Good News about Complete Bob Newhart Show (see Post 90) (2 Viewers)

[The Obsolete Man]

Does the new set have English subtitles?

Shout sets generally don't have subtitles. This one is closed captioned, though.

 

[Brian Himes]

I should have been more clear. Most of the season 1 episodes do not have the phone ringing and Bob picking it up and saying 'Hello.' Even without this small bit during the opening credits, the episodes still run 25 minutes and 10 seconds. So the actual content of the season 1 episodes appear to be complete and uncut. I don't know if the 'Hello' was a part of every single episode of season 1 or not.

I am well over half way through season 2 and the 'Hello' is present for almost all of the episodes. There were only a couple that I recall that didn't have have it. However, I did notice that there were two episodes of the ones that I've seen, that have the shorter opening that would later be used for the syndicated run of the first two seasons. I don't know if these shortened openings were originally used for these couple of episodes because the actual content of the episode ran longer or if the original openings for those two episodes were damaged/lost over time. The episodes did have the 25:10 running time, so I think they are complete and uncut.

Sadly, I didn't see this show in it's original run for the first 3 or 4 years so I am not an expert. I did manage to see quite a few of the final two years of the series during it's original airings so I am more familiar with those episodes. I did catch almost the entire run of the series when it first went into syndication somewhere in late 78 or early 79. At that time, I do remeber each of the first two season episodes always starting with the 'Hello' and the shorter opening (the one where Suzanne is smiling a bit more and her head is slightly tilted to one side). So, I may be getting my memories of the series confused with what actually aired originally. As I said, I'm not an expert on the series. I do remember that the first couple of years that the series was syndication, very little was actually cut. The longer the series was in syndication, I noticed that more and more of it was being edited out. Scenes and lines that I remembered as being there in late 78 or early 79 were no longer there by 81 or 82.

Additionally, the picture and sound quality seems to be on par with the original Fox releases. Sadly, this show (unlike Rhoda, Phyliss and Mary Tyler Moore) doesn't seem to have been very well taken care of. Some episodes are a little on the soft side while others just pop off the screen. Colors are generally strong with little overstaturation. There is one episode from season 1 that looked rather faded and grainly. I don't remember which episode but I did notice the drop in picture quality. It looked like it had been mastered from a 16mm print of the episode. It is possible that it was the only existing uncut copy of the episode that could be located. I don't know. I'll checked the episodes again and find out specifically which episode it was.

I will keep updating as I watch more of the series.

 

[Dan McW]

There's at least one episode with an opening where Suzanne comes through the door to kiss Bob.

 

[Brian Himes]

THAT doesn't sound too good, Brian...

That doesn't bother you more? It sounds like each episode is upcut?

If these shorter openings were a part of the series as it originally aired, then no it doesn't bother me. If the sequence is missing beacuse that small portion was damaged or cut from the original master tapes and is no longer available, then again, no it doesn't bother me. It these shorter openings were used due to Fox not locating more complete masters, then yes, it does bother me. However, since the actual episode content seems to be complete and uncut, I can live with the shorter openings. I don't like them, but they are not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Jack P]

I think a simple thing to do though is compare whether the openings for S1 are the same as on the previous Fox release. I'd be annoyed only if we had a long open on the old release but suddenly not on the new one.

I again think it was just a case of whether back in the day, did they need a long or short open based on whether they needed more time in the episode itself. That said, I do know that none of the MTM episodes released by Fox ever used the short opening in which we had no vocal of the theme.

 

[Brian Himes]

Ok, I have gone back and checked the episodes that I have watched to make sure on the openings. I have watched the first 37 episodes. Here is the breakdown:

Season 1

Episodes 1 and 19 open with Bob on the phone talking to someone which leads to a joke. Long opening on these two episodes.

Episodes 2, 3, 8, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 have the shorter openings (No phone ringing and the Hello). So, that is half of the season 1 episodes without the 'Hello' opening. So, my estimate of 'most' was a bit off. I guess the last disc of season 1 stood out for me because there were more episodes that didn't have the opening. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to confuse anyone.

