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What a Pile of Junk (1 Viewer)

Frank Soyke

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I was looking at the latest news over the past few days and its all the same crap. Full season sets of every possible current series (Network and cable) and a bunch of British shows no-one cares about.

Sorry to be a downer but it would be nice to check out the latest news on here just once and see a few older series being listed rather than Squidbillies Volume 4, the latest edition of Private Practice, or some show shown in England four years ago.
 

kingfish

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i wonder when we will hear about more vegas, Matt Huston, bonanza,etc. i feel that the dvd market is in the crapper because of the shows being released. All we seem to get is the same old stuff packaged and repackaged. tv series that should be on dvd are either never released or partially released.
 

bobPON

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I agree totally. There are tons of shows out there from the fifties and early sixties that I'd love to see. I rather see some vintage programming than show from fifteen years ago.
 

Frank Soyke

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Originally Posted by The Obsolete Man

So... you missed the announcements for MST3K vs. Gamera, Spin City s5, Webster s3, some Cagney and Lacey release, Voltron, MASK, and two 15+ year old Nicktoons?


Opinions and preferences vary, and I'm not trying to offend anyone. Personally though, I don't consider MASK, Spin City Season 5 (2000-2001), Voltron, yet another MST3 release, and a 1995 Cagney and Lacey reunion movie as classics.
 

Gary OS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Soyke

Opinions and preferences vary, and I'm not trying to offend anyone. Personally though, I don't consider MASK, Spin City Season 5 (2000-2001), Voltron, yet another MST3 release, and a 1995 Cagney and Lacey reunion movie as classics.


I have to agree. Maybe Webster could classify as a modern classic, but I really can't put any of the others in that category. Now, as Frank said (and we all know this), opinions do vary so I'm not looking to rain on anyone's parade who's excited about the aforementioned releases. But they don't do anything for me.


On the plus side, I do know that Timeless has some nice plans for the 2nd half of the year. And we've got a rumor about Perry Mason that seems to have been confirmed today. So that's some good news. But overall, it does seem like things are slowing down to a crawl right now if vintage TV is your pleasure.



Gary "the CBS portion of my crystal ball has been very dark lately - I've not been able to see anything so I have no idea what they plan on doing in the 3rd and 4th quarter of this year" O.
 

mark78

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Originally Posted by Gary OS      Quote:


I have to agree.  Maybe Webster could classify as a modern classic, but I really can't put any of the others in that category.  Now, as Frank said (and we all know this), opinions do vary so I'm not looking to rain on anyone's parade who's excited about the aforementioned releases.  But they don't do anything for me.

 

On the plus side, I do know that Timeless has some nice plans for the 2nd half of the year.  And we've got a rumor about Perry Mason that seems to have been confirmed today.  So that's some good news.  But overall, it does seem like things are slowing down to a crawl right now if vintage TV is your pleasure.

 

 

Gary "the CBS portion of my crystal ball has been very dark lately - I've not been able to see anything so I have no idea what they plan on doing in the 3rd and 4th quarter of this year" O.
 

JohnMor

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As you said, opinions vary. But I've been stocking up this year on The Ernie Kovacks Collection, The Lucy Show S4 and possibly S5, Here's Lucy S4 & S5, The Dean Martin Show, All in the Family S8 & S9, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Not too shabby, in my book.
 

Joe Tor1

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We all still have some unfinished favorites (or un-STARTED favorites), but it is my observation that – once both VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and THE FUGITIVE completed their runs – the forum as a whole became somewhat listless!


Over the last few years, these two shows seemed (again, to me) to generate the greatest and most sustained number of comments overall.


In fact, it was my near-lifelong interest in VOYAGE that brought me to this forum in the first place – and, through this forum (and its members: Gary O., Steve L. , and others), I became a fan of THE FUGITIVE… collecting (…and presently enjoying) all the sets!


Sure, I want more IRONSIDE, PERRY MASON, HUCKLEBERRY HOUND, etc. (Everyone fill in your favorite incomplete show here!) But, perhaps it’s an indication that overall, the DVD -- and the studios and independent entities producing them – have accomplished their mission!


Everyone, be honest with yourselves, and note that your collections now exceed your wildest dreams of a decade ago! Mine sure does! For the most part, we’ve got what we wanted!


And that’s why the topics now are what they are. Agree?
 

Richard V

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Well maybe now the forum can turn its' attention to the closeout of two more classics that have stalled out. Namely, Route 66, and The Untouchables, both of which have stalled out on THEIR final seasons, season 4 in both instances.
 

Gary OS

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Originally Posted by Joe Tor1

We all still have some unfinished favorites (or un-STARTED favorites), but it is my observation that – once both VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and THE FUGITIVE completed their runs – the forum as a whole became somewhat listless!


...


Everyone, be honest with yourselves, and note that your collections now exceed your wildest dreams of a decade ago! Mine sure does! For the most part, we’ve got what we wanted!


And that’s why the topics now are what they are. Agree?


I concur with your first statement above. The board definitely starting dying down after those two releases hit the proverbial shelves.


Your second point is also a good one that I've been thinking about for several months now. Seeing the slowdown really begin to take shape definitely forced me to rethink the way I looked at this hobby. I'm with you now, Joe. I've got a large percentage of my holy grail shows and while there will probably always be another "rarity" that would peak my interest if released, I can't complain at this point. I think it really hit me the most with the two shows you mentioned finishing out (Voyage and The Fugitive), but also with another one that was really important to me - Father Knows Best. When I got that Season 6 set in the mail a couple of weeks ago I dove right into it and savored every second. I'm not nearly as antsy now about unfinished titles as I was even just a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, I desperately want to see Rawhide and Perry Mason continue, among others. But I'm not nearly as frustrated with the lack of news as I was at the beginning of the year. I knew the slowdown was coming and it was just a matter of accepting that and, as you remind us, looking at what I do have and being thankful for it.



