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CBS: Rawhide, Taxi, Petticoat Junction, and The Beverly Hillbillies Prepped for Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

John Hermes

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Wow.
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=13843

"Next month, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Media Home Distribution will bring to Blu-ray three classic TV shows: The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy: Ultimate Season 1 and The Andy Griffith Show: Season 1. All three will be available for purchase on May 6th.
While discussing with Home Media Magazine the extensive restoration work that was needed to prepare these classic shows for Blu-ray release, Ryan Adams, director of multimedia services for CBS Television Distribution, also confirmed that CBS is preparing Blu-ray releases of Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Petticoat Junction, Dynasty, The Beverly Hillbillies, Taxi, and Twin Peaks (with director David Lynch involved with the restoration). According to Mr. Adams, CBS is also more than halfway through a three-year spruce-up of Star Trek: The Next Generation."
 

LouA

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I'm not sure how I feel about this . I'm not sure I want to buy these shows over again after buying them on DVD, except for season one of the Beverley Hillbillies where I think CBS can make a big improvement and the Honeymooners . I'd like to try some of the others on Bluray but they are selling for $130.00 - a lot of money to spend after having recently bought them on DVD The other issue is that CBS hasn't even finished some of these shows on DVD, but they're getting ready to prepare them for Bluray. Will they start from the first season or begin issuing later seasons that haven't yet been on DVD? I'm going to take a wait and see approach to these .
 

Jack P

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Question. Are shows being "prepped for Blu-Ray" going to be COMPLETELY free of music replacement? "Taxi" is the one title in that lot that had music replacement issues (with Seasons 4-5) and I hope they don't just give us Blu-Rays with the same edits/replacements we've had before.
 

Steve...O

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Interesting article; thanks, John.

I take Mr. Adams' comments with a dose of healthy skepticism. In other threads we've learned, for example, that Bonanza has been or is close to being stalled out and Gunsmoke may or may not be in the same boat. Does it really make financial sense for CBS/P to revisit these on BD? Rawhide hasn't even had all the seasons remastered in HD (seasons 1 and 4 were not transferred to HD).

No offense to TAXI fans, but is there really a demand for that in BD? Scott's query about Brady Bunch is spot on - I would think that property has higher demand (and I say that as a non-fan of the show).

Then there's the pricing. If their "big 3" (ILL, TAGS, HM) are facing consumer resistance already, it is going to get any better with the next tier of shows.

I wonder if Mr. Adams just went to the syndication bible and just read off series that had HD transfers :laugh: It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 

Mark-P

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Okay CBS, here's what you need to do: If you are really going to put Gunsmoke on Blu-ray, then start with Season 10, which is next up for DVD. I've faithfully purchased all the half-season releases as they have come out, but I am NOT going to rebuy them all on Blu-ray if you start at the beginning. I will gladly continue to buy future seasons starting with seaon 10 on Blu. If you screw us over by starting with season one, then not only will I not re-buy seasons 1-9, but I will also not buy any future seasons on DVD, because why should I, if they will eventually be coming out on BD?
 

Richard V

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Would definitely be up for Bluray of Twin Peaks, especially since it only lasted 30 something episodes.
 

jcroy

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Lately I've been looking into picking up the Dynasty season sets.

Though if Dynasty is possibly up for bluray, then I'll wait awhile longer. (Assuming Dynasty even has a chance of appearing on bluray).

Wonder if CBS has the rights to season 1. (The dvd version was originally released by Fox).
 

smithbrad

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Interesting list. I would have thought if any, that at least Perry Mason would be included since it at least was completed on DVD unlike some on that list, and did fairly well from what I recall. I agree with Mark, if they are going to release Blu-ray on a series not completed on DVD then I would hope they would start with the next unreleased season, or go back and fix one's they originally skipped the remastering on.

