F.B.I. from WBA - Page 3

Not quite. Hunter did a few more guest shots after that, including another FBI in 1968. But speaking of Hunter, wouldn't it be great if Warner BOD decided to release his only regular TV series, Temple Houston, a very rare show. They put out the pilot episode a while back.

As for The New Breed, I actually watched a few of them several weeks ago and its not a bad show. Not counting The Untouchables, which Quinn Martin wasn't involved with for very long, it is really his first series. Actually a pretty good show but unfortunately I just can't see CBS/Paramount doing anything with it. It has never re-aired since going off ABC. Even if they got into the BOD business, I couldn't see them going to the expense of a 35mm transfer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Brock 

Not quite. Hunter did a few more guest shots after that, including another FBI in 1968. But speaking of Hunter, wouldn't it be great if Warner BOD decided to release his only regular TV series, Temple Houston, a very rare show. They put out the pilot episode a while back.

 

As for The New Breed, I actually watched a few of them several weeks ago and its not a bad show. Not counting The Untouchables, which Quinn Martin wasn't involved with for very long, it is really his first series. Actually a pretty good show but unfortunately I just can't see CBS/Paramount doing anything with it. It has never re-aired since going off ABC. Even if they got into the BOD business, I couldn't see them going to the expense of a 35mm transfer.

Thanks Danny, I appreciate the info...I'd like to see Temple Houston as well, have no memories of it at all, though...I have only a few episodes of The New Breed sourced from 16 mm, a very good one with Charles Bronson and Keenan Wynn and another with Peter Fonda, so my own evidence on hand is limited, but I can dream of a dvd release somehow allthough I appreciate your informed and realistic assessment of that not being likely at all...I have dim memories of New Breed having changed up it's intro and title sequence at sometime during it's only season, but I may be mistaken about that...another couple of series I'd hope to see are Bus Stop (an important show at the time) and It's a Man's World....and Dick Powell Theater...Mr. Novak and Channing as well, both of whom represent a somewhat important pop culture reflection of sociological changes then underway in American youth culture and authority reaction to that as well...fascinating to me as I indulge myself in these vintage TV artifacts...
 

After going off topic with my previous post, I'd like to ask The FBI fans if the show was shot frequently on location?...I imagine it's production values to be similar to The Fugitive and The Invaders, which would be good...I remember a lot of joking back then about it depicting some kind of alternate reality where only Ford motor cars exist, Ha, Ha...I am intrigued by the guest stars listed here for volume 1, a big incentive for me to buy at least season 1.

No, there wasn't too much "location" if by that you mean traveling to different states where the action was set.      Exterior location work was pretty much the usual California exterior locations standing in for whatever it was supposed to be and we had the usual backlot places for the small towns that they'd have to go to.     Generally the only time Zimbalist ever traveled to Washington was to shoot the end credits sequence which would show him getting into the new Ford and driving it around Washington in front of the Capitol.    But if you mean was it not studio bound, then yes I would say the action at least always took place appropriately out of doors where necessary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack P 

No, there wasn't too much "location" if by that you mean traveling to different states where the action was set.      Exterior location work was pretty much the usual California exterior locations standing in for whatever it was supposed to be and we had the usual backlot places for the small towns that they'd have to go to.     Generally the only time Zimbalist ever traveled to Washington was to shoot the end credits sequence which would show him getting into the new Ford and driving it around Washington in front of the Capitol.    But if you mean was it not studio bound, then yes I would say the action at least always took place appropriately out of doors where necessary.

Thanks Jack, that's exactly what I hoped for and expected based on my other QM shows...I'm definitely getting the first season on release, I allready have Cheyenne season 2 among other Warner Archive releases,  and am happy with it.
 

This is currently $35.95 with free shipping at Warner Archive (sales tax added).  I thought about holding out for a better price but my curiosity has gotten the best of me, as a fan of Quinn Martin shows and crime shows of that era in general...

I'll be a bit surprised if the FBI release goes through smoothly, without any technical issues. The Warner Archives hasn't had a good track record when it comes to releasing TV shows from a technical standpoint. Case in point: Night Court Season 4. They don't even have that one on the site any more.

A question for Jack, or someone else familiar with the show.  The running time listed at WBA says this set clocks in at 704 minutes.  Would that be the right running time for 16 hour long episodes from this era?  Seems a bit short for an hour long show done in the 60's.  Yes?  No?

