Shout! Factory TV Shows Thread

So far, the Shout Select titles that have had more than one release have had a span of about 8 or 9 months between releases.

 

They've stated on their boards that they like to let the titles "simmer" for a while to get the maximum amount of sales out of them before deciding on releasing the next volume.

 

So give it a couple more months, then start worrying. The Select titles usually aren't announced until around a month before release.

Dennis the Menace: Season 3 Tuesday, October 25th
Barner Miller: The Complete Series Tuesday, October 25th

I wish we knew what was going on with "Hazel". It's been almost 5 months since word got out that Shout was licensing the show. So far, it doesn't look good.

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I have to admit it is getting to be a little disconcerting.  The last thing I read from Brian Ward at Shout said not to worry because the set was being worked on (by another producer there), but it does seem like we should be hearing a little bit more than we are.

 

 

Gary "I don't think it's time to panic, but if we don't hear something within the next couple of months then I'd have to believe there's some sort of problem" O.

I don't trust Brian Ward. He changes his story once too many times, and he's a liar. I'll never forgive him for the Rhoda S1 deception. He said that they had done a great job in getting the uncut season 1 episodes, and that there would occasional tape problems, but none that would hurt our enjoyment so much.

Fast forward to when early pre-release reviews were published. It was the exact polar opposite of what he said. It also doesn't help that the uncut versions of ALL the S1 episodes do exist.

It also appears that he didn't understand that videotaped shows in the 70's are supposed to have 29.976 fps, not 23.976 fps, like that DVD producer who worked on AITF S7 thought it had. To quote Neil Brock, people are so used to seeing internet videotape, that they automatically assume that's the proper presentation for videotape.

The sad part, he doesn't wanna come clean and admit to all of his lies and contradictions.

Instead of assuming he was lying, why not assume he was mistaken? I don't think you have much to gain by antagonizing him and the company he works for.

Well then explain to me this: How could he not know that there was something wrong with the framerate on AITF S7 until enough people pointed out to him that there was? The fact that the episodes on the set looked more like they were shot in kinescope form should have been a tell-tale sign that something was wrong.

On AITF S7 alas, part of the problem was that there were too many critics out there too dense to realize that something wasn't right with the end product, because there are too many modern day critics so prejudiced against the look of videotaped material that if it has a "film" look as AITF S7 did with its kinescopey quality, they think that's somehow an improvement!

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Exactly.

 

 

Gary "calling someone a liar is strong language and in this case I think it was inappropriate and uncalled for" O.

Shout continues to hit home runs for me this year!  I've pre-order Season 3 of Dennis the Menace as a show of support for the company that's done a phenomenal job in releasing classic TV on DVD over the last several years.  And while other companies have been pulling back on their vintage releases, Shout continued to release series I'm very interested in.  A+ job from them this year!  Thank goodness for them and Timeless (and to a lesser extent, CBS) this year.  Now if only WBA would start releasing things I'm interested in.  So far they've struck out with me this year.

 

 

Gary "glad Shout has kinda fast-tracked Dennis this year" O.

Well Gary, we're a tale of two opposites because Shout not only struck out big time for me just now with their latest "Ironside" debacle, it's also earned them a suspension of sorts from me in that I'm not going to indulge in any more fence titles from them (Dennis The Menance, Hazel) for the sake of supporting the company. OTOH, Warner has hit the first two pitches out of the park in terms of what they decided to tackle in their first wave and while I'm not going to buy all of their titles right away (I won't be getting Man From Atlantis or Medical Center) they have more than supplanted Shout in terms of the studio where I can have some enthusiasm over upcoming titles. Shout alas, when I see a new title from them is starting to establish a trend (Barney Miller excepted) of "which will be the latest title they won't finish?"

I guess it all depends on which side of the fence your'e on here ;)

 

Shout gets my vote vs WBA every time as of this date.  Shout has released some of my best shows while WBA hasn't hit anything out of my park.

 

So for me, WBA hasn't come close to supplanting Shout ;).

That's true with regards to the fence. "The FBI" and "Girl From UNCLE" were my two remaining 60s Holy Grails, period. I'm ecstatic they went to those in the first wave rather than concentrate on the 50s titles first.

Shout's dithering with S6 of "Adam-12" hasn't sat well with me either because there should have been no issues to delay that.

