Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

I'm a huge fan of "Early Edition". I'm looking forward to seeing Kyle Chandler (also with Colin Hanks) in "King Kong" this December.

As for the DVD, I think Gord said it was "currently under Sony's radar". I've been thinking about this and at the end of the second season episode "Hot Time in the Old Town", originally, CBS had an anniversary that year and all or was it a few select shows (I don't recall) paid a tribute to CBS programming. In "Early Edition's" case, they decided to do a tribute to "The Twilight Zone" and Rod Serling (they also filmed an alternate ending for syndication). This would be perfect if Image can get the licensing rights from Sony to release this. They released the two earlier "Twilight Zone" incarnations (if they could do it). I would love to see both alternate endings. I trust Image, and it would be a cold day in hell before I let Sony anywhere near this series.

Pax, now i, was airing it Mondays-Wednesdays at 10pm EST. Do you get i, Marty M?

Yeah, it's a cool show. My mother might even want a copy.

Well, now it's apparently completely off the Independent Network's schedule. We need the DVDs. I think they're going to be dropping Diagnosis Murder soon, too.

I watched the last two episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" with Kyle Chandler, and I wished this show was on DVD, but then I snap back to reality because unfortunately Sony owns the rights to this series. Like I said up above I wish Sony would license "Early Edition" to Image. With him being in two high-profile projects (that and "King Kong"), he also has been cast in the series pilot of the film "Friday Night Lights" (though I've never seen the film), somewhere down the line this show has to come.

I was a *huge* EARLY EDITION fan back in the day. I was eleven years old, so maybe that played a part, but still. I can remember religiously watching the show for many years. I don't know that I'd necessarily buy it... but hell, I'd at the very least give it a rent.

I'd love to have this on DVD. The Pax (or i) presentation on both satellite and cable had such poor video quality it looked like VHS at SLP (EP) speed.

This is a fun and "feel-good" show that should find a wide audience if released on DVD.

"Early Edition" is no longer on i. I've been wondering why I keep seeing "Doc" on my guide, so I finally went over to their website. This has got to be the worst time too, as "King Kong" (Kyle Chandler plays "Bruce Baxter" in the film) was released last week on DVD with record-breaking sales for Universal. In the meantime, if you haven't already seen Kyle in "King Kong", rent or "blind buy" it. He's does a terrific job in his role as "Bruce Baxter", and "King Kong" is a really good film.

From i's FAQ page:

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

I'm bumping this up to encourage all "Early Edition" and Kyle Chandler fans to let Shout! Factory know you want this series on DVD. Brian Ward responded yesterday and said "it's certainly worth looking into" because of "Friday Night Lights". Provided they can get the licensing rights, I personally would love for them to release it. Since Brian also reads HTF, I'm also bumping this up so he can read it.

Or if you rather, you can also add your words of encouragement on this thread over at their community forum. It's free to register, if you haven't already.

http://www.shoutfactory.com/community/471/thread.aspx

And don't forget to watch tonight for Season 2 of "Friday Night Lights".

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

Thanks Dave and CBS/Paramount! And Merry Christmas everyone!

Early Edition DVD news: Announcement for Early Edition - Season 1 | TVShowsOnDVD.com



I'll check in later with more of my thoughts.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

Cool. Thanks to you and Dave for the word. Great show and missed from the Ion TV lineup. This was my introduction to Coach Taylor.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

At least on DVD you should get them unedited.

I got to see this show in repeats myself and was really charmed by it. A lot of good ideas and fun characters kept this show sustained beyond the simple premise of a guy who gets tomorrow's newspaper. Loved all the episodes with Gary's parents.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

[quote=Derek Miner]At least on DVD you should get them unedited.

QUOTE]

SECONDED!

IMO This is the best thing about DVDs. Many Programs lose up to 10 minutes of content so programmers can cram in more Advertisments.

