The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

100th Anniversary when Abbott & Costello started their radio show in 1940?? That's a weird title for a DVD collection, unless you get the joke (which is that Lou Costello was born in 1906)!

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Thanks for that review.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

They spelled Hillary Brooke's last name wrong. It's Brooke, not Brooks.

For those of you buying the sets, the theme music for the 2nd season is completely different than the first.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Wasn't one of the themes the same one used in old Wheaties commericials, the Breakfast of Champions?

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Great to hear they did a good job with this set. Season 1 and 2 Sold!

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

I have no idea, because the only old TV commercial songs for cereals that I remember are for Cheerios from the 1970s and Honey Nut Cheerios from the 80s.

But one of the Abbott & Costello themes sounded like an old-time movie about a football hero, but it could just as easily be a vaudeville tune. The other theme sounds like a classical music piece. The second season was better visually because the opening theme also featured scenes of Bud & Lou, although the clips displayed were from their movies -- not the TV show.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

I feel they could have done a better job, to be honest. I see no improvement in either video or audio quality over the previous release of this same series from Shanachie Entertainment Corp. True, when Shanachie put them out they mixed the episodes from both seasons, releasing 4 episodes per disc. However, they at least broke down each show in chapters in order to access certain scenes, to name one: the famous "Who's On First?" routine from the "Actor's Home" episode. Also, for some odd reason, 2 of the episodes on this release are time-compressed, speeded up to a point where even the most novice video viewer would notice it. They are episode #6 on disc 1, and episode #4 on disc 2. Listen and watch the opening theme and montage....if you can tell me you hear no difference between them and the other shows, I'll make an appointment with my doctor! LOL!

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

The Abbott & Costello Show was rerun on WPIX -- Channel 11 from New York in the early 1980s very early in the morning 5 days a week. It was back then and on that channel when I viewed this series, and the video and audio quality were excellent. These shows were remastered a quarter century ago for TV syndication just as The Twilight Zone and Star Trek were. There was no need to do anything more to these prints if they were the same ones used for this current disc release.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Well, I grew up watching these shows originally on WPIX, channel 11, during the 50's and 60's when they ran them in the late afternoon (followed by The Three Stooges) LOL! I know that somewhere during the mid to late 80's or very early 90's they were being run by WOR-TV, channel 9 at 10 AM. At that point they had been cleaned up considerably for video and audio quality, however, instead of cutting 3-4 minutes out of them to fit into the modern 22 minute time frame, they time-compressed every episode......actually speeding up the projection of the program, a process that was said to be invisible to the eye and ear. Unfortunately that isn't true. Those familiar with the timing and pacing of the routines of these 2 great comedians could easily see and hear the difference. As I said in my previous post, 2 of the episodes on this new set have been time-compressed in the very same fashion. It just shouldn't have happened. WPIX was showing "The Honeymooners" the same way, and it just ruins the comedy effect and takes away from the intended perfect timing of each line and bit of business.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Jeff, I believe it was the first season that featured the opening montage of the Abbott & Costello movie clips. I always felt that season 1 was the best of the 2 as they contained the majority of the boys' routines from their movies done to the TV show. The second season concentrated more on the plots of the episodes themselves, rather than their routines from the movies.

On a side note, I have read on an Abbott & Costello messageboard that the Shanachie discs actually look better than this set because this set has compressed the picture quality more, and in doing so, more video artifacts are noticeably present than on the Shanachie set. Can someone confirm that this is true? Also, I distinctly remember the episode "Jail" (or "Mrs.Crumbcake's Bucket" as I call it) on the Shanachie set apparently seemed to be mastered from a 16mm print as it was very grainy and scratchy. Can someone confirm whether that episode on this new set is in better condition, or did they use the same print. Thanks.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Well, if any of these episodes are sped up, then that's a horse of another color and I'll just keep the old Shanachie sets. So I hope we can get more people to report back on their findings. By the way -- did Shanachie eventually release ALL of the episodes? I'm of the belief they never finished the whole series.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Joe, according to Shanachie's web site, they released the entire series. Here's what they say . . . .

