Where is "Hill Street Blues" & "St Elsewhere"???!!! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_HR]

In the studios' minds, older viewers don't buy DVDs (At the very least, they don't buy nearly as many as young people do.)

Well I have not seen any stats, but I'm approaching 1300 DVDs with no end of buying in sight. And I guess I qualify as an "older" viewer at 51 yrs old.
I find it real hard to believe that some of the shows I see on the shelf have more demand than "St. Elsewhere" & "Hill Street Blues". I guess I'll have to hope for a non-R1 release. I'll be more than happy to send my $$$ overseas.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Jeff: I'd even invest in another DVD player for non-region 1 DVDs (something I know several HTFers have already done for other reasons) just to scratch my St. Elsewhere itch.

 

[Scott_F_S]

And I guess I qualify as an "older" viewer at 51 yrs old.

Same age as you, Jeff. I don't have nearly the DVD numbers that you do, but I am a frequent purchaser. I probably have about 30 TV sets and 100 or so movies. However, I would be willing to bet that you and I are in a minuscule minority among the TV on DVD market. I personally don't know anyone else in my age group who buys them. Most people I know rent at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video.

 

[Julian Reville]

I'm 53, which to some people is practically dead.
I have about 200 LDs, 100 DVD movies, and 20 DVD TV sets.
I also have the VHS Re-TV sets of St. Elsewhere & Hill Street Blues, both of which were sadly truncated. I taped most of the remaining episodes when TVLand ran them, but unfortunately I missed a few. Just last night I watched the Hill Street Blues episodewhere Phil Esterhaus died. In hindsight, Michael Conrad was losing weight and looking poorly from his cancer in the previous few episodes. I have always wondered if they cleared the "manner" of his death with him. Surely they would have. "A legend is born"

I would love to have both of these shows complete on DVD.

 

[Jeff_HR]

I also have the VHS Re-TV sets of St. Elsewhere & Hill Street Blues

I was buying the VHS Re-TV set of "Hill Street Blues" episodes too, but I didn't get to tape any other episodes. I was really POed when it was stopped.

I have not rented a video title since the late 1980's!!

 

[Andrew!A]

With regards to the licencing of these shows, I think it's clear from an early post in this thread that Fox has the DVD rights. The Fox rep clearly stated that HSB is a show they would consider releasing if other titles did well. I don't think he'd say they would consider releasing it if they didn't have the rights! And if that's the case, then they would also have the rights to St. Elsewhere, since they're both MTM titles. I recall reading somewhere that Fox owns the rights to the full MTM library.
I'd buy both HSB and St. Elsewhere season sets on DVD in a heartbeat. I have complete runs of both series on Beta, and I've been slowly transfering my St. Elsewhere tapes to DVD-R. They're OK - washed out, grainy (taped on extended play mode :frowning: ) and in tinny mono - but I'd KILL for pristine DVD versions!
I'm 48, and I have roughly 700 DVDs, including about 60 TV season sets. There are lots of 40 & 50-something males with big DVD collections. We have the disposable income to purchase high quality home theatres and to build up DVD libraries. And we were at the right age to watch these shows when they first ran on network TV. The studios are missing the boat big-time if they think there's no audience for high quality TV from the 70s and 80s on DVD.
I also own a region-free PAL-to-NTSC DVD player, because there were too many great TV packages available on amazon.co.uk that weren't available here, especially the Brit police and detective stuff like "Trial and Retribution", "Kavanagh QC" and "A Touch of Frost" (which is finally available in North America, but I was able to purchase 2 massive box sets of the first 10 season from the UK for about HALF the cost of the individual season sets here in Canada).
C'mon Fox! Get it together! You're missing a great opportunity here.

 

[R. Kay]

God, you guys are old!

 

[Mike Frezon]

God, you guys are old!

Yup. 46.

 

[Andrew!A]

I have such strong mental images of David Morse on crutches watching someone walk his son out the front door of the hospital (and a million other situations he was in!), Mark Harmon with a blonde and a razor blade, Dr. Craig headbutting Dr. Ehrlich, and Dr. Auschlander's son with his snowglobe.

