I Spy - Remastered? (1 Viewer)

[Hank Dearborn]

I can't imagine they have gone back to the original elements. All I remember was that when I got the DVDs several years ago, the first episode I saw had a scene cut. When I contacted Image as well as the Peter Rodgers Organization, they were more concerned that I had found their phone numbers than they were that they released a defective product. They couldn't have cared less. To 99% of the people in the industry, it's just about making profit. Only the fans care about the quality and artistic integrity. To the people who sell this stuff, it means no more than if they were selling bags of dirt. Unless it affects sales. Then they care.

 

[BobSchneider]

Well hank I can't agree with you more that image and most dvd production companys are run by scum bags that turn out trash product and get away with it (my worst set is Crime Store S1 very bad and S2 unwatchably bad). But compairison to that, the orignal I Spy dvd set was very watchable ,decently ripped (video and audio) and had some cool audio commentarys by Robert Clup, that being said , the lack of chapters, decent menus etc.... left the set wanting. Also fans like me (44 years old ) never saw the orginal run of I Spy so I wont know if there's cuts,edits or time compression, sense I dont have cable or sat tv I Spy been off the air in So Cal market for almost ten years. When the Image set came out so for me it was great way to have access to I Spy again. Ok lol I know see that image is releasing the set I Spy DVD news: Announcement for I, Spy - Season 1: Newly Remastered Edition (& S2 & S3) | TVShowsOnDVD.com I still dont have high hopes based on Images generally low rent dvd releases. Atleast the price is right 19.99 instead or the 50.00 I payed for season one. Im going to hold off until the new sets come out and only rebuy them if there is dramatic improvement (video/sound and extras) otherwise I stick with my old set for my casual viewing.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Image is probably just trying to cash in on the publicity around that other mid-60s spy series release, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. I have about 10 of the single volume (4 episode) I Spy releases and they look and sound great, so I will be very surprised if they are doing further remastering or re-packaging (unless there's a Blu-ray version coming). Still, the price is sweet, and the entire series will be available, so who's complaining?

 

[Bob Hug]

I'll be picking up all three of these sets as I only have just a few of the single releases; that's pretty remarkable pricing on the part of Image . . . . these season sets will probably retail around $15 or less, making the entire series $45 or less. I wonder if Image will include Robert Culp's commentaries from the original DVD releases.

 

[Ivan G]

I'm not even going to disclose how much I paid originally for all three I Spy box sets...nor how they went on sale the week after I bought them ('cause it still hurts to talk about it). But I am glad that the people on HTF who haven't acquired them yet are getting a pretty sweet deal.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Alternately viewing the newly-released The Man From U.N.C.L.E. episodes with my I Spy dvds, I am reminded that I Spy was basically The Man From U.N.C.L.E. for grown-ups: a much more sophisticated, nuanced and adult-themed show. But then TMFU originally aired at 8:30 and I Spy was at 10 p.m., so of course that was the original intent. But it's great watching them both because ... sometimes you feel like a kid and sometimes you don't.

 

[Mary_P]

I feel your pain. I bought several of the original single-disc releases before the box sets came out. That includes a horrid 2-episode release that seems to have been mastered from VHS recorded at EP speed, and cost more than the 4-episode version that replaced it.... Blech. The quality of that one disc alone almost put me off buying the series, but thankfully the quality on the 4-ep discs was much better.

Given the price point of these sets, I'll be amazed if the "remastering" amounts to anything more than putting the episodes in correct order, so probably not worth a double-dip, but a *great* price for those who are new to the series.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

You know it's funny but you are exactly right in your assessment. MFU was my favorite show when it was on but I was in elementary school at the time and I thought I Spy was boring. In the last couple of months I finally got around to watching some I Spys and I find myself really liking it and I was thinking it's better than I remembered. I guess age really is the determining factor. Some shows I loved as a child (Baileys of Balboa, It's About Time, Camp Runamuck) I find painful to sit through today while I really wish more of the great Kennedy era dramas were available for all to see.

 

[progrocktv]

I just hope they actually do some *REAL* remastering on these, and steer clear from that HORRIBLE real-time color correcting they did on the previous sets. I always cringe whenever they go from an outdoor scene to an indoor scene and the color goes from washed out, pale and out of spec and slowly adjusts to the correct levels again, only to be completely out of whack again on the next scene change. UGH!

