Jaime_Weinman
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 786
I know I bring this up every month, but with the first season of M*A*S*H out and apparently selling well (I said apparently), and with the second season of M*A*S*H already scheduled (for May), I thought now would be a good time to suggest to Fox, once again, that the next series for DVD release should be the original WKRP In Cincinnati. Here are some reasons, aside from the obvious one that it's a great show:
1. Despite its popularity, it's currently not being shown very widely in syndication or on cable (TNN had it for a while, then dumped it along with all their other old sitcoms). That means that it's well-known enough for people to want to buy it, but not too over-exposed.
2. The well-known music changes in the show would give a huge advantage to a DVD set that restored as much of the music as possible, because people know that the show is being butchered in reruns. Whereas with most classic shows, viewers often aren't aware of missing scenes and other changes, and don't realize how much more material is in the uncut versions. So a restored WKRP collection, advertising itself as such, could reach out to viewers who are sick of hearing all the fake music and overdubbing.
3. WKRP is a show that was excellent right from the beginning -- in fact, many of the best-known episodes are from the first season (like "Turkeys Away" and the "Hoodlum Rock" episode). So a first-season set would not have the problem some shows have, of being a sort of rough draft for the great things to come. WKRP had no rough gestation and (because of its untimely cancellation) no decline phase, making it ideal for season-by-season release.
Yes, I know the music rights are a problem. But I think it can be done, if done right. Some pieces of music are essential and must be restored no matter what, like "Hot Blooded" in the episode where Les gets a date with Jennifer, or any song whose title the DJs actually announce, or any song that sets a mood for the scene. Sometimes (I say this heretically) a replacement can be acceptable if a) The song is prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable, a la "Stairway To Heaven," and b) It's replaced with a real song from the same period and style, not a fake song. The point is to get the music of the show as close as possible to what the creators intended, and speaking as a fan I think I could accept an occasional music substitution as long as it was clear that most of the original music was restored, and there was no "let's change music and save as much money as possible" thing going on. (And, come to think of it, doesn't M*A*S*H the series have quite a few recordings in it that must be licensed? Admittedly, they're '50s recordings and thus perhaps less expensive, but nonetheless it was done...)
Anyway, please consider this. I'm enjoying M*A*S*H and looking forward to season 2, but I would gladly pay much more than the M*A*S*H set price for a WKRP set -- no extras necessary, just every episode uncut and most of the real music restored.
1. Despite its popularity, it's currently not being shown very widely in syndication or on cable (TNN had it for a while, then dumped it along with all their other old sitcoms). That means that it's well-known enough for people to want to buy it, but not too over-exposed.
2. The well-known music changes in the show would give a huge advantage to a DVD set that restored as much of the music as possible, because people know that the show is being butchered in reruns. Whereas with most classic shows, viewers often aren't aware of missing scenes and other changes, and don't realize how much more material is in the uncut versions. So a restored WKRP collection, advertising itself as such, could reach out to viewers who are sick of hearing all the fake music and overdubbing.
3. WKRP is a show that was excellent right from the beginning -- in fact, many of the best-known episodes are from the first season (like "Turkeys Away" and the "Hoodlum Rock" episode). So a first-season set would not have the problem some shows have, of being a sort of rough draft for the great things to come. WKRP had no rough gestation and (because of its untimely cancellation) no decline phase, making it ideal for season-by-season release.
Yes, I know the music rights are a problem. But I think it can be done, if done right. Some pieces of music are essential and must be restored no matter what, like "Hot Blooded" in the episode where Les gets a date with Jennifer, or any song whose title the DJs actually announce, or any song that sets a mood for the scene. Sometimes (I say this heretically) a replacement can be acceptable if a) The song is prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable, a la "Stairway To Heaven," and b) It's replaced with a real song from the same period and style, not a fake song. The point is to get the music of the show as close as possible to what the creators intended, and speaking as a fan I think I could accept an occasional music substitution as long as it was clear that most of the original music was restored, and there was no "let's change music and save as much money as possible" thing going on. (And, come to think of it, doesn't M*A*S*H the series have quite a few recordings in it that must be licensed? Admittedly, they're '50s recordings and thus perhaps less expensive, but nonetheless it was done...)
Anyway, please consider this. I'm enjoying M*A*S*H and looking forward to season 2, but I would gladly pay much more than the M*A*S*H set price for a WKRP set -- no extras necessary, just every episode uncut and most of the real music restored.
