Is the b&w era of TV on DVD slowly coming to an end? (7 Viewers)

[Professor Echo]

Has this set been mentioned already? Supposedly only a few episodes (seven?) short of being the complete series. I'm guessing these are all public domain?http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mrs-North-Collectors-Episodes/dp/B00LMKKY8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409244904&sr=8-1&keywords=Mr.+And+mrs+north

 

[shoeshineboy]

Has this set been mentioned already? Supposedly only a few episodes (seven?) short of being the complete series. I'm guessing these are all public domain?http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mrs-North-Collectors-Episodes/dp/B00LMKKY8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409244904&sr=8-1&keywords=Mr.+And+mrs+north

i was looking at this too -- i know little about it and was wondering first about the show, and then the quality of the dvd images. I haven't seen any reviews except of the Alpha versions... Would it be a good blind buy ?

 

[BobO'Link]

Of course a kinescope is a film, but it is a film of a television monitor, and I at least don't think it looks as good as a show filmed directly (like I Love Lucy). Anyway, the argument about the Jack Benny set is here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/324456-problem-with-the-new-jack-benny-program-dvd-set/?hl= jack benny lost episodes. As I look back on it, I am not sure what the technical problem was with the Jack Benny set. In the thread, someone raises that there was an issue with the Danny Kaye set of taking a videotaped show and trying to make it look like film, but I don't know whether that criticism was valid. Personally, I find these old variety shows are best to have in the background while doing things around the house and so relatively small quality problems do not bother me. The Danny Kaye Christmas set was terrific.

And I thought the Jack Benny set was terrific! I have no issues with it at all. That could be simply because I still watch on a CRT. It seems that lots of what I read about issues with classic TV quality seem to stem from people watching it on HD sets - which from what I've read make lots of older material look bad, or worse than watching on analog equipment.

 

[LouA]

Has this set been mentioned already? Supposedly only a few episodes (seven?) short of being the complete series. I'm guessing these are all public domain?http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mrs-North-Collectors-Episodes/dp/B00LMKKY8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409244904&sr=8-1&keywords=Mr.+And+mrs+north

This release has it's own forum

 

[Professor Echo]

This release has it's own forum

Well, since it's a new release of an old B&W series, what's wrong with mentioning it here too? Not all of us have the time or opportunity to notice or read every single thread that is posted.

 

[LouA]

Well, since it's a new release of an old B&W series, what's wrong with mentioning it here too? Not all of us have the time or opportunity to notice or read every single thread that is posted.

Hi Professor, No problem posting it here, as a matter of fact I'm glad you did . This B&W forum is really the best place for this news . I just wanted you to know that there was a forum , so you could see what other's had to say about this welcome release .

 

[Professor Echo]

I hadn't seen that other thread, so thanks, Lou! I'll have to find it and read the comments. I'm also excited about this release, but will wait for reviews before purchasing. EDIT: Just read Bob Gu's excellent review in the corresponding thread. Sounds like a buy for me, but I'm disappointed that they didn't include ALL the shows, especially those that are available elsewhere.

 

[LouA]

I hadn't seen that other thread, so thanks, Lou! I'll have to find it and read the comments.I'm also excited about this release, but will wait for reviews before purchasing.EDIT: Just read Bob Gu's excellent review in the corresponding thread. Sounds like a buy for me, but I'm disappointed that they didn't include ALL the shows, especially those that are available elsewhere.

I've already ordered this set. I have some older DVD's from Critics Choice , so I'm hoping that between both sources I have all of the episodes. Hopefully we'll see further PD releases like this . Shows like Trouble With Father , It's A great Life , Long John Silver.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Very true, but Yancy Derringer has been airing in syndicated prints without the theme song since the 1970s - before the days of VCRs . Those syndicated prints are cut, so Timeless did YD fans a great service by releasing complete shows even if the theme song is missing .

As I recall there also are two or three episodes with the wrong closing credits (i.e., credits from a different episode), but that's a minor quibble for me. Yancy Derringer is a show which I never expected to see on DVD, so I was thrilled to get the entire run.

 

[BobO'Link]

My $8.50 copy of State Trooper arrived yesterday. I'd actually forgotten I'd ordered this so it was a surprise! It's a pretty nice set - 2 standard size multi-disc amaray cases with pages to hold the disks and a paperboard outer slipcase. Yes, slipcase - open at the top and bottom with both cases sliding into the middle. Both cases have a episode guide on the back and the episodes are also listed on each disc. The season 1 case has a bonus disc with 4 westerns in which Rod Cameron did a guest appearance: Tales of Wells Fargo (Assignment in Gloribee), The Men From Shiloh (Gun Quest), Alias Smith & Jones (The Biggest Game in the West), and Laramie (The Last Journey). The last disc of S3 has the pilot episode from the series, "Rodeo Rough House." Season 1 has 3 discs of 10 episodes and 1 disc of 9 episodes. Season 2 and 3 are 3 discs each with 11 episodes per disc.

