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Hillbillies/Happy Days (1 Viewer)

lj01

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Regarding Happy Days, does anyone think it's really NOT the music-clearing? I've watched most of seasons 5-7 in the last few years in syndication - doesn't seem like music is a huge part of it (there is music, no doubt, but it's mostly incidental, none of it all that essential to the show or story - save for the maybe 3 episodes where Suzi Quatro shows up - and even for those the songs are sometimes original, such as "Do the Fonzie"...) It's not like the music is essential for the feel of the show (such as WKRP) - I don't think Potsie's singing of "Splish Splash" in whatever episode that was melds in with the storyline.

Maybe it's the lawsuits with the cast members in recent years, or maybe it's just not wanting to be a part of the inevitable "jump the shark" backlash - after all that's the next episode in the queue to be released (season 5 episode 1) and given that "jump the shark" has spurred a whole cottage industry, maybe it's just not worth it to the studio for the minimal amount of $ they would make to release it to be subject to ridicule of that nature once the episode(s) come out on DVD?
 

jimmyjet

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bh would sell if the entire series was released.

even though i think it is a bit dumb, i would still get it.

once they release the series, they also usually release a few more goodies, at a substantially lower price than the individual seasons altogether.

it is called getting as much of our money as they can.
 

Randy Korstick

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Agreed
The studios have plenty of material to release so they are never forced to release anything and since they are a business they want to and have to make money. A complete series release only happens as a result of a sucessfully released series season by season. Which means sufficent sales of each season. If we have a group that says they want a show like BH which ran 9 seasons and are not buying the seasons released waiting for a complete set then they are contributing to the poor sales which results in CBS not releasing any further seasons. So we really should not be asking why they are not releasing it if that is the case. Hopefully Neils Crystal ball is correct and we will be seeing Season 4 soon, but after a long stall if sales are not good on Season 4 they will definately discontinue it again and maybe for good. Its as simple as that.

Rob_Ray said:
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.
 

jimmyjet

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then let me be absolutely clear. the practice of buying individual seasons HURTS the process of getting complete sets.

since i either want complete series, or none at all, i am not in the least bit thankful that people purchase individual seasons. IT CREATES STALLED SERIES.

they are gonna release this stuff. if they dont, they make no money. if they do, they make some money. it is a no-brainer decision.

they simply want to use their scare tactics on people that if you dont buy this season, we wont release any more.

and that tactic obviously works on a lot of people.
 

jimmyjet

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i would say that the majority of tv shows start getting worse towards their end. especially if they are long running shows.

so for example, lets take a look at one of my favorites - 14 year long bonanza.

adam leaving was not a good thing, for most fans. the show was still mighty good.

but lets say that the studio has already sold the first 8 or 9 seasons, and gotten the bulk of their profits. they may very well not release the last years, or at least not for a very long time.

if their only choice was to release the complete series or none at all, they would release the whole series.

i am not gonna purchase anything until all 14 seasons are released.

apparently, cbs is doing a stellar job on this show, as they did with the fugitive.

and if we only buy complete series, the studios will all be forced to follow the lead of cbs, and give us well done complete series.

so I AM THANKFUL FOR CBS DOING A WONDERFUL JOB.
 

Mark-P

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jimmyjet said:
then let me be absolutely clear. the practice of buying individual seasons HURTS the process of getting complete sets.

since i either want complete series, or none at all, i am not in the least bit thankful that people purchase individual seasons. IT CREATES STALLED SERIES.

they are gonna release this stuff. if they dont, they make no money. if they do, they make some money. it is a no-brainer decision.

they simply want to use their scare tactics on people that if you dont buy this season, we wont release any more.

and that tactic obviously works on a lot of people.
No, if they invest in preparing and releasing something on DVD and is doesn't sell, they LOSE money.
 

jimmyjet

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too many people to sell to - they will get their cost back, and then some.

the only question is how big is the some.

and like now, the order of release is that which they think will make the most profit.

now, if we were at the last 25 shows to be released, then i might start to side with you guys.

there may be some questionable shows, as far as making much money. and if 95% of their inventory has been released, then it is at least possible that we may need to buy season sets to encourage the studios to release what little they had left.

but we are not close to that, YET.

hopefully one day, we will be exchanging posts about the last shows not released !!!
 

TravisR

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jimmyjet said:
then let me be absolutely clear. the practice of buying individual seasons HURTS the process of getting complete sets.

since i either want complete series, or none at all, i am not in the least bit thankful that people purchase individual seasons. IT CREATES STALLED SERIES.

they are gonna release this stuff. if they dont, they make no money. if they do, they make some money. it is a no-brainer decision.

they simply want to use their scare tactics on people that if you dont buy this season, we wont release any more.

and that tactic obviously works on a lot of people.
Please explain how selling an individual season hurt getting a complete series or create a stalled series? When a studio looks at their sales and they see one thing is selling and another isn't, which do you think continues to get released?

What you're calling 'scare tactics' is just common sense- if it doesn't sell, they don't keep releasing it.
 

jimmyjet

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i just explained it in detail. i have nothing to add to make my case any clearer.

what is ironic is that the people who are buying the individual seasons in order to prevent stalled sales, are the very people who create the stalled sales.
 

