Room 222...Could It Be? (1 Viewer)

[cajunhillbilly]

I have not seen this show since it first showed back in the 70s.

 

[Ockeghem]

It would have been fun to hear what Karen Valentine, David Joliffe, Judy Strangis, and Heshimu had to say regarding their recollections of the show. I haven't seen any of these actors in anything else for years.

 

[Jack P]

I know Judy Strangis better from "Electra Woman And Dyna Girl" (why did that have to be one of the unreleased Krofft shows??).

 

[Brian Himes]

Just pre-ordered my set. Can't wait for this to arrive on Tuesday. At long last, Room 222 will be seen on my TV.

 

[Ockeghem]

Just pre-ordered my set. Can't wait for this to arrive on Tuesday. At long last, Room 222 will be seen on my TV.

Congrats! I will be purchasing my copy in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jon Martin]

It is a very nice set.

 

[Tina_H_V]

Yes, I pre-ordered my set recently as well. Hopefully, it shall arrive on time by TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!! I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I viewed those preview clips presented by Shout! via TVShowsOnDVD this past Tuesday evening. My whistle has been whet for these great episodes.
I am ready!!!!! Come on March 24th!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tina_H_V]

And March 24th has come home to me...EARLY IN A MIGHTY, MIGHTY BIG WAY!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! A BIG SHOUT! OUT TO SHOUT! FACTORY FOR DELIVERING THE GOODS IN A BETTER THAN TIMELY MANNER AND FASHION!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a wise ol' deacon used to sloganize..."Right On Time!!!! Right On Time!!!!!!"

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I've Heard these are not remastered, the clips Shout had looked to be in pretty rough shape.

 

[Jeff Willis]

I've Heard these are not remastered, the clips Shout had looked to be in pretty rough shape.

"That ain't good news" as we say in Texas. Mine's on the way but I was able to get in on that Amazon price glitch at $10.99 so that'll make it easier to stomach if the prints are 16m / "syndicated" quality.

 

[vnisanian2001]

if the prints are 16m / "syndicated" quality.

"16mm syndicated quality"?
Last time I checked, none of them are "16mm syndicated quality".Although the picture quality is terrible, all of them are uncut, coming in between 25-26 minutes.

 

[Tina_H_V]

Despite the blurb on the box regarding how the "DVDs (are) created from (the) best surviving video masters", at least they appear watchable to me, for the most part, and...they are largely uncut. For I have noticed some segments from an episode I recorded on TV Land ten years ago on the DVD which I did not find on my VHS tape which helped flesh things out some en route to the plot at hand.
Who knows? Maybe Shout! did what they could with what they had to work with. To me, some episodes do look better than others. But the main thing, IMHO: this classic series is finally out on DVD at long last and, hopefully, the remaining four seasons shall follow with better video masters for Shout! to work with!!!!

 

[Brian Himes]

I just got my set and popped disc one into the computer to check it out. Well, yes, the pilot episode is not in the best of shape. It's not horrible, but it's not great either. The real test will be when I get home from work and watch it on my TV. There is a considerable amout of dirt and scratches on the print used. Again, it's not horrible but not great.

I spot checked a few of the other episodes on disc one and the picture does improve compaired to the pilot, but again the picture is not pristine. It's hard to judge the sound on a small computer monitor while at work, but I could hear everything clearly enough. Again, the real test will be on my TV at home.

From what I've seen so far, I'm pleased with the set. In fact, just seeing the opening on my computer kind of made me tear up a bit. It's just so amazing to finally get to see this show again. I can't wait to get home to really get into the set.

 

[Corey3rd]

I'm amazed they were able to get clearance of "As Tears Go By" - a Mick Jagger - Keith Richards composition.
The transfer of these early episodes are rough. But at $10.99, I'm happy to finally see this show after decades.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I got the set yesterday and watched the first 4 episodes already. I really enjoyed all of them and they brought back some great memories. I haven't seen these since I was 7 - 10 back in the day!

Yes, the quality is pretty unstable. Some imperfections like dirt and marks here and there, and the color is of a brownish hue to my eyes and not remastered. But you know what? I STILL ENJOYED IT! In a way it even adds to the vintage quality of the show.

