Stalled series? There's Hope! - Page 2

MatthewA · 05-28-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkrock17

Speaking of MIA Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In only got 2 best of releases and that was back in 2004.

Rhino did this, and I guess unless their license lapses that and the Guthy-Renker subscription discs (which I bought) will be it. Although with Dick Martin's death and the show's 40th anniversary there is an opportunity to try for season sets. The only music issues would be the first few episodes; most of the musical material after that is original to the show. Even if they (or anyone) did put out season sets the last season would probably not be released. George Schlatter, who didn't produce them but got their copyrights in a court battle, really hates them, and supposedly they're not that great anyway. When Trio aired the show they only went to 1970.

I don't see why, if Paramount would let them, MPI couldn't release the rest of the Beverly Hillbillies picking up from where they left off.

MGM still owns Green Acres but they basically don't exist, except to provide $40 bare-bones Blu-Rays and non-anamorphic DVDs. What was the last TV show they released?

King of the Hill is probably a music rights nightmare. They dropped all extras after season 2 to clear music for seasons 3-6, and it ate into profits.

MatthewA · 05-29-2008, 12:25 AM

I don't put WKRP in the list of stalled shows, but the list of unreleased ones. Maybe we will see redoes of shows like that were screwed up the first time. (*cough*ALF*cough*)

Sony has tons of Screen Gems, Norman Lear/Embassy, Aaron Spelling, etc. shows just hanging there, not to mention almost every game show not by Goodson-Todman. They're not going to do anything with them, so they should let someone else have them (BCI, are you listening?)

Hank Dearborn · 05-29-2008, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewA

Goody. Someone else to release edited episodes of Mama's Family. Let's party! Unless they actually re-do it and do it right then I'll say it and not be sarcastic.

Although with shows they actually own outright, edited episodes are seldom a problem. On those shows, I hold out hope. Knots Landing, for instance. Few music rights issues, passable extant masters.

That's probably a music rights thing. Change the licensing regulations and it'll be out in no time.

Believe me, the people I'm involved with have no interest in Mama's Family or any other 80s shows. The Warner shows that a company would want are the westerns and detective shows from the late 50s - early 60s. When someone says "Warner Shows", that is what people think of and are referring to.

Duane Alford · 05-29-2008, 01:00 AM

Here's my list of stalled and/or abandoned shows:

Adam 12
Alias Smith & Jones
The Big Valley
The Fall Guy
Have Gun Will Travel
Simon & Simon

Nicholas Martin · 05-29-2008, 01:21 AM

It's funny, not 'ha-ha' funny, that Warner isn't involved given all the complaints and wishes about the remaining three seasons of Everwood.

Flashgear · 05-29-2008, 06:46 AM

For me I'd love to see a continuation of "Have Gun Will travel"and the "Big Valley", and would perhaps entertain a naive hope for "The Defenders", "Bus Stop" and "It's a Man's World". The only B+W sitcom I'd die for is "Dobie Gillis", would love to have the chance to rediscover others that I couldn't fully appreciate as a dumb kid. "Boris Karloff's Thriller" and an assured continuation of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour would light me up too. The Warners's Western and Detective holdings like "Cheyenne" , "Maverick", 77 Sunset Strip" Hawaiian Eye" etc. are long sought after. For more recent stuff "Larry Sanders Show" and "Franks Place" from the late '80s (The Tim Reid show set in New Orleans) Other folks on here have mentioned plenty of other gems too, and I really appreciate this hopefull "Intell" on possible licensing to the established and maybe new independent companies. Who knows, maybe even a few real vintage TV fans may yet become involved. The best thing about this site is how much you can get to learn from our knowledgeable members with industry connections.

HenryDuBrow · 05-29-2008, 07:46 AM

Could this mean unedited releases of WKRP, I wonder? Hope Universal is part.

AndyMcKinney · 05-29-2008, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewA

Rhino did this, and I guess unless their license lapses that and the Guthy-Renker subscription discs (which I bought) will be it. Although with Dick Martin's death and the show's 40th anniversary there is an opportunity to try for season sets. The only music issues would be the first few episodes; most of the musical material after that is original to the show. Even if they (or anyone) did put out season sets the last season would probably not be released. George Schlatter, who didn't produce them but got their copyrights in a court battle, really hates them, and supposedly they're not that great anyway. When Trio aired the show they only went to 1970.

As far as the Trio showings, your statement is somewhat misleading. The reason the Trio airings stopped when they did is that the syndication package was being sold in two lots of 70 episodes each. Trio only bought the first package, which was exactly one-half of the episodes produced. In fact, the final episodes of the Trio run were the first four shows of the fourth season (not the end of the third). I'm sure it was a cost-saving measure on Trio's part to only lease half of the run, not the perceived lack in "quality" of the last two seasons.

As for George Schlatter, I'm sure if it meant making some money, he'd probably let them "escape" (if he holds veto rights anyway). Seen with a (admittedly jaded) modern eye, just about any episode of Laugh-In can be seen as sort of "bad", and I'm not trying to be insulting here. I have a warm spot in my heart for Laugh-In, and have VHS recordings of all the Trio showings, but I'm not going to stand here and say it's one of the funniest TV shows ever. Very innovative and ground-breaking for its day (particularly in pace, editing, etc), but lots of corny, old jokes. Hey, the Sid and Marty Krofft shows can quite justifiably be seen as "bad TV", but I do like some of it myself.

Quote:

I don't see why, if Paramount would let them, MPI couldn't release the rest of the Beverly Hillbillies picking up from where they left off.

Well, that really is the question, isn't it? Guess they have to make up their minds on whether they want to release the rest of it themselves or go ahead and licence out. The fact that a few of the B/W episodes didn't fall into P.D. makes Paramount just "picking up" a little more awkward (i.e. if they could've just started with "season 3", it would be a lot easier than releasing that with "what's left of" season 2).

Jaime_Weinman · 05-29-2008, 10:41 AM

Of course all of us are going to hope for a series that probably won't happen -- my first thought, of course, was WKRP, but I just doubt anybody can afford to pick it up even if Fox shopped it around -- but this is good news nonetheless.

In the past, the pattern has usually been that shows can get licensed out, but a studio won't usually "shop around" a show that it's already started releasing itself, even if it has no real possibility of finishing that show. But the last few seasons of a great show are in many ways a more valuable property for an independent company than the first season of a more obscure show, and at this point, many of us are more anxious to see the incomplete Fox or Paramount or Sony series continued, on whatever label, than to see shows that haven't been released yet. (There are some shows I still want, but there are more shows that I just want to see completed.) Let's hope for some good news, and thanks to Gord for the encouraging hints.