Ben Casey Fans (1 Viewer)

[smithbrad]

smithbrad,

Aside from the title and episodic music, there were no other no copyrighted performances on at least, the first season of Ben Casey.
The research I did, indicates that there were no issues with either title or episodic music from the composers or their heirs.
No music was edited out or replaced.
In this case it was just a lame excuse to cover the ineptness of the property holder...CBS/Paramount.
Other shows have had this music rights issue (Gomer Pyle, for instance), but Ben Casey didn't and I’m sure this lame excuse applies to other shows as well.

John

Well...as you stated you found no concern with copyright issues for the first season of Ben Casey. CBS/Paramount eventually released the first season. However, they didn't release other seasons? What about those possibly having music issues? On the other hand, maybe this was more to do with lack of decent masters and not feeling the show would sell well enough to create new masters. Did it ever appear in syndication after 1967? I don't recall every seeing it on the air when I was growing up. Now we are on the downward trend when it comes to DVD releases, so it may be too late now for such a show.

You obviously feel it is a lame excuse. That's your opinion. Personally, I tend to believe that more often then not there are sound business reasons for why releases stall or never appear, but some need someone to blame and latch onto whatever they can as a reason when in reality they likely don't have all the facts to know one way or another. That's just my opinion.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

The Capitol Music Library was being utilized for the underscores in season one. Subsequent seasons of BC would have original scores by composers like George Bassman, Walter Scharf, and others.

 

[LouA]

Well...as you stated you found no concern with copyright issues for the first season of Ben Casey. CBS/Paramount eventually released the first season. However, they didn't release other seasons? What about those possibly having music issues? On the other hand, maybe this was more to do with lack of decent masters and not feeling the show would sell well enough to create new masters. Did it ever appear in syndication after 1967? I don't recall every seeing it on the air when I was growing up. Now we are on the downward trend when it comes to DVD releases, so it may be too late now for such a show.

You obviously feel it is a lame excuse. That's your opinion. Personally, I tend to believe that more often then not there are sound business reasons for why releases stall or never appear, but some need someone to blame and latch onto whatever they can as a reason when in reality they likely don't have all the facts to know one way or another. That's just my opinion.

Just wondering : are there sound business reasons for companies not looking into releasing or licensing these shows or just disinterest in the shows by newer employees who never heard of them? ( For shows with acceptable transfers and no music issues)
If Code 3 can get a release why not some of the shows we’ve mentioned? Would a company like MPI pass up on a chance to release a show like Ben Casey?
Just wondering?!

 

[Sky King]

smithbrad,

The reason the remaining episodes weren’t released has nothing to do with music rights issues. The CBS DVD mod division was closed down when Paramount took over, cancelling for the time being, I hope, future releases of Ben Casey.
Ben Casey was last aired, as far as I know, by CBN in the 80’s. These are the prints transferred to tape, that were used for the DVD release also.
Not sure about any music rights issues with later seasons of Ben Casey.

John

 

[smithbrad]

smithbrad,

The reason the remaining episodes weren’t released has nothing to do with music rights issues. The CBS DVD mod division was closed down when Paramount took over, cancelling for the time being, I hope, future releases of Ben Casey.
Ben Casey was last aired, as far as I know, by CBN in the 80’s. These are the prints transferred to tape, that were used for the DVD release also.
Not sure about any music rights issues with later seasons of Ben Casey.

John

As I said, now we are on the downward trend when it comes to DVD releases, so it may be too late now for such a show. But I find it interesting how you say on the one hand music rights has nothing to do with the remaining episodes not being released, and then right after that you aren't sure if there could be music rights issues for later seasons? Especially, given that two posts above "oldtvshowbuff" makes reference to just such a possibility? I'm not making a claim one way or another, how can any one know for sure without inside knowledge at CBS/Paramount?

 

[smithbrad]

Just wondering : are there sound business reasons for companies not looking into releasing or licensing these shows or just disinterest in the shows by newer employees who never heard of them? ( For shows with acceptable transfers and no music issues)
If Code 3 can get a release why not some of the shows we’ve mentioned? Would a company like MPI pass up on a chance to release a show like Ben Casey?
Just wondering?!

It would seem reasonable to me to be a bit of both. I'm guessing the worst case scenario for a show is to be towards the bottom tier of what a studios deems as having too much value to license out, but unfortunately too low to ever surface to being approved by the studio for a release. Ben Casey may fit in that category for CBS. Also, remember not all shows need to be licensed from a major studio. In some case, there are family estates that can license shows out, but they may not have the best prints. This may explain some of the "did not see that one coming" forgotten show releases. My point being that I believe more often then not, there are valid business reasons certain shows stall or never appear, and to say other wise without any evidence to what goes on within the internal studio discussions, just comes off as meritless. That's it for me regarding this discussion.

 

[Sky King]

smithbrad,

I stated the main reason for the stoppage of future seasons of Ben Casey was due to the closure of the CBS mod division.
I stated that I WASN’T SURE if there were any rights issues with the later seasons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if its more false claims of music rights...thats all.

John

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Speaking more generally rather than specifically Ben Casey, it’s rarely a matter of “Would so-and-so be interested in licensing and releasing this show?” Or at least, it’s rarely as simple as that one sentence makes it seem.