The episodes I've watched so far are in fair to good shape and quite watchable. Episode lengths are a bit over 25 minutes so my guess is they're complete. My biggest gripe is the audio which is a bit muffled sounding requiring turning the sound up a bit to be able to hear everything. I found it a bit humorous that it's a police show about a State Trooper who would be in a car but the open has a scene of Cameron riding horseback. Then along comes episode 3 and there he is on that horse to go into the back country on a case! That episode played more like a western.

I've really enjoyed the episodes I've watched and in the first 2 episodes have seen 2 of my favorite TV moms playing criminals! They were Jean Byron (The Patty Duke Show) and Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family). That got me looking at who else made appearances on the show. There's quite a impressive roster of movie actors, soon-to-be-TV-stars, and character actors who make appearances. I noticed I have another favorite TV mom coming up late in S1, Whitney Blake (Hazel) and that Jean Byron makes 4 more appearances during the series with Carolyn Jones making 1 more.

That brings up something I'd always noticed growing up. *Lots* of the same people would show up on *lots* of TV shows. At one point I can recall being annoyed when certain character actors would appear thinking "can't they ever get anyone else?" - especially if there was a particular *type* that person specialized in playing. Now, it's quite a bit of fun picking them out and seeing them again! It's one of those things that when they slowly faded away I never really noticed but when looking back at the older programs realize how good they were and how much I actually miss their performances.

 

[Regulus]

My $8.50 copy of State Trooper arrived yesterday. I'd actually forgotten I'd ordered this so it was a surprise! It's a pretty nice set - 2 standard size multi-disc amaray cases with pages to hold the disks and a paperboard outer slipcase. Yes, slipcase - open at the top and bottom with both cases sliding into the middle. Both cases have a episode guide on the back and the episodes are also listed on each disc. The season 1 case has a bonus disc with 4 westerns in which Rod Cameron did a guest appearance: Tales of Wells Fargo (Assignment in Gloribee), The Men From Shiloh (Gun Quest), Alias Smith & Jones (The Biggest Game in the West), and Laramie (The Last Journey). The last disc of S3 has the pilot episode from the series, "Rodeo Rough House." Season 1 has 3 discs of 10 episodes and 1 disc of 9 episodes. Season 2 and 3 are 3 discs each with 11 episodes per disc.

The episodes I've watched so far are in fair to good shape and quite watchable. Episode lengths are a bit over 25 minutes so my guess is they're complete. My biggest gripe is the audio which is a bit muffled sounding requiring turning the sound up a bit to be able to hear everything. I found it a bit humorous that it's a police show about a State Trooper who would be in a car but the open has a scene of Cameron riding horseback. Then along comes episode 3 and there he is on that horse to go into the back country on a case! That episode played more like a western.

I've really enjoyed the episodes I've watched and in the first 2 episodes have seen 2 of my favorite TV moms playing criminals! They were Jean Byron (The Patty Duke Show) and Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family). That got me looking at who else made appearances on the show. There's quite a impressive roster of movie actors, soon-to-be-TV-stars, and character actors who make appearances. I noticed I have another favorite TV mom coming up late in S1, Whitney Blake (Hazel) and that Jean Byron makes 4 more appearances during the series with Carolyn Jones making 1 more.

That brings up something I'd always noticed growing up. *Lots* of the same people would show up on *lots* of TV shows. At one point I can recall being annoyed when certain character actors would appear thinking "can't they ever get anyone else?" - especially if there was a particular *type* that person specialized in playing. Now, it's quite a bit of fun picking them out and seeing them again! It's one of those things that when they slowly faded away I never really noticed but when looking back at the older programs realize how good they were and how much I actually miss their performances.

My set should arrive this week (Wednesday, according to the Big River) I can hardly wait to receive it!

 

[Vic Pardo]

That brings up something I'd always noticed growing up. *Lots* of the same people would show up on *lots* of TV shows. At one point I can recall being annoyed when certain character actors would appear thinking "can't they ever get anyone else?" - especially if there was a particular *type* that person specialized in playing. Now, it's quite a bit of fun picking them out and seeing them again! It's one of those things that when they slowly faded away I never really noticed but when looking back at the older programs realize how good they were and how much I actually miss their performances.

When I went on my "Dragnet" kick a while back, both '50s and '60s versions, I was amazed at the small stable of actors that kept turning up: Eddie Firestone, Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg, Olan Soule, and a few others I can't recall right now. And they were always good, no matter what roles they were playing. Plus, there were lots of soon-to-be-famous names in "Dragnet" as well: Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, Carolyn Jones, Paul Burke, etc.

 

[Regulus]

Not one, but TWO box sets of State Trooper were delivered to me this afternoon! I confess I had an "Alternate Version" of this series, After receiving the official sets the 'boots went to my Bar, it's called "The Workbench". The Bartender's initials are B.F.H. and all who go to this bar get HAMMERED!

As for the second set I received, I'll be sending it to a family in Texas as a Christmas Present.

