Is Warner's Starting to Stall Some Series? (1 Viewer)

I just want to get opinion from y'all on this. Warner has given us a great variety of stuff through their achieve and retail program over the past year or so. I am wondering though if they are following suit with CBS and stalling some shows. Their non-cartoon releases were super slow from the onset and lately they seem to have slowed to a crawl (only 8 Is Enough, in the past months.)
Here is a semi-comprehensive list of last release dates for particular shows

1) Alice - Season 3 released 3/13

2) Daktari - Season 2 released 3/13

3) Courtship/Eddie - Season 2 released 10/12

4) Medical Center - Season 4 released 6/13

5) Maverick (Retail) - Season 2 released 4/13

6) The F.B.I. - Season 5 released 6/13

7) Dr. Kildare - Season 1 released 4/13

8) Eight Is Enough - Season ? - 8/13

I didn't have time to look up Cheyenne, but you get the point. I guess my root question is, should we be worried? My own personal take is that I think they have a definite commitment to The F.B.I but the rest of these are a crapshoot

Universal releases one season per year of shows they don't farm out.

The Simpsons gets one annual release.

To wonder whether shows that have almost all had releases in the last 6 months are being "stalled" is overreacting. Almost no company follows up shows that quickly. And with the Archive adding more shows, IMO it's only logical follow-ups will take a bit more time.

I'd suggest you become a regular listener to the Warner Archive podcast. They are very reassuring that most of those shows are planned for completion, but it just takes time.

The Obsolete Man said:

Universal releases one season per year of shows they don't farm out.

The Simpsons gets one annual release.

To wonder whether shows that have almost all had releases in the last 6 months are being "stalled" is crazy. Almost no company follows up shows that quickly. And with the Archive adding more shows, IMO it's only logical follow-ups will take a bit more time.

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Yep, it sure is "crazy" my friend, isn't it? Real crazy to question whether shows are stalled. That sure is unheard of, huh? I'm just curious where are all the other shows that you mentioned they added to the lineup. I don't have time to look it up, but I think the last new part of their rotation was Sugarfoot which I believe was in early summer. That actually may have even been retail as well. I will give you that the length of time between releases of these shows would be understandable if they had actually been adding new shows to their line-up and releasing them in lieu of the ones I listed. The problem is, that's not what is happening. I admit I may be wrong on this, but I think other than Eight Is Enough, they haven't put out a thing since June. Kildare was the last show they added to the archive rotation and that was in April. So where are the new ones? I'm just curious. That way, maybe my question wouldn't be so "crazy."

Mark-P said:

I'd suggest you become a regular listener to the Warner Archive podcast. They are very reassuring that most of those shows are planned for completion, but it just takes time.

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Didn't know about it. That's for the heads up though.

I am not worried in the least. The fact that we have 4 seasons of EIGHT IS ENOUGH in less than a year-and-a-half is good enough for me. I have been told they are planning on more ALICE, and FLO will eventually come out too. The rest of the Warner shows I want are plagued with music issues (IT'S A LIVING, MURPHY BROWN) so I am happy with what they are working on so far. I don't think they plan on stalling anything unless it's been a very poor seller.

I don't think we have anything to worry about titles that get started. "Tarzan" is the one that's been stalled longest, but it's final season is coming soon and all other titles we will see more of in due course.

Always remember we won't get the usual three months heads-up time on a release unless it's by WHV. So far, "Maverick" is the only vintage title they're still handling. I'll be surprised though if Warner Archive doesn't take over the last two seasons minus James Garner.

Frank Soyke said:

Yep, it sure is "crazy" my friend, isn't it? Real crazy to question whether shows are stalled. That sure is unheard of, huh? I'm just curious where are all the other shows that you mentioned they added to the lineup. I don't have time to look it up, but I think the last new part of their rotation was Sugarfoot which I believe was in early summer. That actually may have even been retail as well. I will give you that the length of time between releases of these shows would be understandable if they had actually been adding new shows to their line-up and releasing them in lieu of the ones I listed. The problem is, that's not what is happening. I admit I may be wrong on this, but I think other than Eight Is Enough, they haven't put out a thing since June. Kildare was the last show they added to the archive rotation and that was in April. So where are the new ones? I'm just curious. That way, maybe my question wouldn't be so "crazy."

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Time Trax S2 - July 9

Superboy S3 - July 16

Cheyenne S6 - July 30

Unscripted: Complete Series - August 22

Nichols: Complete Series - 9/10 (Tomorrow)

And there was a Captain Caveman animated release in there, too.

So, no, I'm not seeing the slowdown.

