Does anyone work at these studios over the age of 40? (1 Viewer)

[TheLongshot]

Which is a good point. I have no desire to own Star Trek or Law & Order on DVD, since I can catch reruns. It is only those shows that I feel really strongly about that I can justify purchasing on DVD. I'm sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way: They like it if it is on, but not enough to shell out the bucks for a DVD set.

Jason

 

[Jeff_HR]

How patient? Five years worth? Ten years worth. Twenty years worth? If I'm too patient I'll be in the grave & it won't make any difference.

There are ONLY 2 shows I really care about seeing on DVD. And other than getting the rest of "Voyager" I don't give a damned about any other shows.

I admit my desires in this situation are selfish. The two shows I want are high quality shows. IMHO I believe they are better than most every other show in the last 25 years. It is too bad they belong to a rights holder that thinks they won't sell.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

The young crowd will never understand what it was like watching these classics. I'll take the god awful animation of Speed Racer with the fun storylines over anything done today. I'll take Green Acres over anything done today. I guess it's a generational thing, but to see the Anna Nicole Show be released on DVD before Get Smart isn't only stupid, it's insulting.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Thanks, Carlos! Having some stupid third-rate reality show out before a bona fide classic like Get Smart is indeed quite an insult!

 

[Eric Paddon]

The only genre for classic TV buffs that have been satisfied on DVD has been sci-fi. It is good that I can get the full runs of Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Space: 1999, Planet Of The Apes and my favorite of all Battlestar Galactica (with the best DVD release of any single series along with Dick Van Dyke) and that eventually full season Trek sets will be out. The only studio lagging is Fox with its rights to the Irwin Allen series and there policy regarding Lost In Space really has me concerned.

With regard to cop/detective/action shows though from the 60s and 70s that's where the void is truly large IMO especially with Universal's delinquency in not releasing anything from that era other than Season 1 of Baretta, which was hardly their best cop show. Columbo should have been one of the first titles ever made available on DVD IMO.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

Yes, the Anna Nicole Smith show does suck, and while it may be insulting to release it before Get Smart, it probably isn't stupid financially or the studios would have released Get Smart already.



That is definantly an opinion I don't share. If these shows were so great they would be in syndication somewhere. Nick at Nite for example. The reason the aren't is because people grew tired of them and they don't hold up. Please don't think for a second that the networks wouldn't run shows from the 50's and 60's 24hrs a day if they thought it would get ratings. And no offence but I can tell we have very different taste in TV if you think Joan of Arcadia is one of the best shows out on TV right now.

If you could name me some popular shows from that era (only shows that stand a chance of getting a DVD release) I'm sure I could think of a show that would beat it from the past 20 years by my tastes provided I've seen the old show. If I haven't seen it before though I can't imagine it was popular and I can't imagine it would get a DVD release before Hell freezes over. And I'm not judging old comedies by Gilligan's Island alone, I'm also judging it by Happy Days, I Love Lucy, and other shows that I seen quite a lot of and that I think are formulaic and terribly written that lots of people in these forums are pining for on DVD and hold up as the gold standard of TV comedy.

I imagine we'll just have to agree to disagree. To each their own.

 

[Albert_M]

Of course sci-fi gets released - the fans are nuts, they will pay $100+ for a set. That is insane. Sopranos too. Too much.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

All the HBO box sets are overpriced with the exception of the Sex and the City sets,(but that show sucks IMO so it's still a rip off). $100 for 13 episodes is outrageous and only gouges the fans.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

I wish U.S. companies would think more like the British. It looks to me like every show ever done in England has already been released on DVD. I mean for every 1 classic american show, it seems the Brits release 20 of their own. I doubt they all make money for them. I would think they figure that the fans will all get around to buying them eventually, and eventually they will make money. Sounds like the only U.S. DVD company with a brain was whoever released the Dick Van Dyke Show in season sets. They didn't seem to care how well a previous season set sold before they released the next...The thinking may be, if it's good, release it...eventually they will all sell out and they'll make money. Too bad every other company seems obsessed by numbers, and how many units will sell NOW. Greed Greed Greed. DVDs in the U.S. seems to be all about money NOW, instead of preserving classic shows. Yeah, let's wait and let these classics rot some more in the vaults, instead of restoring them for future generation...then again, according to some, future generation may just want these shows burned right now because they are so bad...Good thing the Brits think differently, at least they can preserve their TV shows.