The announcement that this show and Mannix are about to be released on DVD were two of the best Christmas Presents we could receive!

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

Fabulous news! I haven't seen it since it aired on CBS so I can't wait...

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

This is the first bit of DVD news that has me really excited in a long time (other than the surprise return to Sliders by Universal). At first, I was just hoping this will sell well enough for another season, but given its status on the voting section of TVShowsOnDVD, I think that's quite likely. I expect the first season will be uncut; there might be a little music here and there, but I don't recall anything standing out (though my memory could be failing due to not seeing it for a long time).

However, assuming this sells well enough to make it further in the series, I'm a little more worried about the second and fourth seasons. A second season episode, Hot Time in the Old Town, featured a digitally inserted Rod Serling providing closing narration Twilight Zone style (as part of CBS's 50th anniversary week). This scene was later cut in syndicated runs and replaced with an alternate ending. Ideally, both versions should be included when the time comes for the second season, be it by seamless branching or by including one as an extra. As for the fourth and final season, it originally featured a new opening credits segment, featuring the song "Time" by the Camber Brothers. It too was cut in syndication (resulting in the previous years' theme being played to the video clips chosen to work with the new music) and could be another infamous music licensing issue.

Regardless, whatever they give us will be a vast improvement over the years of syndicated runs on PAX/ION. I don't know if it was the network's fault or Dish Network's fault, but the audio was never synchronized with the video on that channel and it irritated me to no end. Had the same problem with Mysterious Ways...

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

Yeah, they did use music here and there. There's a memorable scene in the first season that immediately comes to mind where Chuck is singing "Y.M.C.A" in the shower in "Jury Duty" that is both hilarious and can't be missed.

Here's a list of music used over the course of the series. Please note that some episodes are incomplete, and she no longer updates the site except for something that is noteworthy - like news of DVDs. Also, this link is mainly to the FAQ section of her site.

Early Edition FAQ

Also of note, the second episode of the first season has an alternate opening compared to the rest of the season, complete with voiceover. I've even seen it air in syndication.

I share your concern with the second season episode "Hot Time in the Old Town" and the fourth season's original opening credit/theme. Beyond those, I'm not going to settle for anything less. I would like to see (and I know we're talking CBS here) an effort to produce/or provide bonus materials.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

Wow, that's a very thorough list. Not without errors (e.g., Monster Mash is by Pickett, not Demento), but that will be a very useful list should we need to compare original airing to DVD versions. Paramount hasn't been too bad to us, though more recent releases seem to have suffered from budget cuts that manifest in music replacements (e.g., theme for Charmed being replaced, Family Ties edits). Still much better than some other studios, such as Fox and Universal. Plus, many of those song were sung on screen, which means only licensing the lyrics and sometimes the music as opposed to the more pricey commercial recordings.

Here's hoping for a complete release. I'm sure Gord and Dave will keep us up to date on any developments considering the popularity among TVShowsOnDVD voters.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

That's another series we definitely need a DVD released. It still baffles me that whoever owns this, hasn't brought it out to coincide with Adrian Pasdar on "Heroes".

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Well, a well known star is only going to get you so far. My guess is that there isn't a huge overlap between Heroes, a super-hero science fiction action drama, and Mysterious Ways, a quasi-religious drama. Drawing attention to Pasdar being on Heroes might boost sales, but that alone wouldn't be enough. That said, I'm not saying that there isn't enough interest; I've seen far more niche shows released than Mysterious Ways.

I wonder who does own it though. TVShowsOnDVD doesn't have the owner listed...

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

DVD Empire has a pre-order listing up for "Early Edition". The first season will be released on June 24th.

DVD Empire - Item - Early Edition: The First Season / DVD-Video

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

TVShowsOnDVD has more (and a confirmation that this is indeed June 24th) on the first season including early cover art, episodic promos (which will be great to see again but I wish they had also gathered everyone together and really pack this release with bonus materials), and it was mentioned to retailers that "Early Edition" is one of the most requested shows on TVShowsOnDVD.com.

