Most requested "stalled" show? (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

Originally Posted by MatthewA


With the announcement of Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys coming from Shout! I can now safely assume there will be more still to come from the CBS/Paramount/Viacom deal. I hope they get the last two seasons of Family Ties. I imagine they're the only hope for the rest of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Petticoat Junction. Considering that they did a fine job with Webster: no cuts, no music replacements, and original logos on every episode, these shows would probably be better off with Shout.





MGM is moving their distribution to Sony yet again. How this affects their deal with Shout! I don't know. But hopefully the beautiful remasters of the first three seasons of Green Acres were done on the last three. On all but one episode it looked like a brand new show.


Newhart is where I make the case for either complete series sets or season sets in reverse. The last episode is arguably the most famous one, and the first season is most fans' least favorite. Many predicted the first season would bomb on DVD, and they were apparently right.

"Newhart" is much like "Night Court" in that respect. With "Newhart" many casual fans would purchase starting with S2 when Julia Duffy came on full time with many more at S3 when Steven Kampmann (Kirk) left and Peter Scolari (Michael) came on board full time. I like the entire run but it was S3 when the series truly hit its' stride. Much like "Night Court" which reportedly suffered slow early sales because many were waiting for Markie Post in S3.

It's a shame when long running, much loved series like these two (plus "Green Acres", "Beverly Hillbillies", and others mentioned in this thread.) get "shelved" for "slow sales" when pure dreck gets full series releases. Of course the same thing happens with broadcast. Quality shows get cancelled while things like reality shows or predictable/retread-type clones-of-old-popular-shows keep running year after year after year... Frankly, I doubt that many of the shows mentioned in this thread would have gotten a run longer than their respective DVD releases in the current broadcast climate. I know that one person's "classic" is easily another person's "dreck" and the suits have to keep the bottom line up so they will only continue releases of what sells *well*, but you would think that if they keep series alive that at least break even in sales it would endeer purchasers to the studio and actually help future sales of other series. Maybe that's the whole problem in that sales expectations are just too high. After all, many people I know do *not* purchase TV on DVD in the volume in which I, and many here, do. They may own seasons of 4-5 shows with a couple possibly complete but *not* in the dozens, much less hundreds.

I've come to the conclusion that studios would rather release 1-3 season shows simply because it's easier. Sales numbers will peak early and not really fall too much by the last season. It also seems that many short series have "cult" type status so people will purchase on release date or shortly after "just in case" - I know I have.

 

[MatthewA]

Originally Posted by BobO'Link



"Newhart" is much like "Night Court" in that respect. With "Newhart" many casual fans would purchase starting with S2 when Julia Duffy came on full time with many more at S3 when Steven Kampmann (Kirk) left and Peter Scolari (Michael) came on board full time. I like the entire run but it was S3 when the series truly hit its' stride. Much like "Night Court" which reportedly suffered slow early sales because many were waiting for Markie Post in S3.

It's a shame when long running, much loved series like these two (plus "Green Acres", "Beverly Hillbillies", and others mentioned in this thread.) get "shelved" for "slow sales" when pure dreck gets full series releases. Of course the same thing happens with broadcast. Quality shows get cancelled while things like reality shows or predictable/retread-type clones-of-old-popular-shows keep running year after year after year... Frankly, I doubt that many of the shows mentioned in this thread would have gotten a run longer than their respective DVD releases in the current broadcast climate. I know that one person's "classic" is easily another person's "dreck" and the suits have to keep the bottom line up so they will only continue releases of what sells *well*, but you would think that if they keep series alive that at least break even in sales it would endeer purchasers to the studio and actually help future sales of other series. Maybe that's the whole problem in that sales expectations are just too high. After all, many people I know do *not* purchase TV on DVD in the volume in which I, and many here, do. They may own seasons of 4-5 shows with a couple possibly complete but *not* in the dozens, much less hundreds.

I've come to the conclusion that studios would rather release 1-3 season shows simply because it's easier. Sales numbers will peak early and not really fall too much by the last season. It also seems that many short series have "cult" type status so people will purchase on release date or shortly after "just in case" - I know I have.

I remember the article about the guy who programmed ME-TV. He said he had to tell the syndicators what they owned. The representative from Sony had no clue as to the holdings from Screen Gems, Norman Lear/Embassy, Aaron Spelling, etc. that they owned. The studios seem to be the same way. They don't know what they own, the people who do know or care about the library seem to have no power anymore, and it seems at times they don't even watch the movies or shows they release. Look at the lousy cover art they create for so many classic movies; the Blu-Ray of All About Eve doesn't even have the title character, but it does have a picture with Marilyn Monroe, who got all of five minutes of screen time.