Something that needs to be remembered when comparing Shout (or any small distributor) to the majors: Shout is not a studio and doesn't own any of their content. They can only release what the studios will license to them. Sure there have been a few missteps, but I'm much happier for their existence and what they've released so far (with justifiable criticism on occasion). Had Shout been M.I.A. on the TV-on-DVD scene, there would be some major holes in my collection. Without them, I'd most likely not have complete series sets of Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, The Larry Sanders Show, It's Garry Schandling's Show, and My So Called Life (at least not in such outstanding editions)—not to mention all the shows they've picked up after the studios abandoned them.

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We are definitely on the opposite ends of the spectrum in this one, Jack.  When I think about all the shows that Shout has released just this past year (Dennis, Marcus Welby, Mister Ed, LITB, & FKB - the last two being holy grails for me) and what's still to come (more Dennis and Hazel), and then compare that with what WBA has released - its just no contest in my eyes.  Warners just hasn't scratched any of my TV itches yet.  They do own a few things I'd like to see, but they've yet to release them.  And as for what's being finished and what isn't, I'd point out that we've not heard any more about Cheyenne up to this point either.  So let's not act like WBA is going to be the gold standard on not abandoning shows in mid-release.  They've done it before when the company was releasing pressed DVDs (Chips, for instance), so I don't think the "stalled series" argument is a good one in terms of a comparison between the two companies. 

 

I feel the exact same way, Jeff. 

 

 

Right, Matt.  That's always been my argument as well.  Warners owns all this stuff and they could release whatever they want to so there's no way they get the props that Shout does in my book on that point alone.  And like you, my collection would have some serious holes but for Shout Factory.  Things like Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, Mister Ed, McHale's Navy, That Girl, Patty Duke Show, Ozzie & Harriet, The Goldbergs, Dragnet, Adam 12, Tales of the Gold Monkey, and a great Christmas release that included a Yuletide episode from Window on Main Street give Shout the easy win in my book.

 

 

Gary "WBA needs to release shows like Dr. Kildare and Tarzan (Ron Ely)  if they are to gain any points with me" O.

I think Gary, my complaints with Shout have a lot to do with the fact that there are things they have done that relate not to matters beyond their control but things in their control. Releasing cut episodes of certain titles ultimately falls on their shoulders, not the studio because they were too lazy to check and confirm beforehand. The AITF S7 encoding problem was also their fault entirely. But the "Ironside" situation is the thing that represents worse conduct than anything I've seen done by a major studio when it comes to raising expectations and then twice reversing course with explanations that blatantly contradict information that earlier came out from official sources. And too often, it does frustrate me when there's a tendency to give them a free pass for these matters (for instance if you're a fan of "Marcus Welby" don't you find it a little distressing that they weren't willing to give S3 a chance through Select if the first two seasons sold *retail* weren't doing a good enough job? The purpose of Select, I was told, was to give titles selling less well at retail another chance but Welby didn't even get that consideration!)

I have bought many of their titles that do interest me and I have nothing but praise for them on that point, but my view is that their road has had more than their share of bumps along the way that IMO makes it impossible for me to rate them on a higher plane from what other studios that are doing a fine job *at this moment* are doing. Are they better than Universal and Fox? Unquestionably. And I don't hold them responsible for Fox not making titles available any longer. But if I were to compared them alongside Timeless and Warner I wouldn't rate them ahead of either at this point. Equal perhaps, but ahead no. The good they've done also has its share of the bad too and the "Ironside" situation is a reminder of the bad they are capable of. So far, Warner hasn't dropped the ball in terms of anything with their TV releases this year that I can find fault with, and to their credit they don't make us wait three months from the time an announcement is made which is one of the most refreshing developments I have ever seen from *any* company.

I can't believe that we could have three releases of Dennis The Menace before we finally got S6 of "Adam-12" which from all accounts has been a good seller. If it turns out the delay was not the result of trying to secure some bonus content, then I'll be more at a loss to understand why we had to wait in excess of 16 months for S6.

I've never been one to say Shout (or any studio) hasn't blown it from time to time.  They all have, including WBA according to reviews for their Falcon Crest release (as one example).  At the end of the day, as far as you and I are concerned, I don't think there's any doubt that both our views are skewed by what each company have released.  Several of my holy grails have been released by Shout, while WBA has done the same for you.  And on the reverse side I've seen nothing that really excites me from WBA, other than their Christmas release last year and even then they inexplicably passed over the most logical choice for a Dr. Kildare holiday episode.  So I've got some real issues with them in terms of potential censorship.  I can't prove it, but until they release that episode I'll always believe whoever made that decision to exclude the 1st Season Kildare episode did so out of bias.  But regardless, we are butting heads on this issue, primarily, because of what each company has or hasn't released. 

