"MOONLIGHTING" Coming to streaming (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

That depends on how magnanimous -- or cheap -- Disney is feeling about it. There's no question that Disney can afford to clear all of the music. The question is will they? If the music owners figure that Disney has deep pockets and insist on a big payday, that might be a problem. It also depends on what the expected market will be. Sometimes, a small boutique label can find it easier and cheaper to clear music than a major studio label because their expected market is smaller.

Will streaming make a difference with justifying the music clearance, opposed to a boxset though? I would assume streaming would be better because of the fact that many of willis fans who have a subscription already could browse and binge this show opposed to buying a boxset.

 

[tsodcollector]

A Complete seasons set with all the music would be great.many willis fans who have seen his movies could watch his television series,it stands the test of time,this one is no exception.

 

[jayembee]

Will streaming make a difference with justifying the music clearance, opposed to a boxset though? I would assume streaming would be better because of the fact that many of willis fans who have a subscription already could browse and binge this show opposed to buying a boxset.

Maybe. I'd be curious myself to find out whether a studio can get away with arguing that streaming is the same as broadcasting, and therefore, unlike physical media, the music clearances fall under the original broadcast licenses.

 

[jayembee]

A Complete seasons set with all the music would be great.many willis fans who have seen his movies could watch his television series,it stands the test of time,this one is no exception.

It would. But we're talking about Disney here. Their current business policy is not to release any TV shows on physical media. I'm not inclined to think that'll change any time soon.

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

It would. But we're talking about Disney here. Their current business policy is not to release any TV shows on physical media. I'm not inclined to think that'll change any time soon.

If they don't clear all the music I expect them to maybe release it on bluray in a boxset that isn't that expensive. If they do decide to clear all the rights to the music I expect it to be a exclusive to streaming deal. More people will see it through streaming opposed to dvd sales. I just hope it ends up on hulu if its the later of the two options

 

[jayembee]

If they don't clear all the music I expect them to maybe release it on bluray in a boxset that isn't that expensive.

I'm not as sanguine about that as you are.

 

[Chewbabka]

Maybe. I'd be curious myself to find out whether a studio can get away with arguing that streaming is the same as broadcasting, and therefore, unlike physical media, the music clearances fall under the original broadcast licenses.

I doubt it, otherwise we’d have the likes of Looking for Mr. Goodbar on Blu and countless other TV shows unadulterated on home video.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Maybe. I'd be curious myself to find out whether a studio can get away with arguing that streaming is the same as broadcasting, and therefore, unlike physical media, the music clearances fall under the original broadcast licenses.

They generally can when it comes to subscription and ad-supported streaming. They cannot when it comes to digital purchases from a la carte storefronts like iTunes and Vudu.

 

[jayembee]

I doubt it, otherwise we’d have the likes of Looking for Mr. Goodbar on Blu and countless other TV shows unadulterated on home video.

How so?

The reason why so many things are either not on physical home video media or have substituted music is precisely because the lawyers for music rights owners argued that the original contracts covered broadcast rights to the music, and that physical media was not the same as broadcast. Which is why, back in the 80s, a movie like Heavy Metal could (and did) air on cable stations until the cows came home, but wasn't released on physical media until Sony was finally willing to pony up the money in the late 90s for home video rights to the music.

My point here is that streaming is not the same as physical media. It's something different, and more akin to broadcast. It's a digital stream being transmitted over satellite and cable, just like the programs on a cable network. If the studio lawyers can successfully argue that streaming is just another form of broadcast, they might be successful in arguing that the broadcast rights to music would cover streaming as well. If the music owners' lawyers are successful in counter-arguing that it's still different from the traditional nature of broadcast, and isn't covered by the original contracts, then new contracts will be necessary.

I'm not saying that the situation is one way or the other. I'm just curious about whether the point can be, has been, or is currently being argued.

 

[DVDvision]

I'm ecstatic with the possibility of them going back to the original negatives to remaster the series for HD. Hopefully they won't crop it for 16:9 and retain the original 4:3 aspect ratio. However, if any series protected for 16:9, it would be Moonlighting since they shot it on 35mm film like a movie anyway. However, shooting between 1985-89 may have been a bit too early in television history to protect for 16:9 so let's collectively hope they don't crop it. And, hopefully, it won't be resigned to only streaming and will be released in a complete blu-ray set (replete with the music for "Lady in the Iron Mask" restored to its broadcast glory).

Shows have been shooting with widescreen protection since the early 60's. That's why all The Persuaders! films now exist in widescreen with minimal top and bottom cropping, and extended sides. Check out the TV shows gone W I D E thread for more on this. Hopefully they ditch the 4/3 format and go full widescreen as it's essential to the show longevity in the 21th century, and for a new generation of young viewers to discover it and have repeat screenings.

In fact, Caron could even have fun, keeping it 4/3 for the black and white sequences in The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice, for example. That would add a totally new layer of watching the show if he would have fun deciding what remains 4/3 and what goes widescreen depending on the content.

If anyone want the original format which I believe is edited on tape, the DVDs are still out there.

 

[albert_m2]

The first 2 seasons of Moonlight were perfection - among the best writing, acting and storylines TV has EVER done - period. Would love to get this on Blu-ray if it ever happens. But the series went to seed once Cybill Shepherd's Maddie Hayes started seeing Mark Harmon's Sam Crawford, and the show started to skew certain episodes to favor Curtis Armstrong's Herbert Viola. Once the series moved beyond the sleuthing and started to focus on when will Maddie and David Addison get it on, the show lost its luster and its fan base and ended unhappily - painfully - with a thud! But yes, would still love to own this on Blu!

