Barnaby Jones - The Complete Series (1 Viewer)

[Jimmyr1960]

The episodes are definitely edited and not time compressed. Keep in mind, that it appears that some are complete. It's a mixed bag, this set. On the upside, the picture quality is superior to the Cannon set.

 

[MattHR]

The episodes are definitely edited and not time compressed. Keep in mind, that it appears that some are complete. It's a mixed bag, this set.

Thanks. Disappointing news, but for me it's $150 better spent elsewhere.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Thanks. Disappointing news, but for me it's $150 better spent elsewhere.

Same here.


And also a warning to never pre-order anything from VEI without reading a review first.

 

[Carabimero]

Yes, I waited till I heard what the set was like. Normally I would have waited for the price to drop, too, but after Christmas I will have some time to watch it, so wanted to get it before 2016 sucks me into another year of busy busy busy.

 

[GMBurns]

I'm sympathetic if someone doesn't want to put up with edited content, but since I'm very fond of Barnaby Jones the tv series I am going to accept it as the best I'll get. I assume VEI did the best deal they could so that they could still make some profit. And I would definitely prefer the 49-50 minute uncut versions if they were anywhere to be had for a price I could afford. So for me the math is easy: 46 minutes of Barnaby is way better than zero. Companies like VEI and Timeless may not have produced the same quality of releases as CBS could, but they have given me so much stuff that I wasn't going to get any other way that I just can't complain. My Barnaby set should be waiting for me when I get home from work tomorrow. If I was a drinking man I'd raise a toast to VEI as I pop in the first disc of season two tomorrow night.

 

[MattHR]

If I was a drinking man I'd raise a toast to VEI as I pop in the first disc of season two tomorrow night.

If I was a drinking man I'd probably appreciate VEI's releases more, as I'd be a bit too buzzed to be bothered by all the deficiencies.

 

[ChrisALM]

This is disappointing news for me. I planned on lesser video quality, but not on edited episodes. If this is an oversight on the part of either CBS or VEI they need to find a way to resolve these problems with their future releases. Otherwise, they are sabotaging their own efforts to make their partnership successful.

I will eventually get this release, but the price needs to be lower - more representative to the product.

 

[MCCLOUD]

The episodes are definitely edited and not time compressed. Keep in mind, that it appears that some are complete. It's a mixed bag, this set. On the upside, the picture quality is superior to the Cannon set.

Does anyone have Seasons 3, 4, and 5 of The Mod Squad released by VEI? Are the Mod Squad episodes complete are are they cut like Barnaby Jones episodes? Thanks!

Robert

 

[Ron1973]

I simply can't and won't support an edited release. According to the Syndication Bible, both network and syndication packages are available, meaning, or so it would seem anyway, that VEI could have obtained full episodes as masters would have to be on hand for both. I'm not faulting VEI, but someone needs to understand that syndicated episodes are not acceptable. If we nicely send a message to VEI once we know how much is edited or not edited, they may be more careful in the future on checking. It isn't a matter of cutting off our nose to spite our face, but it's telling the industry that we will not settle for second best.

 

[MattHR]

I simply can't and won't support an edited release. According to the Syndication Bible, both network and syndication packages are available, meaning, or so it would seem anyway, that VEI could have obtained full episodes as masters would have to be on hand for both. I'm not faulting VEI, but someone needs to understand that syndicated episodes are not acceptable. If we nicely send a message to VEI once we know how much is edited or not edited, they may be more careful in the future on checking. It isn't a matter of cutting off our nose to spite our face, but it's telling the industry that we will not settle for second best.

I fully understand that VEI (probably) had no other choice than to work with what CBS gave them. But I also fully understand expect that any reputable company releasing product that was/is known to exist in a superior and/or original condition is obligated to clearly indicate the true nature of the product being sold. Boldly indicating such product as "complete" in pre-order advertising and on the actual product's packaging, and then, in some cases, placing an on-screen "disclaimer" that (poorly, and perhaps falsely) explains/excuses the nature of the inferior product only after you have purchased it, is willfully deceptive IMHO.

 

[LeoA]

Problem is that even if they provide a CBS style disclaimer, we're just going to assume that it's there by default or that perhaps the issue is minor like a song or two being cut due to licensing expenses.


If they had made that statement, would it actually have been much of an aid? While I'm sure someone out there would've noticed it on the artwork and decided to let someone else be the guinea pig, I rather doubt it would've made much of a difference.

 

[jcroy]

Same here.


And also a warning to never pre-order anything from VEI without reading a review first.

Definitely.


Though my motivations are for different reasons unrelated to crappy picture quality, syndication edits, etc ...


I primarily read through the 1-star (and 2-star) amazon reviews to determine whether there are problematic discs due to manufacturing defects. VEI seems to have been cutting corners on quality control on the actual dvd discs.


At this point my second rule about VEI releases, is to wait for a second pressing of a particular title. Hopefully the problematic discs due to manufacturing defects and crappy quality control, are ironed out by the second pressing.

 

[Bryan^H]

I simply can't and won't support an edited release. According to the Syndication Bible, both network and syndication packages are available, meaning, or so it would seem anyway, that VEI could have obtained full episodes as masters would have to be on hand for both. I'm not faulting VEI, but someone needs to understand that syndicated episodes are not acceptable. If we nicely send a message to VEI once we know how much is edited or not edited, they may be more careful in the future on checking. It isn't a matter of cutting off our nose to spite our face, but it's telling the industry that we will not settle for second best.

