David E. Kelley's TV Series Finally Coming to DVD ? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ringwald]

In any case, I'm glad my copies are 4:3 as it's pretty clear they were composed that way. I remember reading a review online that had screenshots from seasons 4-5 in widescreen (don't remember which region) and they were obviously filled with empty space on the sides.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

I find it pretty hard to believe that your S1 is 4:3 when you own the same sets i do. I don't want to get into an argument about it or anything but im skeptical because first you claimed you should know since you were watching them for months now, then you referred to the packaging as stating it was 4:3, All i know is S1 on the set you have is 100% widescreen despite what the case says.

Take it Easy!

Edit to Add:
Here is a Link to the Product on Amazon UK:
Ally McBeal S1 - UK R2 2ND RELEASE

 

[Jeff#]

Ally McBeal in widescreen?? It was always presented in 4:3 on my FOX network station.

 

[Simon Massey]

Funnily enough I am currently watching Season 1 of Ally McBeal having bought the re-released versions that Fox did in white M-Lock cases (they seem to be re-releasing all their TV shows in these boxes which are a lot more compact and sturdy than the previous paper releases - Firefly and the X Files are in these cases and they are currently rereleasing Buffy and Angel as well).

I have all 5 seasons and Season 1 is 4:3 and not 16:9 on mine. The only season which is 16:9 is Season 5, which is how it was broadcast over here in the UK I think.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

Yea but we are talking about the UK R2 dvd sets not the actual broadcasts. They present S1 and S5 in widescreen for whatever reason on the DVD Sets.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

Hmmm this get's more puzzling, well if thats the case i owe Robert an appology. I have the same exact set though and my S1 is widescreen. argggg

 

[Simon Massey]

My sets are the UK sets and they are all 4:3 except Season 5. I think there must have been a European release which is widescreen and some of the discs have made their way into the UK box sets in some cases.

 

[Jeff#]

Well, the 5th / last season is the only one I never watched, but only because something else was on at the same time. If it was in widescreen in the UK, then it probably was here too. Just a guess.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

Hmmm very strange but perhaps your right. It's been so long since i bought these. It would probably be a pain to try and exhange the set.

Robert: I appolgize for not believing that your S1 was 4:3, it was just the fact i had the same exact set and all and seemed very unlikely to me anyways that they would be different. Looks like i got screwed here and got stuck with bad aspect ratio. Anywho sorry about that.

 

[Simon Massey]

Not necessarily. A lot of shows get shown in widescreen over here. Buffy S4 - S7 was broadcast in widescreen in the UK and I assume thats why they were released on DVD in widescreen. I believe the intended AR is 4:3 for that show as well.

 

[Simon Massey]

Looking at the discs, the artwork on the discs in my Season 1 is presented differently than the other seasons. This is the second release of Ally McBeal on DVD in the UK as the show was released in half season boxsets before. The discs in Seasons 2 - 5 of mine are all identical to this previous release (i.e. just a repackaging) whereas Season 1 has discs of a different design. Thats why I thought it could be a mixup of discs intended for a European release.

Great show, though I agree S5 was very disappointing at the time. I had forgotten how funny it could be.

 

[Joseph S]

While I've got most if not all of the transition in HD recordings, I would definitely like the original "Boston Legal" themed "The Practice" eps included on the Season 1 release. Even more an advocate for this if they are going to say "Season 1" was all that aired last year and not the original list of eps. Glad to see it coming though.

 

[Eric_R.]

Hmm, not much love for Boston Public, can't wait to see that one on DVD, after the time switch I couldn't watch it anymore but the first 2 seasons were great.

 

[Katherine_K]

The Practice is mostly what I'd want.

 

[Simon Massey]

As an addition to my earlier comments about Ally McBeal, I have started watching Season 3 (the UK boxset) and mine is widescreen 16:9. I thought I'd checked this but I must have missed it. So it seems that at least Seasons 1, 3 and 5 have been released in UK in widescreen. Season 2 was all fullscreen though as it should be.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Well, since DEK and Co. went back and re-edited those five "held-back" episodes to spread out the storylines of the axed characters, and to work in storylines with the new characters from the get-go, I'm sure we'll only get what aired during the first year. Those five "extra" episodes were never shown in their original form and as they were re-edited, I'd say it's a safe bet they'll only appear as part of a season 2 release.

By the way, it looks like the axe has fallen again: on last night's episode, I noticed that two of the new characters were absent from the opening credits of the show.