Re: 6M$M and Bionic Woman Region 2 release 09/26/05?
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Originally Posted by Jeff Willis
I think "Koch" Video is releasing the BW S3 season in Germany. I'm not 100% certain but it appears to be an official release liscenced from Universal Pictures Germany. If so, then I'd guess that an R2/4 S3 release would be coming as well. I would sure like to see both shows get S3 & 4 (for 6M$M) releases in the UK & Australia soon. So far there's not word about a German 6M$M S3 release.
Still nothing up at the usual UK sites for S3 news & nothing at ezdvd (Au).
However, things are looking better for possible continued R2/4 releases soon. Seems that Universal's Italian Co will be releasing S1-3's for both shows this fall. An overseas contact says that the cover art is already available for the Italian releases. There's no early word yet about possible English subtitles. Lee M & Lindsay were recently in Italy for appearances. Interesting 
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I hadn't heard that the Italian releases were committing beyond Season 2, that's great.
I have bad VHS copies of most of TBW Season 3, and DVDs of some of SMDM Season 3 (the earlier R2 anthology releases have five from there, and of course Welcome Home Jaime originated there and lives now in TBW S1). I've also got bad copies of The Return of the Bionic Woman and The Return of Bigfoot, and the first 2 pilots in the original edits. Beyond that, I haven't seen S3-5 of SMDM since I was a kid. I'm an "early years" fan mostly, but am also a completist that stayed with the show even in its twilight (I was all of 10 when it ended). I will get any and all releases until it's all there.
As to the extended pilots retaining some value, that's as may be. The original versions are tighter, with a consistent (if different from the later show) stylistic approach. They aren't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but they are better than their replacements. The two-hour versions serve one purpose: to sell as part of a package of one-hour installments into the broadcast syndication market. The Home Video market has no such requirements, and retaining the series and movies in their syndie form for HV is sheer inertia and cheapness.
Joe's release specs:
All inclusive collector's edition: Oscar Goldman's Bionic File, in the form of the famous "exploding briefcase". All movies and episodes presented in original air order, in original air form, with latter concurrent episodes of the 2 shows interleaved by airdate (See
Airdates - The Bionic Wiki). Bonus features include alternate edits.
A separate 2-disc release of the two-part episodes "The Bionic Woman" and "The Return of the Bionic Woman" (perhaps also "Welcome Home, Jaime"), as an option for TBW fans. Not releasing them in air order in the UK has stalled the releases with a story gap: Jaime is dead, and we skip her resurrection since there is no Season 3 SMDM release. Since it is unlikely that any release would make Bionic Woman fans wait while the 73-5 releases were issued, the separate release of TBW's "pre-pilots" would allow for the story to be followed.
1973 Telefilms in original form as a separate 2-disc release. Sequel Telefilms in separate 2-disc release.
Three episodes moved for syndication are duplicated, so each set has a copy, with the original credits restored. Alternate credits introduced for syndication can be available by seamless branching. Complimentary episodes need not be duplicated (i.e.: Kill Oscar II is on both BW S2 and SMDM S4, but parts I and III remain exclusive to BW). Season One (SMDM) can include the syndicated pilot versions (some folks grew up with these, no need to bury them), but the original edits are a top priority.
Three two-hour episodes presented in original, rather than 2 part form. (Bionic Boy, The Thunderbird Connection and The Lost Island).
The Home Video market has its own needs, just as does syndication. Fans seeking nostagia seek to relive the "first time," not the reruns, and collectors want only authentic materials on the shelf. Home Video releases should reflect this, rather than a 30 year old set of decisions for a very different set of needs.
As Marcus on B5 once said: "If you're going to have delusions, you might as well go for the really satisfying ones." Can we get it in Blu-Ray? ;-)
Having said that, if it's on sale, I'm buying, and the only real deal-breaker is if they fail to fix the bad R2 SMDMs with a decent transfer (I've got the bad ones, thanks). I think we can expect that for R1 (sometime before 2023, the 50th anniversary), who knows, maybe even these new Italian releases.
"Time flies, but all I get is old."
-Lee Majors, "Gotta Get Loose"