In general, physical media, particularly vintage shows on disc, sell less and less with each passing year. Independent labels can make forecasts based on their experience on how many copies they could reasonably expect to sell of a given type of show at this point in time. There are fixed costs like packaging and replication and shipping that are the same regardless of what show it is, which helps set a baseline for expenses. There are also limits to how high they can price a release, which helps determine a ceiling for how much revenue it might bring in.

So it ends up breaking down into a formula of sorts: will the cost of licensing the rights and physically producing the release be more or less than they can count on that release making? And will the scope of the undertaking match the company’s capacity or will it overwhelm them?

Compounding all of that, some studios may not be willing to license certain properties from reasons ranging to the mundane to the more complex. They have their own business considerations, and the costs of preparing materials for licensing can at times exceed what the license can bring in.

So when talking about Ben Casey or any other show, there might be a number where it’s an easy yes for a label but also a number where it’s a pass. And from the studio end, there may be a number where it makes sense to license it, and there may be a number where the returns don’t justify the effort.

I know that’s not a hard and fast one size fits all answer but that’s kinda how it works. It’s sort of the same on the movie end with a label like Kino. If you watch that thread with their representative, you’ll notice a pattern if you go back a few years and compare to now - they might have said a few years ago they weren’t interested in a certain title and now suddenly they’re putting it out. What changed? Years ago, the license fee was higher than Kino felt their business model would support, and nowadays, studios have accepted that discs don’t sell as well as they once did and have adjusted their licensing fees to reflect the lower sales potential these titles now have.

 

[Sky King]

Josh,

As with many older shows like Ben Casey, with the passage of time, the potential audience diminishes. If these distributors wait too long hoping for a better licensing cost, they risk poor sales because their audience who remembered and liked these older shows are either dead or incapacitated and unable to enjoy.
Younger audiences aren't attracted to older black and white shows and its too bad as they don’t know what they are missing.
I was very pleased to see season 1 of Ben Casey released even though the prints used and the cost, left something to be desired. I’d be really surprised to see future seasons released anytime soon, if ever.

John

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If these distributors wait too long hoping for a better licensing cost, they risk poor sales because their audience who remembered and liked these older shows are either dead or incapacitated and unable to enjoy.

That is true and it applies to both the licensor and the licensee.

 

[Lecagr]

Along with Ben Casey, Marcus Welby MD is another medical show that is stalled on DVD. The first two seasons were released but that's it.

I have the DVD's of Medical Center and Emergency!, both of those series were released in their entirety.

 

[LouA]

Along with Ben Casey, Marcus Welby MD is another medical show that is stalled on DVD. The first two seasons were released but that's it.

I have the DVD's of Medical Center and Emergency!, both of those series were released in their entirety.

How is the Emergency release?
Decent packaging, transfers etc?
I’m thinking of ordering it. I have the other shows you mention.

 

[Sky King]

Hi all,

I remember shortly before the first season of Ben Casey was released on DVD, all the Youtube videos were pulled as were the bootleg copies sold on Amazon and eBay.
For the most part this still remains in place except for a few episodes that have snuck back on Youtube...which I personally don’t mind. So I’m hoping that this indicates that there is still hope, albeit slight, for future season releases.

John

 

[Lecagr]

How is the Emergency release?
Decent packaging, transfers etc?
I’m thinking of ordering it. I have the other shows you mention.

The Emergency! episodes are complete, that's the good news, but the transfers are a mixed bag. Seasons 4 and 5 are the most problematic as far as the transfers go, episodes are unrestored, season 3 also has a few unrestored episodes. The other seasons are fine regarding the transfers. If you like the show and can find the complete series at a decent price, I would say go for it. Amazon currently has it for $73.50 and I guess that isn't too bad.

 

[LouA]

The Emergency! episodes are complete, that's the good news, but the transfers are a mixed bag. Seasons 4 and 5 are the most problematic as far as the transfers go, episodes are unrestored, season 3 also has a few unrestored episodes. The other seasons are fine regarding the transfers. If you like the show and can find the complete series at a decent price, I would say go for it. Amazon currently has it for $73.50 and I guess that isn't too bad.

Thanks- Emergency is now in my Amazon shopping cart!

 

[The 1960's]

Thanks- Emergency is now in my Amazon shopping cart!

Lou check out the prices on eBay.

 

[Lecagr]

Lou check out the prices on eBay.

True, lower prices can sometimes be found on ebay but you have to be wary of bootleggers.

I recently bought on ebay the DVD's of Boris Karloff's Thriller series, got a good deal at $30.99, the set looks legit but I guess it's a bootleg because of the disc size, the discs are 4GB instead of 7GB. But I am satisfied with the set so I'm not complaining.

 

[Sky King]

Wow...did this thread get hijacked or what ? ; )

 

[LouA]

Wow...did this thread get hijacked or what ? ; )

Okay, since I helped get this thread off message, let me say this: if CBS or anyone releases Ben Casey, I’ll be buying . If not , there’s not much I can do about it. All of us remaining “dinosaur” physical product collectors will be unhappy, but that’s life.

 

[Flashgear]

They might be older transfers, but they're good enough for me...some of my screencaps from both CBS MOD season one volumes...more please!