Good News on Newhart (1 Viewer)

[Vahan_Nisanain]

And yet ANOTHER Fox show (initially produced, or acquired from another studio) has been completed.

 

[BobO'Link]

FINALLY! I've checked Amazon every week since S7 went up for pre-order hoping it'd be announced sooner.

All I need now is his early 60s variety show and George & Leo.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

Very happy to see the announcement about Season 8 - and on the same day that my Amazon order of Season 7 was waiting for me when I got home from work. After several starts and stops, I'm glad (and relieved) that this series will finally be complete on DVD.

And I concur with Howie...bring on George & Leo.

 

[Jack P]

One interesting issue of music replacement for the last episode. On the original CBS broadcast after the big reveal of the dream sequence, the old Bob Newhart Show theme played as the stinger before the final credits. For syndication this was changed to the regular Newhart theme.

 

[bmasters9]

FFFFFFF*************************************KKKKKKKKKKKKK YEAH!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Newhart-Season-8/22892

March 14, the 9 year wait comes to an end.

Part of me always gets a kick out of it when a show takes longer to release on DVD than it was on the air. Newhart, 8 seasons vs. 9 years, Mary Tyler Moore Show, 7 seasons vs. 8 years, Dragnet's 4 seasons vs. 6 years...

At least they finally get released, though.

And Hart to Hart (the original 1979-84 ABC series) took a decade to release its five seasons on DVD (first two from Sony, last three from Shout!).

 

[Blimpoy06]

I started watching Season Seven tonight. The first episode, Town Without Pity, has an edit at the 10 minute mark. There is an obvious video wipe that would not be part of the original style of the show. I checked an old off air VHS copy, and there is a scene missing with Dick telling local townspeople to get off his porch. Has any other season been affected and i just missed it?

 

[The Obsolete Man]

There have been some edits in previous seasons, IIRC.

Shout has also went back in and filled in some edits in the masters they received with lower quality footage just to make the episodes complete.

Apparently, when working with Fox, good luck.

 

[WhitneyG]

Just for the record, I checked my S7 set and the following episodes may run short:

701 Town Without Pity (22:23)
710 George and the Old Maid (22:24)
706 I Came, I Saw, I Sat (22:27)
717 Buy, Buy Blues (23:08)

The rest all range from 23:48 to 24:11 and are safe to assume as being complete. Can anyone confirm whether they are missing footage and what that footage is? We already have at least one scene reported as missing from 701 (thanks, Blimpoy06), but there could be more.

 

[LCD22]

Were there any music used in Newhart and if so, was it cleared?

 

[MatthewA]

One interesting issue of music replacement for the last episode. On the original CBS broadcast after the big reveal of the dream sequence, the old Bob Newhart Show theme played as the stinger before the final credits. For syndication this was changed to the regular Newhart theme.

All the way back in the first season, Dick was depressed one day over something related to his writing and he was watching Mr. Ed reruns, and during the years when it was on Nick at Nite they replaced it with The Bob Newhart Show theme. This was before Fox got the rights, so when they bought it from that Robertson charlatan, they inherited a bunch of lapsed music licenses throughout the MTM library. WKRP wasn't an isolated incident; all the MTM shows have had music replaced. St. Elsewhere is going to cost a bundle to get it out and do it right, because what's the point if it's a screwed-up release full of edited episodes with missing music? Where is the quality control at Fox and why do they allow this to happen? This is the same mentality that believes in pan-and-scan releases of CinemaScope films when they themselves helped popularize widescreen movies in the first place.

Just for the record, I checked my S7 set and the following episodes may run short:

701 Town Without Pity (22:23)
710 George and the Old Maid (22:24)
706 I Came, I Saw, I Sat (22:27)
717 Buy, Buy Blues (23:08)

The rest all range from 23:48 to 24:11 and are safe to assume as being complete. Can anyone confirm whether they are missing footage and what that footage is? We already have at least one scene reported as missing from 701 (thanks, Blimpoy06), but there could be more.

23:08 is too long for a syndicated master (missing song perhaps? It's been years since I've seen many of these), but the others can't possibly be uncut at that length.

As for the music I have to watch them, but I don't recall that much. I remember George Utley singing a bunch of songs on his Karaoke machine and Michael Harris' short-lived lounge act, but those were integral to the plots of their respective episodes.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Well, we're only a few days from the final season being released, and I'm in the middle of the great Newhart rewatch, starting with the Bob Newhart Show (since it's all one show anyway).

