Muppet Show: Buy now or wait? (1 Viewer)

[MatthewA]

Since Disney will likely be gaining the rights to the 1976-1981 Muppet Show (and the first two films), should I buy Columbia's compilation discs now or wait?

 

[Jon Martin]

I don't think Disney is in a rush to rerelease them, so you might as well buy them know.

I've bought a few, they are good discs. I just get confused over which ones I have and which I don't. I wish they had done season sets or some more organized way.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

This could actually be tricky.

Even if Disney has acquired distribution rights to the Muppet show they might not have those rights immediately. They may have to wait until the contract with Columbia for distribution expires before they can do anything with the property even if they own it.
This may or may not be the case, I don't know what kind of distribution deal Columbia had with the Hensen company, or what impact a sale would have on such an agreement.
I'm not even completely certain that the Disney company will get distribution rights to those first couple of movies, and the Muppet Show. However, I am opperating under the assumption that they will.

But, even if they land the rights, and even if they could distribute them right away, does that mean that they will? If you thyink that they will, and that their releases will be better than what Columbia has done, than I'd wait to see what they do. However, if you wait too long those Columbia titles might go out of print and become harder to find, especially if Disney doesn't end up doing anything.

I have a couple volumes of the Columbia releases, and I think they're ok. I'd buy a couple of them, because hey some Muppet show is better than none, and besides you can probably get them pretty cheap.

I haven't heard any rumblings of anything on the Muppet Show in quite awhile, so I don't know that either studio is planning any kind of future release.

Myself, I'll just stick with the Columbia releases no sense waiting on Disney for something they may never do.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

If interested, I've got a Brand New copy of The Muppet Show Vol. 2 with Mark Hamill, Paul Simon and Raquel Welch I'd be down to trade for...

 

[DanHaya]

The last I heard, you could buy the entire 15-volume collection through Timelife.com for about $60, which is a helluva deal.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

That deal is because it's going out of print. That's a sign that Disney will probably replace it with box sets but soon you won't have a choice.

I have the 15 volume set and I'll happily buy box sets. It's a must own.

 

[Mick Tees]

I did the Fat Albert Collection from Time-Life on DVD (10-disc set). I'm waiting for complete season sets on DVD for the Muppets... but that's just me.

Eventually when Fat Albert comes out in complete season set form I will sell my Time-Life set and then replace it with complete season sets. I could see the same thing happening with the Muppets... (hi-ho!) that's why I'm waiting.

 

[Tory]

Region 2 has a diferent box set of this out, more episodes on less discs I think.

 

[Jay Pennington]

A search for "muppet" on TimeLife.com yields no hits. I guess they're gone, alas.

 

[alan halvorson]

Timelife lost rights to distribute the Muppet Show discs. There was a sale, but it's over now. Your best bet is Ebay (or me, if you're looking for Volumes 1-10).

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

While time life may be done selling these, Columbia started releasing them in to stores awhile ago. I didn't buy either of mine from Time Life in fact. From what I understand its the same discs though. They haven't put all 15 on the market yet though, so if you want all the ones out you're best bet is to find someone that has the complete time life set.

 

[Karl F]

Casey's right. They've released the first 7 volumes into stores. My store has those versions; I myself have the Time-Life versions, and I can confirm that apart from the Time Life logo, they're exactly the same.

--K

 

[Randy*S]

As a collector, my #1 rule is "Buy it when you see!" because you never know.
They may never release any more dvd's. (or whatever type of product it is.)
And they may also sell out, for example if I'm at a mall and see something that I want and say "I'll get it later" then I go back to buy the item only to find out that some jerk already bought it!! That almost always happens to me.
So never assume anything, you never know.
I have all 15 muppet show dvd's and I'm so glad I spent the money. It's worth it to me just to have them.
Besides I don't think Disney cares about their shows or fans.

 

[John Berggren]

I can't even find it now on the timelife web page. Does anyone have a direct link? I picked up the first 10 when they were first available, but didn't round out the final 5.

 

[alan halvorson]

John: As I said above, Timelife lost rights to distribute the Muppet videos. They sold what they had left; all unfulfilled orders were canceled and the videos were removed from the site.

 

[David Stone]

Crud!:frowning: Any new news on the Muppet Show?

I didn't realize they were out of print until I tried to find the Alice Cooper/Vincent Price volume to buy for Halloween. I cannot locate any online vendor that has it for sale (unless you count the slime site that was re-selling the TimeLife 15 dvd set for $250.)

 

[Paul Miller]

You might want to try something like Half.com .


Paul

 

[JasonPW]

I bought one Columbia "Muppet Show" disc on a giddy impulse at KMart but now I'm a'waitin'.

For those who doubt Disney's intentions with The Muppets, I understand your concern. But let's look at what our furry friends have been up to since they were swallowed up by Uncle Walt's cronies:

-guest appearance on prime-time (I recall this aired at 9pm) "Nick and Jessica" variety special

-In the tradition of past projects taking advantage of their family-wide appeal, currently shooting 2-hour telepic "Muppet Wizard Of Oz"

-Kermit and Miss Piggy interviewed stars on the red carpet in "Countdown to Emmys" special--hardly considered a "kiddie" attraction

I think Disney's love of synergy is actually a good thing for those of us who are adult fans of the classic Muppet characters and the Muppet entertainment library. No reason we shouldn't expect to eventually see classic Muppet properties pop up on ABC Family or The Disney Channel.....or both!

And to get back on topic, Disney's mastery at packaging nostalgia for the home market (see Disney Treasures DVDs) is also a good deal for Muppet fans. I'm not saying we'll get fancy collections in metal tins, you understand.

But I think we'll get better than what we've already got.

Doc

 

[Jason Seaver]

Both of which happened (or were started) before the sale.

Not that I think Disney is going to be content to let the Muppets sit in the vault by any means; just that thus far, they haven't done much with them.