It sounds as if SEASON THREE or the next set is being negotiated as we speak. At least that is what someone stated awhile back. However, to me it seems odd that they rushed the first sets out so close together, now there is a long gap. Which would seem not a great sales tactic to me however, I do not market DVD product. Not a smart strategy to me. I am only on Disc one of set two. I do not have the free time to watch them frequently. I watch maybe two episodes a week and then miss a couple of weeks. Or sometimes I watch several together, it all depends what is happening at the time. It seems like when the series was first coming out someone earlier stated that SHOUT had the rights up until the B/W before it started "IN COLOR THE CONTINUING STORY OF PP".......... so not sure if that is true or not ?? I am not ready for part three yet. And I have season one of "DONNA REED" to watch. I have only seen five of those so far.
However, I am still entranced with the thought of that hour pilot sitting on the shelf somewhere under the title of "EDEN HILL" that was the working title.......that PAUL MONASH was using.
I was hoping when FOX released the film version they would include the pilot as an extra. Maybe, when the BLU RAY arrives they will as the pilot sounds as if it follows the film;
There was a scene when ALLISON meets ELLIOT the first time, (I watched the other night)
where the conversation ELLIOT asks if Mrs. Thornton still is teaching at PPHS. Did anyone else catch that. To, me that was the only other character from the book, besides, MATTHEW, CONSTANCE, ALLISON, ROSSI, RODNEY , AND BETTY that made it from the book into the series. I often wondered why they didn't call HANNAH AND STEVEN, ROBERTA AND TED CARTER ??
Funny, I started watching the series in sixth grade and had never read the book or saw the film.
Then, they released on a double bill in 66, both films due to the popularity of the series. I went with my sister to see both films. I was so taken with the films story lines, too this day I wondered why they scrapped most of the films story, and characters and went totally in a different direction. I can see the point with the CROSS family of course they could have changed that story line to something more suitable. And I did not understand why they made Norman Page become Norman Harrington. Now looking back that was the "MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY" and "MAYBERRY" era it was shocking enough to have the series on in the 60s. Then in HS I read "PP" and saw the film when they ran it on the CBS FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE in two parts. I wondered why the film was so totally different than the book. I guess it is all the perspective of things in that time. To this day "PP" is one of my favorite ten films Lana Turner, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kenned and Hope Lange deserved OSCARS, although Nolan was not nominated. I think Turner's performance on the stand rivals her role in "IMITATION OF LIFE" she should have been nominated for that film as well. Her performance on the stand shows the strain of her relationships with her daughter and Stompanato at the time. And her biography and Cheryl Crane's are great reads if you can locate them, well worth the time !!! There was also a great article about Grace and Lana several years ago in "VANITY FAIR". Both were separate articles, they might be available online at VANITYFAIR.COM. They were very insightful articles about Lana and the questions around Stompanatos death. And Grace's problems with Gillmanton and the book. I would recommend while you are waiting for set three, revisit both films they are well worth it if you haven't seen them in awhile.