Cosby Show Re-releases (1 Viewer)

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

I have not seen this mentioned so I thought I would post it for those who are interested in this popular 80s sitcom.

Mill Creek Entertainment will be re-releasing The Cosby Show on DVD starting next year. S1 and S2 will be released on January 21. However, it appears that season 1 will contain edited episodes and not the original uncut prints. actual run time for S1 with the uncut episodes is 575mins., Mill Creek's release is listed at 546mins.

I am disappointed and a bit stunned that they will not be releasinsg the original uncut episodes considering the uproar that resulted from the original release of S1 which also contained syndication prints. The same thing was done with Roseanne but when Mill Creek re-released it last year, S1 did contain the original episodes- why the heck can't they do the same for this show?! If they can release S2 with the original versions then why not S1 as well?!?

I urge everyone interested in these releases to contact Mill Creek and voice your displeasure with edited episodes and urge them to acquire and release the original uncut versions.

http://www.millcreekent.com/products/packs/tv-packs/the-cosby-show-season-1.html
http://www.millcreekent.com/products/packs/tv-packs/the-cosby-show-season-2.html

 

[Radioman970]

I need to do some investigation here... I might need to rebuy some Roseanne. I only have the original releases from that not the MC.

I don't have any Cosby Show but since they should be really cheap, I'll grab those finally. Good deal. Hopefully they'll fix them though. I'll be waiting on a full series release on that.

 

[derosa]

However, it appears that season 1 will contain edited episodes and not the original uncut prints.

Sadly, it appears Season 1 will again be released with edited episodes. I noticed that on the
tvshowsondvd.com press release, it specifically mentions that Season Two is
"25 of the original uncut network episodes!" But it doesn't say that about Season 1.

 

[Mark Y]

Any definitive word from anyone in the know, or is this just based on a running time given in a press release?

If the latter, they might (hopefully) be wrong...

 

[Vahan_Nisanain]

Just get the 25th anniversary collection.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Any definitive word from anyone in the know, or is this just based on a running time given in a press release?

If the latter, they might (hopefully) be wrong...

The running time I mentioned above came directly from the Mill Creek Entertainment website not from a press release. I have received a reply from Mill Creek where they stated that the run time was incorrect, the correct one is 9hr. 46min. which means that the release will include original uncut episodes. Co-incidentally the Season 1 listing on their site has now been updated with the run time they mentioned to me.

I am not sure what to think, I hope this was indeed just a misprint in their listing but I am still a bit weary. I guess there is nothing to do now but wait and see what the release actually contains.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

I noticed from the listing that both S1 & S2 will be 2-disc releases which means they are cramming 12 episodes onto each disc- unbelievable?! I hope the video quality is not terrible, these should have been 3-discs sets IMO but I guess you get what you pay for?

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Just get the 25th anniversary collection.

You mean the one that's OOP and generally going for more than most would want to pay? (Upwards of $130, at present time... and tha's on Amazon. E-Bay prices are closer to $200, if they ave a copy available).

It's actually easier and cheaper to put the series together with the single sets. Amazon is shipping the corrected Millennium Entertainment version if you buy new from them (at least they were when I put a run together earlier this year), and IIRC, Wal-Mart is also selling it.

 

[derosa]

Any definitive word from anyone in the know, or is this just based on a running time given in a press release?

Update on tvshowsondvd today, mill creek confirmed that season 1 will also be uncut!

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

I recently purchased S1 & 2 (separate season sets) and have started going through them and wanted to give my thoughts on the releases. I have not been able to find any review online of these sets not even Sitcoms Online which has reviewed other Mill Creek releases?!

First, I have not seen the original releases as they were not released here in Canada for some reason so my review will be a standalone one for the MIll Creek releases not a comparison between the two.

Packaging/Cover art- A standard DVD case with a disc on each side, however I noticed that the case is of cheaper quaity than cases that Mill Creek has used on other releases (3rd Rock from the Sun, Highway to Heaven). The Cover art of each season features a nice picture of the cast, a step up from the cover art of the original releases IMO which were dull and quite plain. Each cast photo appears to be from the relevant season, the back cover features screenshot photos from various episodes. S1 discs have a picture of Cliff & Claire (same for both discs) and the S2 discs have a picture of Bill Cosby.

Menu Design- The menus are very poor IMO, the main menu features the same photo that is on the cover and 'play all' & 'episode selection' options. The episode selection menu is exactly the same, it features the same photo and the list of episodes that are on the disc. Very disappointed in these bland, bare bones menu screens, it appears they did not put any effort into this at all. I don't understand why they don't have the theme song playing in the background on the main menu. In comparison, S1 of 3rd Rock from the Sun (another Carsey Werner series released by Mill Creek) featured a more animated main menu with the show logo in the corner and graphics of various planets with some actually moving around.

Video/Audio Quality- I am not an expert on these matters and as such do not know all the requisite technical terms for sound and video so I will just give my views in plain language. The video (as expected) is not great, I am noticing some pixelation and what I believe are referred to as digital artifacts which is most likley due to the compression. The color is fine but there is some fuzziness to the picture that is quite noticable at times. I am still very ticked off that they crammed everything into 2 discs when all the other Carsey Werner releases featured 3 disc sets. It's decent and watchable but not good enough IMO based on the popularity of this show and the quality of other sitcom releases from Mill Creek. The audio is very low, I had to turn the volume way up in order to be able to hear what is being said. The original release featured a DD stereo track which I assume is the same for this release and should result in fairly good audio quality- presuambly over compression is the reason for the audio being so low?!

Final Thoughts- This is an iconic show, one of the most popular sitcoms in its time period and arguably in all of TV history- it deserves a lot better IMO than the shoddy treatment it has gotten here. I understand that these are value releases and the low price point is the main selling point but these guys have taken cheap to a whole new level. How much more would 1 extra disc have cost, I am sure most fans of this series would have no problem paying an extra few bucks (based on other Mill Creek releases I assume this would have been priced $3-5 more if it was a 3-disc set, not that much more expensive IMO) in order to see an improvement in the video quality. This release is a step down from Mill Creek's other Carsey Werner releases and I don't really understand why- are Roseanne & That '70s Show more popular and better sellers than The Cosby show?? It appears to me that these releases were afforded a lower budget than the other Carsey Werner shows, the menus are very basic, they are using one less disc and even the DVD case is lower quality then other releases. I think most casual fans will be happy with this set especially considering the price it is selling at but for me its a bit of a let down as I was expecting the quality to be at least on par with the quality of other Mill Creek releases that I own specifically 3rd Rock from the Sun which is a fairly recent release and is from the same production company. I hope that they put more effort into future releases, notably make future seasons 3-disc sets (highly doubtful) which will improve the video quality considerably since the episodes will be a bit more spread out instead of crammed together like they are on these releases.

Special Features: None

Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5