Cancelled TV Shows DVD Release Dates (1 Viewer)

[The Obsolete Man]

How about Adventures of Superman?

That was a 50s show which switched from B&W to color, and definitely got "stupider" after the color switch.

Did color make the show dumber, or did it just happen to switch to color at the same time the creative people decided to gear the show toward children (and make it dumber)?

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I thought of "Superman" later in the day after I wrote my last message here.

I'd say, for sure, "Superman" switching to color and getting dumber weren't related --- just a coincidence.

Another show from the '50s that is partly color and partly b/w is "Science Fiction Theater," and I don't detect any real change in quality between the two seasons.

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by Ethan Riley /forum/thread/294898/classic-tv-release-date-thread/30#post_3638683
But, sometimes a show doesn't quite work in season one, so they re-tool it for season two, and then suddenly the show hits its stride. In this case, Mission Impossible is my best example here; there's not as much interest in the Briggs episodes, season one but everyone is interested in the iconic Phelps era starting in season two. In fact, when I was a kid, they didn't even play season one in syndication along with the later episodes.

Actually, I prefer the Briggs episodes myself. I liked the way he was involved in the plots more as opposed to just handing out assignments. Plus I think Steven Hill is a much more interesting actor than the bland pretty boy WASP Peter Graves. Anyway, all that aside, MI didn't "re-tool" for season two. Hill is an observant Jew and his not be available to work on Friday after sundown and not all on Saturday caused major shooting problems and that was the reason they re-cast after the first season.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by Neil Brock /forum/thread/294898/classic-tv-release-date-thread/60#post_3638867
Actually, I prefer the Briggs episodes myself. I liked the way he was involved in the plots more as opposed to just handing out assignments. Plus I think Steven Hill is a much more interesting actor than the bland pretty boy WASP Peter Graves. Anyway, all that aside, MI didn't "re-tool" for season two. Hill is an observant Jew and his not be available to work on Friday after sundown and not all on Saturday caused major shooting problems and that was the reason they re-cast after the first season.

I didn't say Season One sucked; I alluded to the fact that no one really remembers it when recalling MI. Graves became the icon in that show; that bit with the tape has been lampooned to the death over the last 40 years. One thing working against Season One is the fact that in the 1970s, a lot of independent stations never bothered to air B&W episodes of shows that made a switch to color. Therefore, Briggs gets a big "huh?" from people who only watched the show in its earlier syndication years.
For example, my local station was KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles; they never aired the B&W episodes of Bewitched OR Mission Impossible. They also never aired the first season of Lost in Space, just ran the color episodes over and over. Ditto My Three Sons and a lot of other shows we've discussed in this thread. I believe the thinking was that everyone by then had color tvs and that airing B&W shows was old hat, or didn't show off their televisions' color capabilities. Bummer. Now on the other hand, if a show existed primarily in B&W, the stations seemed to have no trouble airing them. I Love Lucy never seemed to suffer from this B&W prejudice; they STILL air it. They also had no problem airing Dennis the Menace, Father Knows Best or the Addams Family. But these indy stations would simply lop off any B&W episodes of shows that had eventually made the switch to color.
I had grown up thinking that the first episode of Bewitched was "Nobody's Perfect," in which Tabitha's powers first manifest. In 1974, when I was 10, KTTV, in a fit of weakness, decided to air the first four episodes as a tenth anniversary special; that was the first time I'd ever seen the pilot, or even realized that those B&W episodes existed. It wasn't until the 1990s when I finally was able to see them all. So people like Alice Pearce were new to me; I think the same fate happened with Steven Hill--no one remembers him from the 70s reruns; they can find him now.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I remember Nick at Nite proudly proclaiming in the early 90s when they started airing Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie that they were airing the B&W Episodes of each show that had been rarely seen in decades.

So even into the 80s and early 90s, the B&W seasons of shows that switched to color were rare. It wasn't until cable and niche networks became big that B&W was no longer a dealbreaker.

Of course, then the 2000s came, and B&W is out of favor again...

 

[Neil Brock]

Uh, there are no black and white Mission Impossible episodes. They're all in color.

 

[Steve...O]

Has anyone been able to access the CBS/P Syndication Bible page lately? I've tried several times over the past week and get redirected to a generic search page that usually pops up when a webpage has been taken offline.

Hope that CBS/P hasn't decided to remove this from public view.

 

[vnisanian2001]

My guess is that CBS is trying to completely phase Paramount out of the picture.

BTW, I've asked this before but why is it that other major TV production companies like Fox, Universal, Sony, and Warner, don't have syndication bibles, and only CBS has one?

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve...O
Has anyone been able to access the CBS/P Syndication Bible page lately? I've tried several times over the past week and get redirected to a generic search page that usually pops up when a webpage has been taken offline.
Hope that CBS/P hasn't decided to remove this from public view.

I'm thinking you may be right, Steve. And if that's what has happened it's a real shame because this was one of the few places where we could get info from this highly secretive industry. Way too secretive if you ask me.
Gary "it really does look like it's been closed down" O.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by Neil Brock /forum/thread/294898/classic-tv-release-date-thread/60#post_3639120

Uh, there are no black and white Mission Impossible episodes. They're all in color.

