The Cosby Show - Season 1 Announced (3 Viewers)

[Robert Cruz]

If you're talking about shows that Bill Cosby starred in, here you go:

I Spy (1965-1968)
The Bill Cosby Show (1969-1971)
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1984)
The New Bill Cosby Show (1972-1973)
Cos (1976)
The Cosby Show (1984-1992)
The Cosby Mysteries (1994-1995)
Cosby (1996-2000)

He also did voice work for The Electric Company in 1971, produced Little Bill and Fatherhood, and hosted PicturePages, You Bet Your Life, and Kids Say the Darndest Things. He was also on Pinwheel, which was one of the shows that pretty much started Nickelodeon.

Hope that helps...

 

[Seth Thrasher]

I'm the one who did the review for Sitcoms Online...there's still been no word on why syndicated prints were used, particularly after all information accompanying the set went out of it's way to mention NBC airings.

Personally, I think the entire practice of edited episodes is downright shameful. Fans of shows spend $30/$40/$50/More to see the episodes of their favorite shows...to some people, that's quite a bit of money. IF such an investment IS to be made, don't fans have the right to see the episodes as they were intended to be seen, instead of syndication hackjobs, or episodes in which music is replaced by some 2nd-rate incidental music.

As far as Cosby goes:
One standard recordable DVD can hold 4 hours in the longest-length mode before quality starts to suffer. 4 hours divided by 30 minutes (BEFORE COMMERCIALS ARE EDITED OUT) is 8 shows...10 if you edit out commercials. You can easily get the entire first season of The Cosby Show, AS IT EXISTS on the DVD, using three DVD-Recordables, over the course of 12 days on either WGN or TBS, at a fraction of the cost. The reunion special pops up on eBay now and then, or you could easily get it from hundreds of video collectors. Little money spent there too. A fraction of the cost spent, and you get the exact same effect.

 

[Garysb]

Thank you for the heads up. I just cancelled my preorder.
As many have said there is no reason to buy cut shows you can see on TV. I hope the word gets out to more people.

 

[Jay_B!]

another thing I noticed is the artwork was disapointing. In a way, it almost resembles a public domain set as opposed to an official title.

Does anyone have the Columbia House discs? I know they are using 6 episodes to a disc in order, right now they're up to around season 4. If those are uncut, I'll just go and get it via ebay.

 

[JamesTaylor]

Yes that did help Robert Cruz. Thank you so much for writing that list, and I hope that they all eventually get to DVD someday.
-James

 

[Andrew Radke]

I was on the fence with this one. I loved it as a kid, but see it quite often now on TBS. This news however has made my decision EXTREMELY easy. I refuse to buy any set with syndicated episodes. 'ALF' was another favorite, and it broke my heart to pass it up, but I stood my ground, and I'll continue to.


You won't be the only one. That's one show I HAVE been chomping at the bit for. I'll be rightfully P.O'd if that one's cut. But as someone said, with Roseanne being an active participant in the creation of the release(s), I see little reason to worry.

 

[Jay_B!]

well, if it's a show I loved and haven't seen for years and am just craving to see again (for me, something like Gimme A Break would be a perfect example, I loved it, haven't seen it in over a decade), I'd suck up syndicated episodes if the price is low enough.

However, I have no real yearning hunger for Cosby, I can watch it anytime I please, even though I would've liked the "on-demand" treatment for the series to have, I just am not paying $30+ for it if the episodes are edits. But if Best Buy runs a $17.99 special on it like they had ALF, I won't lie, I'd cave in, but only for a price that low.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

[ deleted by poster ]

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I was on the fence... and was considering.

NOT ANYMORE.

Who the heck runs these studios? I feel like they are trained apes that are good with PR...

 

[Brad P]

If anyone at Carsey-Werner/UrbanWorks is reading this, this is one definite sale that has turned into a no-go for me.

I think it would be very effective if Gord and David put a warning about this on the front page of TVShowsonDVD.

 

[Antonio_G]

I guess I'm the only one who is buying this...

 

[Rodney]

I just cancelled my order. I cannot believe that they would sell the edited shows. Is it laziness, or just not caring about the consumer? I don't get it. And I won't buy it.

 

[george kaplan]

I only wish that were true. Just think. If they only sold 1 copy worldwide, they might actually get the message not to put cut episodes out.

 

[Jay_B!]

if I ever find it for $20 or less, I will likely buy it. I am not necesarily one of those "one edit = no sale" types like you see some people, I just find it kinda pointless to spend $30 or more on a show that airs so many times a day on so many stations. Plus, I highly doubt it was that dificult to come across the uncut master tapes. I mean, this is the biggest sitcom of the 1980's, not some obscure series that fans should be thankful that they're even given a chance to see again regardless of the form.

 

[AnthonyC]

Same here. Uncut, unsyndicated episodes? I would have picked it up release date, and I would have gladly spent $30+ on it.

 

[Steve...O]

Few people would buy a book missing several chapters or a movie missing scenes so why should consumers be willing to settle for chopped up episodes of a TV series especially when uncut versions are readily available?

Anyone buying this set, no matter the price, will only be sending a message that selling syndicated versions is acceptable and only lead to more of the same.

The Cosby Show is not a show that matters to me. Yet I feel it is important to speak out on it so that the same fate does not befall shows that do matter. I would rather wait a while longer and pay a few extra bucks to get complete episodes of a series than get subpar product at a cheap price.

Steve

 

[george kaplan]

I am a one edit = no sale type of person. However, that's irrelevant here. We're not talking about one edit. We're talking about multiple synidation cuts on every single episode. That's dozens, if not hundreds of edits just on season 1, and if it continued throught the series run, you'd be talking about thousands of edits. A cheap price would never make up for that IMO.

 

[John Stell]

Was thinking of buying this set. Thank you Home Theater Forum for saving me $ and shame on the people who screwed this up. Doesn't anyone who works for these studios understand that people want their season sets uncut?

 

[John Carr]

No Sale here.

We've got to draw the line. And this is the place.

It's a sad day for Cosby fans...

 

[Robert Ringwald]

The unfortunate part is that the average person has NO idea... nor do they even know shows are often cut up for syndication, and that this is often a problem with TV on DVD releases...