Hillbillies/Happy Days (1 Viewer)

[Frank Soyke]

The more I think about it, the more I am puzzled by what happened with these 2 shows. Both are iconic shows in TV history. They were both also highly successful in syndication for many years after their runs, so what is the issue here? I would think that if CBS didn't want to continue them (I have no idea why), that other companies like Shout would be clamoring to get their hands on them. I just wonder what is CBS motive on shelving them? They are both very well known are there is a built in audience waiting for them. I mean, let's face facts, we're not exactly talking Love American Style. I just can't see that something like Steets of San Francisco would outsell these two.

 

[jimmyjet]

hillbillies is kinda dumb.

the interplay between darrin, sam, and endora is very good. but most of the rest of the characters kinda dumb it down, again. so some episodes are much better than others.

whereas a show like streets is much more apt to sell to the new crowd.

i think love american style would also sell to the new crowd much moreso than hillbillies.

i thought bewitched had already been released ??

 

[Frank Soyke]

I know Happy Days has tons and tons of music to clear if it ever wants to see a release of the remaining seasons, but there's no excuse for Beverly Hillbillies not to be released onto DVD as the next few seasons are some of the best that ever aired...literally seasons 4-8, before it started going downhill in their last season, so hoping CBS gets off their high horse and starts releasing the next few seasons of this classic

Good point, but didn't they have to clear at least the same amount of music for the already released seasons? Honestly, if that's the issue, I'd like to see the remaining seasons bad enough that I would tend to give them a free pass on some replacement tunes, as long as it wasn't across the board. As far as Hillbillies, I agree with you on that also. As I said in the initial post, if its not the music, what exactly is the issue here?

 

[Frank Soyke]

hillbillies is kinda dumb.

the interplay between darrin, sam, and endora is very good. but most of the rest of the characters kinda dumb it down, again. so some episodes are much better than others.

whereas a show like streets is much more apt to sell to the new crowd.

i think love american style would also sell to the new crowd much moreso than hillbillies.

i thought bewitched had already been released ??

I'm not sure where you are going here Jimmy. You are talking about Hillbillies and then naming Bewitched characters. I whole heartedly disagree with you that Love American Style would outsell the Beverly Hillbillies. It is was one of the most popular shows of the 60's, whereas Love American Style's big claim to fame is that it was that it was the last show that aired on Monday night before Monday Night Football took over the time slot. IMO, other than us TV collectors, not too many people remember the show. Plus it had a rotating cast with no regular marketable stars. The weekly cast was mostly made of of a reperatory company. Not comin down of you, just offering my 2 cents

 

[jimmyjet]

i dont know how i got bewitched out of happy days !!!

 

[jimmyjet]

hi frank,

i didnt think you were coming down on me.

my first sentence was about hillbillies. and that is all.

then, for some strange reason, i talked about bewitched, thinking you had mentioned it !!

we were talking 2 different things about love. you are talking about how the shows would compete against each other with us oldtimers. i was referring to how it would do with everyone else.

ratings is not always a good way to figure out how shows will do against one another, though.

las will always have an audience, simply due to its content. hillbillies was awfully dumb, right up there with gilligan and green acres.

i am not too sure how many oldies would want to see hillbillies, again.

although, i did pick it as a show that would be released, in the other thread.

which i think it will.

i dont know if las has seen much syndication, but my guess is that most younger people have never heard of it. but i think they would enjoy watching it - sorta like a spark to start the fire.

i think that very few people outside of the original viewers would be interested in buying hillbillies dvds. an episode here and there on youtube, etc. would more than suffice their desire, imo.

i have fond memories of lots of dumb shows. but i entirely suspect that my fondness for the show is only based upon memories as a kid. as adults, i dont know ?

my reasoning for them being released is as i already stated - too many people to sell to, such that they wont make at least some profit.

 

[Professor Echo]

Hillbillies was anything but a "dumb" show. However, if you missed its sharp witted satire on rural vs. urban methods in interpreting the modern world and its spirit of dissecting civilization and sophistication, then yes, it could seem very "dumb." It's miles ahead of the failed pilot showcase that was LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE.

 

[Ron1973]

The Hillbillies dumb? Umm, no!!! Possibly one of the most hilarious shows to ever grace television. "The Giant Jackrabbit" episode still ranks up there in the top 30 minute shows of all time. And, if it were so dumb, why would it have gone nine seasons only to finally be killed off in the "rural purge?" I'm not saying it had much left in the tank in S9 but they might've squeezed another season out of it.

The Beverly Hillbillies is still in syndication to this day and until a year or two ago, was still featured on WGN in the morning. The name recognition is still there.

