Do all the TV DVDs from CBS Home Entertainment have changed music? (1 Viewer)

[John Kilduff]

For the past decade, give or take a few years, I've looked at the backs of TV On DVD releases from CBS Home Entertainment, and almost invariably, they say "Music has been changed for this home entertainment version". Whether the show is 60 years old (like "I Love Lucy") or 6 months old (like the latest seasons of the various CSI programs), it says that the music is changed.

It even says that when they release TV movies on other labels (1986's "Gone To Texas" ended up in a Mill Creek Western pack and on the back, it said music was changed).

Is it like that all on CBS DVDs? Do the CSI programs have their theme songs by The Who, or are they changed as well? In general, is that just a stock warning they put on each DVD, or is it all changed? If it's all changed, I can understand how music rights issues can be hard to clear for programs going up to the 1990s, but for shows that are still on the air, it just seems puzzling.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

It's unfortunate that CBS owns music-heavy programs like "Solid Gold"...The chances of intact releases of that are rather slim if CBS' past decade of TV-On-DVD releases are any indication.

 

[TravisR]

In general, is that just a stock warning they put on each DVD...

Yeah, generally speaking, it's just a warning that they seem to put on all their discs whether they've changed music or not.

 

[Ron1973]

S2 and S3 of The Beverly Hillbillies weren't changed at all. All of a sudden S4 rolls around and some of the stock background music was changed. S4 used mainly the same background music that S3 did, so I don't know why the change.

 

[Carabimero]

I'm given to believe the music rights issues on some series are extremely convoluted, which may be why the music sometimes changes inexplicably from season to season.

 

[Gary OS]

I'm given to believe the music rights issues on some series are extremely convoluted, which may be why the music sometimes changes inexplicably from season to season.

That, and the CBS in house suits are beyond cautious with anything music related. Add to this the fact that at times they sub out music that doesn't need to be subbed out and you have a real mixed bag. When they were doing those different Fugitive releases I was always amazed that one episode could have a particular cue, and the next episode where the same cue should be would have it replaced. Sometimes it feels like monkeys are running the sound boards at CBS (no disrespect intended).


Gary "the bottom line is that CBS puts the disclaimer on everything, but that doesn't mean a set necessarily has heavily subbed music" O.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Yeah, generally speaking, it's just a warning that they seem to put on all their discs whether they've changed music or not.

Does this apply to the 'Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions' disclaimer as well?! This ticks me off to no end, why put the disclaimer on there if nothing has been edited, is that not false advertising?! I guess this is what happens when the 'suits' run the show instead of knowledable industry folks who know what the heck they are doing!? I purchased S1&2 of Early Edition and both have the 'episodes edited' disclaimer, I have no idea if these are syndicated cuts or the original uncut versions?!

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Forgot to add, if CBS can't be bothered to secure the rights to the music then they should license out their shows to other companies like Star Vista or Shout! who would put in more of an effort to acquire the music rights then they have done. I would love to see Star Vista release Happy Days, seeing what they did with China Beach and The Wonder Years, I think they would be able to secure the rights to most of the music for Happy Days as well. We would probably also see bonus features which are pretty much non existent on CBS releases.

Of course, if you want to go down this road, there are many other music-heavy series that I think would have seen better releases if someone other then CBS had released them:

Beverly Hills 90210
Bosom Buddies
Family Ties
The Fugitive
Laverne & Shirley
Melrose Place
The Odd Couple
Taxi (S4&5)

 

[TravisR]

Does this apply to the 'Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions' disclaimer as well?!

I would think so. Personally, I think part of the reason they put the disclaimers on everything is to make it harder to determine which titles are actually edited. If the disclaimer was only on the edited titles, people could easily spot and pass on a title. Granted, the majority of the people that care about edits know where to find information online about whether a title is or isn't edited but I still think they do it in an attempt to cloud the issue somewhat.

...why put the disclaimer on there if nothing has been edited, is that not false advertising?!

No because it says "may" rather than that it is or isn't edited.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

No because it says "may" rather than that it is or isn't edited.

Ah, you are correct, I didn't notice that- sneaky little buggers!

 

[Ron1973]

Some do tend to get it confused! I read a review on Amazon from a woman reviewing The Beverly Hillbillies S2 release. She bragged how that she had finally figured out the edited episode and it was The Giant Jackrabbit. Someone was nice enough to explain to her all the episodes were uncut on the disk and that was a "just in case" disclaimer but it was funny nonetheless with her thinking she'd caught CBS hiding something.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Does this apply to the 'Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions' disclaimer as well?! This ticks me off to no end, why put the disclaimer on there if nothing has been edited, is that not false advertising?! I guess this is what happens when the 'suits' run the show instead of knowledable industry folks who know what the heck they are doing!? I purchased S1&2 of Early Edition and both have the 'episodes edited' disclaimer, I have no idea if these are syndicated cuts or the original uncut versions?!

Does this apply to the 'Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions' disclaimer as well?! This ticks me off to no end, why put the disclaimer on there if nothing has been edited, is that not false advertising?! I guess this is what happens when the 'suits' run the show instead of knowledable industry folks who know what the heck they are doing!? I purchased S1&2 of Early Edition and both have the 'episodes edited' disclaimer, I have no idea if these are syndicated cuts or the original uncut versions?!

I believe the general consensus at the time was the only thing missing from Early Edition was the Sony logo at the end of the show./well, and the alternate ending to that one episode.

 

[Carabimero]

It's possible that they've changed, altered, added, deleted, re-added and synthesized so much music that they can't even keep straight what's been altered and what's not, so they just play it safe and put the disclaimer on everything.

 

[John Kilduff]

Thanks for all the answers. I guess it's just a stock thing. I, too, hope that CBS will license out more material. I know they've done so with companies like VEI and Shout! Factory, but even then, some of those titles get interrupted. There are still several seasons of "Webster" that Shout! Factory has yet to release, but they won't even do those as Shout! Select titles.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

I'm just using that as an example. I'm sure there are others escaping my mind at the moment.

 

[moviepas]

Some series you know why gray area people get sales because if they got from TV early on or whatever the original soundtrack would be there. In Australia they did a series called Long Way to the Top with clips etc from local pop people and done a few Live concerts in recent times with some of the performers. The series was repeated at least once and was on government station that produced it which meant no ads. When the DVD box set was planned one or two included in the series wanted big royalties from the DVD sales. The scissors were used and they were off the discs. If you recorded off TV you have it all but there was no HD TV then. Disney had the same problem with their DVD set about the opening of Disneyland and the doc had two items excised due to huge money demands, one being a music group from Hawaii who few would have heard of then or now. Forget who the other one was now. How much dialogue gets lost on some tracks because of the music?