"All 52 shows - unedited and transferred from the original 35mm film - are available on 13 volumes at 4 shows per disc."

Shanachie's web site: http://www.shanachie.com/

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

When I saw these on WPIX in late night reruns in the 1980s, they were definitely played at normal speed. I had never been a big fan of Bud & Lou, but as a kid in the 70s I saw all of their films on TV so their TV series played normally also. It is easily possible that a couple of minutes were cut from the syndicated episodes, but in this case that wouldn't bother me.

Carlos, I think you're correct about the movie clip montage opening being from the first season. You'd think it would be the other way around though, with the 2nd season opening showing an ordinary stage curtain.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews

Carlos, I can verify (unfortunately) everything that was said on the other board. The two episodes in question have indeed been sped-up. And in a very obvious way. It's not even close. These two episodes are "ALASKA" & "CHARITY BAZAAR." On top of that the episode you are asking about, "JAIL", is still grainy. Definitely came from that inferior 16mm print.

Overall, I think the Shanachie set looks a tad better, but not by a whole bunch. And I still think the extras on this set make it a must buy for any fan of the boys work. I bought my set from Overstock.com for a great price (which included using a coupon) and it got to me the day of release. Not too many other folks seem to have received their sets yet so in this one instance Overstock did me good (which is a rarity).

Gary "I'm not throwing out my Shanachie dvds - I paid too much for them" O.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

There was quite a delay with Shanachie releasing the volume containing "Jail". I had called them to ask why there was a delay, and it seems they had to obtain a print from The Library of Congress, as no other print was available as the other 51 episodes were. There is a noticeable difference in the quality of "Jail" over the others, and yes, I believe it is the very same print used in this new set.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Didn't Bob Furmanek post in another thread somewhere that the master copies of these shows were kept in desk drawers, filing cabinets, etc. and that a lot of work had to be done to track them down?

Apparently from Videowack's post one show was "lost" and couldn't be located which required using the L of C print.

It does seem odd (and quite disappointing) that time compressed shows would be used.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Maybe the editors of tvshowsondvd.com could contact the company that transferred this set to see if they could do something about the 2 discs containing the sped-up discs. They seem to get replies and/or action regarding problem discs, and this may be worth a try.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Here is the link for Passport Entertainment, for those who want to write them regarding the 2 discs that contain the very noticeable time-compressed episodes. Hey, it can't hurt. We should ask for discs that are properly made and a replacement should be in order to those who have already bought the set.


http://www.passportentertainment.com/index.php

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Here's a post from the Abbott & Costello messageboard claiming those episodes are NOT sped up (unless the masters the Costello family had were already sped up. Why they would be, I have no idea.):

"Time to end all the speculation, accusations and conspiracy theories: The reel-to-reel masters used for the two new Passport sets came directly from the Costello family's vault. Nothing was done by Passport to speed them up or save time or space or remove even a frame of an actual episode. It was a straight transfer from the Costello masters to the new sets. The intention was to produce the new DVDs with the best sound and video quality available, but they can only be as good as the source material one is given to work with. Hopefully, the combination of the rare and remarkable (and lengthy) bonus features plus the reasonable price more than compensate for any perceived deficiences in the episodes themselves."

