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Buck Rogers in the 21st Century - Page 6

post #151 of 244
11/24/04 at 12:18pm
Some people are just never happy...
So it only has the Theatrical Cut for the pilot.. So what ? The consensus i have had through the years is most people preferred the theatrical cut to the tv pilot. Sure would it have been nice to have both no question. But i would have watched the tv version maybe once anyway so no big deal.

Sometimes you have good reason to complain but in this case you should just be quiet and be thankful you even got this released at all.
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post #152 of 244
11/24/04 at 11:16pm
I am very happy to have this set, I was not angry about not having the TV pilot, just simply puzzled about it's omission, as anyone would be, maybe I was a little more vocal about it, but, by looking at this thread and reading about how everyone loved the set, I thought the subject would never be brought up, so I figured that I would, I figured it would gain some attention so someone could contact Universal about it. That's the only "flaw" I see with the set, it's perfect, it has superb picture and sound, and it has 32 episodes of fun and adventure, what more could you want?

Something else I was wondering as it was also mentioned a few pages back, I have the Buck Rogers DiscoVision laserdisc and I find it odd that the laserdisc is in Stereo and the DVD is in Mono, I just wanted to know what you guys thought of that, a little odd, isn't it?
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post #153 of 244
11/25/04 at 5:47pm
Quote:
I find it odd that the laserdisc is in Stereo and the DVD is in Mono


I don't think the laserdisc was true stereo. I remember it had some odd phasing and it sounded more like some weird mono to stereo converstion than true stereo to me. I think that the original source is mono, and this is an accurate release. However, that is just an edjucated guess...
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post #154 of 244
11/25/04 at 11:45pm
Quote:
Some people are just never happy...
[snip]
Sometimes you have good reason to complain but in this case you should just be quiet and be thankful you even got this released at all.


...and some people are way too hard on people that voice a concern calmly and intelligently.
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post #155 of 244
11/26/04 at 2:41am
Can someone please change the title of this thread so that it reflects the actual series title? As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's 25th Century, not 21st!
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post #156 of 244
11/26/04 at 6:00am
Quote:
Can someone please change the title of this thread so that it reflects the actual series title? As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's 25th Century, not 21st!


I always thought the title of the thread was a reference to the Buck Rogers DVDs being released in the 21st Century, in which case, it works just fine.
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post #157 of 244
11/29/04 at 1:35am
Quote:
I always thought the title of the thread was a reference to the Buck Rogers DVDs being released in the 21st Century, in which case, it works just fine.
No, read the first and third posts on page 1 of this thread.
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post #158 of 244
11/29/04 at 11:17am
Can anyone with a region 2 copy confirm if the TV pilot is included or not? On Amazon, it's listed in two parts... so its possible. Please let us know...
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post #159 of 244
11/30/04 at 2:47am
was finally able to crack mine open.
those opening credits are a hoot!
i never remembered them, although i know i did see this at the theater.
watching the pilot, i found it hard to believe that this would have ever been cropped for a 1.75 ratio.
the compositions almost always looked appropriate for 1.33- if anything, i would have been inclined to believe that the tv pilot was cropped from a wider ratio, rather than the theatrical prints being matted.
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post #160 of 244
12/2/04 at 12:45pm
Here is a pretty funny "review" of the box set by Nick Nunziata of chud.com:

http://chud.com/dvd/497
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post #161 of 244
12/3/04 at 4:19am
The R2 edition has the theatrical cut of the pilot. I've also run the film at 16:9 and it was definitely shot to be both 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 frame safe. Frank Beascoechea certainly knew what he was doing.
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post #162 of 244
12/3/04 at 5:22am
Quote:
I'm also happy that the episodes all seem to be uncut, even including the original teaser sequences that preceeded the episodes

Well, technically, the teasers do contain audio edits. William Conrad's "Tonight, on Buck Rogers" is silenced from the beginning of all of his voiceovers. These are the "syndication" versions of the teasers (the old Goodtimes Home Video VHS of "Ardalla Returns" features the full audio intact on the teaser) and were apparently re-done for syndication at some point, because the music continues where Conrad's narration is cut short, so they were re-made to avoid a clumsy edit, probably at the request of the syndication division for TV stations who ran Buck in the afternoons rather than the evenings.