Early Edition DVD news: Early Box Art for Early Edition - The 1st Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Speaking of promos, I would love to have seen the bumpers again especially the one with Kyle reading the newspaper, saying to the camera "CBS. Welcome home."

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD

TVShowsOnDVD has posted the back cover art. There is no music disclaimer.

Early Edition DVD news: Rear Box Art for Early Edition - The 1st Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com

However, the dreaded some episodes may be edited from their original network versions is listed. I guess we'll find out closer to release date what may have be edited, but I hope this is a standard disclaimer they put on this release, and not something edited like the "previously on..." recaps or the alternate opening credits to "The Choice". I also hope that the end credits are not edited or updated in any way.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD no more!

A great show has finally been released.

I cannot confirm or deny any changes including music and credits. "The Choice" does have a different opening credits sequence than the rest (of Disc 1 anyway; that's all I've seen so far).

Kudos to Paramount (who has been known to have overpriced sets for popular shows like Star Trek and CSI) for releasing this 6-disc set in which all six discs fit in one standard-sized keepcase for $40 retail (~$30 at many places). The episode summaries are on the back of the front and back covers but they are still readable (if you remove the paper entirely or remove Disc 1 and Disc 6 separately and read through the plastic).

The audio and video quality are surprisingly good! I'm using an upscaling player and it looks and sounds like a recent release!

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD no more!

"The Choice" is the only episode you'll find with an alternate opening credit, so it's great to hear that they kept that intact. I've read that all music is intact on this release.

As for the end credits, there should be studio/company credits for Three Characters Inc., Angelica Films, CBS Productions (although they probably might have dropped it and changed it to CBS Paramount Television), and Columbia/TriStar Television. It's something along those lines. And please let me know if you see "Previously on..." recaps for "His Girl Thursday" and (obviously) "The Wall (2)". I have a feeling there was also another episode (maybe two) in the first season that had one, but I'll have to check on that. (Why do I keep thinking "The Paper" originally had a recap?) And, yes, in case anyone is wondering, I'm this obsessive about "Early Edition". I'm a huge fan, and I've really pushed for this one for a long time. If Gord is reading this thread, thank you again for letting CBS know the demand for this.


I don't have my copy here yet, but this is encouraging to hear as this series has been a real anticipation. Thanks, Keith, for your review so far of "Early Edition's" first season.

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I have wondered about getting the R1 set of the first season of Early Edition, because I'm waiting for a hopeful R2 announcement. I was going to wait for a possible R2 announcement of Mannix: The First Season but couldn't wait and decided to buy the R1 set.

Re: Awaiting EARLY EDITION on DVD no more!

I also wanted to mention something about the keepcase. Although it holds all six discs, there are no overlapping discs! You do not have to remove one disc to get to another. Other studios (including CBS DVD), take note! (I'm currently watching Numbers: Season 3 from CBS DVD and this is frustrating to say the least!) Why all the different configurations of packaging from the same company??? (That's another issue for another thread.)

You can get this for almost $24 at DeepDiscount's 20% sale, which has been extended to 6/29/08!

At the top of the Episode Summaries, there is this statement: "Episodic Promos on All Episodes." "All" which is good news for us and especially Chris!

But I checked those two episodes and there is a promo for "His Girl Thursday" and "The Wall (Part 2)" as well as "The Paper."

The end of end credits go like this:
Three Characters / Angelica Films
CBS Television Distribution
...and that's it. Back to Main Menu.

Although there are no other extras besides the promos, for the price and the setup of the discs, I'm happy. And I hope that other studios (including the inconsistent CBS DVD) take note. Although I'm sure there are consumers who will not like this packaging format. Some did not like thinpacks either, but CBS DVD has them: overlapping discs with foldout sleeves, thinpacks (e.g., Wings), and now this flip-page-book-style keepcase.