New Secrets of Isis release (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Burns]

I'd suspect it's the equivalent of disc 1 of the BCI set (minus any extras). Perhaps they're just testing the waters, and if it sells well enough, there will be follow-up volumes... I, too, am glad I have the BCI one (I got a complimentary one as I supplied some of the materials for the bonus features of all of BCI's live-action Filmation releases).

Grr… well I have no right to be jealous, I got my freebie Complete Six Million Dollar Man due to my participation there. That's a big set! I just wasn't collecting classic TV yet at that point in '06. I'm getting this not only due to the low price, but also to support future releases. I may get the BCI release at some point when I'm flush, since it is so highly regarded. Really fond memories of this show.

 

[Joseph Burns]

Okay, so I've had a look. When you pop the disc in, you get a still menu with a choice to view all or select an episode, with another still menu when you choose the latter. Included are: "The Lights of Mystery Mountain" "Spots of the Leopard" "Fools Dare" "The Sound of Silence" "Rockhound's Roost" "Lucky" "Bigfoot" That's seven 21-22 minute episodes on a single-sided disc. Naturally, morals are not included. There are no bonus features. The episodes look clean, but mushy on the delta frames, as you might expect from cramming a 140+ minute program into 4.3 GB (the label claims 114, but no episode clocks in at under 20 minutes). At under $10 I supposed there's no harm, but this in no way replaces the prior release. I've not seen that, but can only imagine that the episodes aren't mushy from compression, not to mention the bonus features. Looks like I will be getting that BCI release at some time in the future, but for many this will fill the need. Not sorry I got it, but this doesn't cover me.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Okay, so I've had a look. When you pop the disc in, you get a still menu with a choice to view all or select an episode, with another still menu when you choose the latter. Included are: "The Lights of Mystery Mountain" "Spots of the Leopard" "Fools Dare" "The Sound of Silence" "Rockhound's Roost" "Lucky" "Bigfoot" That's seven 21-22 minute episodes on a single-sided disc. Naturally, morals are not included. There are no bonus features. The episodes look clean, but mushy on the delta frames, as you might expect from cramming a 140+ minute program into 4.3 GB (the label claims 114, but no episode clocks in at under 20 minutes). At under $10 I supposed there's no harm, but this in no way replaces the prior release. I've not seen that, but can only imagine that the episodes aren't mushy from compression, not to mention the bonus features. Looks like I will be getting that BCI release at some time in the future, but for many this will fill the need. Not sorry I got it, but this doesn't cover me.

Don't forget, due to Hallmark's contempt for the materials, the only masters that exist for this show are early 1990s PAL standard transfers from the 16mm films, which means these episodes had to undergo standards conversion (along with probably 90% of all other Filmation shows released since the 1990s) before being released over here, so that might account for some of what you're seeing. also, this is the exact same number of episodes (and the exact same episodes) as disc 1 of the BCI set. I'm not at home to double-check whether the BCI disc 1 was dual or single layer, though, but when I looked up the old DVDTalk review of the BCI set, it wouldn't surprise me if the episodes there look exactly the same:

Well, they look about as good as they're probably going to look, without a major restoration process. Contrasty at times, blown-out, with muddy or faded colors occasionally, The Secrets of Isis: The Complete Series has plenty of compression issues, too, but if you switch to your small monitor or TV (or black and white portable, if you want to go the whole nostalgia route), you won't mind so much.

 

[Joseph Burns]

Well, if the BCI used the same encodes, then I feel better. Curious to know if it was on a DVD-9 originally. With no bonus features, or anything other than 2 still menus, this may even have less per disc on it, if both are single layer releases. I much prefer BCI's art. The cover for this is the same as the on-disc art and menus, with the back having 3 small pics in the same general style. A standards conversion from PAL has the potential to look quite good. The audio has to be slowed back down, which is less than ideal, but visually, a film-originated, 24@25 PAL source doesn't have to be bad. Of course, not all standards conversions are created equal. I've done a number of conversions myself, and there's a definite way to preserve most of the quality, especially with the advent of progressive DVDs. Not an insurmountable problem, but you have to want to get it right.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Well, if the BCI used the same encodes, then I feel better. Curious to know if it was on a DVD-9 originally. With no bonus features, or anything other than 2 still menus, this may even have less per disc on it, if both are single layer releases. I much prefer BCI's art. The cover for this is the same as the on-disc art and menus, with the back having 3 small pics in the same general style. A standards conversion from PAL has the potential to look quite good. The audio has to be slowed back down, which is less than ideal, but visually, a film-originated, 24@25 PAL source doesn't have to be bad. Of course, not all standards conversions are created equal. I've done a number of conversions myself, and there's a definite way to preserve most of the quality, especially with the advent of progressive DVDs. Not an insurmountable problem, but you have to want to get it right.