I don't believe dollars and cents alone dictate release choices. I'd be naive if I said they didn't play a part, but the suits are human. They have emotions, likes and dislikes. It's impossible for me to believe that personal feelings don't play some part in what gets released and what gets shelved.


Then there's the stores. I can barely go to Best Buy anymore because they won't shelve anything that's not a non-current new release (except for perennials like Disney films, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, and The Sound of Music). And it was stated right here that the pan-and-scan DVDs were made for the benefit of Wal-Mart consumers (which is why I could never work in customer service; I don't believe the customer is always right).


Then there's the history of shoddy work and erratic release patterns that prompt some customers to distrust studios and wait out purchases. I never pre-order a TV show DVD unless a review comes out in time to say that there's nothing wrong with the disc that would make me not want to buy it (edited episodes are my deal-breaker, followed by music replacements, very poor picture and sound, and cost).


If it wasn't for the independents, non-current TV shows on DVD (and even Blu-Ray, thanks to Image's Twilight Zone releases) would be dead. Shout! manages to survive releasing niche material, and even doing it well (with some notable exceptions), and they've released stuff from every studio and in many cases succeeded where they failed. Mill Creek stays in business by keeping costs down and selling based on volume over margins. MPI has strong relationships with a number of independent producers. The difference between them and the studios is not one of resources but of culture: they hire people who know popular culture, like it, and do everything they can to satisfy fans while staying afloat financially. They found they could make money with network flops, old kid's shows, and stuff that used to be popular but vanished from syndication because stations would rather show a bad, new judge show over a sitcom that's more than 10 years old. And they don't have the amount of bloated overhead that studios do. They don't always succeed, and they're far from infallible. But your favorite show and mine have a better chance of getting out because of them.

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by MatthewA




I remember the article about the guy who programmed ME-TV. He said he had to tell the syndicators what they owned. The representative from Sony had no clue as to the holdings from Screen Gems, Norman Lear/Embassy, Aaron Spelling, etc. that they owned. The studios seem to be the same way. They don't know what they own, the people who do know or care about the library seem to have no power anymore, and it seems at times they don't even watch the movies or shows they release. Look at the lousy cover art they create for so many classic movies; the Blu-Ray of All About Eve doesn't even have the title character, but it does have a picture with Marilyn Monroe, who got all of five minutes of screen time.

As someone who has spoken with people at all of the studios at various times over the years, I can attest to the above. These people have no idea about many of the properties that they own. No clue whatsoever. It's just not important to them and you don't have television "fans" working at these places. They concern themselves with what they feel they have a need to concern themselves about. And rarely does that include having knowledge of obscure shows from decades past. To the people who work at these places, its just product which falls into two categories, either viable commercial product or non-viable commercial product. They could be selling fertilizer for all it matters to them. They do not have any emotional attachment to all of this as fans do. And there have been so many mergers and acquisitions over the years with CBS owning Republic, Worldvision, Spelling, etc. Too many properties under too few companies.

 

[Charles H]

Probably a repeat but BURKE'S LAW, NAKED CITY, ROUTE 66, BLACKHEEP SQUADRON...

 

[Mike*SC]

I'm glad to see that many here share my wish for the rest of "The Bob Newhart Show." I love that show, and so enjoyed revisiting it.


I'm amazed that that's the only one I can come up with, since they completed "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," every season I want of "All in the Family," and "The Larry Sanders Show."

 

[dhammer]

1) SWAT

2) Here Comes the Brides

3) Cannon

4) Night Gallery

5) Flying Nun

6) Mod Squad

7) My Three Sons

8) Streets of San Francisco

9) CHIPs

10) Room 222

11) Route 66


I go probably go on but this is my list off the top of my head. It seems especially annoying when a show that ran two seasons only has the first season released.

 

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by dhammer /forum/thread/308586/most-requested-stalled-show/60#post_3787485

 

[BobO'Link]

^Ditto!!! Stopping with only 1 season left is unconscionable!!

 

[ToddR2]

Stalled/Abandonded wish list FWIW:


1. Naked City

2. Route 66 (only 1 season left!)

3. The Bob Newhart Show

4. Barney Miller

5. Hill Street Blues

6. The Untouchables

7. Green Acres

8. The Streets of San Francisco

9. The White Shadow

10. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp


Edit: How could I forget to mention Barney Miller?

 

[smithb]

Originally Posted by ToddR2
Stalled/Abandonded wish list FWIW:


1. Naked City

2. Route 66 (only 1 season left!)

3. The Bob Newhart Show

4. Hill Street Blues

5. The Untouchables

6. Green Acres

7. The Streets of San Francisco

8. The White Shadow (only 1 season left!)

9. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

10. The Paper Chase (only enough episodes for 1 more release)

Good list Todd, at least 7 of those would be in my top ten as well, The other three would still be in the next tier.

