George Reeves' Superman on DVD (1 Viewer)

[Roy Wall]

I found this info off of Google by clicking the "cache - text only" link to http://www.warnervideo.com/adventuresofsupermandvd/

At the bottom of the page was this info....

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Retrospective Documentary The Adventures of Superman: From Inkwell to Backlot
• 1951 Theatrical Feature Superman and the Mole Men,
Later to Be Televised As the 2-Part The Unknown People
• Pony Express Days: Vintage Warner Bros. Historical Short Starring George Reeves
• Commentary on 4 Key Episodes by Superman Chroniclers
Gary H. Grossman and Chuck Harter
• Selected Original Episode Previews
• Original Breakfast Cereal TV Spots
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (Episodes Only).

On one hand...sounds like good news..... Selected Original Episode Previews

OTOH...the bad news sounds like....the commentary doesn't include Jack Larson or Phyllis Coates

Provided...of course....this info on the "cache - text only" link is accurate.

 

[Steve...O]

Thanks Roy!! Hopefully the Selected Original Episode Previews are more than a handful and they include all the ones that still exist (I don't know how many there are).

Regarding "the commentary doesn't include Jack Larson or Phyllis Coates" I've read that Jack participated in the documentary. I don't know if Phyllis did. If they both did, I would actually prefer that over the commentary if only because you can see them and the fact that they probably don't have clear memories of specific episodes. Warners tends to do a good job with their documentaries so I have very high hopes for this one.

Thanks again for finding this.

Steve

 

[Roy Wall]

Good point Steve about the documentary....I forgot about that aspect.

Yes...I am hopeful that the previews will contain more than the syndicated list.

The previews that I have seen in syndication are from:

The Mind Machine
Czar of the Underworld
Crime Wave
Rescue

Yep...I hope there's more but only time will tell.

 

[TravisR]

I would actually prefer that over the commentary if only because you can see them and the fact that they probably don't have clear memories of specific episodes.

I gotta say that I'm with Steve...O, how much is someone gonna remember about one episode they did fifty years ago. And we'll be able to hear their recollections about the series on the documentary too. I'm betting that the commentators they have lined up will be a wealth of info and cover alot of ground. This set is really starting to sound good, I can't wait to pick it up!

Thanks for the info, Roy!

 

[Tom.W]

Thanks for the info, Roy and Michael. BTW, Gary H. Grossman's book, SUPERMAN: Serial to Cereal is highly regarded. Quoting Amazon reviewer Martman46, "Each episode is discussed, along with background information and numerous anecdotes. The history of each of the actors is reviewed (did you know George Reeves was in Gone With the Wind?), along with the complete cast and credits for each show. There are also lots of behind-the-scenes photos of the cast and crew. This is required reading for Superman afficianados."

I do hope Jack and Phyllis are included in the documentary, though. Jack did host a Superman Festival back in 1988 on WOR.

 

[Seymour Uranowitz]

Was George Reeves really in Gone With the Wind?

To his credit, Mr. Grossman did get at least the release year right on that one. But he could have used Michael's help on the year TAOS premiered.

 

[Steve...O]

Several months ago a friend met Noel at a convention and asked about her participation on the TAOS S1 DVDs. She replied that she wasn't participating in the set because she wasn't part of that season but that Jack was definitely participating. Nothing was said about Phyllis, but I've heard some scuttlebutt about the Noel/Phyllis relationship or lack thereof so that's not surprising.

If WB website is correct and future seasons are at least on the radar then hopefully Noel will be sharing her insights. Jack is a very interesting and charming gentleman from all accounts and I really enjoyed his comments on the WB Hitchcock DVDs.

Steve

 

[Roy Wall]

I gotta say that I'm with Steve...O, how much is someone gonna remember about one episode they did fifty years ago.

I don't know, Travis.

Phyllis may have quite a good recollection her moments with Frank Richards on "Night of Terror".

Jack...I think...might have some commentary surrounding his role in the controversial episode "The Evil Three".

Again...though...I'm only making a guess here based on documented accounts.

 

[TravisR]

Not that they don't have some great anecedotes but hopefully those will be covered in the doc. Either way, I think this set is gonna be really great!

 

[Roy Wall]

Not that they don't have some great anecedotes but hopefully those will be covered in the doc. Either way, I think this set is gonna be really great!

