Best of Route 66 (1 Viewer)

Does anyone know if this is a legitimate release?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000PY51QY/
It's being released by a company called Roxbury Entertainment, which I've never heard of before, and contains 11 episodes of the series on two discs. It's hard for me to imagine that Sony would license "Route 66" to a small unknown company so I'm a little suspicious that this may be an unauthorized release. Does anybody know anything about this release or about Roxbury Entertainment?

Bob Hug said:

Does anyone know if this is a legitimate release?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000PY51QY/
It's being released by a company called Roxbury Entertainment, which I've never heard of before, and contains 11 episodes of the series on two discs. It's hard for me to imagine that Sony would license "Route 66" to a small unknown company so I'm a little suspicious that this may be an unauthorized release. Does anybody know anything about this release or about Roxbury Entertainment?

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Very interesting, but I can't believe this is an official release. It's only two discs, yet it's boasting 11 episodes?!! That's not a good thing. I guess it could be two double-sided discs, but that's not a great thing either.
Gary "for that price, I'm staying away until someone else gives it a go and tells me it looks good" O.

Would be interested to see if the episode titles correspond with the old Columbia House video releases which would indicate bootleg to me.

I wonder if some of the episodes from the series may have slipped into the public domain, i.e., copyrights not renewed. Eleven episodes is a really strange number to release . . . why not make it 10 or an even dozen?

Bob Hug said:

I wonder if some of the episodes from the series may have slipped into the public domain, i.e., copyrights not renewed. Eleven episodes is a really strange number to release . . . why not make it 10 or an even dozen?

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If all the actors listed on Amazon site appear in this set of 11 shows, it would be hard to believe that these just happened to have fallen into public domain

So who's going to order this? 11 episodes for $30 is a little off-putting.

If this set has been out since May 1rst, where is it? I've seen no reviews or heard about it before Bob brought it to our attention. Also, why does it take 4-6 weeks to arrive?

This Website states that it has all the original commercials and shows a better picture of the set. http://bearep.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...roduct_ID=1691

I still say 11 hour long episodes crammed into two discs is a bad, bad thing. There's no way the quality can be that good. Three discs, maybe. But not two.
Gary "if the price tag was something like $9.99 I might go for it, but as it stands that's way too much money for only 11 episodes on only two discs" O.

Doug^Ch said:

This Website states that it has all the original commercials and shows a better picture of the set. http://bearep.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...roduct_ID=1691

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And if you scroll down, there are customer reviews from 2006! Curiouser and curiouser.....

It looks fishy to me. I googled the UPC code (721633102922) and it comes up with a handful of sites that are just different names for the same content. Sony used to own the rights to the series, but they don't anymore.
Gord

Gord Lacey said:

Sony used to own the rights to the series, but they don't anymore.Gord

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Gord, if Sony doesn't have the rights to "Route 66" anymore (a good thing in my opinion as they haven't shown any interest whatsoever in releasing it), who now has the rights? Hopefully, it will be some company that cares about the series and knows how to release it properly.

For a questionable and certainly very low-key release this set seems to have attained a respectable sales rank at Amazon at the moment (considerably higher for example than all three HGWT season releases). Three glowing reviews for the "Best of Route 66" have been posted on June 6th, 8th and 9th on Amazon, something one would not be inclined to see if this were a bootleg. Considering the inclusion of original commercials in this set, it would seem to be very much an Image Entertainment release--except that the studio is Roxbury Entertainment, a company I can't seem too find much information about.

The series seems to be making the rounds here lately. Over at tvparty.com a good article on Route 66 was recently posted (with link to the dvd set) and two books have recently been published. The first book out is Robin Fletcher’s "The Route 66 TV Series" (64 pages, $14.95), published by Route 66 Magazine. The second is James Rosin’s "Route 66: The Television Series, 1960-64" 174 pages, $19.95), published by the Autumn Road Co.

Like the rest of you guys I was set to pass on this "Best of" dvd set. Now... I'm giving it a bit more thought...