Gary "I still feel like Shout and Timeless, and to a lesser extent CBS/P, will keep me occupied for the remainder of the year with a few more vintage releases" O.
 

Jack P

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Even though we see this as a year of the slowdown, consider all the titles that have hit completion this year. "Voyage", "Fugitive", "Emergency", "Dragnet" and pretty soon the fast-tracked "McMillan And Wife." It's reached a point where the only shows left in a stalled state I'm still mad about are "Burke's Law" and "The Big Valley".
 

Joe Tor1

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Expanding on my earlier comments and, perhaps, echoing Gary’s response to them as well…


Never mind my merely completing VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, THE FUGITIVE, 1960s DRAGNET, and ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE in the first five months of 2011…


But consider that over the last 12 months, I’ve also gotten (among many others) the complete series of THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW, BORIS KARLOFF’S THRILLER, IRWIN ALLEN’S “CITY BENEATH THE SEA”, and FRANKENSTEIN JR. AND THE IMPOSSIBLES! …Just to name FOUR! Who could ever have imagined that even 5-6 years ago!


It’s just been incredible!
 

Nebiroth

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If "no one cared" about a "bunch of British shows" they wouldn't release them because no one would want to buy them.


Sorry but your post does come across as a throwing a bit of a strop because shows YOU don't care about personally are releasing whilst the ones YOU want are not.


Some "British shows" are surprisingly popular outside of Britain!


One of the problems is that a lot of the "popular" shows are already out including some long sought after ones like Six Million Dollar Man.


The remaining ones are either fairly obscure and likely would not sell in large enough numbers or they're tied up in rights hell (like Batman). Don't underestimate the difficulty over rights, all it takes is someone's estate to refuse or want too much and that can sink a whole show
 

The Obsolete Man

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Originally Posted by Nebiroth

If "no one cared" about a "bunch of British shows" they wouldn't release them because no one would want to buy them.


Sorry but your post does come across as a throwing a bit of a strop because shows YOU don't care about personally are releasing whilst the ones YOU want are not.


Some "British shows" are surprisingly popular outside of Britain!



Indeed.


In fact, I count two new "classic releases" every month, when the two Doctor Who serial releases are announced.
 

Corey3rd

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Far as the Brit shows go, BBCAmerica is turning into SyFy so fans of TV from across the pond are once more being forced to hunt out DVDs to see stuff. It's a market that needs serving.


With RTN, THiS, ME-TV and Antenna, there's more and more classic US TV getting broadcast around the country. A lot of the shows that have been abandoned are getting airtime on subchannels. Hopefully this will mean that DVD distributors will think there's a new audience eager for a complete set of The Untouchables, Cannon and Bob Newhart Show. The one thing that gets me is the lack of advertising for these DVDs on the subchannels.
 

MatthewA

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Originally Posted by Corey3rd

With RTN, THiS, ME-TV and Antenna, there's more and more classic US TV getting broadcast around the country. A lot of the shows that have been abandoned are getting airtime on subchannels. Hopefully this will mean that DVD distributors will think there's a new audience eager for a complete set of The Untouchables, Cannon and Bob Newhart Show. The one thing that gets me is the lack of advertising for these DVDs on the subchannels.

Shout! Factory may not have the budget for TV ads (All in the Family is done, and shows like Dennis the Menace and Webster seem to be doing okay without them, the latter will reach its halfway point in a mere seven months since its DVD life began!), and I assume neither does MPI (anything Lucy sells well because of her) or Mill Creek. and the majors only seem to want to advertise new releases and tentpole re-issues (like Disney's animated films).
 

Gary OS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by The Obsolete Man /forum/thread/311312/what-a-pile-of-junk#post_3810887
 

Corey3rd

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You'd think that some of the majors that control syndication and DVD distribution - like Sony and Fox could put a quick "if you like this, you can get the DVD set" ads like they do on PBS or the History Channel.

Originally Posted by MatthewA




Shout! Factory may not have the budget for TV ads (All in the Family is done, and shows like Dennis the Menace and Webster seem to be doing okay without them, the latter will reach its halfway point in a mere seven months since its DVD life began!), and I assume neither does MPI (anything Lucy sells well because of her) or Mill Creek. and the majors only seem to want to advertise new releases and tentpole re-issues (like Disney's animated films).
 

MatthewA

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Originally Posted by Corey3rd

You'd think that some of the majors that control syndication and DVD distribution - like Sony and Fox could put a quick "if you like this, you can get the DVD set" ads like they do on PBS or the History Channel.

They barely know what they own. The people coming out of business school into, just to name an example, Sony, would be pushing Dr. Oz and King of Queens to the stations. They have no knowledge of the library. Titles like Hazel, Maude, Police Woman, and Diff'rent Strokes do not ring any bells to them. That's why the studios were willing to let their stuff go to Shout in the first place, the potential profit margins were not enough to satisfy their demands, so they figured they would just let a third party deal with the dinosaurs while they push the stuff that's new or recent. People who love the old shows are not going into positions where they have any say over what gets released unless they're working for an independent. The few stations who do air old shows that aren't specifically devoted to them (I recall many UPN stations airing lots of the 70s and 80s black sitcoms through the late 1990s and 2000s, and that was about it for the past decade or so) get whatever tapes are lying around.


Furthermore, a lot of them don't remaster their shows. Fox probably hasn't touched the negatives to Room 222 in decades.


And I think History Channel actually produces a lot of its programming, while PBS—a different animal altogether—needs to sell those DVDs to help fund itself.
 

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