All other season 1 episodes have the 'Hello' opening. Incidentally, episode 22 is the episode that has the faded look to it. It does look to be a copy from a 16mm print of the episode.

Season 2 (what I've watched so far)

Episodes 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 have the 'Hello' opening.

Episodes 30, 31, and 32, have the shorter (very short) opening that was later used for the syndicated seasons 1 & 2 episodes.

I will compare this with the Fox releases, but I'm pretty sure that they are the same. I don't see why Fox would provide new transfers for Shout to use when they already had transfers ready to go for seasons 1-4.

 

[Brian Himes]

Ok, I have compared the above information against the original Fox releases and the openings are exactly the same as the Shout set.

 

[Jack P]

At least we know we can throw away our old sets with a clear conscience now!

 

[Brian Himes]

I have finished seasons 1-4 of the new set and everything is exactly like the original Fox releases. All of the previous bonus features have been carried over and the transfers are the exact same ones used on the previous Fox releases. So far, so good. Well, except for the one episode in season 4 that uses the later season 5 opening credits after the Hartley's move upstairs to the new apartment. I don't remember which episode it was, but in syndication the episode has the same incorrect opening. I notice it each time because it sticks out like a sore thumb. I'll have to go back and figure out which episode it is.

I have watched the first two episodes of the all important season 5 and . . . . well things are not so rosy. First, each of the two episodes I watched have the Viacom logo after the MTM logo and then the Fox logo. This seems to indicate to me that the tapes used for these transfers are from a syndication distributer. I could be wrong but it's almost like the same thing we saw on the Mod Squad seasons 3-5 where the Worldvision logo was present as well as the CBS/Paramount logo. Not a real cause for alarm, however the two episodes I watched each clocked in at exactly 25 minutes whereas seasons 1-4 clocked in between 25:10 and 25:35. Odd to say the least. The run times should vary just a bit. The fact that these two episodes have the exact same run time makes me uneasy.

The second thing is that there is a definite drop in picture quality on the two season 5 episodes that I watched. The episodes are not as sharp. They are a bit on the soft side and the colors are not as bright. While the show was never all that colorful in the first place makes this all the more noticeable. At times however, especially during the opening credits, the colors are a bit oversaturated. Don't get me wrong, these are decent transfers, but they are just not as crisp as the previous Fox transfers. A bit upsetting since I was pretty convinced that Fox had already prepared season 5 for release and just didn't do it because of poor sales of season 4. This does not appear to be the case. So, I'm a bit concerned about what I may find the farther I get into season 5 and into season 6.

The sound quality is generally good but nothing spectacular. I did notice a slight dropout in the first episode of season 5. The sound dipped briefly and then recovered. Nothing was lost and you can still hear the dialogue clearly enough. It was just muffled slightly for a brief second or two.

I'll be back to report on more as I get further into the final two seasons.

 

[Tooncy]

Of course, Shout used old videotape masters, like they always do. That explains washed out colors and soft focus, not to mention the Viacom logos.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Thanks for the ongoing updates, Brian.

 

[Brian Himes]

Of course, Shout used old videotape masters, like they always do. That explains washed out colors and soft focus, not to mention the Viacom logos.

I tend to agree. I think that the masters used were merely digital transfers with little to no re-mastering or clean up done to them.

 

[Tooncy]

I don't think they were even digital. Just old analog videotape.

 

[jcroy]

Is the video interlaced 60 fps, or progressive 24 fps?

 

[Brian Himes]

I honestly couldn't tell you and have no idea where to go to find that information.

 

[Brian Himes]

I've started the second disc of season 5 so I've watched the first 8 episodes of season 5. The transfers are pretty much the same. Varying degrees of color fade to oversaturation. Soft focus. ~sigh~ I was so hoping that Fox had prepped the final two seasons for release, but sadly they didn't. I will say that the episode Some Of My Best Friends Are is pretty decent. I think because that particular episode was re-mastered for the VHS release The Best of The Bob Newhart Show.

