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Donna Reed Show -- review??

post #1 of 48
10/14/08 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
Is there a review out yet for this Season One set? I'm anxious to find out if there are edited prints or substituted music.
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post #2 of 48
10/15/08 at 4:08am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Elena, Im anxious for a review as well .Perhaps next week reviews should appear.Substituted music wouldnt suprise me, but I at least hope they are not edited prints.
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post #3 of 48
10/15/08 at 10:35am
Thread Starter 

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Substituted music would bother me more, because it would change the mood of the show.
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post #4 of 48
10/15/08 at 11:54am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Elena, I havent seen an episode of this since 1988. So im actually depending on the dvd reviews to know about music substitutions.But I do understand, if youre more familiar with the show why it would bother you.
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post #5 of 48
10/15/08 at 12:51pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

I really do not remember too much about the music of this show.
But I really enjoyed discovering this show on nick and tv land I actually started out watching this show because I was such a fan of Donns Reed in the movie Its A wonderful Life. Once I started watching the episodes I really bacame a fan of the tv show as well.
I will be picking up not only season 1 but season 2 in 09.
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post #6 of 48
10/15/08 at 5:16pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

I don't think there's too much to worry about regarding music substitution. Other than minor substitutions that all the studios sometimes have to make for songs they can't get the rights to, it is only CBS/Paramount that is needlessly throwing out entire scores and hiring someone to rescore using synthesized bastardizations. The Donna Reed Show is being put out by Arts Alliance America. I doubt that they have the budget to rescore a series. I'd be more worried about the picture quality on these.
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post #7 of 48
10/15/08 at 7:11pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark-P
I don't think there's too much to worry about regarding music substitution. Other than minor substitutions that all the studios sometimes have to make for songs they can't get the rights to, it is only CBS/Paramount that is needlessly throwing out entire scores and hiring someone to rescore using synthesized bastardizations. The Donna Reed Show is being put out by Arts Alliance America. I doubt that they have the budget to rescore a series. I'd be more worried about the picture quality on these.


Amen, Mark-P. I couldn't agree more. I'd be shocked if AAA rescores the background music ala THE FUGITIVE and M3S. As you said, CBS/Paramount has been the only studio to employ this method, and I really don't think we need to worry about that. And yes, the picture quality would be the thing I think is more likely to be an issue. Having said that, I'm hopeful that we will get decent prints. Probably asking to much for pristine quality, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for decent prints (let's say something better than the ROUTE 66 Season 1 V. 1, which was not acceptable to me). Can't lie though that the disc count concerns me. Four dvds seems like at least one too few for 37 episodes, plus extras.

Gary "good comments, Mark" O.
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post #8 of 48
10/15/08 at 9:11pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary OS
...Can't lie though that the disc count concerns me. Four dvds seems like at least one too few for 37 episodes, plus extras.
Ooh, you know you're right! I never even thought of that. I hope at least one of those discs is a flipper. Otherwise it's going to be 9-9-9-10 and that's no good. 8 should be the max. Some of the Bewitched seasons managed to squeeze in 9 per disc and got away with it through careful authoring, but it's really tough to do.
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post #9 of 48
10/16/08 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary OS
Can't lie though that the disc count concerns me. Four dvds seems like at least one too few for 37 episodes, plus extras.
Do you think that means time compression or edited episodes?

I'll be honest -- there's very little that would stop me from picking up this set. This one is MY Holy Grail of shows on DVD. I loved all the actors in it.
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post #10 of 48
10/17/08 at 7:18pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

If I had to deal with edited shows, then so be it but music substitution or time compression and I'll be skipping this. It would be a shame because I REALLY want to have this.
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post #11 of 48
10/17/08 at 8:44pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elena S
Do you think that means time compression or edited episodes?