I did a little more poking around at Amazon on this release and it must have been previously issued because I'm seeing a half dozen reviews from 2005 and 2006 on another entry.
http://www.amazon.com/Route-Episodes...350257-1067862
It's the same cover and, presumably, the same 11 episodes. But I can find almost no online stores that carry it, which raises suspicions. On the other hand, if it's a bootleg, one would think that the copyright holder would issue a "cease & desist" letter to Roxbury Entertainment and Amazon from selling it . . . . or maybe it's simply flying "under the radar screen." Still, given the number of episodes, it's a bit on the pricey side and I'm not ready to buy this just yet. It does seem strange to me that this is being offered directly from Amazon. If it was being sold by an Amazon seller, I'd say it's a "boot" for sure. This really is one strange release . . . . .

Usually it's a cut and dried thing. Dvdpricesearch.com does not list it nor is it being stocked by Deep Discount. And yet, it seems to be a professsional release on the surface with reportedly "Naked City" type quality for image transfer. What gives?

Addendum:

Silverking wrote -

Would be interested to see if the episode titles correspond with the old Columbia House video releases which would indicate bootleg to me.

Well, I should have been paying closer attention to previous posts in this thread. I'm almost certain this is the case here after all, which could explain the image quality. Apologies if I'm leading too much discussion on a potentially illegitimate release.

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UPC Page:
http://www.upcdatabase.com/item.asp?upc=721633102922
registered to:
WIZARD DISTRIBUTION
Address2051 W. Mountain St. Glendale, CA 91501 US
if you look at the back of the box, no UPC is even there!
http://www.cjpf.org/shop.php?k=Roxbu...isher&mode=DVD
Movies Unlimited is selling Amos And Andy box sets and we know they are not authorized. So, this one just slipped through.
Another interesting item on Amazon are the BOB Hope TV shows. There are discs from 1960-1970 or so. These are authorized as far as I can tell. Amazon is the DVDr manufacturer. The one problem is a reveiwer says they are edited.
Brian

I'm quite sure it's a boot. As for Sony not owning the rights to the show anymore, that's patently false. They have never sold it to anyone nor given up their ownership.

Interesting . . . . . in Billy Ingram's "TV Party!" blog today, he lists this DVD as the hottest selling DVD sold through the TV Party! site (links to Amazon).
http://www.tvparty.com/1blog.html
If, in fact, Sony has the rights, they really need to get this released pronto! They're losing money.

That is indeed very interesting. One wonders what the Amazon sales rank would then look like if Sony where to announce a complete S1 release. Perhaps the sales of the two recently published books on the "Route 66" series will foster additional interest and web chatter regarding an official release on DVD soon.

I just wish Image Entertainment would get involved here. I think they've been pleased with the sales figures for the other great Herbert B. Leonard production, "Naked City" (having released all 60 of the 138 episodes they were licensed for). With R66 being a higher profile series that took viewers all over the country (adding to that the 'cool' factor of the show where old car collectors are concerned) I have to believe this would be a much bigger sales winner for them.

I found this extensive and well written review of "The Best of Route 66" at Epinions. It was recently written and provides the most extensive information about the 11 episode DVD release to date. Unfortunately, it does not definitively answer the question as to whether or not this is an authorized release. Here's an excerpt regarding the transfer quality . . . .
"Despite a poll on the Sony Pictures website (Sony being the caretaker to the Screen Gems - Columbia legacy) stating that Route 66 is the second-most requested series among fans for DVD release, the series is still a no-show in that department. Several complete series boxed sets exist for sale, but none are studio sanctioned and most are either sourced from inferior quality videotape or previously broadcast material.
The exception to the group is an 11-episode 2-disc DVD set entitled The Best of Route 66. Presented in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and digitally re-mastered from the original 35 MM Master (as claimed by the DVD case text), this is a quality clear and sharp transfer that also features a crisp and clean audio track. Think of it as the appetizer in anticipation of the feast Sony may someday choose to unleash with the balance of the 105 additional episodes tucked-away in their vault."
Full review here (Route 66 fans will want to read this):
http://www.epinions.com/content_378358107780