The Equalizer- Stalled?! (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

I am a long time reader and first time poster. I thought it was time I got in on the action and ask a question I have not seen any one else mention.

I am a big fan of the 80s series The Equalizer, I was wondering if anyone has any info on the status of this title- is it officially stalled or is there hope of seeing more releases in the future?! I know that music is an issue with this series but I am hopeful that Universal will be able to find a way to make things work. I have been hearing rumours of a feature film adaptation of the series but so far have not heard any concrete info of the film actually being made?! I was hoping that perhaps they might release S2 to tie in with the release of the film?!

Thanks.

Judging by the lack of replies, I assume this means there is little interest on this board for this series?! Oh well, I am grateful for the one season that I do have and I hope that some day the tide turns and they decide to release more seasons.

It's not that there's lack of interest in the title. In fact, I finally just got around to starting my box of S1 that has been lying on my shelf for a couple years and have enjoyed the early episodes. The problem is that this title's been stalled out since it's only DVD release in 2006 and there just hasn't been anything new to report at this point since then. I'm not familiar with music issues that would make it prohibitive for another studio to pick up, but that would seem to be the only hope.

"Blood And Wine" from S3 is an outstanding episode.

Originally Posted by Jack P
It's not that there's lack of interest in the title. In fact, I finally just got around to starting my box of S1 that has been lying on my shelf for a couple years and have enjoyed the early episodes. The problem is that this title's been stalled out since it's only DVD release in 2006 and there just hasn't been anything new to report at this point since then. I'm not familiar with music issues that would make it prohibitive for another studio to pick up, but that would seem to be the only hope.

"Blood And Wine" from S3 is an outstanding episode.

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I fall into this category as well "bought it a while back but just haven't watched the disks yet". I recall its original broadcast and enjoyed the show back then. I remember it taking me a bit of time before making the purchase because of the price. It rarely seemed to go on sale. And while the price wasn't totally out of line (low $30), there were just so many other titles of equal desire on my list that were much cheaper.

Then there was the talk of the music substitutions and average video quality. Finally, I just decided to pick up the R2 version (cheaper and no music issues). I think price and some initial bad feedback stalled it quickly and it just never got any momentum back for another release.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think another reason for the show being stalled is that it was not a hugely popular series, even though it has a dedicated fan base. I think the biggest hangup has got to be music, there was quite uproar (from what I read online) about the music edits in the S1 set, especially since all music was intact in the R2 version. Why is it that there was no problem including the music in R2 yet in R1 its so difficult to secure the rights to music- isn't the music coming from the same companies?!

Then there was the talk of the music substitutions and average video quality.

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If I am not mistaken, the audio & video on the R1 release has been restored. The R2 set had the sub par video quality, from what I read.

I was glad to see a note on VEI's website that Equalizer is one of their "coming soon" titles in addition to Diagnosis Murder and Mod Squad. I was looking to see if there was any further news about their pending release of DM and lo and behold, they also mentioned the Equalizer. There were no dates or other promises, but if true, that is great news. VEI does a really good job with the properties they license and I will look forward to being able to watch seasons 2-4 of this great show.

I could go for at least another season. I was a huge fan of the show during its first run, but Edward Woodward's health problems seriously compromised the show when they had to use fill-ins for him after his heart attack. I'm afraid no one else is capable of the Edward Woodward "barely contained rage" style of acting.

The premise of the show is excellent. I think the current CBS series Person of Interest owes a great debt to The Equalizer.

Great show. Now, VEI going to put it out with replaced music? I believe the whole series is already out in England, most likely with music intact. I have them all in great quality from the CBS run so I'm not worried too much but it would be nice to see a quality North American release.

Great News!!

FINALLY after 5 long years, The Equalizer returns to DVD!

I can't believe that this great series has been picked up by VEI, hopefully they are able to release it with the original music intact or at least most of it. I think sales will definitely be affected if their releases are full of music edits, I will definitely think twice about buying S2 if that's the case. I wonder if they plan on including any bonus features, I doubt it but one can hope?! Anyone know if VEI has included bonus features in any of their releases as I am not that familiar with their products.

Umbrella Entertainment in Australia will be releasing a complete series set at the end of this month and it will include an all-new documentary featuring interviews with some cast members. It would be awesome if VEI could look into including this in one of their releases.

I didn't know the rest of the series had been released in the UK. I should receive season 2 next week.

David_B_K said:

I could go for at least another season. I was a huge fan of the show during its first run, but Edward Woodward's health problems seriously compromised the show when they had to use fill-ins for him after his heart attack. I'm afraid no one else is capable of the Edward Woodward "barely contained rage" style of acting.

The premise of the show is excellent. I think the current CBS series Person of Interest owes a great debt to The Equalizer.

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robert mitchum filled in for woodward.

It looks like the celebration is short lived.

Any reference to The Equalizer has been removed from VEI's website, the 'Coming Soon' section only lists Diagnosis Murder & The Mod Squad. I hope the reason it has been removed from the site is that they have not finalized a deal to acquire the rights yet and not because any potential deal fell through and they were not able to acquire the rights?!

Maybe when the big screen version comes out that will.lead to the release of more seasons. Or perhaps Shout will pick it up as it did with other shows.

TVonDVDJunkie05 said:

It looks like the celebration is short lived.

Any reference to The Equalizer has been removed from VEI's website, the 'Coming Soon' section only lists Diagnosis Murder & The Mod Squad. I hope the reason it has been removed from the site is that they have not finalized a deal to acquire the rights yet and not because any potential deal fell through and they were not able to acquire the rights?!

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I'm going to keep positive thoughts and hope VEI's "retraction" is simply because they won't be releasing the Equalizer any time this year. They have not tended to take on too many projects at a time, but they have been slow and steady. Perhaps when they release Diagnosis Murder and Mod Squad later this year we will hear something more definite about their plans for Equalizer. My fingers are crossed anyway.

Nothing official, but "Equalizer" is back on VEI's website, this time on their Coming Soon page. I take this as a positive sign that they will indeed be releasing the series in 2014. Good news, as I was beginning to wonder if the odds were against us ever seeing the remaining seasons of this great show.

According to my Universal sources, the show has been licensed and will be released soon. Don't know by whom but it will be coming out.

According to my Universal sources, the show has been licensed and will be released soon. Don't know by whom but it will be coming out.

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I think its same to assume that VEI will be releasing it since it's listed on their website once again. It looks like someone jumped the gun back in May and posted it to the site when they shouldn't have, which is probably why it was subsequently removed.

I hope VEI is able to release the rest of the series with the music intact or at least as much as possible including the musical score from Steward Copeland. I read that some of the musical score was removed on the S1 release, in addition to whatever music was edited out- anyone know if that is true and why the musical score would be removed?!

I have noticed that Universal shows tend to be a bit on the pricey side, even ones that have been sub-licensed out, I hope these releases aren't too expensive.

So glad to see on TSOD that VEI has scheduled season 2 of the Equalizer for release in August. VEI is like the little engine who could, slowly but surely releasing great shows. They are not a major player but they have put out some of my all-time favorites. I'm hoping their next project will be something from CBS....

There is a complete series set available through Umbrella Entertainment in Australia (http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/p-3728-equalizer-the-complete-collection.aspx) that says the format is both PAL and NTSC. Anybody know if this set it is legit and, if so, actually plays on NTSC? If you believe Wikipedia, it doesn't look like Umbrella is a pirate.

Anybody know if this set it is legit

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The set and the company who released it are legit. Umbrella Entertainment is a real DVD distributor in Australia, they have been in business since 2001. They have released several well known series down under such as I Spy, The Saint, My Favorite Martian and Adam-12.