Stalled series? There's Hope! (2 Viewers)

[MatthewA]

What a coincidence...they announce a Good Times complete box set less than a week after I fill the last remaining hole in my collection.

Sanford and Son, too. Any chance they'll fix the cut episodes and make it truly complete? Nah. They didn't with Soap.

 

[DeWilson]

Do uncut copies of the edited episode of SANFORD & SON or SOAP even still exist?

They may have HAD to use the edited copies of the original masters had been lost,damaged or wiped by mistake. We are talking shows shot on video 30+ years old.

 

[TVAdam]

I read over at Sitcoms Online (I don't know how to post links) that Lionsgate has bought some Disney-ABC series, including Boy Meets World, 8 Simple Rules, Hope & Faith and some others.

Which means...

I'll finally get to continue my Boy Meets World collection!

 

[MatthewA]

They do still exist. The episodes of Soap were available uncut on Columbia House VHS, as was one of the edited Sanford and Son episodes, with another episode of the latter having different scenes on TV Land. The idea that any studio would have only one copy of these or lose all of them is unlikely. And they were deposited in presumably uncut versions on 3/4" umatic tape for copyright at the Library of Congress.

Sony spent much of the 1990s transferring their outdated 2" and 1" tape material to non-obsolete media. I assume they kept the originals and could go back and re-transfer them if necessary. A company called Vidipax, which specializes in videotape restoration, lists them as one of their clients on their website. Without knowing first hand the storage situation I would guess that Sony Pictures Television sent an edited version to DVD, didn't check the running time, and didn't care. Remember we're talking about a company with non-existent customer service. Norman Lear wasn't storing the originals of his shows in his basement, and I assume neither was Susan Harris.

 

[nikkif99uk]

that would be so cool to see these released especially Hope and Faith and more Boy Meets World

 

[John*Wells]

Sorry I didnt read through the whole thread

Is there now hope for the last 3 seasons of silk stalkings ?? And could this also lead to my wish for Mr. Ed season Sets being granted ??

 

[MatthewA]

Hopefully it doesn't mean another ALF-style debacle. Some of us still hold grudges.

 

[Jay_B!]

wasn't the ALF fiasco Paul Fusco's fault and not Lionsgate?

 

[RichieMagoo]

I'm so disgusted with the stalled series (especially AITF and Taxi) that I haven't bought a DVD in MONTHS now!! -and while there are still shows that I'd like to get (Cheers, Seinfeld...) I just so disgusted, I can't see forkinjg over my money to these companies that treat us like this.

I guess I should thank the studios for saving me money- I used to spend alot on DVDs.

 

[MatthewA]

I don't know. But the facts, as we know them, are:

1. The NBC network runs are about 24:30, except the last season which is about 30 seconds to a minute less (comparable to other NBC shows of the same vintage on DVD such as Cheers or Golden Girls).

2. The versions on the DVD (and now, regretfully, on Hulu) average out to 20 minutes each, some even under 20 minutes.

3. While Lionsgate claimed the edited versions are of better quality, Odyssey Network received unedited versions in 1999, and VSC in Canada released the three hour-long episodes and there was nothing really wrong with the quality.

4. Paul Fusco remained mum on the whole thing.

No one came clean and admitted what really went on.

 

[Bryan^H]

Hopefully Anchor Bay is just having a "cooling off" period with their stalled releases. I'm still waiting for more Renegade, Hunter, and Silk Stalkings.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Richie, the studios STOP releasing sets because people STOP buying them. Cause and effect... cause and effect.

Gord

 

[RichieMagoo]

That appears to be just the opposite of what I see- We faithfully buy seasons of series...and then they just stop releasing them i9n the middle of the run. I can't believe that seasons of AITF or Taxi would sell enough to justify releasing half the series....and then suddenly everyone just stopped buying them, so they stopped releasing them?!

I would say the reality was that these highly-rated classics sold just fine...and would continue to...if further seasons were released. So I'd say that their not releasing subsequent seasons is due to other reasons.

I'd say that the majority of people who bought more than just the 2st seasons of AITF and/or Taxi, would also buy the remaining seasons.

BTW, Gord, I really appreciate your website!

 

[Jay_B!]

yea, it seems to be "damned if you do, damned if you don't" with most older series

 

[FrancisP]

I don't believe it's just a case of people not buying them. It seems that some of the media companies only want to talk about properties if it brings in huge numbers. Studios can make a profit on classic tv shows but its not going to bring in the types of revenues that shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives bring in. You have media conglomerates that rake in billions of dollars so the money a classic show brings in is chump change.

Also it will be interesting to see how Adam 12 S2 fares in comparison to Universal's S1 release. Especially since Shout Factory's release will not use DVD-18s.

 

[John*Wells]

Once Gomer Pyle S 5 Comes out in November of this year and the rest of Dallas are released Im done with TV on DVD unless Mr Ed or the other 3 Silk Stalkings seasons come out

If you ask me Mr Ed should have beeen releaed in Season format. The best of Sets jumped all over the place. Eps were all out of order and some were cut

 

[nikkif99uk]

I'm years from being done tv show wise as I will pretty much watch anything and everything lol, although half my collection will include stalled shows

 

[Jay_B!]

I agree. Remember the article about MTM that pretty much stated abandonment because seasons 1-4 combined sold as much as one season of My Name Is Earl did? Of course a current sitcom which airs weekly and has commercials promoting it is going to outsell a classic that ended thirty years ago and is all but missing from reruns. Compare MTM to AITF and Happy Days and other hit comedies that aired in the 1970's, not a current series.

It's a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't. Most of us who want more seasons BUY the shows we want more seasons from. But alas, 100k Jeffersons and AITF and Facts Of Life fans just aren't as important to Sony as the 500k who buy Seinfeld. A profit is a profit is a profit

 

[nikkif99uk]

i would love further releases of Living Single, Tracey Takes On and America's Next Top Model

 

[LCD22]

So "Simon 8 Simon" is coming through Shout! Factory... I hope both "Quincy" and "The Fall Guy" (one of my all-time personal favorite and still angry at Fox for a inexcusable shoddy treatment of Season 1) are not too far behind, and that they will correct the mistakes Universal and Fox made prior for future season releases (e.g. double-sided discs and music replacement on "Quincy" and heavy editing, blurred bar fight scene, and music substitutions on "The Fall Guy".)