I don't think it will finish by the end of the year but at least now there is hope for it to finish at some point. Also, hopefully, Shout will finish McHale's Navy as well. And it would be nice for them to at least get Ironside through the Barbara Anderson era (season 4). I think 8 seasons might be too much to ask for.
Not to be a killjoy (honestly!) but this is one of those series which makes me believe almost anything can make it to DVD. Not saying THAT GIRL is a bad show, but you've got to wonder what kind of potential audience something like this has. So, there's hope for all shows of this period!
Not to be a killjoy (honestly!) but this is one of those series which makes me believe almost anything can make it to DVD. Not saying THAT GIRL is a bad show, but you've got to wonder what kind of potential audience something like this has. So, there's hope for all shows of this period!
That Girl is controlled by Marlo Thomas. The show got plenty of rerun action in the mid-70s. I remember it being power blocked with Love American Style on WLVI-56 in Boston. so there is a following. I watch it to learn how to deal with an insane woman - and admire the impeccable hair of Ted Bessell.
Not to be a killjoy (honestly!) but this is one of those series which makes me believe almost anything can make it to DVD. Not saying THAT GIRL is a bad show, but you've got to wonder what kind of potential audience something like this has. So, there's hope for all shows of this period!
There are so many factors involved in what makes it to DVD and what doesn't. For one thing, this was a fairly successful show, running 5 seasons and then having a long life in syndication. For another, and very important factor, it's controlled by Marlo herself. Therefore it was available to be licensed to an independent distributor. They might be able to make a profit and keep releasing a show that sells a few thousand copies whereas some major could sell 50,000 of something and consider it a failure. You can't play that game, "if this comes out then that means such and such should come out". It just doesn't work that way. Independently owned - pretty good chance of seeing many of these shows at some point. Paramount - they own a lot but release a lot. Fox, Warner, Sony and MGM - I think we've seen almost everything from them we'll ever see pre-1980. Universal - the only old shows we can expect are those that came out in the collectors' world on 16mm.
There are so many factors involved in what makes it to DVD and what doesn't. For one thing, this was a fairly successful show, running 5 seasons and then having a long life in syndication. For another, and very important factor, it's controlled by Marlo herself. Therefore it was available to be licensed to an independent distributor. They might be able to make a profit and keep releasing a show that sells a few thousand copies whereas some major could sell 50,000 of something and consider it a failure. You can't play that game, "if this comes out then that means such and such should come out". It just doesn't work that way. Independently owned - pretty good chance of seeing many of these shows at some point. Paramount - they own a lot but release a lot. Fox, Warner, Sony and MGM - I think we've seen almost everything from them we'll ever see pre-1980. Universal - the only old shows we can expect are those that came out in the collectors' world on 16mm.
Exactly, Hank. That is the bottom line. The only drawback to having individuals own the rights and then go to smaller, independent companies to release them is when you get into a "Father Knows Best" or "Ozzie and Harriet" situation where what the family has in their vaults is less than stellar, or cleaned up but also cut. So at times it's hit and miss. The only way, as best I can tell, that we ever get the best of all worlds (perfect A/V quality, uncut prints, no music subs, etc.) is when the large companies decide they will take a chance on a vintage series and actually put time and money into it.
And as you said, we are pretty much at the end of the line with most of those companies and what they probably will and will not do. Other than CBS/Paramount, the other majors don't seem interested at all in anything that dates back to the 50s or 60s, and many of them don't seem to even want to go back to the 70s or 80s. We may be getting close to seeing the vintage portion of TV on DVD really hit a dry spell. Oh sure, we will continue to see CBS keep cranking stuff out (as long as the economy allows) and we will see an indy release something nice every now and then, but I think our best days are behind us at the moment when it comes to the larger studios. They just don't seem interested in the vintage material at all. I've seen this coming for over a year now, but was hesitant to say anything lest someone think I was being too "negative". But you have to call a spade a spade, IMHO.
Oh well, this is nice news about "That Girl". It's not an obscure show by any stretch and I for one will certainly look forward to picking this set up when it's released by Shout later this year!
Gary "sorry to be somewhat doom & gloom, but I've been seeing the signs for a vintage TV on DVD slowdown for a while now" O.