I do not think BCI pitch-corrected the audio for any of their Filmation releases. The sound, as I recall, matched my own off-air PAL format tapes from 1990s Sci-Fi Channel (UK) showings, so it plays 4% faster than it did on CBS. The only BCI Filmation release (at least, of the '70s material) that should play at the correct speed would be The Ghost Busters, since that show was shot on tape instead of film.

 

[Ron Lee Green]

Originally Posted by AndyMcKinney ...also, this is the exact same number of episodes (and the exact same episodes) as disc 1 of the BCI set. I'm not at home to double-check whether the BCI disc 1 was dual or single layer, though, but when I looked up the old DVDTalk review of the BCI set, it wouldn't surprise me if the episodes there look exactly the same:

The BCI disc 1 contains 8 episodes. Joseph's list for the Classic Media release has 7 episodes. It is missing episode 5 "The Outsider"

I don't know how to check if the BCI disc is dual-layer or single.

 

[Jack P]

I do not think BCI pitch-corrected the audio for any of their Filmation releases. The sound, as I recall, matched my own off-air PAL format tapes from 1990s Sci-Fi Channel (UK) showings, so it plays 4% faster than it did on CBS..

Can confirm that there is indeed no pitch correction on the Isis BCI discs based on my personal and private "re-editing" project of putting the closing morals back into their respective episodes in which the lower pitch for the theme music is quite evident. Jeers to Hallmark for butchering the source elements. Just what was it that offended them so much about that thirty seconds of content per episode???? Did they think their European viewers would get confused by the "see you next week?" from Joanna if they were showing these every day??

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Jeers to Hallmark for butchering the source elements. Just what was it that offended them so much about that thirty seconds of content per episode???? Did they think their European viewers would get confused by the "see you next week?" from Joanna if they were showing these every day??

Actually, it is fairly common practice to take out references to "next week", "tonight", "tomorrow", "on last week's show" etc. references for syndication. Happens all the time. Also, I suppose there's the case to be made that "hammering home" the moral could be seen by some as redundant, but it' far more likely the "see you next week" is what got it cut. It's not just the UK copies that were missing the morals, though. I've seen copies of 16mm film prints from US collections of certain Isis episodes that have the moral edited out ("Seeing Eye Horse" is one), so this practice probably started even before Hallmark got their mitts on the show. I agree, junking the film prints was very short-sighted, as was converting them only to PAL and not NTSC also. But then again, Hallmark had no intention of US syndication (given the circumstances of their relinquishing the archive, I suspect they only syndicated these shows in Europe because perhaps they thought they could get away without paying Writer's Guild royalties for foreign airings, thinking no one in the US would ever know about them, or be able to prove them. They were wrong, as my friend Russell Bates can testify!). Also, we are all also merely going on a years-presumed assumption that Hallmark junked the films. I was told a few years back that even a couple years after Entertainment Rights acquired the library, they still hadn't catalogued everything and had no real idea what they had or didn't have, so there is an outside chance that film prints might exist but just aren't catalogued. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.

 

[Jack P]

How simpler it would have been just do a fade-out before Joanna would say "See you next week!" or a smaller edit! Related to what you say, I can remember for years when watching "Gilligan's Island" how the closing credits would usually have a snip to obscure the word "week" or "each week" in the song. Adding things up for my re-edit project it looks like the only two first season episodes for which the morals were missing are "The Outsider" and "No Drums, No Trumpets" (which is the one I still have a distinct memory of watching! Part of her lesson was about how sometimes in competition there can be such a thing as a good loser and a bad winner)

 

[Jack P]

RIP, Joanna Cameron. She has left us much too soon.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Oh, No! Really hate to hear that.

It seems people are still using my old, almost never-updated-anymore website as a reference (People magazine linked to my 2002 interview with Ms. Cameron it in their obit). Glad people still seem to get something out of it. When I began the website, it was before any DVDs (let alone streaming). All that was out there was bootlegs.

I spoke to Joanna C., Joanna P., Brian Cutler and Lou Scheimer by telephone (separately, of course), recording to tape and then transcribing the tapes myself. Had a blast talking to each of them. When I spoke to Ms Cameron, she was preparing to sell her house in St Louis Obispo, CA just prior to her to move to Hawaii. She and I kept in contact a little while after that (when she was in Hawaii) about her autographed photos by mail side business/fan club.

Hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since then!