Can't rememeber the date when the Warner Archive released it (around May or June I think), but the third season of Falcon Crest was released by the Warner Archive earlier this year.Knots Landing aside, the Lorimar shows which I'd like to see released by the Warner Archive (unless Time Life do a complete series boxset for either or both) are Freddy's Nightmares and Midnight Caller (especially the latter). Not as bothered now with Knots Landing, as it's being rerun on CBS Drama. Including all DVD/Blu-ray labels, Midnight Caller is the show I'd most like to see released on DVD.The fifth season of The F.B.I. was only released a few months ago, and fingers crossed the sixth season is released in the autumn.

Why the hell is Freddy's Nightmares not on DVD??

The Obsolete Man said:

Time Trax S2 - July 9

Superboy S3 - July 16

Cheyenne S6 - July 30

Unscripted: Complete Series - August 22

Nichols: Complete Series - 9/10 (Tomorrow)

And there was a Captain Caveman animated release in there, too.

So, no, I'm not seeing the slowdown.

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I should have clarified that I meant classic TV releases, of which on your list, only Cheyenne fits that bill. The rest are TV releases, but IMO are not classic TV by a longshot. So, yeah, I AM seeing a slowdown of classic DVD releases As a side point, my initial post said non-cartoon releases which eliminates CC from the examples.

Keep in mind guys for anyone criticizing my post, it was presented in the form of a question. The title of the thread is "Is Warner's Stalling Some Series?" not I think Warner is stalling some series. That's a big difference> I was looking for opinions based on current trends. Thanks many of you for your thoughts.

I remember reading Warner Archives saying they were hoping to have Cheyenne final season out by the end of this year. It was 11 months between the releases of Maverick S1 and S2 so I am not worried yet on S3. I would also be surprised if Maverick S4 and S5 is released in retail and not Warner Archive but it's hard to predict studios thinking in these matters. As for MOD tv shows they seem to reply on their facebook page frequently that they are attempting to sort out problems with many titles that are not released and they are continuing to work on further seasons of shows already released. I can't remember any situations where they said they were abandoning a classic tv show on MOD yet but I don't read all the posts real close only shows I am interested in.

Kasey said:

The rest of the Warner shows I want are plagued with music issues (IT'S A LIVING, MURPHY BROWN) so I am happy with what they are working on so far.

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What are the music issues with It's A Living?

Frank Soyke said:

I just want to get opinion from y'all on this. Warner has given us a great variety of stuff through their achieve and retail program over the past year or so. I am wondering though if they are following suit with CBS and stalling some shows. Their non-cartoon releases were super slow from the onset and lately they seem to have slowed to a crawl (only 8 Is Enough, in the past months.)

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Honestly, I doubt most of the titles you mentioned are being stalled. I can't disagree with you about the possibility of WAC titles being stalled after they are started, as one of their earliest TV on DVD releases was the 90s show New Adventures of Robin Hood saw its first season released back in 2010, and has not seen further release, and almost never seems to get mentioned (i know it may not be classic TV, but it is an example of a show that got stalled).
This is purely my own opinion, but I really don't think that the Archives can really be compared to CBS. For the most part, CBS mainly seems to be a division that mostly deals with TV series (and a small number of movies and mini-series). WAC, on the other hand, deals with Warner's HUGE library of movies and Tv shows, some originally theirs, and others that they have acquired over the years. However you look at it, there is and always will be limited resources for dealing with that library, whether it be money or however many titles they can work on at one time, especially since they have MANY different groups of people they are catering to, and most of them are some of the more hardcore fans. Not to mention continuing to invest in technology to help them improve the program as time goes on, or to work on more problematic titles.
So I just don't think that any of those titles that you mentioned are being stalled.

Frank Soyke said:

I should have clarified that I meant classic TV releases, of which on your list, only Cheyenne fits that bill. The rest are TV releases, but IMO are not classic TV by a longshot. So, yeah, I AM seeing a slowdown of classic DVD releases As a side point, my initial post said non-cartoon releases which eliminates CC from the examples.

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Nichols is a 1972 one and done series starring James Garner.

But it does depend on your definition of "classic". Superboy is 25 years old at this point. Time Trax, 20.

You are very right in that we all have different definitions as to what constitutes classic TV. I think all of us probably have arbitrary guidelines that fit our tastes. Personally, I don't consider anything before 1990 or so as classic television. 24, Lost, Cold Case, Bones, Friends and Prison Break are some of my favorite shows and I have complete runs of all of them (save Cold Case) on DVD, but I still wouldn't label any of them classics. Maybe 10 years from now, but not presently. Again just my own opinion.

I think you meant to say "after" 1990.

My own cutoff point for what I call classic TV is it can't have debuted later than 1979.

Stephen Wight said:

What are the music issues with It's A Living?

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Your kidding, right? The guy playing music and singing at the piano throughout all of the episodes. The show would be a clearance nightmare and since its videotaped, replacements would be virtually impossible. Unreleasable show.

1999 is my "Cutoff" point for Classic TV. This is the year we started to get slammed with "Unscripted" programming.