Elena, I have no inside info on this release so anything I say is totally my own opinions. Having said that, I'd be concerned with compression on these discs more than I would about edited episodes. Don't know why, but I do believe we are more likely to get uncut prints as opposed to syndicated prints. Now, the prints might not look as pristine as some other sets, but I'm hoping they come in at something better than the ROUTE 66 S1, V1 set - something that was beyond the pale bad in my book. But I think these will look better than those.

I also just don't think we will see major music subs, and I'd be really surprised to see any wholesale changes like we did with the CBS/P shows like THE FUGE or M3S. I just don't see that happening with this set.

But please remember, this is only my opinion and it's not based on any inside info.


Gary "hope it works out well for you - no one should have to deal with subpar releases when we are talking about their Holy Grail series" O.
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post #12 of 48
10/17/08 at 9:04pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Why post now about a review? If you're in a hurry, then check out Amazon.com. Don't expect any reviews until a few days before it's released. :lol:
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post #13 of 48
10/20/08 at 9:54am
Thread Starter 

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Talmadge
Why post now about a review? If you're in a hurry, then check out Amazon.com. Don't expect any reviews until a few days before it's released. :lol:
There are always reviews from critics who receive advance copies. Although not for this release, apparently.
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post #14 of 48
10/22/08 at 8:43pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Here is a review. It doesn't say if it is edited or if there are music subs.
The shows running time is 960 minutes. There were 37 Season 1 episodes. If the 960 minutes is correct, that would mean the shows average slightly under 26 minutes each which would suggest that they are uncut.
The reviewer gave picture and sound a 9 out of 10 rating, so he liked it.

EI > DVD > Donna Reed Show, The: Season 1 (1958)

Arts Alliance America posted a clip of the Season One Christmas Show with Buster Keaton and Donna on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqHRl1YPgJg&NR=1

and a short clip that I remember Nick at Night used to promote the show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeRMSknXS6M&feature=user
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post #15 of 48
10/23/08 at 1:59am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Well, other than raving about the picture quality, that review doesn't really give any useful information.
Mine just shipped from DeepDiscount yesterday, but I rarely receive anything in less than two weeks from when DD says they ship it, so it is unlikely I'll have it before the street date.

Netflix now has information about what is on the individual discs. It appears to be 10 episodes on each of the first three and 7 on the last. I hold out a teeny tiny hope that maybe those first three discs are DVD-14s with 7 episodes on one side and 3 on the flip side, but I really doubt it. I'm prepared to accept that they have managed to squeeze 10 episodes (4 hours and 15 minutes) onto each dual-layered disc. Oh well, hope the compression is not too bad!
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post #16 of 48
10/23/08 at 8:48am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Judging by how that reviewer is ranting and raving in the review,about the picture quality, there probably isnt any compression issues.This dvd set is definitely on my xmas list!!!
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post #17 of 48
10/23/08 at 8:59am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Ive also noticed something strange about that review, it mentions there are no bonus features !!!!!! Ive read on tv shows on dvd.com, that this dvd was going to have many of them????
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post #18 of 48
10/23/08 at 10:06am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Zannikos
Ive also noticed something strange about that review, it mentions there are no bonus features !!!!!! Ive read on tv shows on dvd.com, that this dvd was going to have many of them????

Per TVshowsondvd.com

The press release doesn't really say what special features will be on Season 1 DVD. Only that Season 1 and future seasons will have them.
37 episodes on 4 discs doesn't leave a lot of room.

The Donna Reed Show DVD news: Press Release for The Donna Reed Show - The Complete 1st Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com
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post #19 of 48
10/23/08 at 10:15am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Garysb, on that very same page you are linking to, if you click on all news for this show, then click on the news item dated 7/31/2008, you will indeed see that bonus features were announced.Now, if they got scrapped, thats a diffrent story.But they were indeed announced.
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post #20 of 48
10/23/08 at 8:36pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

There's a fresh review up over at DVD Talk Forum. Paul Mavis gives the release a rating of "Highly Recommended" and overall, I have to say, it looks promising... especially after the recent My Three Sons fiasco.
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post #21 of 48
10/23/08 at 8:49pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by pitchman
There's a fresh review up over at DVD Talk Forum. Paul Mavis gives the release a rating of "Highly Recommended" and overall, I have to say, it looks promising... especially after the recent My Three Sons fiasco.