 

[ThatDonGuy]

Originally Posted by David Lambert

As for the original question James posed, I would agree that Green Acres is asked about VERY often. WKRP gets asked about quite a bit. Murphy Brown. Jem and the Holograms. Knots Landing. CHiPs. Peyton Place. Diff'rent Strokes.
Two names that I can't bring myself to include on this list: you might be surprised about how few people seem ask about King of the Hill and Superboy. In my experience, the same small-ish group of people ask for those again and again, and ask for them rather insistently. But it's not widespread, as far as I can tell.

I thought somebody from whoever owns the release rights to Murphy Brown once said that the Season 1 sales did not justify the rights fees they would have to pay for the significant amount of Motown music used in later seasons. As for King of the Hill, I am nor surprised that a number of people ask about it, considering that Fox just stopped releasing it without explanation after Season 6 while The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad still get annual releases.

The only series that I had that was ever a "one-and-done" - The Larry Sanders Show - has been resolved with the series release. I think the only stalled show I have is Animaniacs, which never did release its last 24 episodes (reportedly because of a rights issue over a song).


-- Don

 

[texboil]

For all of the talk about Shout! Factory coming to the rescue, I'd like to see them complete one of their own stalled series: SCTV. Even though the quality of the show had declined by its final season, I'd like to get the SCTV Channel shows simply because I didn't have Cinemax and my VHS copies of those shows are not the greatest.


Then of course, there is Saturday Night Live, which seems to be going nowhere after the release of the first five "classic" years.


I'd also love to see a Late Night with David Letterman compliation of some sort. I would even take something along the lines of the much-maligned "Tonight" Carson box set.


And what about Fridays? It's Your Move?


I would also like to see a volume two of the hated Norman Lear Collection. I waited on this until it was an Amazon lightning deal and I was able to get it for about $75. Yes, I understand why people were disgusted by this release, but if we could get a second volume -- which would entail the first-ever release of season 2 of Maude, Mary Hartman, and One Day At A Time, wouldn't that be worth it?

 

[Malcolm R]

Originally Posted by texboil

For all of the talk about Shout! Factory coming to the rescue, I'd like to see them complete one of their own stalled series: SCTV.

Also, Mr. Belvedere. It's been over a year since they put out Season 4.

 

[Kasey]

Would love more of MHMH, Maude and One Day,but I don't want to re-buy AITF and am not collecting The Jeffersons or Sanford. I hope Shout will at least put out S2 of Maude and ODAAT.

 

[ThatDonGuy]

Originally Posted by Kasey

Would love S2 of MHMH, Maude and One Day, (and all the rest of their seasons) but I don't want to re-buy AITF and am not collecting The Jeffersons or Sanford. I hope Shout will at least put out S2 of Maude and ODAAT.

Define "season" in terms of MHMH. When it originally aired, it ran in two seasons of 175 episodes (39 weeks, 5 episodes a week; they ran 13 weeks of scattered repeats between the first two seasons). From what I have read, some of the first 25 episodes on DVD are significantly cut; complaints about that could be one of the reasons they're hesitant about releasing another DVD set.


Correction to my earlier post: there is one other series I have that is partial (other than shows still in production) - Space Ghost Coast to Coast. (I only have the three "openly released" seasons; most, but not all, of the remaining episodes are on DVDs available only from Adult Swim.)


-- Don

 

[BobO'Link]

Originally Posted by Malcolm R
Also, Mr. Belvedere. It's been over a year since they put out Season 4.

I couldn't find the post but there's one somewhere here on HTF from a Shout insider indicating there would be no more "Mr. Belvedere" due to poor sales.

 

[Malcolm R]

Originally Posted by BobO'Link

I couldn't find the post but there's one somewhere here on HTF from a Shout insider indicating there would be no more "Mr. Belvedere" due to poor sales.

Really? There was this post in another thread...

I just found out the reason for the holdup on Mr. Belvedere: Season 5:


According to Brian Ward on the Shout message boards, they don't have the rights to the final two seasons, and is trying to get them from Fox. But really, I don't think there' so much to worry about, because it's been more successful than most of the other Fox shows that they've released (including Peyton Place), and if you remember, the same thing sorta happened with Punky Brewster, as it took seemingly forever just for the final two seasons to come out. But eventually, they did.

 

[BobO'Link]

^That's it! Thanks! I'd have sworn it said "poor sales"... so it looks like *some* hope for those waiting.

 

[Duane Alford]

What is the deal with Barnaby Jones and Matt Houston? Are they just stalled, or have they been abandoned completely?

Can anyone answer my question?

 

[darkrock17]

The Wizard of Oz (1990) DiC