Classic Films

Nothing Much New but in case you didn't know:


Must-see TV. Not on DVD



By GERRY PUTZER
DAILY NEWS WRITER


'Seinfeld' has been kept off DVD due to now-settled contract problems; it will (finally) appear this fall.


Okay, you sped through the four seasons of "The Sopranos" on DVD and you're dying for the fifth boxed set to come out.
You were glued to the first two thrilling runs of "24" over a sleep-deprived span of about 72 hours.

And you've just bought the ninth and final year of "The X-Files," making your alien adventure complete.

Now you're ready to watch some of your old favorite TV series on DVD. "Columbo," for one, comes to mind.

But, as the rumpled police lieutenant would say: Uh, there's just one thing.

The classic mystery series isn't available on DVD.

Neither are "The Rockford Files," "The Adventures of Superman," "Perry Mason," "Gunsmoke" or "Kojak."

Or classic sitcoms like "The Bob Newhart Show," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Get Smart" or "The Odd Couple.

Even more recent big hit shows like "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" are nowhere to be found on the DVD racks.

In an era when virtually every new movie and many new TV shows appear on DVD within a few months of their release or airing, most of our favorite old TV series live on only in memory - or, at best, in commercial-filled reruns.

So what's the problem? Well, a lot of it involves money.

Take "Seinfeld." The NBC sitcom ended its spectacular run in 1998, but only in March did DVD production begin when Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Michael Richards finally reached payment terms for interviews and other DVD extras. The first season will be released in November by Columbia TriStar.

The wait is also about to end for fans of another legendary series. The first season of the original "Star Trek" will be released this year by Paramount. It has been available on two-episode_ disks (at significant cost for collectors), but this will mark the first full-season set.

Other series seem to finally be on the way, too.

In January, MGM Home Enter_tainment issued the first season of "Green Acres" and a compilation of "Mister Ed"; the studio has many more series in its arsenal, including "The Patty Duke Show" and the Lloyd Bridges adventure "Seahunt."

Warner Home Video plans to release about 30 series on DVD over the next few years. Its library includes such wide-ranging fare as "China Beach," "F Troop," "The FBI," "Hawaiian Eye" and "Murphy Brown."

At Universal, new DVDs include the first seasons of "Quantum Leap" and "Northern Exposure."

Classics still in the Universal vaults include "The Rockford Files," "Columbo," "McCloud_," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Night Gallery," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Kojak" - all of which will reach DVD this year and next.

And coming soon, in response to what Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of marketing at Universal Studios Home Video, calls "overwhelming consumer demand": "The Munsters."

Columbia TriStar is making plans for "Diff'rent Strokes" and "227," and there's talk about "The Partridge Family" and "NewsRadio."

In the days when there were fewer channels, "people_ developed long-term relationships with a TV show," according to Marc Rashba, vice president of catalogue marketing for Sony's Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. "They want to own a piece of that past."

But it hasn't been easy.

The licensing rights to a series often shift from company to company. The classic 1960s comedy "The Andy Griffith Show," for instance, was produced by CBS and distributed by CBS and Paramount Television. But DVDs containing random episodes have been released by six independent labels. Paramount will finally release season sets beginning this year.

One of the most frustrating delays for fans has been the second and final season of David Lynch's"Twin Peaks." The first, abbreviated season was released by Artisan (now Lions Gate) in 2001.

But, because of a licensing impasse, the set did not include the two-hour pilot episode, which set up the central mystery: Who killed Laura Palmer?

Due to the same squabble, the longer second season - in which the killer was revealed and came undone in a memorably heartbreaking scene - remains unavailable on this continent.

Graffeo says acquiring rights, especially music clearances, is the biggest stumbling block.

"In the earlier days of TV, there was never a thought of video," he says.

Some famous series have been fitfully released on disk.

A handful of episodes of "Alfred_ Hitchcock Presents" are available, but only as part of Universal's boxed sets of the director's feature films.

While Image Entertainment will issue the fifth and final season of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" this month, only the first season of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" has come out (from Fox), and that was 18 months ago. Anchor Bay released the "Moonlighting" pilot in 2000, then nothing.

Universal put out the first season of "Baretta" in 2002 (around the time Robert Blake was charged with the killing of his wife) but nothing since.

