Sony strikes again with Sanford and Son (1 Viewer)

[Robert Cruz]

Thankfully, Sony did indeed include the one-hour "Hawaiian Connection Part 1" uncut, but there is an edited episode. The episode "A Matter of Silence" only lasts 22:16. The other episodes range in the 24-25 minute range (with "Aunt Esther Has a Baby" lasting 23:42...not sure if anything was cut from that one). Here are the lengths for each episode, for reference:

Disc 1:

1. Fred's Extra Job (24:48)
2. I Dream of Choo-Choo Rabinowitz (25:04)
3. The Hawaiian Connection: Part I (48:48)
4. The Hawaiian Connection: Part II (24:55)
5. The Winning Ticket (25:01)
6. The Stakeout (25:00)
7. California Crude (24:44)
8. Committee Man (24:38)

Disc 2:

9. Aunt Esther Has a Baby (23:42)
10. Aunt Esther Meets Her Son (24:59)
11. Sanford and Gong (25:03)
12. Carol (25:01)
13. Here Today, Gone Today (24:35)
14. Fred Meets Redd (24:24)
15. The Defiant One (24:56)
16. A Matter of Silence (22:16)

Disc 3:

17. When John Comes Marching Home (24:51)
18. The Will (24:57)
19. The Reverend Sanford (24:59)
20. Fred the Activist (24:47)
21. The Lucky Streak (24:50)
22. Funny, You Don't Look It (24:44)
23. Fred Sings the Blues (24:53)
24. School Daze (24:45)


Let the discussion begin...

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

To steal a line from Boss Hogg, Sony has got more nerve than a toothache. We know there are cut shows in these sets-- However, in the booklet that comes with the Season Six gift set, Sony Pictures boasts that all 135 programs are "uncut" and "unedited." That is quite the crock-- quite the crock of steaming dung, indeed!

Now, my question for Sony is:

How Damn Difficult Can It Be To Give Us Uncut Television Shows?

Folks like me want to buy these sets because we want the programs ===>Uncut

 

[DaveyM]

Forget your troubles and play a game of Krebege.

 

[Robbie^Blackmon]

It'd be less stressful just to lay down in the grass and be cool.

 

[MatthewA]

I know the Columbia House tapes had "A Matter of Silence" unedited!

Speaking of silence, this is what we'll get from Sony. This is why I bash them. This is why I'll continue to bash them until they get things RIGHT.

 

[Robert Cruz]

If you or anyone else have the Columbia House tape with "A Matter of Silence" on it, could you time the episode? That way, I have an idea of the correct length of the episode.

It's for reasons like this that makes any purchase of a Sony TV DVD a "blind buy". :rolleyes

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Perhaps we should figure out exactly what, if anything, is missing before people freak out. It's possible that an episode was simply a little shorter than usual.

 

[JeffWld]

The more annoying part for me is the Sony (and others) don't seem to have anyone who clues in to some basic logic. If you put together a show with 24 episodes, and the running time is approx. 25 minutes, and suddenly you encounter a show that only runs 22:30, there doesn't seem to be anyone saying "Hey wait a minute, I think something might be wrong here. Let's check it out".

 

[MatthewA]

It is impossible that it would be shorter. The only way it would be shorter would be if it were part 1 of a 2 part episode and had a 3 minute preview for next week's show at the end.

Regulations on the amount of commercial time in the era made it impossible for any show to be under 25 minutes total without ads.

 

[Robert Cruz]

Plus, a lot of the true fans of Sanford and Son know that it was not a show that went less than normal length (24-25 minutes at the time)...in fact, many times, they went past that length (a good amount of the episodes were around 26 minutes). The episode "Aunt Esther Has a Baby" seems to be the only one that's less than 24 minutes (besides the edited episodes)...but for all we know, that could be edited too; I'm not jumping to conclusions for that episode, though. Also, this is not the first time Sony did that with Sanford and Son...one episode from season 2, and one episode from season 3 are edited (and I already posted proof on this forum for the edit on the season 2 episode "Blood Is Thicker Than Junk", going as far as posting the edited scene in AVI format for all to view).

There's no denying that Sony is full of crap. Yes, I'm happy that all 6 seasons of the show is out, even with the lack of extras. I guess it could be worse...imagine how the fans of ALF feel with syndicated episodes being released on DVD by another company that's full of crap (probably moreso than Sony): Lion's Gate.

 

[Robert Cruz]

About "A Matter of Silence", turns out it's the EXACT same version that TV Land plays. The versions that TV Land play for Sanford and Son always has 1-2 minutes removed from the beginning, some dialog shortened, and up to a minute of stuff removed from each scene that fades with the previous one. The versions on TV Land range from 21:55-22:20.