A&E/New Video and the ITC series (1 Viewer)

[Bob Hug]

Does anyone know the status of the license that A&E/New Video has/had with the various ITC series? It was reported in several threads a while back that the license was going to expire. Has that occured and, if so, who has the new Region 1 license?

There have been a few ITC series like "Jason King" (Image Entertainment) and "The Invisible Man" (Dark Sky/MPI) that have received Region 1 releases independent of A&E/New Video.

 

[Lord Dalek]

It appears Granada has ended their relationship with A&E.

 

[Bob Hug]

Is there any news as to where the licensing arrangement for Region 1 releases might be headed, i.e, will it be a broad arrangement as it was with A&E, or will it be done on a title-by-title basis?

 

[Charles H]

Back in the early days of DVD, A&E brought out season 1 of Blake Edwards' terrific PETER GUNN. Does anyone know if they still own the rights?

 

[Bob Hug]

Looks like Liberation Entertainment has the rights, but whether they would issue "Peter Gunn" on their own or would license it to another entity is questionable. One would think that if "Peter Gunn" had done well for A&E, we would have seen more beyond the 32 episodes that they issued, which wasn't even a complete season. But that hasn't happened, at least in Region 1 land.

Liberation Entertainment US | Drama | Peter Gunn

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Thanks much for that link, Bob.

Hey, looks like Liberation Entertainment has world DVD rights to DECOY, starring Beverly Garland (and judging from the video preview provided at its page in the "Drama" section of the website, the source material looks great)! I wonder if that might mean we'll see a R1 release in the near future.

 

[Bob Hug]

Realistically, I'd be surprised if we saw an official R1 release of "Decoy," Peter. Although, it was very much a groundbreaking series (maybe the second dramatic television show after Gail Davis' "Annie Oakley" to feature a female lead in Beverly Garland), it only lasted a single season (39 episodes) and was syndicated. When you combine that with a number of the series' public domain episodes (17 of the 39 episodes) that have been released on various collections, I think that this would be a long shot for an official release, though I'd pre-order it upon announcement. Garland is terrific in it and I like the late 1950s on-location filming in New York City, even before "Naked City." Here's what's out there now:

Decoy

 

[Bert Greene]

By the way, Bob, thanks for the tip (from a thread about a month ago) about HamiltonBook selling the A&E "Champions" set for $19.99. I took advantage of it, and I've been enjoying the set very much. Had never seen the series before, and I find it to be great fun. Really appreciate your contributions to these boards, keeping us informed of so much release info and deals!

 

[Bob Hug]

Bert, I'm glad that you got in on "The Champions" deal as HamiltonBook just sold out the title over the last day or two, though Oldies.com still has it for $5.00 more at $24.95, still a good deal when you consider that DeepDiscount is selling it currently for $62.19!

In fact, it's "The Champions" that prompted me to start this thread. Since A&E won't finish this series here in the US and Canada, I'm wondering whether or not some other company might get the license to release the remaining 15 episodes. Incidentally, I had seen the series as a child, but my only memories were of the opening title "fountain" sequence and two of the three leads, Stuart Damon and the lovely Alexandra Bastedo (with apologies to William Gaunt). Viewing the series 40 years later, this is a nicely produced thriller/sci-fi series and while A&E is typically chintzy on the extras, the transfers are solid.

 

[DeWilson]

I've noticed alot of the A&E/NEW VIDEO ITC Stuff has been turning up lately at discount prices - might be a good time to pick up some of it!

 

[RickER]

If anyone sees a good deal on the 2nd half of UFO, let me know. I already own the first half. I would re-buy the whole thing for a GREAT price too!
I was tempted by the new slim case of The Prisoner, but not at $70...not for new packaging. I do have one of the defective second discs that could stand an upgrade, but once again, not for $70. The Chimes of Big Ben has a muffled audio, that was later corrected.

 

[Bob Hug]

Your wish is my command; two possibilities for you . . . .

UFO - Set 2 (4-DVD) - Television on DVD (1970) - A&E Home Video : OLDIES.com

or

HamiltonBook.com - New Books at Bargain Prices! - UFO, SET 2: Head Back to the Future with S.H.A.D.O.

 

[RickER]

Thanks Bob! Never ordered from Oldies.com but at $22 and some change, how can i go wrong!

 

[Bob Hug]

Rick, Oldies.com and HamiltonBook.com are both good companies from which I've ordered numerous times. Oldies can be a little slow sometimes on the standard shipping but, if you're not in a rush, they're fine. Also, if your order is greater than $50, shipping is free. Enjoy!

 

[Ivan G]

Yeah, so far they've only released Seasons One and Two on Region 2.

A&E Video did have a big honkin' sale on a lot of the ITC stuff back in January. That's how I managed to fill out the rest of my Avengers collection.

 

[Bob Hug]

Ivan, I'm always amazed when vintage/classic shows that were originally produced for the U.S. market like "Peter Gunn" and "Bonanza" end up getting better treatment on DVD overseas than they do here. If I recall correctly, "Bonanza" has something like 6 or 7 seasons released in Germany and all we have here is an 8-episode "best of" and a slew of the same 31 season 1 & 2 episodes that are available on public domain releases of wildly varying quality. I suppose that it's always possible that we might see more Region 1 "Peter Gunn," but I seriously doubt it as the A&E sets have been around for about five years or so.

 

[Doug^Ch]

I recently discovered Peter Gunn, and bought both A&E sets from an eBay vendor for almost nothing brand new. This show was fantastic, and I can't for the life of me understand why the rest of the series was not brought out. The market for these quality classic shows must really be small and getting smaller.

 

[Bob Hug]

There are most assuredly a variety of reasons why "Peter Gunn" didn't get past the first season in the U.S., but with classic/vintage TV-on-DVD, for me it always comes back to a simple question . . . . . when's the last time, if ever, you saw an advertisement for a release like "Peter Gunn?" There's very possibly a significant number of potential purchasers for older shows but, unless you're internet savvy, the likelihood of one even knowing of these shows' existence on DVD is pretty minimal. I know this because my own family members are consistently surprised when I tell them that such and such a series is available on DVD. The other major issue for older shows is simply lack of shelf space at brick and mortar stores, especially if a show is being released by an independent company that doesn't carry the clout of a Paramount. Borders b&m's aren't even carrying S'more Entertainment's "Make Room for Daddy" season 6 . . . . . so "out of sight, out of mind."

 

[Doug^Ch]

I guess these companies are fighting a truly uphill battle then. It is really sad that Borders is not even carrying "Make Room for Daddy" season 6. This is another show that I had not seen before, and once again it is better than 95% of the junk on TV today. The guest stars are unbelievable, and the show is laugh out loud funny many times. It does not bode well for S'more Entertainment putting out the rest of this great series if no B&M stores are willing to carry it.

 

[Bob Hug]

Doug, some brick & mortar stores do carry "Make Room for Daddy." It's just that you won't have any luck if you try to find it at a Borders store. Most of us here at HTF buy a good many of our sets online, but there's a segment of the population who don't purchase online at all but might readily buy a show like "Make Room for Daddy" if, first, they knew about such a release and, second, could actually find it at their local store.