Bewitched Season 5? - Page 5

JohnMor · 07-11-2007, 11:36 AM

Jeff, the transfers on disc 2 are less than stellar. Watchable, but not up to the previous releases. They definitely vary from episode to episode. But not quite as bad as my imagination feared before-hand. Overall, they're okay. Will know about discs 3 & 4 tonight.

Garysb · 07-11-2007, 12:56 PM

Are the shows in production order or broadcast order? Due to Dick York leaving the show they saved some of the shows he was on to run them later in the season.
Its a shame there is no special feature about his leaving the show. This was a very big deal at the time and was something people remembered and talked about. Unlike the movie where they say they changed actors and nobody noticed, it actually was noticed big time.

JohnMor · 07-11-2007, 08:33 PM

Gary, like the previous releases, this one is also in broadcast order. And I couldn't agree more about the need for a featurette (or something... even a text extra) about York's departure.

It's funny, I distinctly remember being 5 and a half and sitting down to watch the first episode of the new season and seeing Dick Sargent hitting golf balls in the back yard and asking my parents why Darrin was different. They said this was the "new" one and it'll be him from now on. I'm sure I adjusted far more easily than adult fans did, actually. York was a hard act to follow, and I give Sargent props for being game enough to do it, but no one will ever approach what DY did in that role in my book.

I was thinking as I watched the 5th season eps how much physical business they gave him that year, knowing his back was bad. They really didn't give him an easy time of it.

MatthewA · 07-11-2007, 08:57 PM

They went from pretty darn good with the transfers to just okay. I think I need to limit my comments on Sony's practices to one per day for my health.

Is the transfer Cousin Serena Strikes Back Part 1 really as bad as they say?

How is the actual quality of the Japanese discs? I may save up for them on seasons 5-8.

JohnMor · 07-11-2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewA

Is the transfer Cousin Serena Strikes Back Part 1 really as bad as they say?

How is the actual quality of the Japanese discs? I may save up for them on seasons 5-8.

The transfer on CSSA Pt 1 is very odd. It looks to me like it might be mastered from an old video source. The color leans to red and also blooms a lot, and the clarity is just a tad off. The clarity's not too bad, though, except on the transitions and split screen effects shot with Sam and Serena. They are really bad. I was expecting it to be unwatchable, and I was surprised that it wasn't as bad as I'd feared (but it's bad.) I found by reducing the color on my set, and changing the Hue setting, it became more watchable (except for the effects shots: nothing will help those.)

It's one of my favorite episodes because I really love Nancy Kovack, especially in that role. And I certainly didn't turn it off bacause of the quality. But it was a real disappointment knowing what we've gotten up till now.

I have no info on the Japanese discs. Sorry.

Larry.P · 07-12-2007, 05:04 PM

Finally people are agreeing with me about the transfers! I thought I was going crazy! As I said, most of the transfers (with a few exceptions) are certainly adequate, it's just that they are not as nice as the first four seasons. If they hadn't shown us how beautiful the show could look on the earlier releases, I might not be complaining. But now they are in essence "lowering the bar". I've gotten from a reliable source that Sony is planning to complete the series in this manner with no new transfers if they don't get many complaints about season 5. That means we could be seeing more terrible looking episodes like "Cousin Serena Pt. 1".
It's sad that Sony has given us no real extras of which to speak on any of these sets. At least you could always count on beautiful looking new transfers. Now they're not going to bother with that either.
Bewitched and Jeannie are the crown jewels of their classic television catalogue. At least the Jeannie transfers are already done!
Bewitched should have been given the royal treatment from start to finish.
I for one will be writing to them. I encourage others to as well.

JohnMor · 07-12-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry.P

At least you could always count on beautiful looking new transfers. Now they're not going to bother with that either.
Bewitched and Jeannie are the crown jewels of their classic television catalogue. At least the Jeannie transfers are already done!
Bewitched should have been given the royal treatment from start to finish.
I for one will be writing to them. I encourage others to as well.

The Jeannie transfers were always poor. And the problems with sound effects and music substitution were inexcusable. At least they never did that with BW.

Having finished the set last night, I found the majority of transfers very good. Some even better then prior seasons, as they didn't have as much edge enhancement. But the poor ones are certainly shocking compared to what came before.

I did love the Chevy logo end credits on "One Touch Of Midas," though. That was great. I thought it would be an old, beat-up network print, but it looked great.

I am definitely going to discuss the S5 transfers with my friend at Sony. Of course, he didn't take my recommendation on which of the 16 prospective covers to use (not that he was the final say!)

Joe Lugoff · 07-12-2007, 10:21 PM

If they made a documentary about the two Darrins, they could call it "Sargent York."

YELLOW11 · 07-12-2007, 11:14 PM

Well, anybody heard anything about Season 6 yet?

Brandy681 · 07-13-2007, 07:19 AM

Did anyone find out about the rest of the transfers on disc 3 & 4? I am still waiting on my pre-order from Amazon to come in the mail, grrr...

Jeff Willis · 07-13-2007, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lugoff

If they made a documentary about the two Darrins, they could call it "Sargent York."

Joe, now that's CLASSIC

Jdcrackers · 07-13-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandy681

Did anyone find out about the rest of the transfers on disc 3 & 4? I am still waiting on my pre-order from Amazon to come in the mail, grrr...

The episodes on Discs 3 & 4 are great with the exception of Cousin Serena Strikes Again Part 2.. There is another episode toward the end of the disc 4 I think where there are some shaking...but I was very pleased with my copy... I hope Season 6 comes out by the end of the year...