all in the family seasons 7-9 - Page 2

Re: all in the family seasons 7-9

DVD's for TV Shows are rarely advertised for except in the trades. There really is no need to advertise for them. My local newspaper is always listing TV Show releases in the Entertainment section.

Matthew, if there are television fans out there waiting for a particular show, trust me, they are looking out for their specific releases. Best Buy and Borders have in store computers that consumers can use to search for shows, I used to do that all of the time.

Well I'll be a son of a...

 

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Family-DVDs-Planned/13965

 

Shout factory has done it again.

Season 7 is the last one I really am anxious to finally have for the Mike breaks Archie's chair episode.   Glad to know it's coming.

I agree with everyone whose frustrated with this show no longer being released. However, I disagree with some of the "reasons" that it is supposedly not selling:

 

Picture Quality: Yes, this show does indeed look poor on DVD. However, it did not look great to begin with. It wasn't meant to. The "look" of the show is supposed to represent the lower middle class life of the characters. It was designed that way. This is not the day-glo world of Friends. I'm not sure how far back they went to makes these transfers. Maybe not far enough. But AITF will never have a pristine presentation on any format. Plus, I don't think the picture quality has anything remotely to do with the DVD's poor sales. Customers seeing these releases in a store would have no idea about the quality level. Many would not even think about it.

 

Promotion: Well, you could use this excuse for a LOT of DVD releases. It's true that this show could and should have gotten a LOT more promotion on TV and in print. Perhaps also having the remaining cast promote the DVD's. However, we live in the age of the internet. Anyone wanting this show on DVD can easily find it and get it with little trouble. It's not exactly hiding in a dusty storage room down at your local Barnes & Noble. Fans know about these releases. They're just not buying them enough.

 

Extras: Certainly with a show that's this legendary you would want there to be some extras. Retrospectives, commentaries, something. But there are TONS of classic shows that don't get any of this either. People are not refusing to buy these discs simply because there aren't any extras.

 

Everything comes down to sales, folks. If people are not buying AITF in high enough numbers then they simply aren't. Too many older sitcoms don't sell well because older customers are not buying DVD's as much as young customers. And younger customers aren't as aware of shows like this because they are not still being played to death like The Brady Bunch & Full House. This is also an intelligent, adult show. That's often the kiss of death.

(dupe post deleted)

Edited by MattHR - 6/24/10 at 10:39pm

As far as extras, it's too late for Carroll O'Connor to participate. I have the laserdisc release of the All In The Family: 20th Anniversary Special that aired in 1991.  I'd love to see Shout! Factory include this 90-minute special on one of the remaining season sets -- or even a Complete Collection -- should they release one.  I know the standard industry thought is that no one wants to see these vintage documentaries, whether produced for TV or laserdisc supplements.  That thought couldn't be more wrong.  Since many of the participants of these vintage documentaries are no longer with us, they may be the only way for many fans to hear their thoughts.

 

As the show itself is vintage, so too is the documantary.  It was recorded (in 1991) when the show was only 20 years old -- seemingly an eternity at the time.  Now, at 40 years past, I can't imagine a new doc being as relevant, since the recollections of the participants wouldn't be nearly as vivid -- not to mention the absence of O'Connor.  I've seen several DVD docs where they have incorporated clips (of deceased or unavailable talent) with new interview footage of other participants.  I'd much prefer to have the vintage docs presented "as is" -- in their entirety -- along with any new material they care to produce.

 

So, fine folks at Shout!, if you're reading this, please consider releasing that 1991 doc on one of your upcoming AITF releases.  Hopefully, Sony will make it available for your use.  I have every confidence you will treat AITF with the respect it so deserves -- something that has yet to be accomplished.

 

 

 

P.S.  Should we start a campaign pressuring Congress to pass legislation that requires the major studios to allow Shout! Factory to handle the release of all classic TV shows on DVD?  Just a thought.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

At last! Between this news and the news that season 2 of Marcus Welby is coming out it's been a great day of TV on DVD news for me. I would imagine that this show will be finished out by Shout-like me, many people have been waiting on season 7 and will pounce on it, generating good sales for the 8th season at least.