The earliest teasers (Plot to Kill a City comes to mind) have no narration on them at all. I find this odd. Anyone know if there was some special voice-over on this that might've been on the original broadcast, but missing here?

This isn't a complaint, by the way, just an FYI.
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post #163 of 244
12/3/04 at 7:07am
Quote:
The R2 edition has the theatrical cut of the pilot.


Thanks for the info Mark... there goes that theory!
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post #164 of 244
12/3/04 at 7:46am
Quote:
Well, technically, the teasers do contain audio edits. William Conrad's "Tonight, on Buck Rogers" is silenced from the beginning of all of his voiceovers.

Thanks. I didn't realize that. Still, it's cool that they included them in any form.
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post #165 of 244
12/13/04 at 6:05am
DVD-18 scared me off from buying the Region 1 version. And so, I bought the R2. 24 episodes on six DVD-9s. The transfers are, I presume, from identical sources.

Well, this is the most disappointing TV-on-DVD product I've received thus far. Nearly every episode is lacking detail, dark, and awash in a reddish haze. The pilot movie is, frankly, horrible quality. Dark, red, and sorely lacking the detail that DVD is supposed to capture. The only episodes that have a picture quality close to what I'd expect for the DVD format are "Planet of the Slave Girls", "A Dream of Jennifer", and "Space Rockers". Some of them are so poor, it's like I'm watching them on an old-fashioned microwave cable TV signal.

On the box, Universal has a notation to this effect:
"PLEASE NOTE that while every care has been taken to ensure the quality of this programme, due to the age of the original materials the technical quality of the prpgramme may be slightly impaired in places." Add to that a glaring error in the synopsis for the series on the box. Since when is Buck thawed out of the Arctic in the year 2419? And it even misspells Arctic. Further, nowhere on the box does it say Season 1 only, and there is a picture of Hawk included in the photos on the rear of the box.

I would add also that the pre-credit teasers for all episodes have been omitted.

I don't know what the R1 release is like, and as I avoid DVD-18 like the plague I have no intention of perusing that.
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post #166 of 244
12/13/04 at 7:16am
Thread Starter 
Could someone comment on their purchase of the R1 box set here so that we can make an informed decision as to fork over $90.00 to get this box set. I am a big fan, but I have almost every single episode on Beta tape. Yes Beta tape LOL. if the quality of the dvd's are not much better then my tapes, witch are pristine, then I will not bother getting this collection. I am only missing a few episode, unfortunatly this includes the pilot that I would like to have.

So please someone post there comments on the R1 box set. Christmas is just around the corner and I was intending to pick myself up a Christmas gift.

Thank you

Stephane
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post #167 of 244
12/13/04 at 9:27am
I have the R1 set, and while it is not perfect, it is pretty good, IMO. All the episodes are included, including season two, and there are 32 (37?) in total. The biggest gaffe is that the pilot is the theatrical version, and doesn't include the additional scenes from the TV version.

Otherwise, I'd say that it's pretty good - at least on a par with the Battlestar Galactica release from last year (with better packaging). The sound and the picture all look and sound okay to me. I have yet to see any glaring instances of dirt or cloudy images. The episodes I've watched thus far certainly looked better on DVD than they did on the Sci-Fi repeats.

$90? I paid about $60 postpaid, and for that, it was worth it. This is likely the only release this show will ever see, and I'm glad it's out there.
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post #168 of 244
12/13/04 at 10:08am
Quote:
$90? I paid about $60


That's probably $90 Canadian.
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post #169 of 244
12/13/04 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
You got it kevin, it is in Canadian dollars..
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post #170 of 244
12/15/04 at 11:40am
Has anyone else experienced any problems playing the discs? On mine, disc 2, side A freezes up after 15 minutes of "The Cosmic Whiz Kid." Tried it in two different players, made sure it was clean, etc. No go.

