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What Shows Are You Suprised Remain Unreleased? (1 Viewer)

Frank Soyke

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What suprises you that isn't yet available, either due to perceived sales potential or popularity? Here's my short list:


1) Green Hornet - This things has massive sales potential due to it's comic book origins and a built in cult audience. You would think that the rights holders and distirbutor would see that and do WHATEVER it took to work it out and get this thing out ASAP.


2) 77/Hawaiian Eye - Not so much with Bourban Street and Surfside, but how many times has Warner been asked about these??? Great demand and sales potential here. Again you would think Warner's would put done the money necessary for the music seeing that there is definite profit to be had on these. Now, I'm no industry insider and I don't pretend to know all the in's and outs of copyright laws, but I'm basing my thoughts on the incredible demand i've seen for these over the years.


3) Julia - Not too many 3 season+ 60's sitcoms remain completely unreleased, let alone a historic one feauting the first major black actress in a lead role (save Beaulah). Except for Chico, and the obvious offensive early shows, Julia remains the lone example of a sitcom appealing to the minority viewing public left unreleased.


4) Fanatastic Four (66) - How many cartoons based on a super sucessful comic book series remain on the shelf? Not too darn many due to the built in sales from the genre. Again, rights should be cleared up because sales potential on this one is big.


5) The Defenders/Ben Casey/Run For Your Life /The Nurses/12 O Clock High - Really more of a personal thing since RFYL and Defenders are grail shows for me, but these are the only real major 60's dramatic shows (save Warners Detective shows) running more than 2 seasons that are left unreleased. With Name Of the Game being prepped for release (maybe), and Chapparal being avalable overseas, these are pretty much all that's left with zero DVD representation out there. Casey does have a couple of hacked up PD releases out there, but that's about it. What are the chances on any of these? Slim, I think.
 

upperco

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THE GEORGE BURNS & GRACIE ALLEN SHOW

THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

GREEN ACRES

THE NEW DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

ONE DAY AT A TIME
 

Ian K McLachlan

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The Defenders

My World and Welcome to It

He and She

The Fantastic Journey

The Green Hornet

The Third Man

Circus Boy

Cowboy in Africa

Captain Nice

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

Run for Your Life

Ben Casey

The New Phil Silvers Show

The Smith Family
 

Gary OS

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At the very top of my list - and I swear I'm not mentioning this one because it's a favorite - is The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. I'm just really shocked this wasn't done a long time ago. It's right up there with the other well-known 50's family comedies that have all been released. This is easily the most glaring omission I can think of.



Gary "there a quite a few second tier shows I could probably list off, but the O&H omission is the one I'm most shocked by" O.
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR - Yeah, I know the entire 3-year run got a DVD release in Australia, but it's odd to me that in all these years, no attempt has been made to put even just a Season 1 set out in R1-land, especially since good transfers have been running almost constantly on cable networks since at least the late 1990s, including stints on Encore-Mystery, TV Land, Hallmark, Chiller and Me-TV, as well as streaming on Hulu, so the series hasn't been out of the public eye, and Hitchcock (films and TV) is one of the studio's franchises, like Abbott & Costello and their classic monsters. Also strange because Universal hasn't been shy about licensing out TV properties to smaller outfits. All of the above also applies to Season 7 of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. You could say that maybe HOUR is being held up by the non-release of AHP Season 7, and perhaps it is, but Universal has always treated AHP and HOUR as two separate series in syndication, unlike the hour-long expansions of TWILIGHT ZONE and THE NAKED CITY.


MY THREE SONS - Not that I'm personally clamoring for it (though I wouldn't mind an un-messed-up set of the black & white "Bub" years), and I know the music substitutions on what was released were a real nightmare, but I'm still surprised they never had another go at it, or at least put out compromised sets (like with THE ODD COUPLE and HAPPY DAYS) up through the first couple of color seasons.


THE WESTERNER - A short-lived (13 episodes), mostly-forgotten half-hour western from Four Star, however... it was created --and often written/directed-- by (the very marketable) Sam Peckinpah, and has been run (in decent prints) on both TV Land and Encore-Westerns in the mid/late 1990s. So it's strange that Four Star's HONEY WEST, BURKE'S LAW (Season 1, anyway), THE BIG VALLEY and ZANE GREY THEATER have all gotten at least cursory R1 DVD releases, as have innumerable '50s/'60s westerns, but not THE WESTERNER. At least the pilot is available on ZANE GREY THEATER: Season 3.


THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR - Again, not something I'm personally pining for, but it seems like just about every fantasy-themed '60s sitcom has gotten at least a Season 1 release, but not this one. I know, it's Fox, but still...


