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The future of Warner Archives vintage TV releases (1 Viewer)

Neil Brock

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I’m wondering since the DVD market has shrunken considerably, and Warner is now going back to their original premise of not remastering but using whatever elements are on hand, what will happen going forward. I really can’t see any future possibilities for shows which do not have existing tape transfers. At least all of the MGM shows acquired through Turner have one-inch transfers, even if they’re 30+ years old, they don’t look bad. However, the WB shows, like Room For One More, Adam’s Rib, The Little People, Mr. Roberts, etc., I doubt were ever put to tape and I just can’t see them spending the money at this point for shows of that stature.

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Jack P

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So I guess we'll never get that second season of "Eleventh Hour"? (more interested in it to complete that crossover Kildare episode story)
 

tlc38tlc38

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I’ll be happy if they just complete “Step by Step” and “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”.
 

dawnshadow

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George Feltenstein, Senior VP of Classic Catalog Marketing at Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, announced the first season of Mr. Novak will be released in early 2018 in a DVD set by Warner Home Video. Prints will be struck from the original 35mm camera negatives.
So they even went back on an official announcement? That is disappointing indeed.
 
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smithbrad

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So they even went back on an official announcement? That is disappointing indeed.

"Novak" still looks very very good, just not to the CBS remastering standard of "Gunsmoke" excellent, which few (if any) of WB's remastered releases ever truly attained either. What this means is that you just can't make assumptions that the quality of all future WB releases will be as consistent as before. While they won't be remastered from original film elements, they should still be based on decent pre-existing video masters, at least most of time. Which means potentially waiting for reviews before committing, like most do when it comes to non-studios related releases (e.g. Shout!).
 

Neil Brock

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"Novak" still looks very very good, just not to the CBS remastering standard of "Gunsmoke" excellent, which few (if any) of WB's remastered releases ever truly attained either. What this means is that you just can't make assumptions that the quality of all future WB releases will be as consistent as before. While they won't be remastered from original film elements, they should still be based on decent pre-existing video masters, at least most of time. Which means potentially waiting for reviews before committing, like most do when it comes to non-studios related releases (e.g. Shout!).

I don't have a problem with the old one-inch transfers. I think they look perfectly fine. My point was, if they wouldn't spend the money on Mr. Novak then would they be willing to spend it on transfers on other, even more obscure shows.
 

Jack P

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Movie releases on DVD I doubt are being done with new transfers because it's only if a movie is being redone for Blu-Ray that a new mastering would be done and I've heard no complaints about Warner Archive Blu-Ray movies. If it's a movie on DVD it's more apt to be a reissue of putting an old transfer back in print.
 

Flashgear

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As far as Mr. Novak S1 is concerned, it was a disappointment that it didn't happen with transfers from the original 35mm OCNs as originally promised, but I hardly begrudge the resulting DVD release from the old TNT transfers, for they look fine to me...of course, I would have loved to see them in the standard set for the Dr. Kildare releases...one thing about the Mr. Novak film sources that the old tape transfers inherited was significant, although not extensive, film frame damage to two episodes, one that was just a momentary scratchy sequence (less than 10 seconds max) in one of my absolute favorite episodes, Fear is a Handfull of Dust and another more noticeable and longer lasting longitudinal scratch (35 secs.?) sequence during the final S1 episode Senior Prom...neither incident is anywhere sufficient to bug the hell out of me. I'll post screen caps from Senior Prom soon, including of the film damage, over in the Novak thread I started in the near future... and I just want season two of Mr. Novak released in just this fashion, as S2 has at least the same proportion of truly great episodes! I was much less enthralled with Eleventh Hour, being a little more of a hard slog for me to get through the more hysterically emotive psychodramas presented therein, but there were some supremely brilliant episodes there as well, enough of them that I want the second season too.
 

Lecagr

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The DVD market has already had it's heyday, so at this point I'm just glad whenever a rare, short lived show from the 1960's comes out on DVD. I'm not interested in all of them, but if one that I like gets released I will buy it.

This isn't from Warner Archive, but still waiting on VCI for that 2nd season of Burke's Law to be released, that one really needs to be released.

Heard awhile back that Please Don't Eat The Daisies would be coming to DVD, but nothing has happened which makes me wonder if there might be some elements issues with the episodes.

How about The Cara Williams Show? Any chance of this one coming out on DVD? I imagine probably not but it's another 1960's sitcom I'd like to add to my DVD library.
 
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Jack P

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This isn't from Warner Archive, but still waiting on VCI for that 2nd season of Burke's Law to be released, that one really needs to be released.

They long ago gave up the rights to do anymore releases. A certain other label that came into the Four Star Catalog could have done it a few years ago when they had the chance, but alas their philosophy was westerns only.
 

MartinP.

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^^^
I've noted before, years ago VCI wanted to continue to release more Burke's Law, and why wouldn't they--it was a huge seller for them--but that Fox (who is said to have/had the rights to it) wouldn't do it. Someone commented that they (Fox) did that quite a number of times...okayed a release of something for one season, but then stopped. It's been so long (a decade or more) that I don't recall the finer details/points of the matter.
 

Mark Y

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If they are not concerned with remastering, then maybe there is hope for the Banana Splits Adventure Hour. At this point I'd be happy to have straight transfers of the one-inch tapes, as long as they are the complete shows.
 

ClassicTVMan1981X

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If they are not concerned with remastering, then maybe there is hope for the Banana Splits Adventure Hour. At this point I'd be happy to have straight transfers of the one-inch tapes, as long as they are the complete shows.
And also...
The Flintstone Comedy Hour/Show (1972-73)
The Mumbly Cartoon Show (1976)
CB Bears (1977)
Skatebirds (1977)
Yogi's Space Race (1978)
Jana of the Jungle (1978)
The New Fred and Barney Show (1979)
Casper and the Angels (1979)
The Thing (1979)
The New Shmoo (1979)
The Flintstone Comedy Show '80 (1980-81)

~Ben
 

Lecagr

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That's really a shame if Fox has blocked a DVD release of Burke's Law season 2. Still having some hope it will be released, if not from VCI then from another studio, but it seems like the chances are slim.
 

Darby67

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That's really a shame if Fox has blocked a DVD release of Burke's Law season 2. Still having some hope it will be released, if not from VCI then from another studio, but it seems like the chances are slim.

I've been holding off purchasing season 1 precisely because season 2 never materialized. Perhaps Shout, ClassicFlix, or other distributor could pick it up.
 

Lecagr

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I've been holding off purchasing season 1 precisely because season 2 never materialized. Perhaps Shout, ClassicFlix, or other distributor could pick it up.

I had been holding off also purchasing season 1, but recently decided to order it and I've been enjoying the episodes so of course now I'm eager for season 2. Maybe it eventually will be released.

Another cool thing the season 1 DVD from VCI has is old commercials, they're included as bonuses on the discs.
 

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