 

[Deb Walsh]

I don't like to make "all were better" types of comparisons, but one thing I think can be said about television in the '40-'60s era is that many of the writers themselves came from a different tradition than the bulk of today's writers - many television writers came from theatre, and many SF writers were themselves published authors (that's a trend that stretched into the '70s as well). And a lot of the television talent pool came out of theatre, especially when a higher percentage of television programming originated in New York. This is not to say this isn't happening now as well, but I think the percentage or ratio was higher in favor of stage-trained writers and actors. Probably directors and lighting designers and such, too. It gave television a different look and feel in the pre-music video (and Sesame Street) era.

The latter part of the '60s and much of the '70s produced a lot of shows I loved at the time, but some of them were so topical and trendy in their day that they have ultimately not stood the test of time as well as I might have hoped.

One of the old shows I have always wanted to see is Playhouse 90. It predates me, but it was credited with so many significant programs, productions, and performances, I've always wanted to see it.

 

[Eric Paddon]

Speaking of the Brits, the one show of theirs on DVD I wish had a Region 1 is the 1974 Father Brown series of stories starring Kenneth More. Had to get a transfer to VHS NTSC just to see some of those episodes.

 

[Deb Walsh]

I have the Father Brown DVDs. I'll have to check them, but I'm pretty sure they're Acorn UK, which means they are probably region 0.

 

[Jonathan Carter]

Well, these companies are in the business of making $$, that's why these shows were developed the in the 1st place. If a company takes a bath releasing some series on DVD a small portion of the public want then they will be leary of doing so again. Better to wait until the market has matured a bit more before they take a risk like that. If they get burned with 1 series, chances are you won't ever see a lot of other shows from that era because of it.

I think part of the reason people think most of the TV from past eras is better is because there weren't nearly as many shows. Now the good shows are about 1 out of every 5, but there are so many shows on, with so many networks showing stuff, it seems like there is nothing good on. The ratio has simply been diluted. That said, I'd still match the best of the past 20 years against the best of the 50's-70's anyday.

 

[Mike_Craft]

most older folks realize that family and other things are more important then a stupid dvd collection. Us youger gerneration needs a hobby and wastes it on DVDs. I can tell you personally if I was over 40 I would NOT be buying all the crap I buy now. And the thing is most people are the same way. If your over 40 and enjoy buying DVDs that great. However there are not many like you, therefore its not profitable to target your audiance. In fact.. most of the classics on dvd mentioned above are being bought by younger generations who have cought a glimps of an old show and want to see the whole thing.

so I guess your out of luck with some of your shows.. I dont see whats wrong with todays programming tho? I miss some shows that I used to watch in the 80s but it doesent bother me much cause newer shows being released are just as good (smallville comes to mind)

 

[Paul Miller]

Jeff, look at all the older titles which have been announced over the last six months. It is only a matter of time before Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere get announced because they were quality shows.

If I had to guess, maybe within the year or two max.

Paul

 

[Paul Miller]

Scooby Doo and the Flintstones were classic TV that hold up pretty damn well. I grew up on a lot of these cartoons in syndication and they are as much of a part of my childhood as for the kids who saw them when they first aired.

BUT there are cartoons out there today which are quite good especially some ones done by NICK which has put out Spongebob and Rugrats... although it doesn't compare as well as the cartoons of the early to mid ninties do with shows like Animaniacs.

Paul

 

[Paul Miller]

My only thought on that is that Anna Nicole Smith was in Playboy and Don Adams was not ;->

Get Smart was in syndication for years and was on both NICK and TV Land. I'm really puzzled why they would think there isn't a market for that in this day and age when it has a lot more exposure than most older titles.

Paul

 

[Paul Miller]

The older titles I want released the most are

The Phil Silvers Show
Car 54, Where Are You?
McHale's Navy
Get Smart

I use to rush home to watch the first three in reruns on Comedy Central. I taped some of it, but not nearly enough. The last time I saw it was the Sgt. Bilko marathon on NICK.

Paul

 

[Randy Korstick]

Put me down as another who would buy every "Man From Uncle"
Season set they release on the day they release them. I didn't discover the show until 12 years ago but I love it.

 

[Eric Paddon]

If those are playable on R1 players, that would excite me a good deal. More was perfect in that role.