Lots of 80's sitcoms..Where's Mr. Belvedere? (1 Viewer)

[Ethan Riley]

Jon, please mention all of my favorite shows

 

[chadHobbick]

I'm glad this show is getting released, but on the fence about getting it as I don't remember it all that well. I know the premise and the characters, but I wish it was in syndication somewhere where I could get a feel for the show again and see if it would be worth the investment.

 

[vnisanian2001]

Of course young viewers know about this show. It's been referenced frequently on Family Guy.

This show may not have been shown frequently in syndication, but then again, That's my Mama was never shown frequently in syndication, and that didn't stop Sony from releasing it DVD, even though they did such a terrible job on it.

And I don't think it's fair to compare this show to Murphy Brown. This show was more of a family-oriented sitcom, whereas Murphy Brown was more of a sitcom for a more adult-oriented audience.

And Shout Factory is pretty much the only DVD company that listens to their fans, so it's not like they're going to abandon it really quickly, if that's what you think.

Which reminds me: How many shows has Shout Factory abandoned, and is their track record of abandoning shows as bad as other companies like FOX, Warner, and especially Sony?

 

[chadHobbick]

I would love for Shout to take over the Murphy Brown-reins from WB. I think they could clear all the music issues for the show.

Mr Belvedere being referenced on Family Guy, once to my recollection, isn't going to make one dent to the sales of the release. All it probably did was have some fans go to YouTube in order to see what the hell Stewie was singing about.

 

[TV_Fan]

I think we'll get well beyond the first one or two seasons of Mr B on DVD. If tvshowsondvd ranking is any indiation, it is currently listed as # 37 for unreleased shows. Mr B has not only been referenced in Family Guy but also (albiet indirectly) in American Wedding. There are many people who now about this show and are eager to buy it. Mr B also can't be compared to Murphy Brown because that was released by an enitrely different studio. Shout! has said on numerous occasions that they are willing to take smaller sales figures than the major studios. Shout! released all seasons of Punky Brewster and many people said that show would never even see the light of day on DVD. If any other studio were releasing Mr B than I would say we'd probably only see 1 or 2 seasons. But I really think this show is more popular than a lot of people think.

 

[David Rain]

Fans of the show from it was first on might be eager to buy it but even that's not going to be a huge audience. Anyone younger than that age range likely will know nothing about this show and will not look twice at it. There a LOT of higher-profile and MUCH more popular shows that have come and gone on DVD with barely a blip on the sales radar. If shows like Mad About You, Larry Sanders, Mary Tyler Moore, The Nanny, etc. can't finish their runs then that makes it almost impossible for a show like Mr. B. to succeed.

I'm anxious to see it, shocked that it might actually be coming out but I simply don't see it doing well at all. Just look at the history of how badly a lot of other shows have done. Especially ones that many people have forgotten about or never knew existed in the first place.

The comparison to Murphy Brown isn't so much about the "type" of show but the fact that Murphy is considered a classic sitcom and eventually became #1 in the ratings. But it utterly tanked on DVD. Lower-profile shows will have an even harder time finding an audience. That's reality.

 

[vnisanian2001]

Mr. Belvedere DVD news: Announcement for Mr. Belvedere - Seasons 1 and 2 | TVShowsOnDVD.com

According to this press release from tvshowsondvd.com the season 1 & 2 set has a running time of 660 minutes. Does this mean that we'll be getting unedited episodes?

 

[Aryn Leroux]

I am most likely on board for this release. If you need a reason to support Shout Factory this would be a pretty good one. I love this Company! They have given us some new hope for stalled/abandoned/unreleased series from the 70's and 80's. You really have to hand it to them! Great Job Guys!

I would love to see Shout continue/release some of these:

Hill Street Blues
St. Elsewhere
Vega$
Spenser: For Hire
Matt Houston
Eight Is Enough
TJ Hooker
Tales of the Gold Monkey

 

[TV_Fan]

I wouldn't expect anything but unedited episodes from Shout. They obviously learned their lesson after Father Knows Best. Also it would be inexcusable for such a relatively recent show that's being licensed from another company to end up with syndicated prints.
Shout! is my favorite DVD company. With the announcemens today that they're doing Room 222 & California Dreams makes me have hope for a lot of other series. I just hope that they don't end up with so much that their releases will take longer.
I'm hoping for some special features for Mr B. but even if it's barebones I'd be happy just to see it released. Can't wait to get this set!