     There's nothing wrong with the picture quality. It was shot on 2-inch videotape and that's the way it looked when it aired. 40 year old videotaped shows weren't meant to be watched on 100 inch HD televisions. Watch it on a set that it was produced for and it looks fine. Put it on some modern monstrosity and that's what you get. I watch on my tube set and when that goes I'll find another similar set somewhere.

 

And your final comment is 100% accurate. The more intelligent the show, the worse its going to do. There are far more morons than there are bright people. That's why Gilligan's Island sells well and Murphy Brown doesn't.
    

Amazon updated its ALL IN THE FAMILY Season 7 listing this afternoon (6/24)... it's now taking pre-orders, and shows a release date of October 5, 2010.

I was one of those who never bought a season of All In The Family, but I would definitely pick up a Complete Series box set if one was released...

     Quote:

 

Well, in their original runs Gilligan only went 3, while AITF went 9 and Murphy Brown went 10.  And while I'd agree that GI was certainly more silly than anything else, I despised AITF and Murphy Brown and never considered either intellectually stimulating.  They both were too preachy for my tastes.  But to each his own.

 

Gary "never a Norman Lear fan" O.

 

Well, it sounds right, but the fact is that so many other shows even LESS popular than AITF somehow made it to DVD -- and not just odd shows from the '70s, but the ,60s and '50s as well! And with MORE seasons! How in the world can shows like MR. ED, WHAT'S HAPPENING?, FAMILY AFFAIR, or MARCUS WELBY  be out on DVD, but not ALL IN THE FAMILY? No, there is no definite rhyme or reason to this. 

 

Anyway -- I'm glad to hear that SEASON 7 will be available from SHOUT! FACTORY -- now, all I need is SEASON 8 after that  (the last one to feature the Stivics before they move) and I'm satisfied!

Edited by Joe Karlosi - 6/24/10 at 1:22pm

Since I never got any of Sony's original releases of AITF a box set of all 9 seasons and the spinoff may entice me to make the plunge. No one can be certain at this point if Shout only has the rights to the last 3 seasons or if at some point down the road they'll release a complete series box set so I don't want to throw money away on these only to get burned later. Can anyone tell me what was Maureen Stapleton's last season? I remember Edith's funeral episode quite well, but I was only about 10 or 11 years old when it aired

Yes, there is. It's almost entirely about sales and sales expectations. If a set hits the goal that the company sets, you'll probably see another set. So if Sony thinks What's Happening will sell 500* copies and it meets or exceeds that number, they continue to release it. If Sony wants All In The Family to sell 750* copies and they only sell 600*, they may (and apparently did) drop it because it didn't meet its goal. One show could have outsold another but if the bigger seller didn't meet the company's expectations, that could be the end of the road for it while the smaller seller is perceived as a success because it met their expectation.

 

* Completely made up numbers.

Jean Stapelton's final season was (IIRC) Season 2 of Archie Bunker's Place.

 

I have to wonder if Shout will get around to continuing ABP after AITF is completed?

 

As for a complete series set... who knows? That would be a weird split with 6 Sony seasons and 3 Shout seasons.

 

But, they did get the two seasons Universal released of Leave it to Beaver for their complete series set due next week, so who knows?

And, direct from TSOD, confirming Brent S's post and Amazon's page... but with box art!

 

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Family-Season-7/13974

 

October 5.

 

This one surely came out of nowhere. It looks like the Sony floodgates really did open when Shout announced The Facts of Life.

 

And yet, here is SHOUT! FACTORY, releasing ALL IN THE FAMILY (S7). So do the folks at SHOUT have smaller expectations than Sony, or something? The whole thing is ridiculous, studio workers setting some sort of arbitrary numbers for expectations and thinking they're being scientific or something. Since the earliest days of VHS I've always heard the "this title will not sell!" cry for TV and movies, yet just about everything we've ever wanted has gotten released anyway.  It's not an exact science. Never has been, never will be. I can't imagine FAMILY AFFAIR: THE COMPLETE SERIES doing whopping business either, yet it's being released.