BobO'Link

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jimmyjet said:
i just explained it in detail. i have nothing to add to make my case any clearer.

what is ironic is that the people who are buying the individual seasons in order to prevent stalled sales, are the very people who create the stalled sales.
No, it's the people who are content with only having a season or two of a series that create the stalled series. For every person who wants a full run of a given program there are many more who only want a season or two or three. That's why you can chart season sales for most series and see a gradual falling off in sales from one season to the next. It's because most people don't really care if they get the entire series or not. Then there are series like Newhart and Night Court where people want to start with a specific season. Many people don't care for S1 of Newhart and will only purchase starting with Stephanie and S2 (hence it is now stalled due to poor sales). With Night Court it was Markie Post in S4. Yes, Night Court has been continued but only via MOD which tends to denote "niche" sales/interest. Then there are truly "bad" series that will see a full release while your favorite "quality" program languishes and stalls. There's just no accounting for taste.

Let's use Bonanza as you've mentioned it as one where you'll not make a purchase until it's all done. I enjoy the program but am happy to have just a few seasons. Were it offered as a all-or-nothing purchase it would be nothing for me as I couldn't justify the expense for a series that ran that long for which I would be satisfied with owning only a few seasons. So you can partially blame me if that one gets stalled as I will not likely purchase more than 2 or 3 seasons. Because of me and others like me the studio will see lower sales figures with each successive season and taper off releases accordingly.
 

Mark-P

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Jimmy, you grossly overestimate the demand. Truth is very few people will cough up $300 plus for a complete series of a less popular title. Certainly not enough to earn back the cost. For most shows, the only way a complete box set is feasible, is a repackaging of individual seasons which the production costs have already been paid for.
 

Randy Korstick

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So if you were running a business and had a product that would have multiple releases and the 1st release didn't sell and then the second sold worse and so on you would continue to release it and lose more money with each release with the hope that when you release all of it then more people will buy it. Thats what you are asking the studios to do. It sounds like you are assuming there is no cost in releasing a show. For a major studio release like CBS there are clearance issues that need to be paid, revenues that may need to be paid, remastering cost, packaging costs, advertising cost and distributing costs. So if it doesn't sell they won't release more and lose more money. So if you want it you must support it or contribute to it being stalled.
jimmyjet said:
i just explained it in detail. i have nothing to add to make my case any clearer.

what is ironic is that the people who are buying the individual seasons in order to prevent stalled sales, are the very people who create the stalled sales.
 

Ron1973

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I rushed out and purchased both S2 and S3 of TBH when they were released. If a show is one I like, I might well purchase it in season sets instead of waiting. For me, I just don't have an interest in the earlier seasons of Bonanza or Gunsmoke. If the later seasons are released, I will happily start collecting. If they aren't, however, I simply can't justify picking up a partial set. I hope what I'm saying makes sense.

I disagree with jimmyjet on his explanation. Right now, I couldn't spring for a box set of nothing even if it were my coveted Paul Henning release of The Hillbillies. I prefer season releases and that way it stays affordable. Whatever they can give me in the way of releases, I'm going to buy. If they stall it out, there are other sources out there. I know 16mm film exists from where TV stations ran it. I would almost invest in a projector for that. The episodes aired unedited for quite a few years in this area (though the last 2 1/2 seasons were missing) and surely I'm not the only one who went on a taping frenzy knowing that they might not keep showing them. Other stations were showing the edited versions while WREG kept plugging along with scratchy prints that were unedited.

Since it is the subject of TBH, I will say that I think CBS HE shot themselves in the foot. I feel, number one, they should've jumped in the DVD game earlier on the show and gave us a remastered S1. I know it's in public domain but so are parts of S2 and those were remastered for hi-def and given a release along with the cast commercials intact.

Number two, the average American buyer isn't a collector. They don't know what show is from what season and probably don't even know the color seasons aren't out there. People don't know they're buying substandard quality. CBS HE should have made an effort to let the buying public know what they were getting. People can go to the dollar bin and pick up PD episodes all day long. Why should they spend $29.95 or $39.95 when the show is over in the dollar bin 10 feet away?
 

jimmyjet

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hi travis and all,

first, i wanted to clear something up - when i referred to releasing the whole series, i assumed something that at least with one poster, was not evident. and that is, that one could still buy the seasons individually, if said person truly only wanted a season. so those people would not be stalling any series.

hi randy,

your synopsis simply is flawed. but the studios love you, and are more than happy to take advantage of you.
 

jimmyjet

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this is just how life works. and all one has to do to understand what is going on, is to simply look at how things have been working, already. examine the history of dvd releases. you can accept or deny the following.

i am mr. big studio (mbs). i own all sorts of material. i want as much money from you as i can get. so i release as1 (show a, season 1). and i release bs1, cs1, etc. i have so much stuff, that i am very busy releasing stuff.

i can easily afford to wait until all the last bits of season buyer monies come in, since i really cant keep up with my huge inventory. when the last trickles come in on as1, i will release as2, when i have the time.

now when such time comes that all seasons of a have been released, and been out for awhile, such that i have got all the individual season dollars i can get - then i release a complete series, usually with a few extras, and almost always a lot cheaper than the combined individual seasons were.

in the meantime, i have a few people groveling on their knees for me to release stuff. and i kinda like being a big shot and see said people grovel. since i am in complete control.

if we fight back, we may just get studios giving us a good product. the fugitive is a perfect example.

i hope cbs continues to put out quality products of complete series.
 

Ron1973

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I normally don't resurrect 4 year old topics, but this seems as good of a place as any.

I have a Hulu subscription and noticed they're offering Happy Days available to stream. It's not the full series, but a smattering of episodes throughout the series (no S1, looks like most, if not all, of S2, etc.). The later seasons are there, they're streaming in HD (with the CBS logo in the corner), and most appear to be unedited. It would appear that while CBS isn't updating the Syndication Bible, they are continuing to future proof their shows by going HD.
 

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