 

[vnisanian2001]

Well, the reason why I'm concerned about the runtime is because 660 minutes of 29 episodes from seasons 1 and 2 averages=22.75 minutes per episode. And like you said over at sitcomsonline, I don't want to end up with a set plagued with edited episodes. I apologize if I'm getting so worked up over this.

But also like you said over there, hopefully, this isn't official yet.

BTW, the average runtime for a sitcom during this time period was around 24-25 minutes

 

[TV_Fan]

I know now that I see that I'm a little concerned. But again it's not official. Mr B premiered in 1985. I'm not sure what the average runtime for a sitcom from that year is, but Gimme A Break, which premiered in 1981 has runtimes of 24 minutes on the season 1 & 2 sets. Well 660 isn't official yet and that may just be an average. Shout! obviously knows how fans hate edited episodes on their sets (like Father Knows Best S1) so I'm sure they would do everything possible to check for edits when they get the masters from the copyright holder. Someone already posted about this on the Shout! boards so hopefully someone at Shout! will respond with confirmation the episodes are unedited.

I've been waiting so long for this set I don't want anything to be wrong.

 

[TV_Fan]

A lot of DVD sets say +/- however many minutes so I don't think the 660 minutes can be taken literally. If it is listed as 660 minutes it will probably say on the box something like +/- 600 minutes. I check a lot of my sets and the runtimes are listed as +/-.

 

[Rob P S]

Thank you, Shout Factory. I know they worked really hard to get this. I know some cast interviews have already been filmed and I hope that it's all unedited and there are no music issues (the HMS Pinafore episode comes to mind). Maybe they can look into putting out Webster.

One question: I know sometimes those shows used the shortened opening credits sometimes when the shows ran long. So would the DVDs use the long credits for all the episodes or whatever aired at the time? Not that it would stop me from buying it, of course.

 

[TV_Fan]

I like the cover art they have for the set.

 

[vnisanian2001]

Sorry for the late post, but Amazon.com has the show up for pre-orders now.

BTW, to David Lambert, could you please contact Shout! Factory, and ask them if the episodes will be unedited network versions or edited for syndication versions?

 

[vnisanian2001]

Mr. Belvedere DVD news: Press Release for Mr. Belvedere - Seasons 1 & 2 | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Press release mentions the SNL Fan Club skit, new cast interviews, and also mentions both seasons being "complete".

Also, the runtime on amazon has changed from 660 minutes to 690 minutes.

 

[Jon Martin]

Just wanted to add, according to the press release, the MR. BELVEDERE set will include the SNL "Mr. Belvedere Fan Club" sketch, with Tom Hanks and the fans of Broctune.

EDIT: Whoa, we both revived the thread and posted a minute apart with the same news.

 

[vnisanian2001]

EDIT

 

[vnisanian2001]

Pavan Badal from Sitcoms Online just posted the review for the set. You can read it right here:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/mrbelve...dvdreview.html

And yes, each episode is the original unedited ABC Network version, just as fans like it! (approximately 23-24 minutes, instead of approximately 21-22 minutes). Each episode even has the original 1980s 20th Century Fox Television logo, which is surprising, considering Fox's annoying habit of ususally replacing the original logos with the 20th Television logo (sometimes with the news corp. byline!).

By the way folks, don't be alarmed if you see a different opening sequence in seasons 1 & 2, instead of the one you're used to seeing (the one that opened with Belvedere at his desk writing in his journal). The shows' opening credits from seasons 1 & 2, originally had photos of Belvedere posing as different people with the appropriate backdrop. Anyone remember that version? The more familiar opening shot of Belvey at his desk writing in his journal did not begin until season 3.

Completely different opening credits were also originally used on the pilot episode, too. The syndicated airings replaced the earlier openings with the shortened season 4 & 5 opening.

For a list of different versions of the opening credits, refer to the "openings" section that I contributed to the shows' wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Belvedere#Openings

 

[Malcolm R]

Just wanted to say how much I'm loving the "Mr. Belvedere" set and to extend my thanks to Shout for bringing this out on DVD. Can't wait for Season 3.

I recall watching the show, but didn't remember many details about it, so it was almost a blind buy. But it's hilarious, especially the interplay between Christopher Hewitt and Brice Beckham. Brice was a pretty good comic actor at 9 years old.