What's new

Why don't some TV shows get released completely re-mastered? (1 Viewer)

Mark To

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
570
How about going to people who know the shows? A great many series have had books written about them. What about contacting the authors? Or how about the fan sites for shows? Logic would dictate that that would be a great place to gather information about a particular show. Ask the people who know and who are going to most likely buy your product. But I'm glad the didn't on a show like Happy Days for example. I like the first 2 seasons best but the show didn't take off in popularity until season 3.
 

Carlos Garcia

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
1,065

Good point. Also, people tastes may change with time. For example, I grew up with Happy Days, and as a kid, I loved the show more and more as the seasons went on. Today I wouldn't be caught dead buying any of the episodes past season 2. So I suppose demographics are important, so companies can find out what people like, and what they don't. Maybe if they would've taken some surveys before the Mary Tyler Moore Show season 1 was released, they could've found out that there wasn't as much interest in season 1 as Fox thought. If asked what episodes from that show people wanted to see most. the answer may have been Chuckles' funeral, which didn't happen until the last season.
 

KerryK

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 3, 2003
Messages
214
Well then maybe they should just release best of collections and be done with it. Oh wait, then everyone would complain because it's not season sets. I guess studios just shouldn't release any TV shows because it's clearly too painful for consumers to deal with the resulting agony.
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
6,008

Perhaps DARK SHADOWS is the best example to use. And just imagine if this series had been owned by a major studio! Forget about seeing the entire run, if any at all...
 

MarkHastings

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
12,013
Everyone would only be happy if every season sold really well. If not, then what happens with the studios finances? So much for further releases from them.

It's not that I want to fully support the studios, but I think it's a bit selfish to ask a business to risk financial disater just to satisfy my needs.
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
6,008

It's also a bit selfish for a business to be greedy enough to want only quarters as profits for older shows instead of being content making dimes on them. These older shows shouldn't be expected to sell as many copies as your SIMPSONS (sorry if I'm mistaken, but I'm assuming you're a fan of the SIMPSONS because of your signature). For every meager profit made off a THAT GIRL or a PETTICOAT JUNCTION, there are millions to be made off ANNA NICOLE and SURVIVOR. So it seems to be worth doing if profits are to be maintained; now, losses are another story.

And something everyone is ignoring is my question ... "if these shows do not prove a sound investment for the Big Businesses, how about letting the little guys have them"? The only other alternative is to allow history to rot in their vaults because FATHER KNOWS BEST will not make the millions that THE OSBOURNES make in 2004.
 

MarkHastings

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2003
Messages
12,013
Do you know that they are rotting in a vault? Who knows why they won't allow another company to produce them. Maybe no one wants to? Aren't there licensing or distribution costs involved?

It might be as simple as, it's not worth it for a big studio to do it, and too much for the little guy to do it.
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
6,008

Well, the little guys are doing fine with DARK SHADOWS, THE AVENGERS, DICK VAN DYKE, and others which people have mentioned in this thread. I think they'd take the chance where a big company would not.

So, the majors can either release the shows/movies themselves and settle for a smaller profit on them, or license them to small companies, or ignore the shows all together. Too bad it seems they're content to do the last option, though.

I don't think you and I are ever going to agree on this, Mark. :)
 

Mark To

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
570


I think this will happen in due time. This whole TV DVD thing is so new and it always takes the entertainment establishment years to catch up with the times. Remember how when VCRs came out Universal sued Sony and tried to put home video out of business? Now studios make more off of their movies in the home market than they do in theatres. The time will come when the big guys will wake up and realize that they have tons of product collecting dust that they can license out for modest fees and let others do all of the restoration work. It will just depend on whether or not they want to be greedy and ask for outrageous prices or if they will say the stuff is doing nothing for us so lets get what we can out of it.
 

KerryK

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 3, 2003
Messages
214

I can tell you from experience that one reason is it's not worth it, because margins are small enough that once you pay the studio their license you're not making enough money to justify the cost in time and everything else. The fewer units you expect to sell, the less you can amortize fixed costs and take advantage of economies of scale. But it has happened, I've seen it.
 

Carlos Garcia

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
1,065


I'm sorry to disagree here, but the fact remains that the fan base for older shows are the older folks who grew up watching them. The longer they wait to release these shows, the less people will be around to buy them, either because they are too old and no longer care, or they simply died. Years ago the younger generation may have also become fans of many of these shows when stations like Nick At Nite and TVLand aired them. However, most of these nostalgia channels have now switched over to newer programming, and this means that the present day generation (and probably future ones as well) may never be exposed to many of these shows. This leaves the older generation as the fan base, and the fact is we're not getting any younger. This is the time the older shows should be released, it makes sense financially, and businesswise. The longer they wait to release these shows, the lesser the chances that they'll ever be released at all.
 

Joe Karlosi

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2003
Messages
6,008

I completely agree, word for word. It's a damn shame, too.
I think the same holds true for some older movies as well, though perhaps not as much as the television shows. I've said this time and time again... the "core audience" are older people, and they're not going to be around forever. If companies stand a chance of making some money off them - ANY money - it is in the here and NOW.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,808
Messages
5,123,522
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top