Ah, my mistake. Our local station didn't rerun the Briggs episodes; all thru the 70s they only ran the Phelps episodes.
So, B&W or not, MI is in the same boat as shows that got their B&W eps chopped out of the syndication packages.
Stations also, I recall, skipped over the first season of I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan's Island, and others.
Hysterically, since it only ran two seasons, they even left out the first season of F-Troop ... !Otherwise, Shane is right; Nick at Nite had serious bragging rights when they ran Bewitched's first two seasons.Likewise, dvd offers fans the chance to see everything (providing the show makes it all the way to the end on dvd).Edit note: Falcon Crest finally comes off the "rumors" section and is now on the schedule!!!

 

[vnisanian2001]

Guys, all I asked was a very simple question: Why is that other big studios like Sony, Fox, Warner and Universal don't have syndication bibles, yet CBS has (or had at least) one?

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by vnisanian2001 /forum/thread/294898/classic-tv-release-date-thread/60#post_3639242
Guys, all I asked was a very simple question: Why is that other big studios like Sony, Fox, Warner and Universal don't have syndication bibles, yet CBS has (or had at least) one?

Whether or not the others have one or not, I can't say. The real question is why does CBS have theirs viewable to the general public? It really is something that is for the industry and television stations and not something that needs to be online. Besides, every studio operates differently. I have from Universal 3 books that were given to me by a friend at the company, one with TV series, one with TV movies and the third with theatrical features. But they just contain brief descriptions with number of episodes available. No mention of what formats the shows elements are on, which really doesn't tell you much. Sony, I really don't know how they do things and from some of my discussions with people at Fox and Warner, I'm pretty convinced that their back catalogues are a mystery to them and they really have little idea as to what they even have, let alone what form the shows are in. I just remember talking to one of the higher ups at Warner's syndication division and he was asking me which Turner shows had been transferred and might have tape elements. That should give you an idea as to what they know at these places. CBS may not be perfect but they are so far above every other studio in every area that it's ridiculous.

 

[Ockeghem]

I would also add Dark Shadows (1966-71 series) to the list of shows I believe were far better in b&w than when they switched to color. That being said, the very first time we see a color episode -- and especially when Maggie is sitting in the Blue Whale in that gorgeous reddish dress as she tries to remember who this person of Barnabas is when she first hears someone utter his name -- is chilling and quite remarkable. But I still prefer, on balance, the show during its b&w run than I do the color run.

 

[TheGreatOz]

No FUGITIVE Vol 4 listing or street date? CBS sleeping /img/vbsmilies/htf/sleep.gif?

 

[Neil Brock]

I just thought of another one. The black and white episodes of The Saint were far superior to the color ones. Much more interesting stories.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Brock
I just thought of another one. The black and white episodes of The Saint were far superior to the color ones. Much more interesting stories.

I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. Those early b/w years of The Saint were far superior to the color years. No question about it.
Oh, and for some reason I'm thinking we will have a Fugitive, S4, V1 set released in the summer of next year. Yep, that feels about right.
Gary "and it really does look like CBS has taken down their Syndication Bible so we can't get a heads up on some of their latest work" O.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Originally Posted by Gary OS /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. Those early b/w years of The Saint were far superior to the color years. No question about it.
Oh, and for some reason I'm thinking we will have a Fugitive, S4, V1 set released in the summer of next year. Yep, that feels about right.
Gary "and it really does look like CBS has taken down their Syndication Bible so we can't get a heads up on some of their latest work" O.

I have that complete B/W Saint set from R2. It's a great set. I'm still early into the set.

 

[Regulus]

It seems like a lot of Stations left out seasons 4 and 11 of Lassie when they ran them. Growing up in the 1960s, I began watching this show only in it's later years, which were all in color. I realised there were two "other" versions of this show being syndicated, which were called Jeffs Collie and Timmy and Lassie. For years I thought they were SEPERATE Shows done by differant producers! Then I read they were all done by CBS (Except for the last two seasons). That left a big hole in the series, or so I thought. Why the change of Masters? Also, what caused Lassie to leave the farm and become involved with the Forest Rangers? Only recently did I find out, when I finally was able to see the fourth and eleventh seasons. In the fourth season we find out Timmy had run away from his Foster Home, and the Martins took him in as one of their own. Later in the Season they sell their Farm to the Martins, who adopt Timmy. Seven years later the Martins get the oppurtunity to start a Farm in Austrailia. Unfortunately they cannot take Lassie along because of a Quarentine Regulation. Thus Lassie ends up with the Rangers.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

I know they had to do it, but it didn't ring true. There was no way that Jeff, and later Timmy, would say "goodbye" to Lassie and give her to someone else.

In real life, anyone with a dog like that -- a dog whose IQ is off the charts, and who was a constant companion for years, and who shared many adventures, and who saved your life more times than you can remember -- I say, anyone with a dog like that would NEVER give it away to someone else. In real life, spunky boys like Jeff and Timmy would say, "Over my dead body," and any reasonable parents would understand.

 

[Regulus]

Very True. However this is Television. I'm sure a Producer of a TV Series has had something like this happen time and again. Either a the Actor (Or Actress) who play's a Major Characture decides they no longer want to be that Characture, or they have the misfortune of "Assuming Room Temperature". In the case of this series, (Lassie) the Actors who played Lassie's masters grew up and became tired of being cast as the Characture in the series, so the Producers wove these stories in so the series could continue without them. The fact the series ran as long as it did bears testimony to the Producer's success in tackling this issue. In the "Ranger" years Lassie has another change of masters after Corey is injured in a Wildfire. (In real life he had a Drinking Problem and had to go into rehab). But, as they say in Show Biz, "The Show must go on!"