Quantum Leap Season Two - Music Replaced! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

Ah, crap. I forgot Miami Vice was owned by Universal. This is my most inticipated DVD of all time, beating any movie. Well, I won't be buying it. I'm not falling for the ol' Season 1 intact music only ploy.

 

[Steve_Knutzen]

After reading that list of omitted music, there is no way I'm going to buy Season Two as is. It's really a shame too since after buying a watching Season One a few months ago, I couldn't wait for more Leap.

 

[Greg_S_H]

This is the address given at the same forum containing the list of omitted music:

Vivendi Universal Entertainment
Home Video Department
Re: Quantum Leap: Season 2 DVD
100 Universal City Plz
Universal City, CA 91608

Remember the old saying about catching more flies with honey!* I'm going to write a very polite letter encouraging them to reissue the set or, at the very least, to not butcher future sets. That doesn't go for Quantum Leap, though, since I won't buy any music-intact future seasons unless and until season 2 is reissued. Beyond that, Universal owns most of the shows I want, so a full-out boycott is out of the question. But, I don't want to have to drop, say, future Magnum releases if they drop the ball again.

* - But, if someone wants to vent their spleen, who am I to stop them? Universal could probably stand a few letters like that, too. Only vulgar or abusive letters would really hurt the cause.

 

[stewart borland]

Oh Linda Thomson, what a well written post I agree with every word - and this from the man with 'no memory' who posted how he bought both seasons and enjoyed both seasons!

Why the change??

I read Greg's list (Damn you Greg ) and the scale of what had been 'stolen' made me think again

I guess Season 3 onwards has to be a big NO

 

[Esten]

wtf... am I seeing things, or at the top of this page, is there an add for the complete series on 27 DVDs?

Most certainly has to be a bootleg. No way in hell it would be released Region 0, and certainly not the whole series in one shot.

 

[Chris_Wa]

That set must be a bootleg - it was on ebay a day or two ago and is now removed completely. The company that sells them is in Canada and has a message posted that "they are having problems with customs". Yeah....I bet.

I wrote Universal and explained to them diplomatically how unhappy I was with this "stunt" - it is by their own doings that they force the creation of the "bootleg" copies they complain so much about. But I imagine they are too big and important to respond.

This is a bait and switch - and I do know that they have completely lost my trust to buy anything further under the Universal label.

 

[Terry H]

I'm with you there. I cancelled my Miami Vice pre-order at the same time I returned season 2 of Quantum Leap. I'll reconsider when and if all seasons are released with all music intact.

 

[Esten]

Oh, so it's an import? That's different.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I just want to make clear, I wasn't the author of the list. I just happened to find it last night. Someone else did the hard work. Besides, no way in hell I'd buy the butchered DVDs, even to provide information to you nice folks.

 

[Randy_Cre]

That was a very enlightening list!!

What I wondered in looking at the list was.... how many of the songs that were kept, fall under public domain?

It looks like Universal went to great effort to reduce its expenditure on music rights for this set. (Additionally, given the extensive replacements, I don't think it could've been accidental or an oversight by Universal that it failed to mention the replaced music on its packaging or anywhere else. ... One or two songs, maybe 1 syndication cut out of a full season... I can believe there was an 'oops'... but this full-scale... it was a concious choice to not to inform consumers.)

I like some others have been looking forward to the release of Miami Vice, and have braced myself for a higher than usual list price because of the music.... But now, I'll wait for reviews of the set before purchasing season 1.

I'll keep my season 1 sets of QL and Northern Exposure, because they are what I wanted. And if future seasons were released intact, I'd buy those. If for no other reason than to send Universal the message... "This is what I want... and that (season 2s) are not what I want." ... But I'm also not holding my breath as Universal probably feels the heavily changed sets can be more profitable, unless they get evidence otherwise (i.e. poor sales and feedback about fans willingness to buy unchanged sets)

I can live more with having sets as I want, than I can't live with having incomplete sets.

 

[Chris_Wa]

Well, WHAT its actually like is anybody's guess. I've bought Asian DVD's of other shows that looked like they were made from studio archive originals, and I've had ones that looked like they were made from 15 year old VHS tapes and subsequently became nothing more than shiney coasters on my end tables when an authentic version was finally released.

The cover artwork looked good on this complete set - various colored versions of a plagurized Season One cover, but as to what the film actually looks like I have no idea. I had wanted to watch one auctioned off on ebay then ask the winner what it was like - but alas, its no longer listed.

Either way, I'll tranfer my original broadcast tapes to DVD and sit on them until Universal re-releases it correctly - or more realistically - I see an import version that looks to be of archival quality.

 

[stewart borland]

and hopefully the smilies let you know I was only joking too, the list was actually really helpful in a cruel kind of way

 

[Greg_S_H]

I understood you were joking, Stewart. I just wanted to be absolutely sure not to take undue credit.