Ron, I completely agree with you sticking to your guns. Good for you, and others that don't compromise the integrity of the show for better quality syndicated cuts. After the Grizzly Adams dvd release a couple years ago, I took a stand to ignore all Syndicated runs on dvd....however in the past year or so I find myself watching more, and more episodes of The Love Boat on the POP Network, and One Day At a Time on Antenna tv. I realized my enjoyment of these shows outweighs my decision to not watch them at all.


Yes, knowing I am missing a scene or two is aggravating but I have watched 3 episodes of Barnaby Jones(season 2 of course) and I am loving every minute of it. I don't know where the cut three minutes are per episode, but I don't feel like I'm missing a thing. I guess it is a state of mind.

Just wanted to say how I felt after actually watching some complete(almost)episodes.

 

[mattfire64]

Mod Squad Seasons 3-5 were sourced from prints that Worldvision Enterprises made in the mid-90s. If you have watched the show on Me-TV recently, then you have a pretty good idea of what VEI's DVD set looks like. Most of the episodes that I've checked appear to be uncut, but I have run across at least one episode in VEI's Mod Squad set that runs around 47 mins instead of the usual 51 mins.


As for Barnaby Jones, I read on IMDB that it was also distributed by Worldvision Enterprises. Worldvision apparently had a tendency to edit all their hour long series down to 46-47 mins. in syndication. Do any episodes on the Barnaby Jones set feature a Worldvision logo at the end of the credits? If so, then they most likely sourced the rest of the episodes from Worldvision's edited syndication prints.

 

[FanCollector]

I haven't seen any Worldvision logos, but the edited episodes were certainly pre-cut for syndicated broadcast. The reason the Act labels were removed is because there are extra fades built in for more commercial breaks. The syndicated versions are generally in six acts, rather than four, so the labels wouldn't make sense anymore.

I have watched several episodes and there is a mix of edited and unedited shows, even alternating one after the other. I can't discern any pattern thus far regarding which shows are edited. The picture quality doesn't seem different to me when comparing the edited episodes to the unedited ones, so I'm not sure how CBS and VEI made the choices from episode to episode.

 

[Hasslein]

Is S6 E21 Terror on a Quiet Afternoon one of the unedited? It is the main reason I would buy the set, I love Dee Wallace.

 

[MCCLOUD]

Didn't the networks decrease the running times of shows from the late 1970's from what they were from earlier in the decade? What should be the running times of Seasons 6, 7, and 8 of Barnaby Jones? Perhaps someone could tell us what the running times of Hawaii Five O's season 10, 11, and 12 are on DVD? Barnaby Jones was also on CBS so Seasons 6, 7, and 8 should have about the same running times as Hawaii Five-O Seasons 10, 11, and 12.
Thanks!
Robert

 

[Jeff*H]

Perhaps someone could tell us what the running times of Hawaii Five O's season 10, 11, and 12 are on DVD? Barnaby Jones was also on CBS so Seasons 6, 7, and 8 should have about the same running times as Hawaii Five-O Seasons 10, 11, and 12.

Run times for H5O during those last few seasons were generally 49 minutes and change, under 50 minutes for the most part.

 

[HonkyTonkMan]

A few months ago, I wrote a post on this forum regarding my plan on buying a copy of the VEI 45-disc box set release of Barnaby Jones: The Complete Series sometime in early 2016.


I had fully expected to buy this VEI release only because I had thought for certain that at least the vast majority of the Barnaby Jones episodes from seasons 2 through 8 would be presented in their original uncut CBS broadcast versions on this VEI release.


I've found out from a reviewer on Amazon that all 13 of the episodes from Season 1 of Barnaby Jones are presented in their original uncut CBS broadcast versions on this VEI release and that all 13 of those Season 1 episodes have a running length of around 51 minutes each on this VEI release too.


That exact same reviewer on Amazon also stated that most of the Barnaby Jones episodes from seasons 2 through 8 run anywhere from 46 to 48 minutes each on this VEI release.


Now that it appears that such an enormous amount of Barnaby Jones episodes from seasons 2 through 8 on this VEI release are presented in their syndicated versions, I'm now certain that I'll never be buying this VEI release.


I was totally shocked by the news that there appears to be such an astronomical amount of syndicated versions of Barnaby Jones episodes from seasons 2 through 8 that were included on this VEI release.


I cannot and will not support a Barnaby Jones: Complete Series release that appears to have such a large amount of syndicated episodes from seasons 2 through 8.


I'm so furious, enraged, aggravated, irritated and infuriated at CBS for apparently providing such a gigantic amount of syndicated versions of Barnaby Jones episodes from seasons 2 through 8 to VEI.

 

[FanCollector]

Is S6 E21 Terror on a Quiet Afternoon one of the unedited? It is the main reason I would buy the set, I love Dee Wallace.

No, alas that one has been cut. It's 46/49ths of Ms. Wallace or none at all.

I don't mean to make light of the edits. It's a pretty serious deficiency in the set. Personally, I am still glad to have it, as I otherwise wouldn't be seeing the episodes at all. But it is surely disappointing. I do wonder whether there was a choice between prints that were uncut and prints that had better picture quality for some episodes. In the future, if such a choice faces them again, I do hope VEI would choose the uncut prints. (I suspect that the market pulls them the other way, though. Customers and reviewers will notice muddy pictures immediately; they might never even think to check running times against network standards of the time.)