The first season was very short, like a mid season replacement situation I think.

I would say seasons 1-3 were great. In fact way back when the DVDs came out, that's what I bought. I was young when it aired, but I watched it and even then, I knew that the show didn't know what to do when they got those two together and then both actors seemed to have wanted to move on during the sporadic last season.

 

[pitchman]

I have all five seasons on DVD and no matter what Disney decides to do here, I will not be parting with them. ALL of the music is intact, which with this show is majorly important. Plus, the DVDs are loaded with great extras (commentaries, promos, etc.) and I imagine a good number of them will fall by the wayside IF there is a fresh physical release. The DVD season sets were crafted with much care and attention to detail, and were aimed squarely at the hardcore Moonlighting fan base. In short, they don't make box sets like this anymore. A complete series Blu-ray? Yep, I'm on board, but only as a supplement to what I already have...definitely NOT as a replacement.

 

[jayembee]

The first season was very short, like a mid season replacement situation I think.

That's right. It was what I referred to in a previous post as a "Spring Tryout". The regular fall season started, of course, in September. "Midseason" would start in January, usually to replace shows from the fall season that failed. Then there was a "Third Season" that started around April, with usually just a six-episode order.

There were a number of series that started like this back in the 80s, mostly it seems on ABC, but not always. Others from that period that I remember being Spring Tryouts were China Beach, The Wonder Years, Max Headroom, Probe, and Twin Peaks (all of these were on ABC).

 

[Tom McA]

To the point of people not knowing what they were doing and production delays, I vaguely remember an ABC promo with a sleepy late-night network shipping clerk or security guy or something saying "I'm just waiting for the new Moonlighting episode tape. No idea when it will get here..." Is that just in my head, or did that actually happen?

 

[Flashgear]

I have all of Moonlighting on R1 DVD but the elusive fourth season...most of the series (except the final season for some reason) is available for free streaming from Uncle Earl's Classic TV Channel, obviously derived from disc rips...a LOT of great old series and movies, curated from YT, DM, and the Internet Archive on this centralized free site...click on this link for their Moonlighting collection.

Uncle Earl's Classic TV Channel

 

[jayembee]

To the point of people not knowing what they were doing and production delays, I vaguely remember an ABC promo with a sleepy late-night network shipping clerk or security guy or something saying "I'm just waiting for the new Moonlighting episode tape. No idea when it will get here..." Is that just in my head, or did that actually happen?

I don't remember that, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

I do recall ABC doing promos for Moonlighting and Twin Peaks that poked fun at some of the tropes of each show. The one that sticks out most was poking fun at Dale Cooper's love of coffee and donuts on Twin Peaks, by including Fred the Baker from Dunkin' Donuts "Time to Make the Donuts" ad campaign.

 

[tsodcollector]

That's right. It was what I referred to in a previous post as a "Spring Tryout". The regular fall season started, of course, in September. "Midseason" would start in January, usually to replace shows from the fall season that failed. Then there was a "Third Season" that started around April, with usually just a six-episode order.

There were a number of series that started like this back in the 80s, mostly it seems on ABC, but not always. Others from that period that I remember being Spring Tryouts were China Beach, The Wonder Years, Max Headroom, Probe, and Twin Peaks (all of these were on ABC).

Twin Peaks was in the 90's.Premiered as a mid-season replacement so that was after those three.what about My-So
Called Life or Murder One.those were on ABC.

 

[jayembee]

Twin Peaks was in the 90's.Premiered as a mid-season replacement so that was after those three.what about My-So
Called Life or Murder One.those were on ABC.

Max Headroom started March 1987 (6 episodes)
Probe started March 1988 (pilot film + 6 episodes)
The Wonder Years also started March 1988 (6 episodes)
China Beach started April 1988 (pilot film + 6 episodes)
Twin Peaks started April 1990 (pilot film + 7 episodes)

So, Peaks wasn't all that long after the others, and it's still an example of the kind of thing I was talking about. The other two series you mention aren't.

My So-Called Life started at the end of August 1994 and ran straight through (19 episodes) the end of January 1995.
Murder One (Season 1) was one continuous run (23 episodes) from September 1995 through April 1996. The second season was also a continuous run (18 episodes) from October 1996 through May 1997.

 

[albert_m2]

That's right. It was what I referred to in a previous post as a "Spring Tryout". The regular fall season started, of course, in September. "Midseason" would start in January, usually to replace shows from the fall season that failed. Then there was a "Third Season" that started around April, with usually just a six-episode order.

There were a number of series that started like this back in the 80s, mostly it seems on ABC, but not always. Others from that period that I remember being Spring Tryouts were China Beach, The Wonder Years, Max Headroom, Probe, and Twin Peaks (all of these were on ABC).

Mid season replacements continue to this day. The Office and Parks and Rec are two relatively recent successful ones.

 

[jayembee]

Mid season replacements continue to this day. The Office and Parks and Rec are two relatively recent successful ones.

Yes, I'm aware. I never said that they only happened in the 1980s, only that Moonlighting was one of a number of them that did back then. The thing about this phenomenon is that prior to this period, there weren't that many shows that started that late in the season.

I also think of "mid-season" as the appearance of new shows in January. The ones I've been talking about here are the ones that debut close to the end of the season, that more often than not are replacements for the mid-season shows that fail, or that didn't get a large enough order when starting in January.

Then again, these days, with the networks trying things year 'round, the concept of "seasons" seems to make less and less sense.