 

[HenryDuBrow]

Glad I kept that State Trooper pre-order, it should arrive soon.

 

[LouA]

I see we'll be getting reissues of Season 2 of Donna Reed , and season 2 of My Favorite Martian from MPI. These will be improvements over the previous releases so they're welcome , but I still wonder why a company will see the merit in releasing a show that's already been out on DVD, but not in releasing shows that haven't been out yet. Many shows come to mind - like Our Miss Brooks , Topper , People's Choice , Love That Bob, etc . Let's hope that now that these two shows have been reissued , MPI will look into some other deserving B & W shows. Just for the record , I'll be "double dipping " and buying both of these to replace less desirable earlier versions.

 

[LouA]

When I went on my "Dragnet" kick a while back, both '50s and '60s versions, I was amazed at the small stable of actors that kept turning up: Eddie Firestone, Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg, Olan Soule, and a few others I can't recall right now. And they were always good, no matter what roles they were playing. Plus, there were lots of soon-to-be-famous names in "Dragnet" as well: Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, Carolyn Jones, Paul Burke, etc.

The 1950's version of Dragnet is a show that REALLY should be released in it's entirety by someone . One of the first "Cop Shows , really unique, and almost iconic, it's really Jack Webb's biggest claim to fame .

 

[Gary OS]

I see we'll be getting reissues of Season 2 of Donna Reed , and season 2 of My Favorite Martian from MPI. These will bd improvements over the previous releases so they're welcome , but I still wonder why a company will see the merit in releasing a show that's already been out on DVD, but not in releasing shows that haven't been out yet. Many shows come to mind - like Our Miss Brooks , Topper , People's Choice , Love That Bob, etc . Let's hope that now that these two shows have been reissued , MPI will look into some other deserving B & W shows. Just for the record , I'll be "double dipping " and buying both of these to replace less desirable earlier versions.

What if I were to tell everyone that as of right now a certain studio, one we've become accustomed to delivering b/w TV series to us on a regular basis, has absolutely nothing of that nature on their 2015 schedule? Would that make a difference in how you view the future of b/w TV on DVD? Sadly, this is not a hypothetical situation.


Gary "in fact this studio wants to release a colorized version of a b/w classic they've already released in the past - that's how allergic they've apparently become to the remaining b/w shows they have in their vaults" O.

P.S. I guess it's possible this studio might license some b/w series out to Shout or something. Fingers crossed, otherwise things really look bleak.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

I see we'll be getting reissues of Season 2 of Donna Reed , and season 2 of My Favorite Martian from MPI. These will be improvements over the previous releases so they're welcome , but I still wonder why a company will see the merit in releasing a show that's already been out on DVD, but not in releasing shows that haven't been out yet. Many shows come to mind - like Our Miss Brooks , Topper , People's Choice , Love That Bob, etc . Let's hope that now that these two shows have been reissued , MPI will look into some other deserving B & W shows. Just for the record , I'll be "double dipping " and buying both of these to replace less desirable earlier versions.

With My Favorite Martian, I never bothered with the earlier sets due to the use of edited episodes. Same for Mr. Ed due to the edited Season 1 episodes. So when a company wants to release a previously released show, I'm all for it - as long as the new one is an upgrade. I do plan on getting all 3 Martian seasons once Season 2 is out and will get the complete Mr. Ed eventually as well. In contrast, with the recent I Spy re-release, that one doesn't appear to be an upgrade in quality. And without the Culp commentaries, it seems even more unnecessary. In cases like that, unless the originals are completely unobtainable at decent prices, a re-release seems like a waste.

 

[LouA]

What if I were to tell everyone that as of right now a certain studio, one we've become accustomed to delivering b/w TV series to us on a regular basis, has absolutely nothing of that nature on their 2015 schedule? Would that make a difference in how you view the future of b/w TV on DVD? Sadly, this is not a hypothetical situation.


Gary "in fact this studio wants to release a colorized version of a b/w classic they've already released in the past - that's how allergic they've apparently become to the remaining b/w shows they have in their vaults" O.

I could be wrong ,but I'm guessing that your referring to Shout Factory /Timeless. I always hope for the best , but I've mostly written them off. That's why , I'm hoping MPI (or VCI, or Mill Creek, or Schanachie, or Image ) will step up and release some popular old B&W shows . I'm still hopeful we'll get an occasional B&W release , but nothing like we use to get in the "golden days" of 3- 10 years ago. Meanwhile we may get some shows next year from Warner Archives, Fox's new MOD program, and SFM's on demand program.

 

[Dave Lawrence]

The 1950's version of Dragnet is a show that REALLY should be released in it's entirety by someone . One of the first "Cop Shows , really unique, and almost iconic, it's really Jack Webb's biggest claim to fame .

50s Dragnet and Burns & Allen remain 2 of my most wanted unreleased shows. It's beyond annoying that 2 such successful, long-running series have nothing available beyond a few low-quality PD discs.