Yep, I was just about to post the link myself. Mr. Mavis does yet another wonderful job reviewing another classic TV series. I'm all over this one. No hesitation at all, especially with Paul's review.


Gary "this is a series I look forward to revisiting after many years of not catching it on TV" O.
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post #22 of 48
10/23/08 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Well, it does say there are some compression issues and possibly replaced title graphics which may indicate syndicated versions. But he said that nothing noticeable is missing. Overall it sounds like it's in pretty good shape. He didn't mention background music or the possibility of it being replaced. My fear is that many people simply don't remember the original score and wouldn't know if it had been replaced with more generic music. Although I would be very upset if that happens, I will still buy the set because I love the show.

Thanks for the link to the review.
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post #23 of 48
10/23/08 at 9:52pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Zannikos
Garysb, on that very same page you are linking to, if you click on all news for this show, then click on the news item dated 7/31/2008, you will indeed see that bonus features were announced.Now, if they got scrapped, thats a diffrent story.But they were indeed announced.

I understand. The press release I linked to was from September while the bonus material post was from July and subject to change per the post. It appears per the DVD Talk review that the 1st season will included just a network promo for the show and still photos. unless the screener reviewed was incomplete, I would guess the other bonus material will come in later sets. The show is what is important and in these days of half season sets at full season prices, 37 episodes at a reasonable price is the real bonus. Shows that are apparently uncut and with little or no music replacement is another bonus.
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post #24 of 48
10/23/08 at 11:11pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Well, well. Mr. Mavis has confirmed exactly what I was afraid of. Cramming 10 episodes per disc has resulted in some compression issues. Watching these on a giant screen may prove a bit dissappointing for some of us. It seems such a shame to go to all the trouble to do a complete restoration and then skimp out by having the DVDs too compressed to fully benefit from the restoration. My set is en route and I will still enjoy it when it gets here, I'm just glad to have the show in its original form with its original music.
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post #25 of 48
10/24/08 at 2:16am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Hmm, from reading that dvd review on dvd talk , and looking at the screenshots , it seems to me the transfers are way better than the leave it to beaver sets!!! Amazing, when you consider the fact that they crammed ten episodes on most discs, while the beaver sets had a maximum of 7.It seems small studios are making better transfers than the big ones.
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post #26 of 48
10/24/08 at 9:25am

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

I seems to remember hearing that B&W compresses better than color. Even so, AAA is pushing the limit of a dual layer DVD.

After reading that review, I may actually buy this now.
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post #27 of 48
10/30/08 at 8:04pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Does anyone have this set yet? Waiting for some comments from the posters here.
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post #28 of 48
10/30/08 at 9:02pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Elena, I havent received mine yet.It shipped to me yesterday from amazon.But, over at sitcoms online.com , in their donna reed boards, there are nothing but positive comments about the set!!!!!!!
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post #29 of 48
10/30/08 at 9:46pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Paul Mavis said all but one episode run around 25:50, which sounds right to me.
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post #30 of 48
10/30/08 at 10:42pm

Re: Donna Reed Show -- review??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elena S
Does anyone have this set yet? Waiting for some comments from the posters here.
Yes Elena, I received mine. It is indeed 10 episodes per dual-layer disc on the first three and 7 epidsodes on the 4th. Extras on the 4th disc include a photo gallery, original promo comercial, and production notes.

The quality is not bad, but I would not concur with some of the reviews that gave really high marks. Viewed on a large screen the picture was just a bit blurry (compared to other 60s shows like Dick Van Dyke) and dirt and scratches were pretty noticible on some episodes. Run times of 25:50 are accurate and original music is intact. I'd say it's worth the investment if you can get it discounted. I paid $22.12 from DeepDiscount.
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