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Bizarre (1 Viewer)

Stephen Wight

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A tv show I'd love to see on dvd,though I think it never will be,is Bizarre.It aired from 1980-85,and was hosted by John Byner.It also introduced the character of Super Dave Osborne.
 

AndyMcKinney

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I, too, would like to see Bizarre (although it has dated terribly) and like you, I fear it will never happen.
If it did come out, though, I'd be afraid it would be from a Canadian outfit (like Koch) and that they would release the "censored" version, which is the version that has aired in the past (and in recent reruns) in Canada. I know that the Canadian channel airing the reruns only has access to the censored Canadian version (I asked them), even though there are no "anti-nudity" restrictions on the Canadian cable channels.
I'd only be willing to buy this if they release the uncensored version that ran on Showtime (and by some adventureous local stations in syndication).
For those who are unaware, the show was simultaneously shot two ways: the "hard" version for Showtime featured un-bleeped swearing and topless females (usually in one sketch per episode and in a brief clip in the credits).
The "soft" version (for Canada) had all the bad words bleeped out (with an old-fashioned "horn honk" sound) and for the topless scenes, the model was either shown from the back, or she was wearing a bra instead.
Both versions were peddled to local stations in late-night syndication throughout the mid-80s.
 

Stephen Wight

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Andy,I,also fear that they'd release the censored version,which I wouldn't buy,either.I want to see on dvd what I never got to see on television. A little story:When Bizarre premiered,in 1980,I was only 8 and,where I am,it came on a weeknight,so I was too young to stay up and watch it.One weekend,sleeping over at my cosuins,we got up late at night and snuck down to watch tv.While going through the channels we came across Bizarre.We knew about the risque skits,with the topless females,so we watched hoping to see one,but they never had one on that show.They had the cursing,though.However,later on,I found out,from friends,that they have seen nudity on Bizarre.
 

Jeff#

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Bizarre was originally on Showtime, when that channel was new back in the early 1980s.
 

Jesse Skeen

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Ah, the good old days- KTXL here in Sac used to run this nightly, so you could usually see bare female breasts on broadcast TV at least once per day! :D Damn the Fox network for sucking all the life out of the nation's great UHF stations!
I've got a couple shows taped, I'd love to get a collection of all these shows. Whatever happened to John Byner anyways?
 

Ruz-El

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LAst I saw of Byner was him hosting "An Evening At The Improv" On A&E about 10 years ago.

I'd pick this up if it was uncensored and cheap. Watching re-runs, it doesn't hold up nearly as well as SCTV does (which was always my favorite anyways, so I'm biased.)
 

Jeff#

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According to IMDB.com John Byner's more recent role was as none other than old-time comedian Ed Wynn in a fictional story set in 1948 about a fledgling TV network! (The real Ed Wynn had a TV series on CBS in 1949). The movie was made in 2002.
 

AndyMcKinney

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co-production said:
Most recent thing I remember hearing was he had a facelift done "live" over the internet a few years back.
Latest news from John's website (johnbyner.com): at the top of the page, Byner says (quote) "We're working on getting DVD's of ‘BIZARRE’ released soon. Stay tuned to this station."
Might be a good time for interested folks to e-mail him ([email protected]) to show him there's still interest (and to make it clear you're only interested in the uncensored episodes).
 

Richard Ruffner

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Wow, I thought I was the only one that remembered this show. I was barely old enough to watch the Showtime version of this, and the I still remember the original Super Dave skits. I would buy this on DVD in a heartbeat, esp. if lined with genuine Saskatchewan seal skin fur for safety.
 

Stephen Wight

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Thanks for that info,Andy.I'll definitely e-mail him,to let him know there's one more person who's interested in it being released.
 

Stephen Wight

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In the entry for this,on IMDB.comsomebody posted on the message board that vol.1 is supposed to be released before the end of 2005.I posted a reply asking where he heard this to,and will it be the uncensored version that's released.He hasn't replied to my message.Has anybody else heard about Bizarre being released,before the end of the year?
 

Don Scott

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I loved that show, but I had no idea that I was watching a censored version until reading this thread. Wow, I'd love to get the uncensored version on dvd.
 

Stephen Wight

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I read that Bizarre is coming out on December 6th.It will be released it two "best of" volumes,each containg 10 uncut Showtime episodes per volume.Both volumes are listed on eBay,where you can bid on them,before they are released.The strange thing,though,is I haven't heard news anyplace else confirming this.Also,if this is the correct release date,I'm surprised Gord or Dave haven't already posted it on TVShowsOnDVD.com
 

Jon Martin

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According to TVSHOWSONDVD, the two volumes were released last week, only in Canada though. They are available at amazon.ca

Is there going to be a US release at some point?
 

David Lambert

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Jon, I'm just going to order them from Canada via Amazon.ca...IF Gord doesn't buy them for me for Christmas. :D
 

Jon Martin

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I'm just going to order them from Canada via Amazon.ca...IF Gord doesn't buy them for me for Christmas
I ordered them from one of the sellers on Amazon.com. Seemed to be cheaper than amazon.ca, especially with shipping.

Thanks for the notice on the site!
 

TonyD

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hmm i might get this.

i liked this show a ton back then.

stephen wright, just a request.

after each sentence could you hit the space bar,

and throw in a paragraph or two?

looks like one big long sentence with out the spaces.
 

AndyMcKinney

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When somebody gets this, I'd like to know what you think of the set (are the episodes COMPLETE with opening/ending credits intact, are ALL the episodes the uncut versions as advertised, how does the video quality stack up, any extras?).

If there are no extras, I know what would be PERFECT for extras on future volumes: the "censored" versions of the "topless" sketches, so that we can view the sketches both ways. I'm not asking for any fancy seamless branching or anything, I just think it would be interesting to compare the two versions of such sketches.
 

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