 

[Bert Greene]

I used to catch reruns every now and then, back in the 80s, and really only had a so-so interest in the series. But, I picked up the first Image box-set a few years back on a whim, and just ate it up. Loved it, and bought 'em all. I don't know why my opinion of the series changed so much. Maturation? I dunno. Maybe it also has to do with all the on-location foreign backdrops, which I once looked upon as fairly routine, but now with the passage of time, seems to carry a much greater and rather appealing mystique. Plus, it's just a darned good show.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

The chemistry between Robert Culp and Bill Cosby is just about unmatched in TV history. As a scriptwriter, I can't tell whether their light banter moments are improvised or fully scripted (likely a little of both), but it just reveals a genuine enjoyment of each other's company. And don't forget how revolutionary it was for an established TV star like Robert Culp to share the spotlight and a full co-star role with basically a novice African-American actor back in 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was still newborn.

The plots were simple, but the potential for humor and nuance ran deep. I just screened an episode last night, "Always Say Goodbye," where the premise involved them simply having to keep an American diplomat in Tokyo away from strippers and scandal for 48 hours before an important international conference. I mean, how beautiful is that? Or, as Kelly and Scott might say, you gotta just love the "wonderful-ness" of it all.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

As a kid I gravitated towards UNCLE for all of the fistfights, gun battles as well as action and gadgets. As an adult, I find that I Spy has far more nuance, great chemistry between the two leads as well as beautiful location shooting while UNCLE is all MGM backlot and really starts to look the same after a few episodes. You really can't beat on location shooting. It's one of the things that makes Naked City and Route 66 such great series.

 

[BobSchneider]

Hmmm I never saw MFU reruns and I recently got a Used MFU series set for a great price and so far I watch eposides from seasons one, two and three and there all hell of alot of fun and I feel I got a great deal for 140.00. MFU is in my mind WWW in brooks brothers suits and great escapist enterianment of the finest sort as RC likes to say about WWW. I Spy I was introduce in my junior year of high school on old channel 9 in SoCal along with Secret Agent/danger man series shown on channel 56 and fell in love with both shows form the first viewing. Both were more reality based the cold war for the back drop, chinese, rusian and verious com block spys squaring off weekly with scotty and kelly or good old john drake. And there was a really sense of drama and danger are heros faced every epoisde. I Spy compaired to MFU was truely a much more a adult show and quite ground breaking for its day white and black as true partners (oh the black guy was the smart one too Rhodes Scholar and all) not all the episodes had a happy ends, but what made the show was the great complecated adult friendship between the Scotty and Kelly.Also the fantasic Location shooting in the real foreign locals (ie hong kong, japan, greece, spain, etc...) and Fouad Said great inovative cinematography, it was really a great stand out show. Like I said earlier I might pick the new sets with the remastering is significally better, but I wait for user review here before I get the new set.

BTW great I Spy triva where and on what scholarship did Kelly Robinson go to college on , I bet you know Hank

 

[Ron68]

I have never seen I Spy, at least I don't ever remember seeing it, but I'll gladly blind buy it, if it's even half as good as Mission: Impossible and especially at that price. I'm enjoying a lot of shows from the 60's and love Cosby and Culp's other work.

 

[michael_ks]

This would essentially be a blind purchase for me as I barely saw the show air in syndication but as a big Robert Culp fan I don't see how I could go wrong, especially when one considers the price of the upcoming season sets. I love 60s era spy stuff and this would fit nicely into my collection next to "Man in a Suitcase", "Mission: Impossible", "Man from U.N.C.L.E." S1, "Danger Man" and others.

With the location shooting and the wonderful guest stars (back when guest stars were standouts and offered individualized talents) this should be a winner. Added to that, this series was unique in that every episode featured an original score (divided between Earle Hagen and golden age film composer Hugo Friedhofer). The main theme and opening titles are quite slick too, as I dimly recall.

 

[Craig Beam]

I very recently picked up all 21 individual volumes (I haven't even opened them yet!). If I can get three bucks each for 'em on eBay, I can buy the new season sets. Here's hoping the Culp commentaries are intact.....

 

[Sam Favate]

I have three or four of the old discs, and will gladly be getting the new sets. When I read the news last week, I was thrilled, as I have been loving Man From UNCLE on DVD, and have wanted a comprehensive I Spy set for a while now.

 

[Sam Favate]

Two of the new remastered season sets are up for order on Amazon: $13.99 for a 5-disc set. Not too bad.

 

[BobSchneider]

Hmmm really well if the re master job is better I might just pick it up again

 

[Ron68]

$13.99 is a great price for the first 2 seasons each, especially for what's going to be a blind buy for me