As I was watching these I kept thinking to myself "Oh no, now everyon'e gonna start whining about the quality, and we'll never get a Season 2!!!!" -- Well, I hope everyone just accepts that things cannot always be perfect, and that in some cases you just have to be satisfied with the best you can get, rather than nothing at all. We're lucky to have a lesser-known show like this on DVD, and I hope people support this release for the most part. Having excellent quality remasters is something we all want when we can get it, but at the end of the day the main thing is being able to HAVE a complete show, unedited. We've gotten to a point in collecting these days where some are more concerned with A/V quality over content.

It is very cool that the song "As Tears Go By" was able to be included in the set. I wonder why only Paramount seems to have immense difficulty in retaining original songs in their TV series sets???

 

[Radioman970]

I got the set yesterday and watched the first 4 episodes already. I really enjoyed all of them and they brought back some great memories. I haven't seen these since I was 7 - 10 back in the day!
Yes, the quality is pretty unstable. Some imperfections like dirt and marks here and there, and the color is of a brownish hue to my eyes and not remastered. But you know what? I STILL ENJOYED IT! In a way it even adds to the vintage quality of the show. ...

I was probably 6 or 7 last time I saw these. And I've always looked back on these with a brown hue. Interesting. Exactly how I remember them. I'm kind of glad they have that. Looking forward to picking these up.

 

[vnisanian2001]

It is very cool that the song "As Tears Go By" was able to be included in the set. I wonder why only Paramount seems to have immense difficulty in retaining original songs in their TV series sets???

Shout! Factory at least tries to clear as much of the original music as possible, although there are some instances that they can't, like some of the music on SCTV for example.

 

[Art_AD]

Very Happy I bought this set. It is a great show from the past. I forgot I had a crush on Karen Valentine. The video quality is lacking but still glad I purchased this and look forward to the rest of the seasons.

 

[Brian Himes]

I've watched the whole first disc and half of the second and all I can say is...wow. This is a really great show and I'm so glad that it is finally on DVD. The quality of the show itself (writing, acting) reminds me of some of the high quality shows that would later comeout from MTM Enterprises. This is a show that Fox should be very, very proud of.

The picture quality is lackluster, but it just seems to add a more nostalgic feeling when viewing it. Maybe it's just because this show has a very soft spot in my heart, but I didn't find the low quality of the picture to be an issue with me. The episodes are complete and uncut and that is much more important in the long run. I can live with the faded colors and soft picture.

Now the first episode on disc two, Our Teacher Is Obsolete, is a bit jarring. After watching seven episodes with faded colors, this episode really pops out at you. The picture is just about perfect. Bright, vibrant colors. The grass outside Walt Whitman High in the opening credits is actually green and not a greenish-brown. Michael Constantine's credit is also green instead of black as it appears on other episodes. The picture quality on this episode really made me take notice. It just pops. At first I thought that this might have been a syndicated cut of the show. Especially considering the picture quality, but it wasn't cut. The episode runs 25:55. So, I guess it was just a fluke that this particular episode survived in this good of condition.

There may be other episodes in the set that look this good, I don't know yet, but this one really stands out. It's a shame that the rest of the set doesn't look this good. If they did, then this would have been a trully spectacular set. Don't get me wrong. The set is nice and the fact that the show even made it to DVD is a miracle. It's just seeing a really good quality episode makes you wish for the rest of the set to look this good.

None of that has stopped me from telling everyone I know about the set and highly recommending it. This is such a fine, genuinely good show that I think everyone should see it. Several of the issues in just the first seven episodes are just as relavant today as they were in 1969 and '70. While the clothes and hair are dated, this (at least for me) just adds to the overall charm of the show. In fact, that is the perfect way to describe the show. It's just charming. A bit on the sweet side at times, but not sappy. It makes the late 60s and early 70s look a bit more gentle compared to today. While at the time, the world was changing. America was firmly gripped in the war in Vietnam, student uprisings, social and racial strife was everywhere. The show doesn't exatcly reflect those times, but in a way it does in the way the students and teachers interact with eachother. Like I said, the show is just charming.

Bravo to Shout Factory for bringing this to DVD. I'm quite the happy camper.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Brian,
After reading your review (thanks for the post!) I may end up keeping this one in my collection. Mine's on the way from Amazon. Print quality is important to me in a TV/DVD set but from what you're describing, these transfers aren't in the "Route 66 S1V1" or "M Squad" group. I can accept faded colors, etc but not film noise as the previously-mentioned shows which are top quality (content) shows but everyone's got their "line in the sand" with transfers.