Untouchables/Fugitive Question (1 Viewer)

[Michael Alden]

I have an opportunity to get access to tapes/films of these 2 shows from a vault. They are from a small network's run of the shows about 20 years ago and I have a friend who now works there and has access. I know that The Fugitive tapes are the 46:30 timesped versions that Worldvision syndicated and The Untouchables are the complete episodes. Now, obviously this would be a lot of work but as the years roll on and we still hear nothing about these shows being released on DVD, I'm wondering if maybe I should grab them while I can and transfer them. What do you guys think? I'd hate to go through all of that time and effort only to find out 3 months later that they will be put out commercially. If I wait, how long should I wait? Curious to hear some feedback on this.

 

[Nick Zbu]

I say do it.

 

[Jeff Willis]

I'd also vote "Go". I say that mainly due to the unpredictable nature of the TV/DVD market. From what I've seen, most don't know what's on a studio's runway for release and what's already been decided in some meeting room somewhere that a particular series won't be released at all.

 

[Dan McW]

For what it's worth, some of those Worldvision tapes are not time-compressed, but I don't know which ones without checking all 20. You can tell early on if it's not compressed because the announcer goes on to say, "brought to you buy" (although it cuts off at that point) after he reads the episode title. These eps also include the station-ID bumper at the half-hour and run 50-51 minutes each.

 

[Michael Alden]

I'm sorry but I don't understand your post. There were 120 episodes, not 20, and they were all sent out to stations at a uniform length. Perhaps you are referring to prerecorded tapes? I am dealing with broadcast masters.

 

[Gary OS]

Michael, don't even hesitate on this one! Oh how I wish I was in your shoes, because I'd jump at this without even thinking.

Yes, it's certainly possible the show will be released on dvd at some point in the future, but then again you never know. And this series is the cream of the crop, so I'd get my hands on those masters and transfer them to dvd as quick as I could.

Heck, it's been 4 years since a Paramount exec told me that the series "had to be released... it's too great of a show not to be released." Again, that was over 4 years ago and here we are still waiting!

Gary "the exec wasn't saying a release was imminent at the time, but he did suggest I could be looking for it in the near future - again that was over four years ago" O.

 

[Dan McW]

Sorry, Michael, I was thinking of the prerecorded variety. I saw "Worldvision," "time-compressed" and "tapes" in your post and somehow leaped to the 20-volume set of videotapes released by NuVentures under license from Worldvision. A majority of the 40 episodes in that set are time-compressed ones that run roughly 46:30, the others being uncompressed.

I'd also advise "do it." Even if season one of both of those series were to be announced today, it could still be years before you'd get the whole series on DVD--if the studio even finished issuing all of the seasons.

There aren't any long-lost '70s-'80s game shows in that same vault, are there?!?

 

[Nick Zbu]

Nuts to that, is there any Doctor Who stuff in there??

 

[Michael Alden]

Uh, no, this station only ran a couple of actual old series, the other one being NYPD, which there don't seem to be tapes (or films) of.

 

[Harry-N]

It sounds like a pretty big job, and one that I'm somewhat loathe to attempt on my own. I have VHS tapes of airings of THE FUGITIVE episodes from the WOR EMI/Cable channel from the late '90s, plus the NuVentures videos that bought. Though I could spend a lot of time transferring these, there are just too darn many of them to make the attempt. It's not like THE FUGITIVE is some obscure series - it IS going to be out on DVD one of these days - it HAS to be.

I'd recommend that if you need a FUGITIVE "fix", perhaps do a few favored episodes to tide you over, waiting for the real thing.

Harry

 

[Jeff#]

You mean the late 1960s NYPD half-hour police drama? That was playing in syndication about 20 years ago. I managed to catch all of them on a station from Wilmington, Delaware. They went out of business years ago.

 

[JeffWld]

I know that in Michael's case, a project of this size is merely a drop in the bucket.

 

[Hank E]

I would save yourself the trouble on "The Untouchables". It is being worked on and is planned for a release in 2007.

Don't ask me how I know... I have my sources.

 

[Ethan Riley]

AH, but Hank, is that the whole series they're working on, or just season one? Michael can get it ALL. He's living out the dream of a lot of tv collectors; having the ability to transfer great shows for his own use. Boy, oh boy, if I had access to ABC's vaults and could copy a few dozen fave series...!

 

[JeffWld]

That's very true. Although there have been a lot of pleasant surprises with TV on DVD releases, the landscape is also getting quite littered with "one and done" and botched transfer releases.

The board is filled with posters who sit with their tongues hanging out hoping that studios will consider releasing their favorite and most-wanted shows-many of these people couldn't or didn't acquire these shows through other means when/if opportunties arose. As a long-time dedicated collector, Michael's motto of "make hay while the sun shines" has netted him an enviable broadcast archive.