Warner Bros properties (1 Viewer)

[Charles H]

I recall that several months ago, there were rumors of Season 2 of CHEYENNE coming out. Sadly, It is very unlikely that WB will attempt another black-&-white series on dvd. I would dearly love "Maverick" and "Hawaiian Eye" on dvd.
The sixth season of 77 SUNSET STRIP was produced under the auspices of Jack Webb and William Conrad: they retained only Stuart Bailey (Zimbalist) from the original 5 deasons. They premiered the season with an ambitious 5-part project called "5", which contained the largest star cast that side of CENTENNIEL: Tony Bennett, Burgess Meredith, Gene Nelson, Clint Walker, Herbert Marshall, Joseph Schildkraut, Marisa Pavan, Ed Wynn, William Shatner, Telly Savalas, George Jessel, Keenan Wynn, Brian Keith, Cesar Romero, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Slezak, Peter Lorre, Wally Cox, Luther Adler, Richard Conte. I would love to get this out on dvd if only to for its obvious historic value, but it would be a great way "to test the waters."

 

[Gary OS]

Yes, the truth hurts but it's still the truth. Warner just flat out isn't interested in putting out anything from their TV catalog that is black-&-white, period. So all the great shows that have been mentioned in this thread are likely never going to be seen on dvd. I know some folks feel like these shows will eventually resurface, but I'm not nearly as optimistic myself. I feel like the market is moving further and further away from vintage material. Other than CBS/Paramount and the occasional release from an indy like Shout Factory, I believe our best days are behind us at this point. Heck, as an example of what I'm talking about, if we took those two companies out of the equation right now then how many black-&-white series would we be looking forward to in the coming months? Not many, that's for sure.

Gary "nope, the industry as a whole is no longer moving in a positive direction when it comes to vintage, b&w material - I think we hit the peak about 2 years ago and are moving backwards now" O.

 

[Bob Hug]

Gary, while I can't certainly say that the black & white Warner shows mentioned in this thread will surface, I also don't think it's "doom and gloom" for vintage black & white shows either. Consider the planned output from several companies . . . .

Shout! Factory - A second volume of "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" is coming, though likely in syndicated form. And don't forget that Shout! just released a collection of 1950s black & white children's shows.

VCI Entertainment - After a really nice release of "Burke's Law," I'm encouraged by this company and they have "Honey West" and "Zane Grey Theatre" in the pipeline (plus more of B'sL if the first set sells decently).

Timeless Media - "Brenner" is coming in June, plus "William Tell" and "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" have been announced for August. Plus, there are all sorts of rumors about shows like "M-Squad," "Laramie" and others that they are working on.

Tempe Video - working on the full series release of "Steve Canyon"

And who knows what we may see down the line from companies like BCI Eclipse, S'more Entertainment, Image, MPI and others? Hank Dearborn mentioned somewhere in another thread that one or more of the majors were starting to think/talk about licensing and, if that becomes a reality, perhaps we'll see a renewed wave of vintage releases. For me, it's a question of "the glass half empty/half full." While, there are plenty of older series that I would like to see and are still MIA (several of which are on your want list), the amount of vintage material that's been released over the past five years or so has made me very, very happy (and a bit poorer financially). I mean, did anyone ever realistically expect just a few years ago that an entire series like "Man with a Camera" would ever be available in a comparatively inexpensive format for home viewing? Not me; I had my two public domain episodes from the series and thought, for sure, that would be it. Besides, I need a lull once in a while to pick up some releases that I missed out on at the time of their initial release.

 

[David Levine]

Nope. Licensing costs are sky high, and many of the shows that are licensed out never sell enough units for the licensing company to even recoup their advance. And the costs aren't going down anytime soon. We've lost money on licensing deals, I know the other independents (like Shout! for example) have a number of deals that they are way upside down on as well.

As far as having the infrastructure, I've worked with a lot of studios - both big and small, and it can be a nightmare for them to locate elements and it can take weeks and weeks for artwork approval (especially when legal gets involved). The worst can be commentaries and interviews. Even if you follow their restrictions to the letter, a 1 hour interview can suddenly become 15 minutes of "usable" footage very quickly.

 

[Gary OS]

I understand where you are coming from Bob, and perhaps I've not expressed myself well enough. So let me clarify:

1) I agree with you 100% that we have seen an incredible amount of vintage releases over the last 5 years. No doubt about it. And I too am poorer, but happier, for it. There was never any intent on my part to dismiss the last 5 years. I was looking ahead and saying I really don't believe the next 5 years will yield the same sweet fruit.

