Question on older tv series
 

Hi, and thanks for your site. I am trying to find some information. I read reviews of old tv series, i.e. little house, starsky and hutch and so on, all over and the season releases are edited, or poor quality or just unacceptable.
My questions.
1. Do you know if someday they might release any of the old series unedited?

2. This is my main one. i record an episode every once in a while from tvland or hallmark. Are these the unedited versions, do you know? And is there any place you can point me to that tells what the runtime of episodes or average runtime of episodes in series are WITHOUT commercials? I found one place with a couple, but not sure what is wrong, but says i.e. bonanza episodes average time per episode was about 45 min. On tvland I recorded one and edited the commercials and 3 episodes ran 43 min per...any idea why the difference? And is there a place I can find the runtimes for the a lof of the series episodes without commercials so that if I find a set that is worth buying I know if it is the unedited or not? thanks and hope this made sense....tim

Most tv series from the 50s, 60s, and 70s will run 51min(for hour program) and 25min.(for half hour program) unedited. Somewhere along the line, not sure when, the time was cut to 43-45 for new hour long programs. Late 80s or early 90s. Sometimes an old 60min. show may come in few minutes shorter because the trailer for next week's show is missing. 49-51 is the average and is a good bet they are complete. Studios edited shows before syndicating them, usually to 47min. I've collected shows on vhs taken from 16mm syndication prints distributed by the studios and most came in at 47min.
For dvd, you could divide total run time by number of episodes to see what you get or rely on reviews.
Just about everything airing in syndication is cut. The Bonanzas on TV Land are edited. Hallmark stuff is edited.
I've been recording WKRP in Cincinnatti off WGN and strangely they are unedited, 24.5 each.
I remember when TNT would show Outer Limits unedited in a 65min. timeslot so they could still cram in the required commercials.

Thanks RW...I hate that the channels edite them because a lot of the season sets that are out now are done more poorly than you view on tv, and even the season sets are edited somewhat....t

I would have to disagree with that. It's true not all TOD sets are perfect and WKRP is a good example of a show released on DVD with the syndicated episodes and music replaced. Some sets have one or two episodes syndicated and the odd music replaced, but for the most part you get the original broadcast episodes.

Syndicated episodes on the TV are not at the same level as a TOD release of the show. The print (watch the repeat episodes of The Simpsons on FOX and the video looks awful), the audio and the overall quality is not up to par with DVD. You get clearer picture (especially if you have upconverting capabilities) and most episodes are unedited.

tv on dvd is excellant

I don't like cut episodes but usually the quailty is going to better on dvd sets. Another excellant resoure for TV on DVD is tvshowsondvd.com. Most shows will be cut when shown on tv anyway. There are many excellant releases of older shows. Not sure what shows you are looking for.

Personally, I will not buy a TV release on DVD unless it is the original, non-syndicated version with the original soundtrack. The only exception I have made is Quantum Leap.

As Eve Brown mentioned, tvshowsondvd.com is an excellent site for this kind of information. For example, on ALF season 1, I see there is a note that the release is the syndicated versions. I also noticed the cuts from Will & Grace season 3 are on tvshowsondvd.com too. You can also do a search here for individual TV shows. There is usually a thread for most releases and if there is any funny business with the release it will usually be brought up.

I can't think of one example where the syndicated version that is shown on TV is better than the DVD release. As nateman said, the prints shown on TV are usually garbage and the syndicated cuts. I don't even watch re-runs on TV, ever.

The syndicated versions can really ruin a show. It can be only a couple minutes overall but they'll quick edit many of the scenes. Especially in comedy it can ruin the flow.