CBS HE seems to have something against its rural heritage other than the Andy Griffith franchise. They're stalling on Petticoat Junction as well.

I've seen others asking on their Facebook page for the two shows and there's never a response. One friend finally got a response of "we're not making any plans to release PJ" and that was that. If you don't intend to release it, license it out. It was rumored that Shout! was interested and would be going forward with S4 this year of TBH but seeing as we're already into May and nothing has happened yet, not even a mention of it, I'm guessing it's a no go.

 

[Rob_Ray]

The Beverly Hillbillies, at least in its early seasons, plays as well today as it did when it originally aired. It's comedy is timeless, for the most part. What was funny then is still funny today. Love, American Style was much more of its time and seems very dated today, as it exudes a late sixties-early seventies aura in every shot. Still, the fact that it did NOT have a regular cast can be a marketing asset, if the guest stars are stellar enough to be used as a selling point.

I don't understand the slam against Green Acres, as "awfully dumb." Some of the characters may have been awfully dumb, but the comedy was surreal and often inspired. The Paul Henning-Jay Summers comedies are some of the all-time best comedy series of their of its kind ever created.

 

[Frank Soyke]

The Hillbillies dumb? Umm, no!!! Possibly one of the most hilarious shows to ever grace television. "The Giant Jackrabbit" episode still ranks up there in the top 30 minute shows of all time. And, if it were so dumb, why would it have gone nine seasons only to finally be killed off in the "rural purge?" I'm not saying it had much left in the tank in S9 but they might've squeezed another season out of it.

The Beverly Hillbillies is still in syndication to this day and until a year or two ago, was still featured on WGN in the morning. The name recognition is still there.

CBS HE seems to have something against its rural heritage other than the Andy Griffith franchise. They're stalling on Petticoat Junction as well.

I've seen others asking on their Facebook page for the two shows and there's never a response. One friend finally got a response of "we're not making any plans to release PJ" and that was that. If you don't intend to release it, license it out. It was rumored that Shout! was interested and would be going forward with S4 this year of TBH but seeing as we're already into May and nothing has happened yet, not even a mention of it, I'm guessing it's a no go.

I was gonna write something about this but you were way ahead of me. It's seems like the "rural purge" of the early 70's has hit us again, only on a smaller scale. I thought about it and only Andy and Gomer were finished up and that seemed well before this rural stalling seemed to have taken place. Hillbillies, Petticoat, and Green Acres have all been stalled and, as far as I know, no-one is even looking into Mayberry RFD. What their motive is I have no idea. Maybe it is the same as it was back in 1970-71.

 

[Ron1973]

I had forgotten about Mayberry R.F.D. when I said the TAGS franchise had been finished. Oddly enough, CBS doesn't have the rights to it. I actually think had CBS HE had the rights it would have been released as a part of TAGS. There were still issues on Gomer Pyle USMC with music being cut out and TAGS had some issues with either edited episodes or missing laugh tracks, so they didn't exactly give either of those the royal treatment.

Green Acres is an MGM property I believe (I know it isn't CBS) but it's stalled out also. One would think these rural shows would still have a following and would do well on DVD. On the other hand, CBS has collectors gun shy wondering if they'll release a full series or not. For instance, I won't buy Gunsmoke or Bonanza until the full run is completed. Now that I know Perry Mason is being completed, I'll start investing in it. I know some find it counter productive but if their commitment to the show isn't there, I don't want to start investing. I broke the rule with TBH because I was so desperate to get it and I rushed out to buy Seasons 2 and 3.

I got myself banned on their Facebook page for continually saying I wanted The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction to DVD. I asked the question (and I'm sure this is what did the deed) as to why they wouldn't release it and would they sue me if I started distributing the unedited color episodes I have on hand. No, I'm not going to do it, but I wanted to make the point that they're not making money on it by it sitting in their vaults. I don't care if it's remastered for HD nor do I care about fancy packaging. I want the complete, unedited episodes I watched in syndication as a kid and that I was stupid enough to tape over the VHS tapes I had of them.

But across the board, the rural shows are given the royal snub. The Real McCoys came to DVD but they were edited episodes and the new sets coming out are going to be edited for syndication versions. I refuse to buy it. If you're not going to do it right, don't do it at all. My understanding is the masters do exist but they don't want to pay the price to restore them. Maybe someone will eventually come along and do them right and then I'll invest.

Hee Haw was picked up, unedited, by RFD-TV and airs on Sunday nights. I've begged RFD several times to pick up unedited episodes of The Real McCoys and The Beverly Hillbillies since there seems no interest by the DVD producers to get these series done right. They're always nice and reply with "no budget for it." How sad.

