THE GOLDEN GIRLS: Season Five on MAY 9th, 2006! (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Budgell]

According to TVShowsonDVD.com the fifth season of THE GOLDEN GIRLS will be on DVD May 9th, 2006. Great to see that the releases are picking up a bit! Hopefully we'll have the entire series by this time next year. Also good to hear that apparently Betty White will be recording commentaries.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5020

 

[John-M]

Nice but Rue and Bea should join in with Betty for the commentaries

 

[JonathanBB]

No news yet about Rue and Bea doing commentaries. I posted news at @cess the Golden Girls boards and Ultimate Disney around January 3rd that I read in my BW newsletter that she was doing commentaries. I would guess that Rue and Bea are doing commentaries also.

 

[Jay_B!]

it's a nice turnaround considering we waited 6 months between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3, hopefully we'll see season 7 out on DVD in November

 

[Nick_Feduccia]

Do you think they'll release Golden Palace too? I know it was far inferior to Golden Girls, but it would still be nice to have it for posterity's sake

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Cover art's posted at Ultimate Disney:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/coverart.html#may9

Nick, I'm hoping to see Golden Palace as well! I'm sure they will release it, especially with it airing in the States on Lifetime. It hasn't aired here in Canada since its first run, but I managed to get a copy of them about 5 years ago. Not as good without Bea, but still fun!

Andy

 

[Steve JD]

Hurray, commentaries!!

And I hope the last seasons get more extras (other than lame montages of punch lines).

I'd like to see bloopers, interviews, etc.

 

[David Rain]

Golden Palace is a cute show with several great jokes per episode but even the producers from the show have said they had simply run out of original ideas by that time.

I'm guessing this show is selling well enough for them to be putting these releases out at a steady pace. So things look good for the whole series to be out eventually. I'm guessing that GP has suddenly re-appeared on TV because the studio is trying to test to see how well it will do so they can decide whether to include it at the end of the GG DVD run. I'm hoping they do as it's worth having if you're a "Girl Watcher".

 

[MattHR]

TVSoDVD.com is reporting a slight change to the cover art for GG:S5 (and Scrubs:S3). It was originally labeled "The Complete Fifth Season", in small type, consistent with the previous sets. Now, it features "SEASON FIVE" in very large type. Normally this wouldn't seem like news worthy of another studio press release, or a new post on TVSoDVD.com. But I can't help but wonder if Buena Vista isn't simply "covering their ass", by removing the word "complete" from the packaging --due to possible episode cuts.

I believe GG:S5 had a few episodes with the girls singing songs and performing to music, so it's likely BV ran into music clearance issues with this season's release.

I've always hated that the studios label some shows as complete, when we know, for fact they are not. This change in labeling could be a simple acknowledgement that a particular release may, or may not, be truly complete -- with only an extremely small disclaimer buried in the text on the back cover -- to alert the consumer.

These studio press releases always make me laugh at how self-congratulatory they are. (Here's an example of BV "tooting their own horn" by referring to themselves as "industry leader" more than once in a press release.) I've never seen one of these press releases announce an upcoming set to feature "syndicated versions of episodes", or "original music replacements". Yet they continue to indicate "Dolby 2.0, 4:3 video, interactive menus, etc." -- all points that don't need addressing in a press release, since they are inherent -- while purposely leaving out important details regarding edits and alterations.

A true industry leader would indicate all the facts regarding any changes to a show within their press releases. But doing so would undoubtedly have a negative effect on their bottom line. The studios, like politicians, understand all-too-well, that not disclosing the truth is not the same as telling a lie. They just hope they never get called on it.

 

[DavidBC]

I was so excited about how fast these are coming out, but now I really hope these aren't going to be edited

 

[Jay_B!]

I am the one who gets the review copies for Golden Girls for the site I work for, so I'll let you guys know in advance, I know the episode where Dorothy and Sophia are dressed as Sonny and Cher and sing "I Got You Babe", so when I get that set down the road, that'll be the first thing I look for.