Knowing the ending of Newhart, any continuity errors that creep up can easily be written off.

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

Just got the set, zoomed right to the lasts episode and... the Bob Newhart Show theme is replaced with the Newhart one, just like the reruns. Well, not the Comedy channel reruns, because that's the one I have taped from tv and it has the correct music bit.

I can't understand this one, except that Shout! just took the first syndie tape they were given for all eps.

One of the most iconic and memorable endings of a television show, ever.. How could they?

Transfers look pretty good, though.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Just got the set, zoomed right to the lasts episode and... the Bob Newhart Show theme is replaced with the Newhart one, just like the reruns. Well, not the Comedy channel reruns, because that's the one I have taped from tv and it has the correct music bit.

I can't understand this one, except that Shout! just took the first syndie tape they were given for all eps.

One of the most iconic and memorable endings of a television show, ever.. How could they?

Transfers look pretty good, though.

How long does the episode run?

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

How long does the episode run?

26:17

 

[The Obsolete Man]

26:17

Well, it's more than intact, then.

I'd be willing to blame this on the Pat Robertson owned era of MTM and the original ending being lost over the years of bad stewardship.

 

[BobO'Link]

Sounds like it's time to start a "letter writing" campaign to Shout! asking for a fixed disc.

I'm disappointed, but not truly surprised, and I won't let impact, too much, my enjoyment of the episode.

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

Sounds like it's time to start a "letter writing" campaign to Shout! asking for a fixed disc.

I'm disappointed, but not truly surprised, and I won't let impact, too much, my enjoyment of the episode.

I don't know if I'd want to go that far. Shout's presentation of the series is flawed, but it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the material as a whole.

Though, it is weird, isn't it? That the music would even be changed at all? It's not like it is the theme as originally recorded. It is just a synth knock-off. Rights issues? Can't be.

On the other hand, I think that this little flub is the one that I will hold against Shout! from this point on. I used to write off their omissions/mistakes/shortcomings as par for the course of presenting vintage material that no one else was interested in offering.. but no more. This will make me more cautious and selective of future purchases from material offered by them.

I've reached a point where I don't really need to buy stuff like this, although I do love and enjoy revisiting old shows and remembering the good times. But while revisiting, I'd rather not be saddled with and distracted by remembering what's missing. For the price of these old shows, I'd like the complete presentation in front of me.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I don't know if I'd want to go that far. Shout's presentation of the series is flawed, but it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the material as a whole.

Though, it is weird, isn't it? That the music would even be changed at all? It's not like it is the theme as originally recorded. It is just a synth knock-off. Rights issues? Can't be.

On the other hand, I think that this little flub is the one that I will hold against Shout! from this point on. I used to write off their omissions/mistakes/shortcomings as par for the course of presenting vintage material that no one else was interested in offering.. but no more. This will make me more cautious and selective of future purchases from material offered by them.

I've reached a point where I don't really need to buy stuff like this, although I do love and enjoy revisiting old shows and remembering the good times. But while revisiting, I'd rather not be saddled with and distracted by remembering what's missing. For the price of these old shows, I'd like the complete presentation in front of me.

For the price these go for, I can actually forgive mistakes.

They're dirt cheap. Amazon was at $19.99, B&N was at $17.99, and a 15% off coupon knocked it down to 16 bucks when I ordered it...

If this was still the old days of $50+ season sets, I'd be more than a little mad at edits or missing music. But for 16 bucks? Well, I'm not thrilled, but I understand.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

I opted for free shipping this time so I'll get my copy in a few days, so can someone check the "Ramblin' Michael Harris" episode to see if it's complete or edited? That's the episode where Michael sings various TV theme songs as his lounge act, and at the very end Dick sings "Hey, Look Me Over". Is all of this still intact?

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

I opted for free shipping this time so I'll get my copy in a few days, so can someone check the "Ramblin' Michael Harris" episode to see if it's complete or edited? That's the episode where Michael sings various TV theme songs as his lounge act, and at the very end Dick sings "Hey, Look Me Over". Is all of this still intact?

Green Acres, That Girl, Bonanza, Mary Tyler Moore, Hey Look Me Over (plus reprise during credits).
23:45 run time.