I'm going to contact Universal about a replacement disc.
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post #171 of 244
12/15/04 at 2:36pm
Hi Sam - I had the same problem on the same episode, only mine froze up during the opening credits. I've sent my set back to the vendor I bought it from for a replacement.

Jason
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post #172 of 244
12/15/04 at 7:42pm
I was quite impressed with what I've watched so far. IMO, the transfers are better than in the Battlestar Galactica set, which I found lacked detail too often. (Of course, BG had bonus features, which Buck totally lacks.) The Buck episodes looked surprisingly good, I thought. Whether they look better than VHS tapes, though, may depend on how big your TV is. I find that watching any VHS on my 51" screen is usually not too good.
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post #173 of 244
12/16/04 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Can anyone tell me just how much the theatrical trailer compares to the TV pilot. Is it that much of a difference between them both.

Here is what I sort of remember about the TV pilot.

The beginning of it , NOTHING.. LOL but then I remember when Ardala's ship intercepted Bucks ship and had fired upon it. The unfroze him and things went on, then the Draconians put him back into stacis and let his ship drop towards earth. that is when Wilma intercepted him and brought him through a defensive perimiter to get into earths atmosphere.

That is about it. Does the theatrical version follow the same story line?
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post #174 of 244
12/16/04 at 3:20pm
I haven't seen the TV version in years, but as best as I can recall, the only real differences were a couple of scenes inserted to help set up the TV series. I especially remember a pair of scenes in which Buck is assigned his apartment and tries out the sleep-inducing bed, protesting all the time he's dozing off that he's just slept for 500 years and really isn't sleepy. In the later scene, he paints a smiley face on his big wall food dispenser/computer unit thingie.

Some other people here on the board have mentioned that Ardala's father, Draco, appears in the theatrical cut but his scenes were cut from the TV version. I don't remember that, but will defer to the others...
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post #175 of 244
12/17/04 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
I remember doctor Thopolis actually commenting on that smilly face in one scene. Man that brings me way back. Any other differences that people rememeber?
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post #176 of 244
12/18/04 at 5:44am
I just picked up the R1 set used for TEN BUCKS! That being said, I am STILL a little disappointed in the picture quality. The space scenes have a crummy red drop-off around the edges that I find really distracting. The rest of the show looks ok, but it's still not so good. I have to keep reminding myself that I only paid ten bucks. I think I'll be more forgiving as I get into it. I hope. Sidenote: I passed on Battlestar Galactica for $20. I'm a little regretful. I think I've gotten a little spoiled on cheap, used DVDs around here.
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post #177 of 244
12/18/04 at 6:05am
Wow who was selling this for $10 ? Was it out of the back of a van ?
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post #178 of 244
12/18/04 at 6:52am
Thread Starter 
I would definitely like to know who is selling Buck Rogers for 10 $...For ten buck there is no complaining at all, we all know that this show is very old and that there is not much that will be done to it as far as cleaning up the picture.
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post #179 of 244
12/18/04 at 7:21am
I got it used at a pawn shop. So, somebody actually parted with it for, like $5. So yeah, I was a little harsh, especially for ten bucks.
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post #180 of 244
12/18/04 at 11:34am
Quote:
I remember doctor Thopolis actually commenting on that smilly face in one scene. Man that brings me way back. Any other differences that people rememeber?


When Wilma has to go after Buck in the wasteland and subdue him by shooting him (with her phaser set on stun), in the tv version you can't quite tell what happened - I guess because the tv people didn't like the idea of someone shooting someone, even if only on stun.

Similarly, Tigerman2 winces in pain from being kicked in the nuts, even though in the tv version you don't quite see him being kicked in the nuts.
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