Despite never being a huge fan of the old "Lost in Space" TV series, I was considering purchasing the new season one box set. In reviewing comments on Amazon.com, however, and after ultimately signing onto the Yahoo Group "LostinSpace" to read details on alleged missing scenes, I will likely stay away from this product.
The first red flag was this review on Amazon.com:
"It may surprise many LOST IN SPACE fans to learn that the new LIS DVD set was not digitally remastered. LOST IN SPACE was originally shot and edited on 35mm negative film. Fox printed fine grain 35mm master positives for each black and white episode and color reversal intermediates for each color episode. That way they never have to touch their masters and risk damaging them. The 35mm positives were used to make the 16mm internegatives from which copies for the syndication episodes were originally struck. Fox stopped making and distributing these 16mm prints in 1992. But in the late 1980s Fox remastered all LIS episodes to one-inch videotape. These tapes served as the basis for virtually all LIS episodes seen since. They were used by the Sc-Fi Channel and also by Columbia House when they distributed the series on VHS in the mid 1990s. The Japanese laser discs were also made from these one-inch master tapes. When improvements in film-to-tape transfer technology were developed in recent years, a few episodes, around 8 or 9 I think, were remastered and released by Fox in the late 1990s on VHS. Sadly, however, these "DigiBeta" transfers were not used in preparing the DVD set. The DVDs were mastered from the one-inch transfers made in the late 1980s. They certainly look better than the laserdiscs, but the source is the same--one-inch videotape. We can only hope that Fox does digital transfers for seasons two and three and at some point goes back and remasters season one. I wouldn't put it past Fox to release all three seasons off the one-inch tapes, then a few years down the line remaster the whole series digitally (which is what they should have done in the first place) and release it again in three boxed sets just to gouge our wallets..."
(end of quoted Amazon.com review)
Next, over at DVDTalk.com, I found reports of missing scenes, with references to the Yahoo Group for additional details. In the group, a debate has been raging about various missing scenes and their significance, with some bothered by this and others not so bothered. Some posters suggested that others' memories were at fault, but one person backed his claim by posting a Windows Media file of a scene taken from an old Lost in Space videotape that is missing on the DVD version.
It would appear that Fox has rushed Lost in Space to market by using a old set of video masters trimmed for syndicated broadcast. As I mentioned, I was never a very big fan of this series, but I find this news very disappointing, and an ominous sign with regard to future TV releases on DVD.
The first red flag was this review on Amazon.com:
"It may surprise many LOST IN SPACE fans to learn that the new LIS DVD set was not digitally remastered. LOST IN SPACE was originally shot and edited on 35mm negative film. Fox printed fine grain 35mm master positives for each black and white episode and color reversal intermediates for each color episode. That way they never have to touch their masters and risk damaging them. The 35mm positives were used to make the 16mm internegatives from which copies for the syndication episodes were originally struck. Fox stopped making and distributing these 16mm prints in 1992. But in the late 1980s Fox remastered all LIS episodes to one-inch videotape. These tapes served as the basis for virtually all LIS episodes seen since. They were used by the Sc-Fi Channel and also by Columbia House when they distributed the series on VHS in the mid 1990s. The Japanese laser discs were also made from these one-inch master tapes. When improvements in film-to-tape transfer technology were developed in recent years, a few episodes, around 8 or 9 I think, were remastered and released by Fox in the late 1990s on VHS. Sadly, however, these "DigiBeta" transfers were not used in preparing the DVD set. The DVDs were mastered from the one-inch transfers made in the late 1980s. They certainly look better than the laserdiscs, but the source is the same--one-inch videotape. We can only hope that Fox does digital transfers for seasons two and three and at some point goes back and remasters season one. I wouldn't put it past Fox to release all three seasons off the one-inch tapes, then a few years down the line remaster the whole series digitally (which is what they should have done in the first place) and release it again in three boxed sets just to gouge our wallets..."
(end of quoted Amazon.com review)
Next, over at DVDTalk.com, I found reports of missing scenes, with references to the Yahoo Group for additional details. In the group, a debate has been raging about various missing scenes and their significance, with some bothered by this and others not so bothered. Some posters suggested that others' memories were at fault, but one person backed his claim by posting a Windows Media file of a scene taken from an old Lost in Space videotape that is missing on the DVD version.
It would appear that Fox has rushed Lost in Space to market by using a old set of video masters trimmed for syndicated broadcast. As I mentioned, I was never a very big fan of this series, but I find this news very disappointing, and an ominous sign with regard to future TV releases on DVD.