BTW, can they have a more hideous season 5 cover? seasons 2-4 looked so classy and nice, season 5 looks like a fifth grader's photoshop

 

[MatthewA]

If there is so much as one thing missing I will not buy this set.

 

[MatthewA]

There is also an episode where the girls sing "Mr. Sandman" to get a baby they're looking after to sleep.

 

[Jay_B!]

okay thanks Matthew, I will be on the lookout for these two when I get my review copy, usually they arrive a week or two before street. I will be the first to report on it when I get it

 

[MatthewA]

Of course, if it is just a semantics change, it won't be a problem. The show isn't all that music heavy, but still I am concerned. I don't know of other uses of songs in Season 5 off the top of my head.

The Muppet Show "Season 1" had no indication on the packaging of five episodes being butchered.

This music rights BS has got to stop. If it means getting the government to set a limit on how much a publisher can ask for, so be it.

 

[David Rain]

Music rights are certainly a pain but the problem is not going to stop. Too much money to make. And the government can't pave the roads properly, they don't give a damn about some song on a TV show.

I recall a fair amount of music being sung on TGG by Bea in particular such as I Got You Babe, What'll I Do, Hard Hearted Hannah, Mr. Sandman, etc.

I'm worried too, although these sets must be selling pretty well to continue to come out and so quickly. So perhaps they have a good enough budget to swing the music rights.

 

[MattHR]

There's no way the government would ever get involved to control music fees. Even if they did, they'd just complicate things even more. They can't even handle issues that really matter.

The only area I feel we have a legitimate complaint concerns the "truth in labeling" law. Very few of these altered shows on DVD have a clear disclaimer regarding the contents. The studios won't voluntarily label their product as edited, altered, or otherwise incomplete -- unless pressed by threat of lawsuit for false advertising. It may seem trivial to some, but it really does boil down to misrepresentation -- especially for the sets claiming to be "complete."

I've posted many times before, how the various guilds in Hollywood (cinematographers, directors, editors, etc.) banded together to require the studios to label the video releases of their movies' packaging, and on-screen, with a warning that they had been "modified from their original version." This warning was designed to be a disclaimer that the filmmakers' intent had been altered, or compromised. However, the final wording agreed upon stated the film had been "modified to fit your screen" -- a phrase not necessarily perceived as negative.

There really needs to be a similar push from the TV production side of the industry -- to force the same type of labeling on altered TV DVDs.

While the issue of music licensing is likely to remain, I'd just be happy with enforcing the "truth in labeling" laws. At least we consumers would be able to make an informed decision before purchasing the product. Maybe someone with legal knowledge of this issue can chime in.

But as I said, the studios will make this change only after kicking and screaming their way through the legal system.

 

[RoryR]

I don't think we will ever get a set advertising as 'Incomplete', the TV production team could loose money (I don't think they directly make money from the DVD's, save for the Creator - maybe) but for a show like Scrubs - DVD's are what is likely to keep it on the air (on ABC) if NBC cancel it. I would also argue that 'Complete' would mean every scene/line of the show so if a song is replaced it doesn't count, ultimatley this would fail if a character sung a song (which happens in GG).

I think if The Wonder Years ever hits DVD, that case will be a lot more important and we may see some action.

 

[David Williams]

One thing to keep in mind is that the TPTB in charge of GG DVDs only have to license the rights to the music and not the performance, since most of the songs sung on the show were performed by the girls. That's a lot less expensive than say they were using the Sonny & Cher performance of I Got You Babe. Not to mention quite a few of the songs are quite obscure or very old, so the licensing fees probably aren't that expensive to begin with.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't understand why owners can't work things out with the studios anyway. Wouldn't you rather have a reasonable royalty payment than none at all (which is what you get if the studio cuts your music)?

And as David points out, it's not like they're trying to license the original recordings, just the rights to have the characters sing the song in the show. I'd think standard royalty rates would apply just as if one music artist covers the song of another.