David Morse ("Boomer") was the most unlucky guy on the face of the earth. Do you recall his son eventually shooting the rapist, while Boomer looked on. His son thought it was his toy gun, and so did the rapist, but it was real.

What a cast on that show. Fox could market the DVDs just based on Denzel Washington's name. I'm sure there's an audience out there who doesn't have a clue he did a TV series.

 

[Scott_F_S]

"Jumping Jack! What was that flash?"

And the guy who thought he was Mary Tyler Moore bumping into Betty White in the hallway. Classic!

 

[Mike Frezon]

And the guy who thought he was Mary Tyler Moore bumping into Betty White in the hallway. Classic!

The excellent inside jokes never stopped. The writing was superb.
I'm telling ya, I get angry EVERY time I think about this!
And maybe one of you guys can help me out with this...but IIRC, Dr. Craig was always talking about his mentor...whose name I remember as Josaiah Bartlett. if that was the name...that's the same name as one of the signers of the Declarataion of Independence and was probably influenced by William Daniels from his time performing in both the Broadway play and film version of 1776. If, indeed, I remember correctly, that's one of those inside jokes I did not get at the time.

 

[oscar_merkx]

You guys are forgetting about Stephen Furst!!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Flounder!

 

[Jeff_HR]

Thanks for the activity on my thread! Maybe a little attention might be paid to it by persons in a position to do something about releases. (Wishful thinking!) Each time I'm in Best Buy & see all the TV DVDs I just get so terribly MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Andrew!A]

I loved the throwaway music references. One of my favorites was as Erlich and Lucy were walking into the hospital and chatting about (if I recall correctly) (a) Lucy's cold and (b) a problem she was having with a patient. In the course of about 30 seconds, there were two music references:

Lucy (checking her temperature which she's just taken): Hey! 98.6.

Erlich: It's good to have you back again.

Then, as they walk towards the elevator discussing Lucy's patient, Erlich offers this advice:

Erlich: You should try a little tenderness.

Then he dashes for the elevator and calls out:

Erlich: Nurse Redding! Hold that Otis!

Gotta love it! Quoting lyrics from the 60s pop song "98.6" by Keith, plus the reference to Otis Redding's "Try a little Tenderness" -- AND a reference to elevator manufacturer Otis!

 

[RoyM]

No question, St. Elsewhere was one of TV's most brilliantly written shows. It would be one of the only, if not only (more or less) "conventional" TV drama series I would ever collect on DVD if it were available.
It's no wonder that many of the creative people associated with SE went on to work on the other most brilliantly written show in TV history, Northern Exposure, all of which thankfully is apparently going to be released on DVD eventually, and is selling very well by the way. Fox should recognize that there is a market for great, intelligent TV shows.
My favorite SE moment was when Timothy Van Patten guest starred on one episode and happened to get on an elevator with Byron Stewart, who had a small regular role as an orderly on the show. The two actors had starred together years earlier on The White Shadow, when Van Patten played "Salami" and Stewart played "Coolidge". Anyway, Stewart's character does a doubletake as he says Van Patten get on the elevator and calls out to him "Hey! Salami!" only to have Van Patten tell him, "I'm sorry you must have me confused with someone else."
Great, great show that was clearly written for an audience whose intelligence the show respected.

 

[BobGassel]

This thread pretty much answers my inquiries about "The White Shadow" and "The Paper Chase"...damnit.

 

[Andrew!A]

An excellent book that's well worth seeking out:

"Televisions Second Golden Age: from Hill Street Blues to ER" by Robert J. Thompson. Published by Continuum in 1996. I got it from my local library.

It has a great section on St. Elsewhere, with lots of detail on the sly cross-references to other TV shows.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Is this pre-order chance from Amazon.com for "REAL" or is it someone's idea of "wishful" thinking? GOD I hope it is for real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sami Kallio]

It's not wishful thinking: http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?...5&trkid=189530