Randy, you're probably going to be safe with season 1 of Miami Vice. Here's text from Universal's site:


The heavy-hitters are there, so I wouldn't be too worried about the rest--though, if you look at the Miami Vice thread, there is an absolute ton of music in the first season. Waiting for reviews would be a good idea, and--if Universal gets it right--it'll be interesting to see what they do with future seasons.

Funny thing about Quantum Leap: before the now-legendary Video Business article came out a couple of years ago, there was widespread belief that Quantum Leap would never make it to DVD due to the music rights issue. Knowing what we know now, I'd almost rather it never did.

 

[Randy_Cre]

Hopefully, Universal will do season 1 of Miami Vice right, with music intact.

That, in my opinion, is "better than nothing". Having 1 season right (even though I'd want all seasons of Miami Vice), is better than nothing.

The music-replaced versions would tick me off to the point that it removed the enjoyment. Sort of like ordering a good piece of steak... but getting it burned. Having steak can be great... but when its burnt, its ruined. Since we can't send Season 2 sets back to the kitchen to be cooked right, I'd rather leave the restaurant without paying than trying to force myself to eat a burnt steak and pay for it. And hope that the restaurant learns that by ruining the steak it wastes time and money and doesn't get paid for a bad effort.

I think that's more fitting for the QL situation. I could be wrong, but given the wholesale changes, this doesn't appear to be a situation like Columbia with Married With Children, where one right's holder asked for way too much money and Columbia balked.

I feel like Universal took the path it felt was easiest and most profitable (I was someone that really defended the price on NX season 1, because I felt it was justified due to the music rights issue so the season 2 replacements on both shows really feels like a sucker-punch.) If Universal chooses to do that, that's its business. But I won't reward it by giving it MY money for sets I feel are inferior to what I wanted/expected.

 

[Greg_S_H]

On the last page, I provided a physical address for Universal that I found at another site. Here is a different address, as found on the Digital Bits's Studio & Industry Links page:

Universal Studios Home Video
70 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 777-4400

I don't know if you would want to add a Re: Universal Season 2 DVD marker or not. Maybe ATTN: would be better than Re:. If someone's had experience sending DVD complaints, is this what you did?

 

[Rick P]

I don't suppose anyone has heard back from Universal and/or the Producers/Actors about this insanity?

 

[Eli G]

I'm a reporter currently writing an article about this issue (the music replacements on the second-season sets of "Quantum Leap" and "Northern Exposure," and the fan reaction and music rights issues). If any of you are interested in commenting for the story or have questions about it, please email me. My deadline is end of day this Wednesday. Thanks.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

I agree it's ashame all the songs were not intact and i am as big a quantum leap fan as anyone. But i can honestly say i have watched the first 11 episodes and the music changed has only bothered me in one episode so far. That would be Disco Inferno the music ommitted in that episode made that episode. Instead we get crapola replacment stuff that is mainly instrumental. That is a clear cut case where it hurt an episode.

Good Morning Peoria even with alot of songs ommitted plays very well you wouldn't even notice anything was gone unless you had every song memorized. I love that episode to!

I still have half the season to watch yet maybe there will be more episodes that bother me with ommitted music but so far i have to say most of you are making a big deal out of nothing. But i will reserve final judgment till i finish the set.

Don't get me wrong this shouldn't have happened and i understand the point of not buying the set because of it. But i really think your only hurting yourself by not owning it anyway, but hey that's just my opinion. I respect your decision being able to resist purchasing it.

Oh BTW i haven't gotten to the episode but yeah i will hate not having georgia on my mind. That definately will hurt.

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

I looked at that list. Unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like "The Twist" was removed from some episodes but left in others. Why could they get the rights for one episode but not another?

 

[Dave Farley]

It's only my opinion, but I believe the list that Greg linked to shows that Universal cut this music only to increase profits. I don't believe that most of these music substitutions that are becoming more commonplace are due to 'evil' or 'greedy' rights holders trying to gouge the studio. Not for a minute. That may be the case in a few instances but I believe the majority of music substitutions on DVD are done to pad the profit margin and not because of exorbitant licensing fees.

In my opinion, either assumption or market research has led the studios to believe that the mainstream or casual buyer will not care about or even notice the missing music(you don't say?), and this fact allows them to cut original music in order to decrease costs, thereby increasing profits. The marketing departments figure that the hardcore fans will only complain to each other via the internet and send in a few inconsequential emails or letters and not really influence overall sales. They may even count on the fact that a number of dedicated fans will not be able to help themselves and will buy it anyway, kicking and screaming as they drive themselves to the store.

The music substitutions won't hurt you with the average buyer, and a percentage of the hardcore fans, having sampled a COMPLETE season set, will have a tough time refusing to buy the subsequent incomplete, more profitable sets to complete their collection. The studio can make up the reduced margins on the first seasons by selling the cheaper-to-produce, incomplete sets down the road.

Without seeing sales numbers for Season 1, we can't just assume that sales were poor enough to force the studio to cut music to minimize losses in order to continue the series.