Don't get me wrong, the transfers are not horrible by any means. They are just average at best. It's nice to have the complete series finally released. I just wish that the final two seasons looked as good as the first four. Actually I can't say just yet what season 6 looks like since I haven't watched it yet. However, I'm pretty convinced that I'll be seeing the same types of transfers as season 5.

The run times are still clocking in at exactly 25 minutes (that includes the MTM logo, the Viacom logo and the Fox logo). So, I'm still not sure if the episodes are indeed complete and uncut. I wish someone with a better knowledge of the series would pop in here and give us a clue on the run times. It could be that 76-77 episodes are indeed 25 minutes. I'd like to know for sure.

 

[Brian Himes]

Ok, well I'm back to give you the final round up of issues with the final season 5 episodes and all of the season 6 epiosdes.

Things have pretty much been the same for all of the season 5 and 6 episodes. Faded colors to oversaturated colors. Soft focus. Loads of flecks of dirt and scratches. Of special note, there is one season six episode that the picture quaity goes from rather clear to faded. It reminded me of how the Brady Bunch episodes were released. It looked like the previously edited bits from the original broadcast (it even looked like a 16mm copy was used for these bits) version were spliced back into a better quality syndicated master of the episode. I don't know for a fact that this is the case, but it sure looked like it. There are also two season 6 episodes that during the ending credits, there is a very noticiable warble to the film. The sound isn't affected, but the picture sure moves around quite a bit. Very distracting. All season 5 and 6 episodes clock in at 25 minutes. I'm still very suspect about this. It is just about impossible for 37 episodes to have all had the exact same running time. Since I don't know this show backward and forwards, I have no concrete proof that these episodes are edited but I do highly suspect it. The run time of 25 minutes for each episode just seem really fishy to me.

The sound on the season 5 and season 6 episodes also suffer from the less than steller transfers. At times it is a bit muffled and at other times it is noticeably louder. Also, the sound overall is just not crisp and clear most of the time. I found that I had to back the DVD up and really pay close attention to catch certain pieces of dialogue.

My final assessment of the set is not as spectacular as I would have hoped. Seasons 1-4 are exceptional sound and picture quality. The carrying over of all of the special features from the previous Fox releases is nice. Having seasons 5-6 finally released is nice, but the only passable transfers do mar what should have been a spectacular set. The bonus disc with the 19th Anniversary Special and the two new featurettes is very, very welcome. Overall, this is one of the better releases from Shout. I just wish that more care had been taken to clean up seasons 5-6. While they didn't need to bring those seasons up to the standard set by the previous Fox releases, some, or any, clean up would have been welcome. The show is one of my all time favorites and is perhaps one of the best shows to ever grace the TV screen. I'm glad to have it all on DVD. After waiting for years, I was just hoping for better on the final two seasons

 

[LeoA]

Shout surely isn't going to pursue any remastering for the standalone season releases. If cornered, they'll just pull the tried and true excuse they always use even though other independent publishers have been able to work closely with their licensors.

While Shout would've never funded it, too bad that Fox didn't pursue doing remastering work on conjunction with this release. While they gave up on it for DVD's, it still has syndication potential and has regularly been aired since its original run.

Would've been a good place to invest what Shout spent to license it since having the last two seasons up to the quality level of the earlier seasons would've been beneficial for tv.

 

[Tooncy]

Shout? Invest in remastering? Ha!

 

[smithbrad]

Shout? Invest in remastering? Ha!

I always thought it was just standard practice across most independents to generally just use what they are provided (not just Shout!), unless they manage to own the product outright. We are typically talking limited licenses and budgets, right? How could they recoup those costs in sales alone without reaping the benefits of long term syndication. It seems like when we get great results, in these scenario's, its because the source prints were already in decent shape, not because the independent put a lot of effort into remastering. At least that is my limited understanding.