DRAGNET (1950s) - Apart from the public domain episodes, of course. Not that there's any real hope for them now, but one would've thought, during the big TV-on-DVD boom, pre-2008, and with Universal's creation of the 'Sleuth' cable network (since re-branded as 'Cloo'), that maybe the studio would've invested in restoration/digital transfer of the episodes they still hold copyright on, since it really is iconic '50s television, along side I LOVE LUCY, THE HONEYMOONERS, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER and THE TWILIGHT ZONE. I mean, imagine if the same attitude was shown with LUCY; only releasing the color '60s series and leaving the '50s episodes, untransferred, in a salt mine somewhere, with maybe 20 or so episode making the rounds as murky 16mm public domain releases.


AMAZING STORIES - While the whole kaboodle is available as streaming video, it's very odd that only the first season of Steven Spielberg's 2-season kid/family-oriented 1980s fantasy/anthology series (with Season 2 episodes directed by Brad Bird, Robert Zemeckis, etc) got a DVD release. I mean, isn't that the main focus of 'classic TV/movies' these days... mid-80's stuff aimed at nostalgic Gen-X/Gen-Y geeks? One would think Shout Factory would be all over this, as a Complete Series set, probably on Blu.
 

Eric Larsen

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It boggles my mind every Easter, Christmas, and any other day of the year that Nothing Sacred and Amen are still not available on DVD. While I have never gotten the chance to see Amazing Grace or The Good News with Arrow's David Ramsey and only some of the episodes of Soul Man with Dan Aykroyd, these and other shows about the life of faith could interest a diverse group of viewers.


Echoing the Fantastic Four mentioned earlier, I've searched tvshowsonDVD.com and just looking at Marvel, there is the Amazing Spider-Man (1978), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981), Spider-Man (1981), The Incredible Hulk (1982), the Marvel Super Heroes (1966), Spider-Woman (1979), Captain America (1966), Iron Man (1966), The New Fantastic Four (1978), Mighty Thor (1967), and the Sub-Mariner (1966). Even the current Marvel animated series do not seem to be available on DVD or blu-ray.


The last two seasons of the Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight surprise me that they are still unreleased!


Amazing Stories season two with work by Robert Zemeckis and Brad Bird! Family Dog was spun off from that a few years later and was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton. While I was typing, someone else mentioned it!


The Tracey Ullman Show with all of the original Simpsons shorts


Morton & Hayes, a six episode mockumentary was created by Robert Reiner, directed by Michael McKean and Christopher Guest, starred Kevin Pollack and had guest spots by Christopher Guest, Allison Janney, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, and Joe Flaherty among others.


I would have thought that The Ropers, Three's a Crowd, the Golden Palace, After M*A*S*H, Radar, and the last of the Gilligan's Island movies would have been released a long time ago based on them being spun off of classic shows but don't hold that against the rest of my suggestions!


Lou Grant, I'll Fly Away, Frank's Place and Brooklyn Bridge get mentioned a lot as well received or award winning and yet still aren't released.


Considering how many watched Harry''s Law, it's surprising that is not on DVD.

Same goes for the rest of Newhart, Benson, Mad About You, and Murphy Brown.


And how HBO still hasn't released Roc, I just do not understand.
 

Ron1973

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All three Paul Henning shows are a mystery for me, in particular The Beverly
Hillbillies. TBH has had a constant presence in syndication all these years and still seems to be a favorite. It's as if CBS still has it in for the rural comedies (although GA isn't a CBS property) considering how they treat them. Look at the missing music in Gomer Pyle and edited episodes of Andy Griffith.

I'm surprised we haven't saw more of Barnaby Jones from CBS either. I'm baffled because many other sleuth type shows have been completed, but it is CBS we're talking about here.

I'm still shocked Warner hasn't capitalized on Dukes popularity by giving us Enos.
 

Frank Soyke

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I had confined my initial list to only shows that had no DVD releases at all, but since many of you included stalled shows as well, I'll throw in my list of those.


1) Hillbillies - Ron hit the nail on the head with this one


2) My 3 Sons - Again agree completely with other posters.


3) Barbaby Jones - Can't believe CBS gave up on this one. Lot of demand based on what I read here.


4) Cannon - Ditto above.


5) Chico and The Man


6) Love Boat - Remastered 6 seasons then let most of them sit.


7) Different Strokes


8) Fantasy Island


9) Silver Spoons


10) One Day At A Time - Still can't believe Shout isnt interested in this long runner.


And for whoever mentioned The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, It is available overeseas.
 

Professor Echo

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My nominees have already been mentioned, OZZIE & HARRIET, JULIA and THE WESTERNER. Their lack of release are all head scratchers.


