exactly it, though: WKRP was supposed to be shot on film, which was considered higher-quality and more prestigious-looking -- most of MTM's hits like Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart were shot on film. But Hugh Wilson was adamant about wanting to use real rock music, not sound-alikes, and he accepted the videotape format

Let's take that a bit further...ASCAP had different licensing arrangements for variety shows and cheaper videotape recordings until the late 70's. By the time the performance rights had expired for the original WKRP episodes, these rules had changed (albeit disappeared), leading to the later syndicated episodes getting all these music changes.

Fox's damage control is unfortunately too little, too late. This is such a catch-22: If it sells well enough, Fox can justify not spending the money on clearances. If it sells poorly, Fox can accept that they didn't spend the money on clearances, and people wouldn't buy it, therefore there is no need to release another season becuase they can't gamble on spending excessive amounts on the licensing fees and not having it sell enough to recover their expenses.

If theatrical divisions of these studios had the same logic when they spend $250 million dollars on a potential blockbuster and it only takes in $100 million, then they are in the wrong business. Other titles that more than make up their production costs offset loss leaders. Hell, it happens at the retail end all the time: New releases at near-zero margins get people in the door, then they may also spend the retail amount for that 2 year old catalogue title on the back shelf.

texboil · 04-24-2007, 05:17 PM

Hey, I don't know if people are getting tired of the subject, but here's a link to a blog I wrote for one of the TV stations I work for on the WKRP DVDs.

You'll have to cut and paste the address into your browser since I'm too new to be allowed to post URLs! Sorry for the inconvenience!

mymadisontv.com/entertainmentblog.html

Jeff Robbins

Jeff*H · 04-24-2007, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texboil

Hey, I don't know if people are getting tired of the subject, but here's a link to a blog I wrote for one of the TV stations I work for on the WKRP DVDs.

Jeff Robbins

Eloquently and accurately summarized! More of the media needs to spread the word so potential customers know exactly what they are getting and can make a well-informed purchase decision.

TonyD · 04-24-2007, 06:02 PM

www.mymadisontv.com/entertainmentblog.html

i'll take a look