Agreed...Travis...this one's gonna be one spectacular DVD set.

 

[Bill Williams]

Already got my wife's permission to get this set! lol! Gotta love her!

 

[Roy Wall]

Bill...I think your chances are good on the set containing the "Crime Wave" preview since it's also available in syndication.

Personally...I'm hoping for any of the "The Evil Three", "Night of Terror" or "The Stolen Costume" previews...outside of the those available via syndication.

Glad to hear Mrs. Williams approved your future purchase of this DVD set....because...as the preview narrator puts it:

"...So don't MISS it. There's Action...Adventure...and...Mystery.....in...The Adventures of Superman"

 

[Bill Williams]

Sounds great, Roy! I always thought AOS S1 had the best episodes in them, and IMHO George Reeves was never more hard-hitting, no-nonsense, and intense as Superman than in "Crime Wave". Had Robert Maxwell stayed on for the entire series' run, we would have had more episodes like it.

 

[Seymour Uranowitz]

Back cover art is now available at TVShowsOnDVD.com

P.S. Sorry Gord.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Please unlink the graphic as it uses our bandwidth and costs us money.

Gord
P.S. Nevermind, I just changed the name of the graphic on the server.

 

[Steve...O]

Thanks Gord for the news story.

Hmmm...nothing said about Phyllis Coates so I assume she is not participating. Too bad as I would love to hear her comments.

Also, nothing said about episode previews although it is still possible that they are integrated into the episode themselves. It's certainly not a deal breaker if they're not included, but it would be nice.

Steve

 

[Roy Wall]

Steve,

I know you are mindful of this.....as you so noted in post number 190....but to any readers that have not read through this thread:

Two hopeful items give encouragement that the previews may be included.

(1) Either Mr Grossman or Mr Harter (if I have concluded the appropriate identity of Mr Hayde's "source" correctly) was told by Warner personnel that the previews had been located and would be included. Mr Hayde made it clear though that his "source" had not seen any evidence of these previews.

(2) The text-only cache page of http://www.warnervideo.com/adventuresofsupermandvd/ released on 26 Jul 05 spells out "Selected Original Episode Previews".

Just thought I'd throw that out and keep this in proper perspective.

The flipside to all of this is....as you already have made mention....is that the official website...outside of the text-only cache page....and the latest TVShowsonDVD.com release depicting the special features displayed on the back of the DVD set...does not mention them.

I guess....the bottom line...we'll know for sure....in about 11 weeks from now.

Roy

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Did every episode of the first season have previews? If so, we'll only be getting some, not all, in this set, correct? Also, it sounds like the previews and bumpers may be found as "extras" on this set, not incorporated into the episodes, which means we probably won't be seeing the episodes the way they were originally run. Is this correct?

 

[Roy Wall]

Carlos,

As far as I know....there was a preview shown each week at the end of each episode during the initial run. I don't know if at the end of "The Unknown People Part II" if there was a preview for "Superman on Earth" for the second pass but from what I have read....a preview for every episode after "Superman on Earth" was shown.

As I mentioned before...the text-only cache site for Superman on Warner's website mentions "Selected Original Episode Previews" while Mr Hayde's "source" was told that all of the previews had been located and would be included (although the "source" saw no evidence of the previews).

So...we may see none....we may see a few...or we may see all of the previews.

We'll know as soon as the first DVD sets hit the stores around or probably two or three days prior to 18 Oct 05...as the reviews for this DVD set on this forum start coming in.

Roy

 

[Michael.J.Hayde]

we probably won't be seeing the episodes the way they were originally run. Is this correct?

Carlos,

We certainly won't be seeing them the way that they originally appeared in 1952 - for reasons that are covered at my website here. What we are going to see will be the episodes as they were originally created in 1951.

I'm honestly not sure how the previews will fit into this. I'm sure they were created prior to the purchase of the series by Kellogg's, but I'm also sure that they did not originally appear before the closing titles when the episodes were first assembled in 1951. I think they came on after the titles - but that's just a guess based on circumstantial evidence (specifically: 16mm prints where the "Preview" music can be heard starting just after the closing titles fade out). I also think that some previews were extended after Kellogg's bought the show, to make up for shortened running time after Kellogg's had certain episodes re-edited. (Which is why some previews contain highlights from two or more episodes.)

As Roy says, we'll have to wait and see what we get.

Michael