Gary "that only works out to 44 minutes per episode - surely that's not correct" O.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashgear 

Thanks Danny, I appreciate the info...I'd like to see Temple Houston as well, have no memories of it at all, though...I have only a few episodes of The New Breed sourced from 16 mm, a very good one with Charles Bronson and Keenan Wynn and another with Peter Fonda, so my own evidence on hand is limited, but I can dream of a dvd release somehow allthough I appreciate your informed and realistic assessment of that not being likely at all...I have dim memories of New Breed having changed up it's intro and title sequence at sometime during it's only season, but I may be mistaken about that...another couple of series I'd hope to see are Bus Stop (an important show at the time) and It's a Man's World....and Dick Powell Theater...Mr. Novak and Channing as well, both of whom represent a somewhat important pop culture reflection of sociological changes then underway in American youth culture and authority reaction to that as well...fascinating to me as I indulge myself in these vintage TV artifacts...
 

 

     Your taste in shows marks you as quite astute in great television drama. Dick Powell, Mr. Novak and Channing are all very good shows and Bus Stop is excellent. Having had an opportunity to view all 26 shows within the last couple of years, I can tell you it is one of the great lost shows. Almost every episode is great. It's A Man's World I've never really gotten around to watching. Just not high on my list but I will get around to it at some point. I'm not familiar with Temple Houston either and the write-ups don't make it sound that great but I would give it a shot if Warner ever does anything with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary OS 

A question for Jack, or someone else familiar with the show.  The running time listed at WBA says this set clocks in at 704 minutes.  Would that be the right running time for 16 hour long episodes from this era?  Seems a bit short for an hour long show done in the 60's.  Yes?  No?

 

 

Gary "that only works out to 44 minutes per episode - surely that's not correct" O.

No, that would not be correct and I suspect it's just a miscalculation.    I remember this thing happening before on the Ellery Queen release where our initial calculations didn't factor to what it should be and it turned out E1 wasn't on the ball length wise.     I'm not worried about that to be honest because Warner has been using uncut prints in the defunct AOLIn2TV service which is where I first discovered the show so the notion that they don't have the right masters for this wouldn't be credible.

Finances pending, I may pick this one up for my birthday in June.  I always liked The F.B.I. and used to watch it on Sunday evenings whenever I did not have to be in church. 

Gee, I wonder if anyone else has been curious about the run time for this set?  I guess we'll just have to see when it's released.

Edit to remove unneccessary cranky comment.

      Quote:

Originally Posted by ToddR2 

Gee, I wonder if anyone else has been curious about the run time for this set?  I guess we'll just have to see when it's released, since I've set an as-yet unanswered e-mail to tvshowsondvd.com. Apparently, my e-mails/posts aren't important. Maybe if Gary e-mails them, HE'LL get a response. Best of luck, G.

Todd, one thing I can guarantee you of.  I'm not on Dave or Gord's Christmas card list.  Of the few times I've emailed them with info I've rarely ever either heard back from them or had my name mentioned in a write up.  Not that I really care one way or the other.  But I'm telling you I'm definitely not the guy that will get any info from them because I email them.  I'm just not that well-respected over there.  So sorry, but I can't help you out with TVShowsonDVD.

Gary "very down tonight, going to bed now" O.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToddR2 

Gee, I wonder if anyone else has been curious about the run time for this set?  I guess we'll just have to see when it's released, since I've set an as-yet unanswered e-mail to tvshowsondvd.com. Apparently, my e-mails/posts aren't important. Maybe if Gary e-mails them, HE'LL get a response. Best of luck, G.

Todd, I would say persevere with sending them emails, as usually they reply. Bear in mind they'll treat you as you would treat them. But I would also say, that don't be surprised if they don't reply back to you. Maybe they get deluged with emails?

Good to see The FBI being released on DVD btw.

Sorry to all, that comment was out of line. Perhaps they have tried to contact WB and haven't received any info from them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToddR2 

Sorry to all, that comment was out of line. Perhaps they have tried to contact WB and haven't received any info from them.

No need to apologise. It's understandable when you have a question about a DVD set you want to ask.

I want to clarify something I said last night since this thread got bumped again today.  I was tired and feeling down when I posted a response to Todd.  I did NOT mean to indicate that the guys at TVShowsonDVD aren't nice guys.  They are and they've provided a great service for all of us for many years now.  I appreciate them and I'm sure all of you here do as well.  What I was trying to say to Todd is that I don't have a special relationship with either gentleman and there would be no reason they'd respond to me any quicker than another poster here.  That's all I was saying.  I'm not special friends with them so asking me to email them in the hopes it might get their attention better than someone else isn't the case.  Hope that clarifies the issue.