2) I agree that we still have one major (CBS/Paramount) and many more independent companies that are still suppling us with some great stuff. Like you, Bob, I too look forward to pretty much all the titles you mentioned. But like I said, if we took CBS/Paramount and Shout out of the equation, things would look much bleaker. And why would that be? Because the other majors have really scaled back on their vintage, b&w releases. WB, Sony, Universal, Fox, etc. just aren't cranking these type shows out like they were just a year or two ago.

3) I admit that when it comes to the current state of vintage TV on DVD I'm beginning to see a slowdown and it concerns me. If I look over at my shelf of collections and focus on the things that have already been released then I too would say the glass is half full as opposed to half empty. But my point here is not what's already been released, but what we can look ahead to. And when I do that, and see that many of the majors are clearly scaling back on older material, I have to be concerned.

4) I agree with you that it's actually nice to have a little cushion so as to catch up on releases. And if nothing else were released for the rest of the year I'd have enough to watch to be satisfied. As I said above, I'm not complaining about what has been released. I'm just concerned about what hasn't been released, and what's been stalled ("Leave it to Beaver", "HGWT", "Voyage", "Big Valley", etc).

5) My last point could easily be misunderstood and might upset some of my friends here, and I don't want that to happen. So I'm going to be very careful with how I word this. I am very grateful with any and all 50's and early 60's releases on dvd. There's almost nothing from that era that I don't own. And I hope the smaller companies can continue to license as many series as possible. I'll buy pretty much every one of them. And as happy as I am to see some of the more obscure shows - those that might be called 2nd tier series - I have to say that I want some of the high profile, well known series too. In fact, while I love things like "Man with a Camera" or "Decoy" (as just two examples), I also want things like "The Donna Reed Show", "Dennis the Menace", and "Hawaiian Eye" to be released.

And the majors hold the key to most of the better known, top tier shows. And no, just because a show is more well known that doesn't automatically make it better than lesser known shows. I'm as aware of that as anyone. But let's also not make the mistake of dismissing those shows because they have been on tv more in recent decades than some of the others. I'm just saying I'm concerned because I believe it's the major studios that hold the rights to most of the shows that are on my "holy grail" list. And while I keep hearing that the studios are looking to license these shows out, I'm not really seeing that much evidence of it. A few things here and there, but not nearly enough to satisfy me.

Again, these things are just my opinion. Others may rather see the more obscure releases continue. And that's fine. But I also really want the top flight classics released. And when Sony, Universal, Fox and WB control so many of these black-&-white classics, it's hard for me not to be a little concerned.


Gary "I still say we've reached the peak and that we are beginning to see a downward turn when it comes to vintage releases" O.

P.S. I hope I'm wrong. I really do. Nothing would make me happier than to believe that tomorrow we'll be getting release announcements for all the WB series we've talked about here. I just don't believe that's going to happen.

 

[changa]

Doesn't Warner Brothers hold a Q and A Meeting with the general public regarding their shows on a regular basis?
They need to make an official statement about their classic b/w shows from 55-64,otherwise they should all hand in their resignations.
This has become ridiculous,leaving us all in limbo via "The Twillight Zone".

 

[Hank Dearborn]

Using music as an analogy, there are still CDs coming out of previously unavailable LPs. And we are about 25 years into the CD format. The major labels, coincidentally Universal and Warner, the same ones that are troublesome in DVDs, had very high minimums but quietly let that fall by the wayside over time and began to license material out for reasonable guarantees. So we are still seeing some great stuff come out that's over 40 years old. I'm not ready to give up on the same thing happening on DVD. Right now we are in a lull but these things go in cycles and we are in a down period with one company doing a great job and the others sitting on their asses. Regarding the Warner shows, I think we may see some movement on their classic era shows soon. They've already remastered all of the shows so the transfer costs aren't an issue. So it's just a matter of them licensing to another company and indications are that may be a possibility. Less promising are the shows from Fox. They haven't remastered their older series and they don't show any inclination to ever license. There are even whispers that something could happen with the Ziv shows. So, there is still some hope.

 

[Bob Hug]

^^^^

Gary, I won't quote your comments from your most recent post, but all I can say is that you've articulated your thoughts well! I'm mostly in agreement with your points, but if some of the possibilities that Hank mentions in his most recent post come to fruition, then we very well may continue to see a good deal of vintage releases in the coming months and years.

 

[Gary OS]

I hope these things we are hearing about do come to fruition. I'll be as happy as anyone if they do. And I hope that my post didn't offend any of my good friends here at HTF. I'm just saying what's on my heart at the moment in regards to the major companies, like WB, and the properties they own. I just want to see these great shows make it out on DVD.

Gary "I'm not getting any younger either, so the quicker the better for me" O.

