Taxi (1 Viewer)

[greenscreened]

And I noticed that the Taxi title here is all in yellow, checkerboard bars above and below included (usually, the checkerboard bars part of the title is in black and white). Why is that?

Wow, good observation.

If the original opening was in yellow, but now appears in white, I would guess (with tongue firmly residing in cheek, and one eye winking) that it was a cost-cutting measure!!!
My spur of the moment/uneducated guess would be it unofficially designates it is a new release of some sort?

 

[bmasters9]

Wow, good observation.

If the original opening was in yellow, but now appears in white, I would guess (with tongue firmly residing in cheek, and one eye winking) that it was a cost-cutting measure!!!
My spur of the moment/uneducated guess would be it unofficially designates it is a new release of some sort?

That is a great question; unfortunately, it's quite difficult to tell, because that video does not have a title sequence portion at the top with that version of the title (none of the Taxi episodes from that channel do; they just go right to the first scene).

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, thought I’d try posting a question here about the Taxi DVD’s.

I bought the complete series set last year and I’ve been watching episodes for the past several months. I’m almost done with the third season, I previewed some of the fourth season episodes because I have been making MKV files of each episode. I noticed the fourth season episodes are lower image quality, as if they are from duplicate sources, the first 3 seasons looked quite good. This is a disappointment if the rest of the fourth and fifth season is this bad.

The fourth season also looks like they include previews for each episode at the start.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Seasons 4 and 5 came after CBS took over the releases after the original CBS/Paramount/Viacom game of corporate musical chairs. I don't know whether they used lesser quality masters, but I do know they did their usual music chopping. So you have that to look forward to, as well.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Robert, maybe the first episode or two was bad, I sampled a later episode and it looked a little better. I saw a few of these season 4 episodes a few weeks ago when Decades TV did a Taxi binge over the weekend and the sources they used looked good.

Good to know about the music substitutions. I haven't seen these episodes in a long time. So I don’t recall the music used in later episodes.

 

[dawnshadow]

Seasons 4 and 5 are apprently streaming completely uncut on Paramount+

 

[bmasters9]

Thanks Robert, maybe the first episode or two was bad, I sampled a later episode and it looked a little better. I saw a few of these season 4 episodes a few weeks ago when Decades TV did a Taxi binge over the weekend and the sources they used looked good.

Good to know about the music substitutions. I haven't seen these episodes in a long time. So I don’t recall the music used in later episodes.

Neither do I-- nor do I recall what original music was used then, as I didn't see all that much of Taxi on ABC or NBC (it was in syndication when I got my first taste of what it was like).

 

[dawnshadow]

S05E22 Jim’s Mario’s is still edited on Paramount+ around the 18 minute mark. The scene with Alex playing piano and singing is gone. Does anyone know if any TV channels still air that episode uncut?

 

[The Obsolete Man]

S05E22 Jim’s Mario’s is still edited on Paramount+ around the 18 minute mark. The scene with Alex playing piano and singing is gone. Does anyone know if any TV channels still air that episode uncut?

The Pluto TV on demand version has restored it.

I checked it the other day to satisfy my own curiosity, and just checked the DVD version to make sure. On Pluto, there's no quick cut anymore and Alex sings again. The episode runtime is back in the 24s on Pluto. Well, the episode runtime is 30 minutes because you have to sit through ads, but if you try to skip them then resume where you last ended it gives you the actual runtime of the show. And it's in the 24s again as opposed to the DVD's 23+ minute cut.

Now, why they're giving the good versions to their free commercial supported streaming service and not the one people actually pay for is anyone's guess. But, the music has been restored and hopefully that version is what will be used should the show ever come to Blu.

 

[bmasters9]

But, the music has been restored and hopefully that version is what will be used should the show ever come to Blu.

That's what I hope too-- that the show is improved in that manner for a Blu release.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

That's what I hope too-- that the show is improved in that manner for a Blu release.

Same. I hope they ironed out music issues for good and across formats since these songs are being restored in some manner, and the almost inevitable Blu release benefits.

Speaking of restored episodes, I grabbed another episode for my own purposes that's hacked on DVD. If you're looking for Billy Joel in S4E2 on DVD, Vienna will wait forever, but on Pluto, Vienna Waits is hacked no more. The episode is back to broadcast length and Billy Joel's back in the soundtrack.

However, Pluto's on demand service is missing random episodes. Don't know why, they just are. But they have three of the biggies... Jim's Mario's, Vienna Waits, and Nina Loves Alex, all of which were notably edited on DVD. So it's a nice supplement if you're watching your DVDs. Which I plan to do soon, so it all works out.

...then they'll announce the Blus, won't they?

 

[bmasters9]

However, Pluto's on demand service is missing random episodes. Don't know why, they just are. But they have three of the biggies... Jim's Mario's, Vienna Waits, and Nina Loves Alex, all of which were notably edited on DVD. So it's a nice supplement if you're watching your DVDs.

Speaking of which, I used to have it on DVD, and had finished 3/5 of it (had the first three individuals, and the last one). I may sooner-or-later get the all-in-one, because those seasonals that I had took up a lot of room.