 

[Neil Brock]

Calm down. You folks should be getting your rural needs met in the near future.

 

[Mark-P]

Green Acres is an MGM property I believe (I know it isn't CBS) but it's stalled out also. One would think these rural shows would still have a following and would do well on DVD. On the other hand, CBS has collectors gun shy wondering if they'll release a full series or not. For instance, I won't buy Gunsmoke or Bonanza until the full run is completed. Now that I know Perry Mason is being completed, I'll start investing in it. I know some find it counter productive but if their commitment to the show isn't there, I don't want to start investing. I broke the rule with TBH because I was so desperate to get it and I rushed out to buy Seasons 2 and 3.

And that is why shows get stalled. Not enough sales of the first releases because people are waiting for the entire run before committing. It would be great if they had the confidence to do what Shout! Factory did with Leave it to Beaver and release the entire show first before coming out with the individual seasons, but that is way too risky for CBS with Gunsmoke and Bonanza which had 20 and 14 seasons respectively.

 

[Frank Soyke]

Calm down. You folks should be getting your rural needs met in the near future.

Something you know that we don't Neil? I truly hope so

 

[Ron1973]

And that is why shows get stalled. Not enough sales of the first releases because people are waiting for the entire run before committing. It would be great if they had the confidence to do what Shout! Factory did with Leave it to Beaver and release the entire show first before coming out with the individual seasons, but that is way too risky for CBS with Gunsmoke and Bonanza which had 20 and 14 seasons respectively.

I should rephrase I suppose. I rushed out to buy Beverly Hillbillies to maybe help show there was commitment there. Bonanza, though, is just not that big of a deal to me. I like it but I'm more in love with the later seasons which aren't on DVD yet. I can catch those on Encore Western all the time. If it's not a "must buy," I'm not going to rush out and buy it until I see the series is going to be completed.

 

[jimmyjet]

congrats ron,

glad to see one more person on my side of the fence, regarding waiting for the whole series to come out before purchasing.

we shoot ourselves in the foot buying season by season.

 

[TravisR]

we shoot ourselves in the foot buying season by season.

Everyone should spend their money in the way that they feel is best but that statement is just incorrect. If the first set doesn't sell, the only thing that a studio is going to think is that no one is interested and there will never be a second, third, fourth, etc. season set. Once again, it's your money and you should spend it how you want but at the same time, you should be glad that there's people that do buy the individual seasons because without them, you'd never have the opportunity to buy a series set.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Agreed most of the Best seasons of BH are yet to be released. For me it would be Seasons 3-7 as the Prime Seasons.

I know Happy Days has tons and tons of music to clear if it ever wants to see a release of the remaining seasons, but there's no excuse for Beverly Hillbillies not to be released onto DVD as the next few seasons are some of the best that ever aired...literally seasons 4-8, before it started going downhill in their last season, so hoping CBS gets off their high horse and starts releasing the next few seasons of this classic.

 

[jimmyjet]

Everyone should spend their money in the way that they feel is best but that statement is just incorrect. If the first set doesn't sell, the only thing that a studio is going to think is that no one is interested and there will never be a second, third, fourth, etc. season set. Once again, it's your money and you should spend it how you want but at the same time, you should be glad that there's people that do buy the individual seasons because without them, you'd never have the opportunity to buy a series set.

hi travis,
that is the exact logic that the studios want you to think. and as long as they have customers who are willing to buy them season by season, that is what we will continue to get.

and one runs a much greater risk of having the studio start and not finish the project. or stall it for a long time.

lets take a look at the real picture. suppose that nobody bought season sets ? the studios would have 2 choices. one is to stop producing the dvds altogether, and make absolutely nothing.

the other is to release complete series. and that is exactly what they would do.

 

[Rob_Ray]

hi travis,
that is the exact logic that the studios want you to think. and as long as they have customers who are willing to buy them season by season, that is what we will continue to get.

and one runs a much greater risk of having the studio start and not finish the project. or stall it for a long time.

lets take a look at the real picture. suppose that nobody bought season sets ? the studios would have 2 choices. one is to stop producing the dvds altogether, and make absolutely nothing.

the other is to release complete series. and that is exactly what they would do.

That's exactly what they would do with "I Love Lucy", "Star Trek" and "The Twilight Zone" but I doubt the studios are going to release any series that ran for nine seasons with most seasons having up to 36 or more episodes per season only as one big box set. They would only sell a handful of copies.

For me, when it comes to BH, I'm in for about five or maybe six seasons, then I lose interest. I would like all six seasons of "Green Acres" however. And I'd spring for the entire run of "Petticoat Junction" even though my main interest is the Bea Benederet years.