The Transformers/GI JOE Dilemma (1 Viewer)

[tjguitar85]

Not entirely accurate. The completes 90s FOX Fantsatic Four series was released around the time of the movie, no?

Also Disney put out volumes of Spider-man for both films.

Spiderman episode volumes:
April 02
October 02
February 03
September 03
June 04
June 05

X Men - episode volumes:
October 00
June 01
April 03

Fantastic Four Complete Series:
July 05

 

[David Levine]

Yeah, the 90s FF series is out, that's why I said "the older cartoons".

And that's barely a start on X-Men and Spider-Man, and nothing on Amazing Friends.

 

[tjguitar85]

Oh, my mistake, I thought you were referring to the 90s series that aired on FOX. Anyways, the complete 60s Spiderman series was put out I think.

I hope WHV continues with their Filmation DC stuff and gets to the rest of Superfriends.

 

[MattQuack]

bump

Is there anyone we could think of to email to see what the status is on the licenses of these G.I. Joe and Transformers??

 

[Greg K]

Any updates on this situation?

 

[David Lambert]

No. Dammit.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Sony could have released the series through their own label ... instead of just abadoning the label they were going to release it through. It's another screw-over for fans of the series and just proves that Sony doesn't care about consumers or fans who went and bought the Transformers movie they released.

 

[Greg K]

Surely there'll be a release in the future, perhaps a few years down the line, and maybe when the license has passed to another studio.

The scarcity of the Rhino DVDs and the demand for a re-release (and the disappointment the Rhino DVDs caused for many fans) practically beg for it. There's money to be made! Surely it won't be too long before someone picks up the ball. Especially if the live-action Transformers movie is a huge hit.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Who knows, maybe Rhino will get the license back and finish releasing the series ...

 

[Greg K]

A glimmer of hope?

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7539

 

[Jason_V]

I thought about both these series over the weekend and how nice it would be to have correct sets sitting on the shelf. Especially next to GI Joe the Movie and Transformers the Movie.

 

[MattQuack]

I've been toying with the idea of selling my sets off online, I have everything too, but I do enjoy the packaging that they gave us, even though people slam it all the time, I sometimes enjoy the screw-ups and what not....oh well, I'll just keep my eye on the news about this.

 

[Stephen J*]

To quote Megatron, "Pathetic."

 

[Greg K]

Bump...!



Surely with the mega-success of the live-action TF movie, there will be renewed interest in a G1 re-release (which will hopefully correct those blasted Rhino errors).

Anyone heard anything?

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I'm curious about the release myself. Any updates?

 

[Greg K]

I've been looking at the Rhino DVDs lately to refresh myself with the various problems they have.

Aside from the glaring fact that the unfinished 35 mm film masters were used instead of the 1" broadcast masters, the actual film transfers leave much to be desired.

The colors appear to be oversaturated at first glance, but I think that may be a result of the fact that the broadcast masters were a bit washed out as a result of 1980s telecine techniques (and the fact that the master tapes were used for dubbing all the syndication tapes).

In fact, if you look at some of the galleries of original animation cels now in the hands of private collectors, the colors don't seem too far off from the Rhino DVDs. Here are some samples:


http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3297

http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3632

http://cybertroncelarchive.rubberslu...?SeriesID=3722


The film masters are also full of scratches, grain, etc. That would be more difficult to fix, but not impossible. Many vintage cartoons (such as the classic Superman shorts) look great for their age on DVD. And the Rhino method (which took clean sections of the frame before or after a scratched frame and pasted them on top) looks bad and easy to spot (because of the "grain freeze").


There are also a LOT of jaggies on the Rhino discs, far more than I remembered. A LOT.


Ideally, my preferred release would be restored versions of the broadcast masters with the original mono sound (albeit in 2.0 stereo). This would eliminate those pesky animation errors from the incomplete film masters (Rhino's version of "Heavy Metal War" is utterly unwatchable.). And having the correct main/end titles, correct episode titles (Instead of oddities like "The Master Builder"), and an episode order that actually makes sense would go a long way toward making the series watchable on DVD for me.

I cringe whenever I pull out the TF season 1 set. Some episodes are okay (such as the three-part pilot, although Rhino's version still has some problems), but other episodes have those lousy animation errors and added sound effects. Season 2, Part 1 is pretty soild, but one disc has the added sound effects in both 2.0 and 5.1. Season 2, part 2 is a lost cause, since every single episode has the added sound effects. Season 3 parts 1-2 both have some problems (animation errors, episodes out of order, wrong main titles, etc.), but all of the episodes have the original broadcast audio, at least.


I've been complaining about this for years, now, and I'm not alone. I'm confident that a proper re-release of the series can correct these nagging errors. Let's hope it happens soon, and that the people in charge of such a project know what they're doing (or, if they don't, that they seek out people like us who know the score).

 

[Greg K]

I've been reading about Madman Entertainment's 17-disc Complete Transformers Collection (which contains all 98 episodes) recently.

http://www.madman.com.au/actions/cat...releaseId=8075


They've also re-released the 1986 movie:

http://www.madman.com.au/actions/cat...65&method=view



This sounds much like what I've been asking for all this time. The set has good extras (scripts/storyboards, model sheets, interviews, etc.), and it apparently uses the original broadcast master tapes! However, the soundtracks are apparently the effed-up Rhino versions. But the fact that they used the original broadcast versions of the episodes gives a glimmer of hope!


Here's a clip from Madman's version of "Heavy Metal War":




Unfortuantely, Madman is based in Australia, and thus this is a Region 4 (PAL) release.


Let us hope that a Region 1 release is forthcoming from Sony, and that it's similar to this set (but uses the correct audio, and puts the episodes in broadcast order instead of production order).

 

[Greg K]

Anyone heard any rumors or news about a possible series re-release?

With the overwhelming success of the live-action Transformers movie, surely something will be in the pipe eventually, right?

 

[David Lambert]

No word yet. :frowning:

I'm always trying to find something out, though!

 

[Greg K]

And we love you for it, Dave!



I've been introducing some younger friends of mine to the original TF series recently (they're only familiar with Beast Wars and the live-action movie), and it's a real hassle dealing with the Rhino DVDs (at least, the episodes that have major animation screw-ups and added sound effects on all audio tracks). I'll have to use the older videotapes for badly Rhino-ized episodes like "The Ultimate Doom" and "Heavy Metal War".

I also toggled between the 2.0 (original) audio and the 5.1 (Rhino) audio for them, just to show the difference in sound effects (and to explain my frustration). The Rhino-added sound effects actually elicited laughter!


It's been a while since I've looked at the episodes, and I was reminded why I love the series so much, and why I must continue chanting for a proper re-release with the correct audio/video for all episodes, etc.

Aside from the obvious animation and sound problems, the other issues are also baffling. Since Rhino had to recreate the white-lettered episode titles and credits, we get oddities like "The Master Builder" and season 2's production/voice credits laid in over the season 1 end titles. And episodes are out of order, as well as occasionally feauturing the wrong main title sequences. And the "Return of Optimus Prime" end narration version of "Dark Awakening" is included, but not the original (which would be a snap to do with two separate audio tracks).




Seriously, if a new DVD release were actually in the works, I'd immediately volunteer to provide as much info and help as humanly possible, since I've been studying this mess (and complaining about it) for years, now. I'd do it for free, even!