Hanover

I read David Cornelius's DVD review of WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete First Season at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=27585 and...

What a bunch of hyporcrites. You guys tell people to stay away from the Mary Hartman set because of two botched episodes, yet, you highly recommend a show that's been cut up and edited all the way through?

Sorry, I will not be buying a show on DVD where the heart of it...the music...has been ripped out. WKRP is not WKRP without the original music.

ASAPadam

I've decided I'm gonna buy this set, despite the botch job. If I enjoy it, I'll keep it. If it drives me up the wall, I'll sell it. That simple. And this review leads me to believe it's still enjoyable.

Adam Tyner

It's hardly hypocritical for Paul Mavis to post his thoughts in his review and David Cornelius to post his thoughts in his review. They're two different people with two different points of view. DVD Talk writers may post their reviews to the same site, but they don't operate under a single collective hive-mind.

Shannon Nutt

Adam is right, although I still disagree with the assessment of the WKRP set. The music WAS part of the storylines, that's why ripping it out rips out part of what made WKRP great. I admire David's passion for the show, but I think when any reviewer gives a great review to such a butchered set of episodes, it's giving a studio like Fox a "pass" - saying it's not that big of a deal.

David Cornelius

Adam is wrong: we really are one giant brain. It's kind of a "body snatcher" thing. The real Adam Tyner was eaten by aliens years ago.

Paul Mavis

My host body DAVID CORNELIUS has instructed me/us to endorse his/our opinion that WKRP is a good buy.







I await further instructions to my/our free will, DAVID.



Paul Mavis parasite

kenbuzz

I've got a VCD set of the entire series which was captured OTA. I believe the captures were from when WKRP reentered syndication in the 90s but I don't know for certain. Obviously, I'll have to go take a look/listen to see whether it's got the original music or not.

Either way, I'll buy this. WKRP is about a rock station, so the music is a key part, but the shows were extremely character-driven. I'll bet that even with different tunes, the episodes will still be pretty tight.

Rogue588

zoom-zoom

I have to agree to some extent with Hanover - I thought that DVD Talk would simply not accept the butchering that WKRP has undergone, and given that the episodes are the truncated syndicated versions in addition to whole scenes either omitted or warped by use of alternate tracks, a five star rating is unjustified. So often in the past DVD Talk has criticised dvds that have had even minor changes from the original programming, yet MAJOR alterations have taken place here. There is something wrong here. Did Fox ask you to help?

Paul Mavis

It's a case by case basis, as it should be for any good, thoughtful criticism. I praised Mary Hartman Mary Hartman the show, but said don't buy it because there were problems with editing for important episodes. But MXC got a pass from me, even though they edited an episode, because the show's all about editing, and it ain't Fellini (it's better, actually). Right now, I'm struggling with whether or not I'm going to recommend Ozzie and Harriet because they're the syndicated versions -- are they edited because the originals no longer exist, or is it just laziness? To make a blanket edict that DVD Talk will never approve of anything edited, is frankly, Stalinistic to say the least.

And to suggest that David, one of the best reviewers on a site full of terrific reviewers, is somehow altering his own beliefs to suit a studio, is truly beyond the pale.

Paul Mavis

darkside

I don't fault the reviewers on this one. I've watched the edited versions a few times, but I remember what the shows were originally like and found them unwatchable. There is some great writing there and I can see people enjoying this set even though there is no way I could watch it. Too bad VCRs weren't more in use when these were aired unedited. I hate that so many shows are butchered especially over music rights.

David Cornelius

Ya know, I went in fully expecting to hate it. A lifelong WKRP fan, every news about the changes felt like one more kick to the gut. A lot of people were certain to boycott the thing, and I was bound to be one of them.

But then I sat down to watch, and I was again won over by the shows themselves. I wiggled plenty on the final recommendation, but I figured if I was spending that much time watching scenes over and over again, laughing each time, then the set deserved a thumbs up despite itself. Sure, there are moments where you can feel the music changes oozing over the thing, but there are many more where you're not thinking about the music at all.

Not this time, but they did want me to remind you that you'll never even notice those black bars on the non-anamorphic Star Wars.