Yes. It's probably not that Sony would lose money if they released All In The Family, it's that they don't see it as worth their time based on what they'll make from it but Shout does feel it'll be worth their time.

Quote:

Jean Stapleton starred in all 9 seasons of ALL IN THE FAMILY.

 

Ms. Stapleton guest-starred in only a handful of ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE episodes, during the first half of its 1st season; her final one was "The Shabbat Dinner."

 

The 1st episode of ABP's 2nd season was the 1-hour "Archie Alone" (a two-parter in syndication). It picks up one month after Edith's death, and deals with Archie & Stephanie coping with the loss.

Call me greedy, but I'm hoping not only AITF gets finished and we get ABP, but also hoping there's a chance we'll see The Jeffersons finished as well.

 

Seriously, anyone else want to dispute that Shout! is becoming a key player in classic TV now?

     Quote:

 

Heck no!  Shout was a serious player in Classic TV when the picked up Father Knows Best, The Patty Duke Show, and now the Complete Leave it to Beaver.  When that last series was announced Shout automatically went to the front of the class when it comes to Vintage TV on DVD.  Anything else after that is just extra icing.

 

Gary "not a Norman Lear fan at all, but I won't deduct points from Shout for releasing some of them" O. 

I like that the box art is consistent with previous seasons.

Also, I was in the store the other day, and I noticed that Sony repackaged the AITF season sets.  They changed the cardboard digipaks to slimline dvd plastic cases, so this will fit right in.

Shout has kept the box art consistent for all the shows they've picked up in mid stream.

 

...except Mystery Science Theater 3000.

 

But the classic sitcoms and dramas have all been consistent.

Here's to hoping that other abandoned Sony shows get picked up by Shout: Benson, One Day at a Time. Although, Shout has also acquired properties from other studuios, no? I wonder if they make a ton of money on these pickups would the studios do a 360 and try to win back control of the rights. Maybe they'll learn a lesson here: there IS still a market for TV shows

I think they are the key player, as Paramount seems to have slowed down a bit.

I am so excited to hear this news. I am in for the remaining 3 seasons and the continuation with "Archie Bunker's Place". From what I've read online, it would be a smart move for Shout to continue ABP since Season 2 is the infamous episode that covers the passing of Edith. Many have wanted to see it and hoped for a dvd release. Now, there is renewed hope.

 

As for "All In The Family", I have a hunch this might happen. The show still has fans out there and it was definitely a good addition to Shout's catalog. Thank you Shout!

Thank you Shout. This makes my day. I hope they can track down the uncensored print of "The Draft Dodger" and that 90 minute special from 1979, and I hope they preserve hour-long shows as single shows.

 

Did they get the rights to all the seasons or just 7-9?

Speaking of extras, I wonder if Shout's three releases will be the best chance we have to get all of the pilots on DVD?

 

So then like I originally said, it's not so much about "sales" after all!  It's just stupid stuff, indifference, feeling "too important" to bother, etc. ALL IN THE FAMILY is a much more classic and important award-winning TV show than many currently released DVDs of other lesser shows, thus it deserves to be out and the amount of people interested in it has got to be more than the extremely obscure THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW (which is coming out)! I am one of the very few people buying DVDs who actually recalls THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW (and just barely). And Archie Bunker is an iconic character in our culture.

You have to also realize that the exact same sales figures can mean a success to Shout! and a failure to Sony based on their profit points.  Somy has a huge overhead to help cover; Shout! a MUCH smaller one.  You can't look only at how many units sell or how much profit, but what does that profit mean to the studio.

 

If your employer said, "You know, we decided to give you just $10,000 for your year's work," would you really accept it and think to yourself, "Well, making $10,000 is better than making nothing."  Of course not.  You have a base expense amount you have to cover every year, and an amount of value for your work that together makes up what you deem worthwhile to accept for your time and efforts.  Same with the studios.  It's an awful lot of work to go through for a "mere" say $75,000 profit on a season for Sony, which probably wouldn't pay a fraction of their employee medical insurance but might pay it all and then some for Shout!, making it far more worthwhile for them than for Sony.