The good news is that the money to be made from TV season sets is too good for popular old series to remain unavailable much longer.

In fact, season TV sets are one of the fastest-growing segments of the DVD business, amounting to $1.42 billion in sales in 2003, up from $870 million in 2002, according to trade publication Video Store Magazine.

COMING SOON ON DVD


"The A-Team" "Boy Meets World" "Combat" "Dallas" "Happy Days" "Land of the Lost" "Laverne & Shirley" "Mork & Mindy" "Nip/Tuck" "Punky Brewster" "SCTV Network 90" "Seinfeld" "Taxi" "Touched by an Angel" "Wonder Woman"


I WANT MY OLD TV:
Shows you still can't get on DVD


"The Addams Family" "Adventures of Superman" "Bewitched" "The Bob Newhart Show" "Columbo" "The Cosby Show" "Dynasty" "Eight Is Enough" "Family Ties" "Father Knows Best" "Get Smart" "Gunsmoke" "Ironside""Kojak" "L.A. Law" "Lassie" "Maude" "Mission: Impossible" "Murder, She Wrote" "The Odd Couple" "Perry Mason" "Peyton Place" "The Phil Silvers Show" "The Rockford Files" "St. Elsewhere."

marty888

Another reason some may not yet have appeared on DVD .... there may be some hesitation concerning just how much of an audience there really is for some of those titles.

Two very popular shows seemed to have flopped on DVD, and from what I've read The Mary Tyler Moore Show was dropped after a single season was released, and NYPD Blue is apparently fizzling out after only two seasons being released.

TBFL

I would love an Alfred Hitchcock Presents set if they go to the trouble of superior transfers and not just old syndication tapes.

kevin75

this is yet another reason to invest in an all region player. while many of the popular shows are on DVD, there is always the possibility that the show that's unavailabe here is available somewhere else.

cupon

I'm not surprised that NYPD Blue tanked. For people who enjoy this series, the enjoyment is based on episodes they're experiencing in this year. They're trying to sell something 10 years old, when the average viewer's point of reference has been depleted.

I wish some of these studios would release the most recent seasons rather than going in chronological order. For instance, season 11 of NYPD Blue just went off the air a few weeks ago. I would glady pay for that recent season. I have no interest in watching the episodes this series ran one decade ago. This only applies to long-running series such as L&O.

bboisvert

I personally think your in the minority, but Universal and Paramount apparently think your aren't -- they are releasing the most recent seasons of L&O and Fraiser next.


Personally, I don't understand the attraction. Why would you be interesting in a season that JUST AIRED more so than a season that you maybe (a) haven't seen yet or (b) haven't seen in a decade. For me, the earlier shows have more immediate appeal than something that I just watched last month. Plus, there's also the logical appeal of watching the show *in order* as it comes out.

LasVegasMichael

With L&O, NYPDB, ER, and others, I really don't care what order they come in, so long as they all eventually come out.

Personally, I prefer that they come out in order, but I will buy them either way.

TV on DVD is the best thing that ever happened to the medium, IMO.

rasalas

No matter what gets released on DVD, there will always be some shows that a writer could complain are not on DVD. That list of "I want my old TV" shows simply reads like a list of *his* favorites (The Phil Silvers Show?), rather than a list using any criteria or reason why *those* shows are the ones people are waiting for. Ask any person here to compile such a list, and they would each be different.

There are more TV shows coming out now than ever. It's just a matter of time before many are released--including several titles on his poorly researched list that are already in the works.

starving dvder

The only series I really want to get right now is Millenium!! Now it's a reality in July with season one on it's way!!

cupon

It's an interesting approach. At least they're taking a chance and thinking outside the box.

JBull

According to thedigitalbits.com, Columbo Season 1 is coming 9/7/04.

pagansoul

I want them to finish seasons that are already started. Twin Peaks and Roswell.

icruise

Yes. I would buy the Mary Tyler Moore show if I knew that they were releasing all of the seasons, but I don't want to be stuck with just one season. I imagine a lot of other people feel the same way.

darqleo

Let's get the ball rolling on this already, 'k? I don't need no fancy transfer either.

animalmystic

No mention of Miami Vice?? WTF?? THis list isn't complete without the release of Miami Vice, everything else needs to be put on hold until this comes out