 

[FrancisP]

I was not necessarily commenting on whether 3rd party companies should license. My point is that studios do have the infrastructure in place for the approvals. They don't have to spend extra money on it. I suspect the reason it takes so long for approvals is studio business comes first and everything else gets sent to the bottom of the list of things to do.

Warner has not been very active in any type of classic tv. I certainly don't give any credit to Warner for Man From UNCLE. The reason that it was released was because people associated with Norman Felton wanted it released. The abortive attempt to release the show with Anchor Bay was the
catalyst not Warner.

I do fear for the future of classic tv on dvd. There were a number of people associated with the studios that wanted to serve the classic tv market. It seems these people are moving on and are being replaced with these idiots with MBAs. If you can't generate huge numbers, they don't even want to talk to you. If you want to license they ask for unrealistic figures. Goes to show that too much education is a dangerous thing.

 

[MatthewA]

Hey studios, I will offer my consulting services on TV DVD releases PRO BONO! Heck, I'll pay you to hire me!

 

[Mike*SC]

But therein is the very crux of the issue. Yes, the infrastructure is potentially there, but being put to other uses. To divert those resources elsewhere would require overtime, or additional hires, and thus extra money spent on it. Any company, even a gigantic one, has finite resources. To thrive, especially in this economy, one must necessarily concentrate on the more profitable areas of their business, at the expense of the more niche market stuff. To be honest, I don't know how we can expect anything else of them.

Let me put it this way: If McDonald's came out with a McFalafel sandwich, and that sandwich failed to be profitable despite a small, devoted following, would they be "abandoning their obligations" for taking it off their menu to concentrate on Big Macs? Because that's the exact phrase DVD fans use when a studio doesn't release more volumes or a poor selling series (or any of an obscure one). I think that's ridiculous. These companies are not in the business of spending millions of dollars on projects they believe will be money-losers. And though they're wrong from time to time, they do know (in general) more than the idealistic fans who insist "This would be a big seller if marketed properly!"

I wish this were not the case. I wish my favorite shows and yours were popular enough to warrant release. (I especially wish mine were, more so than yours.) I regret that "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Bob Newhart Show" did not sell through the roof, because they deserve to, and the world would be a better place if more people shared my own personal tastes. (Well, it would!!!) But when people here (and elsewhere) get indignant, or don't understand how their own simple math doesn't apply… well, I can't get behind that.

 

[MatthewA]

McFalafel could go through the roof in the Middle East, and probably in Detroit and other areas with large Arab populations.

They don't seem to be hurting with the McRib.

 

[Greg Chenoweth]

Warner Home Video did release the black and white episodes from "The Adventures of Superman." They are releasing black & white shorts from "Popeye" and "Looney Tunes." Two or three years ago was Warner Brothers Television's 50th anniversary and there was a push to bring out classic "best of" collections then in honor of the 50th. I think the "best of" collections was also a way to gauge audience interest in vintage TV and if they sat on the shelves, then they will not see the light of day.

Maybe with CBS/Paramount releasing "Perry Mason" on DVD, it will re-spark some interest in black & white TV shows on DVD. Maybe.

 

[David Levine]

Very well said. This is 100% correct.

 

[TomHU]

But in cases like the "Best of Maverick Sampler" or whatever it was called, ALL THREE EPISODES on that disc had been released in the COlumbia House Maverick collection or as VHS individual episodes. I know as I have them. Why would I turn around and buy a DVD of material that I already have on tape????????

I did make an immediate purchase of THE NEW MAVERICK on DVD when it came out a while back. Anyone have sales info on that tv film? I was hoping it would be enough to spark interest in releasing the series by seasons.

 

[DVD S.]

I want Hawaiian Eye very badly,
I wish that someone would license this
(and 77 Sunset Strip)...if WB can't, or
won't do it.
I think that someone should definitely bring this up
to WB when the live chat occurs next month,
...that would be great!
I believe that American Life(or Good Life
Network, as it was called at the time),
only showed about 60 episodes of H.E.
and there are 134 episodes of this show.
from what I have heard, American Life
shows only about 2 seasons of most
shows(regardless of how many seasons
there are) and just repeats over and over
again.In the case of a 2 season show,
they probably would show half or 3/4 of
that particular show.
:star:

 

[DeWilson]

McRib is more of a regional menu item. Some locations don't offer it.

 

[DeWilson]

You know, I wonder if their are music issues with Detective Shows? Particularly the Hawaiian Eye episodes since Connie Stevens sings in every episode! The other shows are music heavy as well.

As for when GoodLife was only running about 1/2 the series on some of the WB shows, Warners was charging them high fees to strike up new video masters! Go figure.

 

[GlennH]

Years ago, when Mickey D's first came out with McRib my friends and I used to call it "McCartilage" because it sure wasn't very good meat. Maybe things have changed. I haven't had it in decades.