Buttmunker

I would love to see this on DVD in a SE edition with newsreels of the real Steven Stayner and his family after his return home. Any news on this?

BigPete

That movie put the fear in me as a kid. Not for me, but for my little brother.

Adam Tyner

Being a Lorimar production, I would imagine that Warner Bros. would have the home video rights.

renaldow

This was a TV mini series or movie wasn't it? Doubtful it will be released anytime soon. I don't believe it was very popular to begin with, and the general rule is that made for TV movies generally don't get released very often unless they were something huge (at least for the network that created it.)

If it's ever released, consider it a miracle. This is a 14yo made for TV movie after all.

Buttmunker

The mini-series was highly rated and received in its time (1989, and is repeated two to three times a year.

Alan Smithee

This was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen (and that's a lot coming from me)- I haven't been able to get this out of my head since it was first shown, but I'd buy it if it were available.
Arliss Howard plays the kidnapper; strangely he isn't credited for it anywhere. He was genuinely creepy.

randyba

Maybe they can do a movie about his brother Cary, and put it out as a double feature.

redhenry

Maybe he didn't need the publicity. I recall an interview just after where he said many people were upset (as you would expect) but forgot he was just an *Actor* and actually made threats agianst him!!!

renaldow

Yes, but you have to look at what network it is repeated on. If it originally aired on ABC and is repeated on ABC a couple of times a year every year since then, wow that's a popular show that everyone must enjoy. However, it's repeating on cable networks like Lifetime and USA that get most of their programming used from the major networks. This actually hurts the chances of it getting a release. The networks that are syndicating it do not want to show something that is going to be out for home release, it will ruin the uniqueness of their programming.

I don't mean to crush any hopes you have of this being released, but reality says a 14yo made for TV drama stands a snowball's chance in hell unless it was very special or very popular. You can argue all you want about how special and popular it was to you, but that won't change the network's numbers. Another way to look at is there are 30 years of made for TV movies before it, and 14 after it, why would they start with that one?

Buttmunker

The crimes of Cary Stayner are a travesty when faced against the sadness and loss he himself went through as a boy when his little brother Steven was taken from the family. I think that part of Cary's problem was that he was seeking the type of fame and attention that Steven received upon his return home - with a movie and a book. But, the crimes he committed will not get him that kind of attention - he got notoriety, but nothing that will put him in the ranks of Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dalhmer. If he really wanted some attention, and he felt he had to kill someone, he should have hunted down and killed Kenneth Parnell, an act of revenge for what he did to his brother and to other children. He would have been thrown in jail anyway, but he wouldn't be a despised character. His homicide would have been justified because, in essence, Parnell "killed" Steven Stayner - his spirit, his character, his innocence. When Steven returned at age 14, he was not the same, and he would never be.

At the very least, Cary Stayner should have cut off Ken Parnell's testicles!