 

 

Gary "the pros far outweigh the cons, in my book, when talking about Shout Factory" O.

Well said, Gary.  Just my take but some seem to feel that Shout makes more mistakes than some of the other studios.   They've all made mistakes from what I've seen in this hobby.

 

As Matt said earlier, without Shout, I'd have missed out on a few of my grail shows.  So far, I can't make that statement about WBA.   Perhaps that will change in the future though.

I take back my earlier criticism about Shout!

For me, the only unfortunate thing I can say about them, is that they can't make their relationship with the hands down most notorious Home Video distributor of all time, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment seem to work. But to be fair, they're not the only ones. Fox has played hardball with just about every third party they've dealt with. It is my considered opinion that if Fox keeps up this weird behavior, their home video division is not gonna be around much longer. Their older shows don't make money by sitting in the vaults. Somehow, they don't seem to understand that they can't expect all of their shows, regardless of how successful they are on DVD, to have the same sales numbers as Seinfeld and Friends.

I was able to see some of WBA's Falcon Crest from a friend's set, and the transfers are every bit as bad as I had heard. Maybe WB listened to the complaints, which is why their recent Archive releases of Man From Atlantis and Medical Center were remastered from film elements (rather than using existing/outdated video masters). Since the WBA releases are premium-priced compared to standard retail ones, perhaps they're now investing more in the mastering process. I'd be willing to pay a bit more knowing the transfers are going to be new. With all the cost-cutting (more-eps-per-disc; skimpy packaging) in the industry these days to satisfy retailers' demands and cost-conscious consumers, there's no way most of these shows would make it as standard retail releases in the $30-or-less range—especially if they have incurred high remastering costs. That and the likelihood that Best Buy/Walmart/Target would not support them at the retail level. Assuming that MOD discs are truly reliable in the long run, I'm hoping more studios start releasing their older/obscure/cult/short-lived shows via MOD.

Yes, I looked at the IMDB episode list, and although it lacked synopses, the title of the first season Kildare Christmas episode "Season to be Jolly" was the most Christmasy. What happens in that episode?

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Ray, the episode is one of the most profoundly spiritual episodes I've ever seen on network TV.  Using one synopsis I found online, and adding a bit to it, here's the gist of the episode in a spoiler wrap for those who haven't seen it and might not want to be spoiled as to a key revelation made midway through the episode:

 

"A drunken sidewalk Santa (played superbly by Dan O'Herlihy) is brought into the hospital with serious health issues. 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

There's also a newspaper photographer looking for a nice Christmas baby story for his paper, as well as an ongoing story about when Dr. Gillespie will leave the hospital to catch a flight to Oregon for Christmas with his sister."

 

It's a great Christmas episode (one of my all-time favorites) and I really believe Warners skipped it because it was so overtly religious in its tone.  The final 10 or so minutes of the episode show the nurses walking through the hallways, holding candles, as they sing Christmas Carols like "Silent Night", "Joy to the World" and other religious Christmas songs (no secular ones like "Here Comes Santa Claus" or "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" are heard - only religious ones).  At another point a small group of children are caroling and bringing small manger scenes to hospital rooms and are also singing religious Christmas songs.  Again, its one of the most overtly religious episodes I've ever seen portrayed on network TV and I find it fascinating and very well done.  Anyhow, that's why I'm sure it was passed over for the more humdrum 4th Season Kildare episode.

 

 

Gary "don't expect the company to ever admit to that, but I'm confident censoring of some measure went on with that one" O.

Gary, it does sound like a very good episode. That's too bad they left it off. Are there enough unreleased Warner Christmas episodes for another volume this year (or next)? Perhaps we could get them to include it there.

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I'm sure there are enough Warner shows with Christmas episodes so that a second Christmas volume could be released this year.  I've thought about trying to contact them myself with that very suggestion.  I know 77 Sunset Strip has one, as did The F.B.I.  And Alice had several holiday eps, so they could include another one or two from that show if they had to.  I'm sure there are plenty of others.

 

Gary "at this point that Kildare episode is about as high on my Holy Grail list as anything - I've got a beat up, cut copy off TV but it's not the same as having a cleaned up, complete copy" O.