I'm getting the three upcoming ones to try out since Honeymooners is just a single release and I only planned on replacing one season of ILL any way. TAGS is the one that I might go with the first five seasons if I'm impressed enough and it gets that far. Gunsmoke I would move forward with new unreleased seasons but I won't go backwards. Bonanza I can see replacing season 2 since it was never remastered for HD for DVD and season 7. Rawhide I can see doing season 1 and season 4 for obvious reasons. That's about it for me. I have no problem with rebuying LHOTP in Blu-ray because the quality is so much better and the price is extremely reasonable. Same with TNG and hopefully DS9 due to the improvements. But for the most part the CBS DVD's are already excellent as far as DVD's go and there are just too many series to even attempt to rebuy even at LHOTP prices, which it doesn't appear they ever will be (at least not for some time).

And that video of the differences looks a bit contrived to me. I don't recall the SD's of ILL looking that bad. It's almost as if they didn't feel they could do the HD versions justice so they purposely made the SD versions look worse in comparison.
 

LeoA

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Petticoat Junction on Blu-Ray sounds good to me, I'll happily rebuy the first three seasons. But I hope new season releases are also planned for series like this rather than just rereleases.
 

Brian McP

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I'd just like The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, all seasons, all official studio versions, out on dvd -- period.

None of this fancy bluray stuff for these shows -- they were made to be seen on a tv in standard definition.

What good would a bluray restoration be for these shows? So see how flat the lighting is? Most of both series were filmed on stark sound stages -- does one have to see in high definition the cement pond and the Shady Rest? Certainly, all the people in those shows and their work deserve the bluray treatment -- but not when so much has yet to be released on dvd.

I'd prefer CBS Paramount or whoever spent the money on getting everything out and on special features for the dvd release -- these shows had years of promotion and all the stars were on many talk and variety shows during the 1960s: spend the budget on buying rights to include these guest shots on the dvd season sets.

I have to admit, I do have two complete tv series on bluray -- The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone, both 5 seasons each -- don't know how many seasons of BH and PJ on bluray would sell (especially at the introductory US$70+ price tag currently), shall leave the answer for the experts out there. But get the rest of both shows out on dvd first -- none of us Paul Henning fans are getting any younger....
 

benbess

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I'm overall pleased about this, but like some others here there are some mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's great to have more classic TV on blu-ray. On the other hand, the msrp of $130 a season, which means a street price even when they are on sale of $60-70, seems really out of sight to me. I think CBS may have been led astray by having this price point succeed with Star Trek. For the Next Generation it works for multiple reasons that don't really apply to these other shows as far as I can tell. First, and most importantly, Trek has a very strong fan base of the right age that will pay premium prices for a premium product. For some of these older shows, some of the biggest fans are, sadly, no longer with us. Second, the labor and $ involved in *rebuilding* Next Generation from scratch justifies the high price. There isn't a similar argument to be made for these other shows. Third, and related, the upgrade in PQ is pretty stunning for TNG—likely much more so than, for instance, a side by side comparison of the Bonanza DVD with its upcoming blu-ray counterpart will show. Fourth, the Next Generation was a pretty high budget show for its time, and they tried to "overbuild" it in terms of make-up, sets, fx, etc. As some others have mentioned, these other shows were done at a time when what people actually saw on TV was quite low rez, and they sometimes made them with that in mind, realizing that much would be hidden on TVs of the time.

But all that having been said, it's still a hoot to watch these shows in HD!! It may change some of the "illusions" in terms of the sets, make-up, etc., but in terms of the performances it really brings out the nuances. For instance, watching the Andy Griffith show on streaming in HD (it's available on Netflix), you almost feel like you're a visitor to the set in c. 1962, watching these fine tv actors performing these wonderful teleplays right in front of you. I strongly feel that HD does help even these old shows, because you almost feel like you are there imho.