I'm hoping and assuming Jack is correct about the running time just being a mistake by the individual in charge of posting the specs on the WB site.  Had it been an Amazon listing I'd not even have thought twice about it because we know from past experience that when shows get a "place holder" (for lack of a better word) at Amazon it can often have only an estimated running time.  But considering this was Warner's own site I was more wary of the running time mentioned in the description.  I thought I read that another TV show offering from the Archives (Falcon Crest) did make use of syndicated prints.  But hopefully that running time listed for The F.B.I. is just a mistake. 

Gary "take care, everyone" O.

Let's hope that they're giving us episodes from network prints not those for the syndication market, which are usually cut.

There was some news a few days ago of their animated show Swat Katz pulled from its archive release due to being edited-down versions, so hopefully they're taking the same care that's not the case here. 

I have just uploaded to YouTube the complete unedited original Ford opening to the second season episode: Flight Plan. Hope they put an unedited opening on the forthcoming DVD. Here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XdhUfbN9C0 

     Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartfanning 

I have just uploaded to YouTube the complete unedited original Ford opening to the second season episode: Flight Plan. Hope they put an unedited opening on the forthcoming DVD. Here's the link.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XdhUfbN9C0 

Very nice!  Thank you for sharing that, Stuart. 

Gary "love watching those vintage openings/commercials" O.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary OS 

     Quote:

Very nice!  Thank you for sharing that, Stuart. 

 

 

Gary "love watching those vintage openings/commercials" O.

Here's the unedited close for that same episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZBBcxtPKv8 
 

Me again with some boring trivia. The F.B.I. was shown on Sunday nights throughout it's nine season run on ABC. For the first eight seasons it was shown from 8 pm - 9 pm. The final ninth season saw the show moved back half an hour, being shown from 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm. The show finished outside the Top 30 for it's first season.

The F.B.I.'s competition at the start of the 1965-66 season was:

8 pm - 8.30 pm:

NBC: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour (second half hour) (finished joint 17th for the season (with a 23.2 rating) with The Ed Sullivan Show)

8.30 pm - 9 pm:

NBC: Branded

8 pm - 9 pm:

CBS: The Ed Sullivan Show (finished joint 17th for the season (with a 23.2 rating) with Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour).

A bit surprised that no one has yet to comment on the sample clip from the show posted on TVShowsonDVD.com.

I thought it looked absolutely brilliant.

Yes, the quality was brilliant.     I'm really looking forward to this!

My copy arrived today via Priority Mail and this marks one of the greatest days I've had as a TV on DVD enthusiast to have this Grail title out at last!     Watched the brilliant first episode, "The Monster" with Jeffrey Hunter as the psycho killer and also saw those wonderful humanized touches to the character of Lewis Erskine that were only present in these first few episodes.

Those who were concerned with the running times of the episodes will be glad to know that this first episode clocked in at 50:19 and is totally UNCUT!!!  (addendum-No, the sponsor plug for Ford is not there, I mean the episode content is uncut)

Good to hear Jack. I have a few other titles ahead of everything else on my need to purchase list right now, but later on I might indulge on a season. I managed to pick up both parts of Cheyenne season 2 not too long ago during a sale. Maybe after everything settles down a bit it might go on sale as well.

Hi Jack - congrats on getting your copy so soon and thanks for posting your initial thoughts.  While I would have preferred this series have gotten a pressed retail release (it deserves a first class presentation) I'm willing to keep an open mind especially given the initial reports of high quality and uncut episodes.  It sounds like this release will please a lot of the FBI fans.

I look forward to reading thoughts and observations as you work your way through S1V1.  This release could be a barometer of not only future FBI releases but other classic series released by WA as well.

Episode #2 "Image In A Cracked Mirror" with Jack Klugman as a bank employee who embezzles $100,000 and leaves town with his young son for Mexico is another outstanding episode that again demonstrates how these very early episodes are more "Naked City" in contrast to the more "Dragnet" approach the show would take on late in the season and from Season 2 onward.     While the show would still be entertaining, it really was at its creative peak in this early period in terms of stories, music (Bronislau Kaper, who had a rich career of big screen credits to his name like the Brando version of "Mutiny On The Bounty" did the show's theme and also the full scores for these early episodes) and acting (only in this period would Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. get to show some broad range and make Lewis Erskine a three-dimensional human being).

Now on Episode #3, "A Mouthful Of Dust" with Alejandro Rey and Robert Blake.    Picture quality looks a bit better on this episode than the first two.   "Cracked Mirror" had a couple dirt specks in spots.    Certainly as good quality as I remember when I saw these on AOL Download a few years ago and a definite upgrade over the cable reruns that make up the boot sets.

Quality again looks great on episode #4 "Slow March Up A Steep Hill".