CBS series: Switch(Robert Wagner), Dan August(Burt Reynolds), Crazy like a Fox(Jack Warden) (1 Viewer)

I would like to see that the above mentioned series will be released by CBS/Paramount in the future.

I don´t know the 70´s series "Switch" starring Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert but after seeing some clips at youtube I´m interested in the series.

I never saw "Dan August" either but I like Burt Reynolds and a Quinn Martin show is always worth a try!

I own all episodes of "Crazy like a Fox" on DVD-R. I totally love the show. Jack Warden is hilarious!!!

I would also like to see dan august and switch get released out what the heck is taking so
long

Originally Posted by Tim Gregerson
I would also like to see dan august and switch get released out what the heck is taking so
long

Click to expand...

Well, let's see. Dan August ran for one season almost 40 years ago and has never been syndicated. So perhaps that's the reason? And Switch is owned by Universal, which releases virtually nothing from their library from the 1970s.

"Switch" is the kind of title Universal might license out since it falls in the same category of other 70s shows that have been licensed out. A Shout or VEI one might think might go for it.

Originally Posted by Jack P
"Switch" is the kind of title Universal might license out since it falls in the same category of other 70s shows that have been licensed out. A Shout or VEI one might think might go for it.

Click to expand...

Keep dreaming.

Of those series listed, I would definately be 'in' for SWITCH.

Don't even remember the other two.

I loved Crazy Like a Fox and would buy it in a heartbeat.

Well, one starred Burt Reynolds the other Robert Wagner, they both were heartthrobs in their prime so I think they have a huge following of fans and potential, besides these were good shows. So was CLAF, good show that is. Had these been bad shows I could understand a hesitation perhaps, not now. A company like SF! make a great candidate, but it's up to them of course they have lots of TV stuff to choose from.

Originally Posted by HenryDuBrow
besides these were good shows.

Click to expand...

Since when does that have anything to do with anything?

Why do you think people talk about shows here in the first place, probably because they want them...

Unfortunately, I think Neil is correct. These shows aren’t coming to DVD anytime soon. Probably not coming to DVD period. My belief is classic TV on disc is drawing its last breath.



I think a lot of posters have an unrealistic expectation in their release hopes. The market for classic shows is simply not strong enough to support the investment studios & DVD companies have to make in order to put them out ,and it appears to be a declining one. Just take a look at all the abandoned series out there, including some well known and top rated in their time. If they don’t pay there is little chance that a one season effort like ‘Dan August’ will see the light of day.



I’m not arguing the merits of the programmes, just looking at the economics.



I frequently see posts here ,or other forums asking when Series X is appearing. The poster often qualifies it by suggesting it should be restored/remastered & have a host of interviews & extras. Well, restoring is an expensive business. Likewise, licensing a show to an independent might sound fine in theory but can be extremely complicated. Many shows are not actually owned outright by the studio & clearing ‘rights’ is far from straightforward, particularly on older series. I have heard of examples where this has been so involved & complex the company has simply abandoned the release.



The big studios such as Warners have never shown any interest in releasing or licensing. CBS / Paramount are clearly scaling back & I suspect abandoning all but the guaranteed sellers.



A few years back I used to look through TVShowsonDVD forthcoming & there was always an announcement to stimulate my interest. So much so, that I would have to make a list of intended purchases & spread it out for affordability. This year I have found so little I hardly bother looking anymore.



As for black & white material, well, probably has about the same niche market as silent films.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverking /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Unfortunately, I think Neil is correct. These shows aren’t coming to DVD anytime soon. Probably not coming to DVD period. My belief is classic TV on disc is drawing its last breath.



I think a lot of posters have an unrealistic expectation in their release hopes. The market for classic shows is simply not strong enough to support the investment studios & DVD companies have to make in order to put them out ,and it appears to be a declining one. Just take a look at all the abandoned series out there, including some well known and top rated in their time. If they don’t pay there is little chance that a one season effort like ‘Dan August’ will see the light of day.



I’m not arguing the merits of the programmes, just looking at the economics.



I frequently see posts here ,or other forums asking when Series X is appearing. The poster often qualifies it by suggesting it should be restored/remastered & have a host of interviews & extras. Well, restoring is an expensive business. Likewise, licensing a show to an independent might sound fine in theory but can be extremely complicated. Many shows are not actually owned outright by the studio & clearing ‘rights’ is far from straightforward, particularly on older series. I have heard of examples where this has been so involved & complex the company has simply abandoned the release.



The big studios such as Warners have never shown any interest in releasing or licensing. CBS / Paramount are clearly scaling back & I suspect abandoning all but the guaranteed sellers.



A few years back I used to look through TVShowsonDVD forthcoming & there was always an announcement to stimulate my interest. So much so, that I would have to make a list of intended purchases & spread it out for affordability. This year I have found so little I hardly bother looking anymore.



As for black & white material, well, probably has about the same niche market as silent films. [Emphasis mine]

Click to expand...

Bravo, Chris. That's the post of the week for sure! I hope you don't mind, but I emphasized a few points that I really thought were important to highlight. You are spot on correct with your assessment. Some of us have seen the handwriting on the wall for a couple of years now, yet we still have others that insist there is no slowdown at all in Classic releases (by including anything that's been off the air for only a year in the category - still silly as all get out as far as I'm concerned). But no matter how you choose to slice this pizza, you have to recognize we've hit the mountain top and are now on the way down. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.



