The Pretender coming to dvd!..... (1 Viewer)

[Natalie F]

Exactly. If they were going to go all Kung Fu on it and crop the 4:3 image, then there's no way in hell I'd be buying it.

 

[Keith I]

I wonder what Warner was thinking on that one. Fox is very good about their 16:9 stuff, so I'll be very happy to see The Pretender in glorious anamorphic widescreen seeing more image on the sides than on 4:3 television.

The cover art has been criticized on other boards (with Michael T. Weiss's mug in close-up). I don't have problems with cover art unless it looks like an amateur "paint job." I hope that Fox gives the other actors some of the spotlight on the Season 3 and 4 covers, namely Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots.

But I'm just grateful that Season 2 is coming out. Thanks, Fox!

 

[Natalie F]

I'm just wondering, did anyone buy their copy of the first season from Canada? Or have any Canadians seen in it the store because I was going to get it from DVD Soon, but then in the picture it's got French writing on it as well, so I was wondering if that pic is accurate? I looked on the Amazon.ca site, and it doesn't have the French on it, but I thought maybe it was just them using the same pic as the American one. Because then I'll have to pay a bit more to get it from Amazon.com without the French on it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Daniel Beck]

I got The Pretender from Canada, from dvdimport.com. It had an additional bilingual thin slipsleeve case (open at top and bottom), which fits over the normal slipcase (in English only).

 

[Natalie F]

Thanks so much for that, Daniel

 

[Keith I]

I caught the end of the 4th season episode "Spin Doctor" on TNT. It's the 2nd crossover episode with Profiler (but this time with new Profiler Jamie Luner). It looks like another alternate ending where it wraps up and does not continue on the other show. Looks like these alternate endings are how Fox will get around having to acquire rights to the other show's episodes for DVD.
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[Keith I]

I never regularly watched the show during its original run (I saw a few eps), during reruns on A&E, nor watched any of the DVDs, but there is an episode of Profiler in Season 4 (Episode 81: "Pianissimo") where Jarod makes a surprise appearance. It is not Part 2 of a Part 1 Pretender episode nor is it a first part of a 2-part arc, just a standalone Profiler episode.

After you see "End Game" (Episode 63, Season 3 of The Pretender) rent Disc 6 of Profiler: Season 3 to see how the episode really should have ended.

After you see "Spin Doctor" (Episode 76, Season 4 of The Pretender) rent Disc 3 of Profiler: Season 4 to see how the episode really should have ended.

Then rent Disc 5 of Profiler: Season 4 to see "Pianissimo."

However, when you read www.tv.com 's episode synopses of those Profiler episodes (see links below), it seems as if The Pretender's episodes did end properly. It just picks up again with a new conflict involving the same characters. So the end of those Pretender episodes may have been the only ones shot; there are no "alternative" endings.

http://www.tv.com/grand-master-2/epi...7/summary.html
http://www.tv.com/clean-sweep-2/epis...9/summary.html
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[GarySchrock]

Hmm, I'm not entirely sure I buy that there is no alternate take for hte end of the pretender episode "end game" (finished on "grand master" on profiler?). It's been a bit since I last watched it, but I definitely remember being somewhat confused when I started the profiler episode, because events that had happened at the end of the pretender episode had not happened at the beginning of the profiler. (I don't want to spoil the episdoe, and I am working on memory that's been a while since I've seen it). Unlike the traditional cross-overs, the two episodes just did not mesh with the ending that aired on tnt. Not having seen the original, I just can't be sure though.

That said, while I'd prefer having the cross-over's complete, I don't think it would stop me from buying the set if they included the self-contained versions.

 

[Keith I]

I should have said "could have been the only ones shot." The way the episode synopses are worded on TV.com it sound as if those The Pretender episodes did not have a cliffhanger end to them as seen on TNT.

The Profiler episodes start up with a new angle on the original storyline. That gives Profiler a disadvantage as people who never saw The Pretender would initially think, "Who is this Jarod guy?"

Of course, we can't believe anything based on text at a TV Web site and we'll probably never know if there were alternate endings shot unless they somehow are included on the DVDs or someone taped the original NBC broadcasts and still has them and can verify.
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[Keith I]

www.tvshowsondvd.com reports a delay by one week to September 20.

 

[Keith I]

http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/sho...e.php3?ID=5739

Their press release states it will be 1.33:1. This is why consumers get anxious. They get conflicting information from the studios. Many sites say 1.78:1 widescreen (but no mention of anamorphic enhancement).

 

[Keith I]

DVD Empire is stating that this is coming out on 9/13 whereas everyone else says 9/20. But, DVD Empire has the back cover shot and it confirms whether or not it is anamorphic widescreen:

 

[Natalie F]

Yay!

 

[Keith I]

I got my copy and am very glad it is anamorphic widescreen. I tried to see if anything was oddly cropped but I don't have Season 2 on tape to compare but nothing looks odd. I have 3 and 4 recorded from TNT so I can do a comparison then. The picture is very clear and the location text they use (e.g., "The Centre, Blue Cove, Delaware") seem larger as if they were recomposed. I'm sure the 16x9 frame was cropped to 4x3 for regular TV but the text is spread out to almost fill the 16x9 frame.

With all the complaints about Universal Home Video using double-sided discs, I'm surprised there aren't much/any for Fox using them. (Or is it because UHV's double-sided discs are defective?) You really have to be careful so you don't scratch the disc, especially when you're putting in and taking out the disc from the player.
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[ravma]

I have yet to see any issues with Fox's double sided discs.
I HIGHLY doubt this is a cropped release. S2 aired the same year that X-Files made the switch to widescreen, so I'd bet that this is the OAR it was filmed in.

 

[Natalie F]

There's some screencaps of the first episode here if you want to do a comparison.

 

[Keith I]

Thanks Natalie. Season 2 was definitely shot 16:9 and cropped to 4:3 for TV.

Here is a DVD screenshot comparing the linked site's first image:



You see more image on the left and right of Jarod and those two guys in the background.

 

[ravma]

Wow, Yeah. NICE! You have a lot more room in the WS version. I'm glad Fox took the time to release this in WS.
Thanks for the screens Natalie and Keith!

 

[John*D]

So season 3 has been announced for Valentine's Day '06. It's going to be a 4 disc set, but I wonder if they'll use those crappy DVD-18s again? I hope not.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=4438

 

[Gord Lacey]

They're DVD-14s (2 layers on one side, 1 on the other).

Gord