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

To The A&C Message Board:

So? I don't care "Who done it", but if some of these episodes do indeed look visibly sped up, I'll settle for the old Shanachie releases. I'm still awaiting more opinions from those who've seen the problems in question.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

I still want to know whether those 2 episodes on the Shanachie release are also sped up.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

No, the 2 episodes that ARE sped up on the Passport release are NOT sped up on the Shanachie release. I have double checked them carefully, and I assure you that the Shanachie dubs are perfect regarding the 2 episodes in question. Passport's very recent release has those 2 episodes most ASSUREDLY and NOTICEABLY sped up to a very annoying degree. If they are claiming that it was the prints given to them to work with, and that they had nothing to say about the material they had to work with...then Passport didn't master them from the original negatives as Shanachie did and settled for second best. My thought is that they obtained those 2 time-compressed episodes from a secondary source, such as a TV syndication company who as recently as the 90's had these shows on various stations (WOR-TV in NY, for one) and each and every one of the 52 A&C eps WERE time-compressed for recent syndication.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Carlos, I'll pull those two episodes out tonight (since I own the Shanachie dvds) and let you know for sure if they are or are not sped up. But I can tell you, 100% for sure, that those two episodes are sped up on the new set. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I believe that the person that posted the message on the A&C board (which I also frequent) wasn't contradicting the fact that the episodes were time-compressed, but simply trying to pass the buck. The fault, in their minds, isn't with them but with the "originals" they worked with. In other words, they didn't purposely speed up any episodes. They simply used what they were given.

Gary "I still say this set is worth it just for the extras" O.

EDIT: Ok, I had composed this post before the poster above did the check. And I agree with them that Passport didn't remaster anything. They just used what they were given without any thought to checking it out. That's real obvious.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Once again, someone on the A&C messageboard insists those episodes in question were not sped up:

"Y'know, I tried to set the record straight with my other posting, but apparently all I accomplished was drop-kicking a hornets' nest. Passport did not in any way "settle" for inferior copies. I reiterate: The new DVD sets were made from the reel-to-reel tape masters that were stored in the Costello family vault (where they are kept at optimum temperature and humidity) and were not gotten from a television syndicator. These masters were the ones specifically set aside by the Costellos for use in creating these two definitive sets of Season One and Season Two in tribute to Lou. Nobody pulled a switcheroo on those two episodes. No corners were cut. Those were the only copies of those episodes included in the boxes of tapes lent to Passport by the Costello family, and much care was taken in the transferring of them to DVD. If you want to spend $143 assembling the individual discs from the other release just because you consider those two episodes positively unwatchable and unenjoyable in the Passport set, then fine. As the French say, to each his goo. Otherwise, this seems like a rather minor trade-off in order to get an entire season in one 5-disc set, plus the aforementioned new interviews, old home movies, and "10,000 Kids and a Cop." And yes, Season Two's bonus features have a lot more of the home movies, and the interviews with Chris and Paddy go into a lot of different subject areas not covered in Season One (which focused more on the TV show itself, the cast, favorite episodes and routines, etc.). Okay, now you may continue dissecting this issue until either your eyeballs or fingertips give out. Or both!"

If all this is true, how come the Shanachie DVDs weren't sped up?

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Exactly, Carlos. Here are the running times of both questioned episodes, from both companies:

"ALASKA" - Passport Video, 22:23 - Shanachie, 26:12
"CHARITY BAZAAR" - Passport Video, 22:25 - Shanachie, 25:58

I'm probably going to be told next that my equipment is faulty

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Looks like I'm going to place an order with Shanachie to get the last 3 DVD's I've missed.

Re: The Abbott & Costello Show: 100th Anniversary Collection Season 1 DVD Box Reviews?

Guys, heaven knows I don't pimp for the corporate "man" when they stick to the consumers, but in this case I do think some of you are misreading what the person at the A&C board is trying to say. They are NOT denying that the two episodes in question are time-compressed. We all know better, and so does Passport. What the poster was trying to say is that they [i.e. Passport] used what they were given by the Costello's. For some unknown reason what they were given was time-compressed. They didn't do it themselves.

It doesn't make it any easier for consumers, but I think we owe Passport a fair hearing on this and not accuse them of something they didn't do.

I'll say it one more time - this set is worth those "mistakes" simply for the extras. And like Joe said, if you feel the need to do so just pick up those couple of Shanachie discs and you'll have everything you need at regular speed.

Gary "just trying to keep the peace" O.