And the other thing that makes me happy is that if CBS is giving these less commercial shows a chance on blu, surely the odds that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will get its rebuild have improved....
 

oldtvshowbuff

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I hope CBS will consider "Have Gun, Will Travel" for Blu-Ray release, and for that to happen, they would have to remaster seasons 1-3 by transferring onto HD, and include bonus materials like sponsor billboards and some commercials, and an interview with Peter Boone, Richard's son to name a few. I hope the CBS people think about it.
 

Didier R

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blu-ray.com is a speculative site, and it shouldn't be cited as a reliable source, like ever!
 

Randy Korstick

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This attention to Blu-Ray releases is no doubt responsible for the slow down in CBS releases and the stalling of Bonanza and Gunsmoke but I would expect both to continue on DVD and Blu if they are going to keep making HD masters. If they stalled out these shows on DVD it will leave no confidence for any buying them on Blu that they will complete them. Price will have to come down before I purchase them on blu.
 

Gary OS

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The only things CBS could tempt me with would be shows that were not remastered when released on DVD. Things like seasons 1 & 4 of Rawhide and season 1 of Beverly Hillbillies. And even then, the price would have to be M-U-C-H lower than what they are currently charging for the upcoming Blu sets of ILL, TAGS and Honeymooners. I wouldn't even think about it until the price dropped below $50. I would double-dip for the first 3 seasons of HGWT as well. For my money, when CBS has remastered and released sets on standard dvd it's been very good. I'm content with watching those on my up-converting Pioneer player.

I'd be concerned with any upgrade to Blu of a show that was heavily set bound. Not sure I want to see the imperfections that would come with something like that. But that's just me.


Gary "to each his own on this one" O.
 

JoeDoakes

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If anyone from CBS is reading this, please note that I am prepared to take out a second mortgage of my house to get The Beverly Hillbillies on blu-ray. If that doesn't work for you, there are a couple of liquor stores in my area where I could also get the "financing" for the complete remastered series on DVD. I love that show!
 

Rob_Ray

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I have little or no interest in revisiting seasons of stalled series already released until they are concluded, whether on DVD or BluRay. If CBS wants to continue Gunsmoke, Bonanza and the Paul Henning shows on bluray, picking up where they left off on DVD, that's fine with me as long as the price isn't too exorbitant. But I won't re-buy seasons I already own on DVD until the series is complete in some format.

As someone has already said, many TV shows, particularly things like Green Acres and the other Henning shows were not designed to be seen in HiDef anyway.
 

Ron1973

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Gary OS said:
The only things CBS could tempt me with would be shows that were not remastered when released on DVD. Things like seasons 1 & 4 of Rawhide and season 1 of Beverly Hillbillies. And even then, the price would have to be M-U-C-H lower than what they are currently charging for the upcoming Blu sets of ILL, TAGS and Honeymooners. I wouldn't even think about it until the price dropped below $50. I would double-dip for the first 3 seasons of HGWT as well. For my money, when CBS has remastered and released sets on standard dvd it's been very good. I'm content with watching those on my up-converting Pioneer player.

I'd be concerned with any upgrade to Blu of a show that was heavily set bound. Not sure I want to see the imperfections that would come with something like that. But that's just me.


Gary "to each his own on this one" O.
Ya know, Gary, I'm in the same boat. I have a mid-fi DVD/VCR that up-converts to 1080 and the recent DVD's of The Beverly Hillbillies look superb; I've been re-watching S1 of Hogan's Heroes and it's outstanding as well. If Uncle Jed made it to blu.....well.....I just don't don't know.

How much better is "better?" The S9 episodes where they were in Washington with Phil Silvers are pretty atrocious even on the Columbia House VHS tapes. These were supposed to be exterior shots of Phil and the Clampetts in front of the Capitol Building and the White House but you can tell (even on VHS) that they're on a sound stage standing in front of a movie playing in the background. How much worse will hi-def make this? I realize S9 wasn't exactly representative of the series as a whole; I'm sure they knew it was on it's last leg by that point. The S8 episodes that were Branson/Silver Dollar City based might look absolutely stunning on blu since those were actually on location.
 

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