TV ON DVD HOLY GRAIL WANT LIST: 1950's - Father Knows Best (S2-6), The Donna Reed Show, Dennis the Menace, Mickey Mouse Club, The Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel (S4-6), Naked City (S1), Rawhide (S3.5-8), Leave it to Beaver (S3-6), Ozzie & Harriet, Perry Mason (S3.5-9), Hawaiian Eye, The Phil Silvers Show, Lone Ranger, Lassie, 77 Sunset Strip, Fury
1960's & 70's - The Fugitive (S2-4), My Three Sons, The Patty Duke Show, Route 66, The Untouchables (S3-4), Daniel Boone (S6), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (S4), Gomer Pyle (S5), Big Valley (S2.5-4), That Girl (S5), Flipper (S2-3), Tarzan, Petticoat Junction (S2-7), Beverly Hillbillies (S2-5), The Lucy Show, Harlem Globetrotters, Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, The Partridge Family (S3-4), Quincy (S3-8)
As I saw mentioned elsewhere, you have many people who are paranoid about online ordering and only buy in stores. Great, except there are fewer and fewer stores around for DVDs, what with Tower going out of business, etc. And shelf space is limited unless you are talking about a store like Amoeba in LA or Virgin megastore in London. For instance Man With A Camera can't get stocked in stores. So if you have all of these people who don't order online and it's not on shelves then it can't sell. And Code 3 was supposed to follow but that hasn't happened. That also does not bode well for some other shows of that ilk that I had in the pipeline. The only positive news that I've heard in the last 6 months is that a few companies have quietly and covertly made some overtures to independents about doing deals. Nothing more than whispering going on at this point but a couple of closed avenues could possibly open as well as one mega-company with way too much successful product to ever get around to more obscure shows. Nothing on the horizon yet and these things move at a glacial pace but there may be some good news down the road.
I've not bought any of "That Girl" yet but I might need to take a look at this one. I remember it during it's original run but it wasn't, at that time, a favorite of mine. But with the pre-90's TV/DVD market seemingly slowing down, this one's looking more attractive (Marlo doesn't hurt that either ).
I admit I was surprised to learn here that this one ran 5 seasons. I didn't remember it airing that long back then.
I think Gary's right about the overall pre-90's series release mkt slowing down. I've been fairly fortunate since '03, when I started collecting TV/DVD's, in that I've seen several "grail" shows released either partially or complete.
I'm like most "pre-90's or even 80's" collectors here; "it's never enough". Maybe, as Hank mentioned, there's some hope with some liscensing deals down the road.
Meanwhile, for me, it's going to be a "buy-fest" through May-Aug with several releases upcoming.
Hank, I agree about being a 99-100% online buyer of DVD's. Heck, I even order some lawn equip, food items, household items online. I understand some of the reasons the brick-mortar buyers prefer the local store-route though. If it's the thing about leaving the store today with that "grail" set in hand, it's sometimes hard to wait for it to be shipped to the house. But, for me, the overall convenience, and imo in most cases, the savings, the online buying is where I buy 99% of my DVD's. The last TV/DVD set I bought at a local store was the Fugitive S1V2.
Hank mentioned the impact to sales due to local non-online buyers. That would be interesting to see the #'s. I'd guess, as you said, Hank, that there's been a lot of pre-80's releases that have had low #"s due to non-online consumers.
I think it was David Levine here, that mentioned the "walk-up/impulse buyers" that make up the majority of the sales for a lot of these sets, and I'd think in particular, some of the lesser-known shows. I'd never have heard of "Man With a Camera" without HTF. Good show with an early Charles Bronson in the lead role.
- Jeff Willis (Mainly a late 50's - mid-90's TV/DVD Collector)
The impulse buyer is more impulsive on the first season. Once you get to season 4, you're dealing with the hooked. But you still need to get the word out that it's out - and it's easier to reach eyeballs at Wal-mart than on the internet.
What I'd love to see as an extra on The SEASON 5 THAT GIRL box set would be the animated "That Girl in Wonderland" special that was done for ABC'S SATURDAY SUPERSTAR MOVIE back in the early 1973.
Marlo did the voice of Ann Marie. "Rankin-Bass" produced it with Animation done in Japan!
I would also love to see the animated "That Girl". In the meantime, you can enjoy Marlo and her dad Danny Thomas in the Rankin Bass animated special "Cricket on the Hearth" which is out on DVD by Sony Wonder.
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