I guess I would add MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY too, which ran for ELEVEN seasons and for which a credible release has been bewilderingly absent. It's not a favorite of mine as I don't remember it rerunning much when I was a kid, so I have little nostalgic affection for it, but I would think having such a successful original run, it would have had more potential as a popular release. I was just talking to a friend of mine earlier today about it and we concluded that outside of his charity efforts and his daughter, Danny Thomas seems relatively forgotten today as one of the early stars of television.
 

LouA

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December Bride -ran for a long time on CBS, than syndicated as a rerun.

Roy Rogers - very popular show.

American Bandstand and Shindig - iconic TV music shows.

Captain Midnight, Andy's Gang, -2 beloved children's shows.

People's Choice, Bachelor Father - both ran in syndication until the late 1990's .

Elvis 1990's TV series .Almost everything about Elvis is out except this.

Plus many of the ones previously mentioned like Dragnet, Thin Man Ozzie and Harriet
 

Darby67

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The Defenders (very remote chance I'm sure, but love it or hate it, it was a historically significant series)


The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (have to concur with Peter on this one, plus I was disappointed that after 5 seasons on pressed discs Universal went a MOD DVD-R release of Season 6 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and heavens knows what will happen with Season 7)


Amazing Stories Season 2 (glad to see the love for this show in this thread; Universal should have released this as a complete series release in the first place)


Cliffhangers! (a long shot at best)


Darby
 

Radioman970

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Krofft stuff. Several got releases and then released again by a different company. Some didn't get released again (like Lidsville) and others stopped again, like Sigmund & the Seamonsters.


Nickelodeon stuff like Salute Your Shorts and YCDTOTV. Both of those got (maddeningly) limited stream releases on amazon with a fair amount of people saying they sure would like a complete series release. There's some reunion stuff for Salute out there, many people still active for promotions purposes. Seems a no brainer. And everybody knows YCDTOTV is Monty Python for kids with a few people who got famous or are still very much remembered and liked among the original fans. Most of the fans are still young enough to appreciate the series and indeed want to pass it down to their kids (for both shows). Seems a no brainer too! Complete series on YCDTOTV would be a dream for this fan. I'd love whatever they could give us from the original series it spawned from (forgot the title at the moment).


I agree with Love Boat. the volume release method scared folks off. Start again and get it right! It'll sell.


Chico and the man. got a best of and then stopped.


(pulled off my head top)
 

JamesSmith

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New Adventures of Gilligan
Filmations animated Tarzan
baby Blues
salvage 1
banana splits
Chatanooga Cats
Young Maverick
Chicago Hope
twelve o clock high
Far out space nuts
Garrisons Gorillas
The Lost Saucer

James
 

Jack P

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Burke's Law-Season 2.


Barnaby Jones-Season 2 onward


Love Boat-Season 3 onward


Fantasy Island-Season 4 onward


Amazing Stories-Season 2 (not one of my favorites, but the Spielberg connection and the Japan release I thought made it a natural to finish)


Alfred Hitchcock Presents-Remainder of run and hour long episodes


Amazing Spiderman-The 1978-79 live action Nicholas Hammond shows. I would have thought at SOME point amidst all the movies and movie reboots this would have been cleared out of whatever legal hang-up has kept these off DVD.


Marcus Welby, MD-At the very least Shout should have given it one more year in the "Select" program they never did much with.


Ironside-Deserved completion in this region, not Australia


Flying Nun-I would have thought the final season would have been a natural for Shout!
 

Radioman970

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JamesSmith said:
New Adventures of Gilligan
Filmations animated Tarzan

salvage 1
banana splits

Far out space nuts

The Lost Saucer

James
i'd buy all of these.


I think a region 2 of Banana Splits happened. Maybe a best of or Season 1 release...


I read on the Krofft web site that a Lidsville movie was in the works. But I think Land of the Lost movie maybe ruined that. I liked that movie for what it was, but it didn't really do the series justice even in comedy.
 

Professor Echo

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Not to put a damper on things, but it seems some are listing shows they WISH could be released rather than ones, according to Frank's OP, that you might REASONABLY believe stood a chance as a COMMERCIAL release, but surprisingly haven't gotten one, for whatever reason. We all have our favorite shows that we would like to see come out, but I thought the point of this thread was to post relatively high profile series that probably would prove both popular and profitable if released.


At one time I would have said it was surprising that the live action Wonderful World Of Disney episodic adventure series never came out because I know lots of boomers have fond memories of them. A sampler of two of them, ELFEGO BACA and SWAMP FOX, came out as part of the Disney Treasures sets, but I guess it didn't sell very well as there were no more releases after that.
 

Frank Soyke

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Yes, Glen is correct. I didn't want to pee in anyone's proverbial cheerios but the point of the original post was indeed more high profile shows that I was surprised haven't seen ANY releases. Not personal faves or stalled shows.
 

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