The amount of stalled out shows; the amount of rescheduling of releases; the amount of cancelations recently by one prominent studio - it all adds up to one undeniable fact: We are nearing the end of the line with this hobby. At least folks that like truly vintage shows are nearing the end of the line. As you said, Chris, the b/w TV show market is quickly becoming a real niche market akin to silent films and there just aren't enough fans out there to make it worth the studios' time.



I've said for a while now that all true classic TV fans should be getting down on their knees daily and thanking God Almighty for Shout, Timeless, Time Life and a few of the smaller companies that have kept this thing going for us. Just think about how many truly iconic, vintage shows we'd be missing if not for those three over the last couple of years. I know several of my "holy grail" series would be missing from my collection but for them.



Look, I'd love to see Switch released again. Still love the jazzy theme. But the chances of that or the other shows mentioned in the thread title coming are just about zero. Sure, anything can happen. But it's just not a realistic expectation at this point. It would have to be classified as a long shot prayer.



Thanks again for a great post, Chris!



Gary "ooh, but wait... Buffy and Angel are being repackaged and released again - see, Classic TV on DVD is alive and well" O.

Gary O. and others,

I usually don't post comments in this forum, but I feel that I need to speak up. All of the negative comments about the state of this industry are really getting me down. I realize that new releases are slowing down and the economy is as bad as ever. I agree with about 90% of what is said about it, but you can't be sure about what will be released in the future unless you work at the studio. If you have inside information that most of us don't know about, that is fine.

I know that Sony and Fox have given up, Warner and Universal have little to no interest in this any more, but I always hoped that some of the shows released by CBS Paramount would continue. They have been the one big studio that hadn't thrown in the towel. I can understand the studio delaying the release of certain titles until further notice, but to hear that they are cancelling their future releases for good is hard for me to accept or believe. They have released some shows over the past year that I never thought I would see on DVD.

If this is true, why continue this forum? Or maybe we should rename it the "Shout Factory TV on DVD" forum. I just want to have some hope for the future.

I should emphasize just because I'd like these three shows to come out doesn't mean I think they will, but I certainly agree with Paul here that unless people have studio connections they just don't know, then it's just as speculating dreaming. Who not even a year ago here saw Matt Houston or Vega$ or One Step Beyond or Barnaby Jones coming, I sure didn't, so to suggest either CBS or Warner (Scarecrow & Mrs. King, anyone?) or even Universal are now done with it all I think is a little prematurely. There's a dry spell, but who can say how long that'll last. Patience is a virtue when it comes to classic TV, I've learned that much. I do agree of course companies like Timeless and SF! have kept things going, and in the UK people like Network keep churning out 'lost' and rare (British) gem after gem.

Quote:

phenri said:

/forum/thread/302689/cbs-series-switch-robert-wagner-dan-august-burt-reynolds-crazy-like-a-fox-jack-warden#post_3717293
I certainly agree with Paul here that unless people have studio connections they just don't know, then it's just as speculating dreaming.

Click to expand...

I'm not speculating.

Gary "and that's all I'm going to say - everyone believe what they want" O.

Is it knowing then...? If so, how. Oh right, the crystal ball... Was The Fugitive ever really set in stone and scheduled? Yes, it may very well be coming out later (than many thought or hoped), but if that's its state why couldn't that be the state with many of the other titles. It's tough economic times, sure, which is why there's this current limbo crisis going on but it's impossible to predict the future, the release timelines are already all over the place with no consistency these days. To say classic TV on DVD is dead (and hardly begun on Blu-Ray) is, well, dreaming a nightmare...
/img/vbsmilies/htf/alien.gif

Believe whatever you want, Henry. But I'm not the type of person to go on message boards and make stuff up just for the heck of it. That's not me. But as I said, believe whatever you want.

Gary "just calling 'em like I see 'em" O.

That's okay Gary, I will join you though in beginning scepticism if nothing's changed new or heard by the end of the year... I think we should at least give this year's last released shows (Barnaby Jones, etc.) that long a life line...

Quote:

Originally Posted by HenryDuBrow
That's okay Gary, I will join you though in beginning scepticism if nothing's changed new or heard by the end of the year... I think we should at least give this year's last released shows (Barnaby Jones, etc.) that long a life line...

Click to expand...

Henry, maybe I'm not being clear. I'm not saying we aren't going to have a few more nice releases coming in the next few months. We are. I don't think this is anything big because we've had a CBS exec already come on and tell us to watch for Fugitive news. So I'm not spilling any beans by saying this: look for The Fugitive, Season 4, Vol. 1 in early November. We also were told that The Lucy Show Season 3 would come if Season 2 sold well, so this isn't spilling any beans either: look for that to happen in late November. I'd say chances are good we will see PM S5, V2 that same month, along with HGWT S5, V1. So I'm not saying we won't see some releases. Just that the schedule has been significantly scaled back. It's just a matter of quantity. It's nothing like it has been in years past and it's nothing like an earlier, long range schedule said it would be. And that's all I'll say as far as specifics go.

I loved that first season Barnaby Jones set. I really want a second season release. Probably as much as anyone else here. But don't get your hopes up to hear about anything by Christmas. I honestly believe that one has been abandoned. /img/vbsmilies/htf/frown.gif

Gary "would definitely like to see a Switch release, but think it's a major long shot at this point" O.

And this is a part of the decline in catalog DVD releases in general for the past couple of years. Warner has put everything into their high-priced burn-on-demand Warner Archive program, and winnowed their retail releases to almost nothing. Other companies like Fox, Universal, and Paramount (the movie side) aren't releasing anything...at this point, I'm feeling relieved that we got so much during the fat years, and I'm happy there are a few independent companies putting good stuff out.