The State Of Classic TV on DVD (and thoughts on the future) (1 Viewer)

[Larry.P]

Actually,this should not be a concern. CBS/Paramount has a policy of clearing all music in perpetuity. This is one of the main reasons that their music costs are so high. Once the music is cleared, it is cleared for good. If anything, that may leave room for them on a future release to clear music that was replaced this go around.

 

[Carabimero]

Larry P, if that was true, The Fugitive would never have been changed, since the season one sets were released virtually intact BEFORE season two was changed. And it was the same music. That is my whole point. You can say it was a one-time screw-up, or whatever you want, but the fact is, nothing is certain.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

The one thing you have to remember is that there are literally hundreds of television shows that will never be released to DVD or blu ray. If studios would allow both formats to exist on the market I think it would be possible for studios to start releasing more and more of these shows to DVD.

However, I would even be interested in ordering directly from the studios. This way, the studios could get these shows to fans and the shows would be printed as they are ordered by consumers.

 

[Bryan^H]

I think I brought up a pretty good issue with live music on dvd.

Gord, or Dave(or anyone else)...do you have an answer?

 

[Larry.P]

It IS true. Paramount clears the music for each show in perpetuity unless the 2 people I know who work there are lying to me. What you are not realizing is that the music must be cleared for each individual show. If the same music cue is used in 30 episodes, then it needs to be cleared for all 30 episodes. Music for a season 2 episode of the Fugitive is not automatically paid for by virtue of having paid for it in a season 1 episode. For example, when Paramount released season 1 of "Happy Days" they paid in perpetuity for the "Rock around the Clock" theme song to be used for all 16 episodes. The music is now cleared for any future incarnation of a season 1 release. They substituted the song with the "Happy Days" theme for season 2 after choosing not to pay to clear it for those next 23 episodes.
Paramount's policy of clearing in perpetuity is what drives their music costs so high. They don't want to negotiate over and over. They would rather own their shows outright. In some ways this makes sense, but on the other hand they end up butchering shows that they could otherwise maybe release unaltered if they changed their clearing policy.
The only plus side is that if some of these shows are successful and later re-released (perhaps on BluRay), some of the music will already be paid for. Perhaps at that time they would clear the rest of the music. Remember, Paramount is King when it comes to trying to get you to double-dip.

 

[Carabimero]

They're not only king, they're god on earth--I bought Star Trek 4 times and Twilight Zone 3 times!

I'm not disputing your perpetuity claim. My understanding is that they believed they had the underscore rights to the Fugitive, then other folks came along and disputed it. And apparently the cue sheets complicated matters.

All I'm saying is that if it can happen once, it can happen again.

 

[David Lambert]

I personally have no clue how that aspect of it works. My guess is that the right answer is "it depends on the contract" (or whatever legal agreement(s) apply to that show and/or performance).

Remember, I'm not a lawyer!

 

[Bryan^H]

Thanks David.

 

[kemcha]

I just wish that these studios would complete the releases of these shows that they started releasing.

Sliders, Invisible Man, seaQuest DSV, Charlie's Angels are all one season set away from being completed as a release, leaving fans in the lurch. Then there are other shows like Chips, The Sentinel, The Fall Guy and many others which started to see a release but have yet to see any future releases.

Even if they don't plan on adding new releases of classic shows to their schedule, they really need to release those remaining sets of shows that they started releasing.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I just wish that these studios would complete the releases of these shows that they started releasing.

Sliders, Invisible Man, seaQuest DSV, Charlie's Angels are all one season set away from being completed as a release, leaving fans in the lurch. Then there are other shows like Chips, The Sentinel, The Fall Guy and many others which started to see a release but have yet to see any future releases.

Even if they don't plan on adding new releases of classic shows to their schedule, they really need to release those remaining sets of shows that they started releasing.

You said it! That's the truth. Everyone here has a mile-long list of abandoned shows in their collections.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

The only shows I have absolutely no hope for are shows from WB.

Paramount has shown a willingness to revisit shows eventually (Taxi and Cheers finished up, didn't they?), and Universal, Fox, and Sony all have licensed stuff to Shout... and the relationship between those three companies and Shout are all relatively new, but so far, Shout has completed one Fox series (Son of the Beach), continued stalled series from Universal and Sony (Adam-12 and the upcoming Facts of Life), and we have a promise of Leave it to Beaver coming in a complete box soon. And I think we're only about a year or so into these licensing agreements.

But WB... Well... with the exception of Fresh Prince season 5 and Night Court, I can't think of them revisiting a stalled series. And they have quite a few.