KAPOW! CRASH! OOOOFF!
January 15, 2014 5:29 PM Subscribe
We are certainly in an age of DVD saturation for TV shows. The few titles that have taken their time have been usually due to copyright complications (such as "Daria" and "WKRP", both of which had to replace their soundtracks in order to get released). Now comes news that one of the last great home video holdouts is finally being set free: The 1960's "Batman" starring Adam West will be released on DVD later this year.
I believe this is one the sure signs of the Apocalypse as agreed upon by scholars the world over. And when I say Apocalypse, I mean the good part toward the end when the anti-Christ is vanquished and there dawns a thousand years of peace. Also, something to do with supper being ready.
posted by philip-random at 5:33 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 5:33 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
Picture me scampering around carrying a huge round old school bomb, fuse burning, cackling with glee.
posted by Sphinx at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by Sphinx at 5:47 PM on January 15, 2014 [8 favorites]
A few months ago I saw on the DVD discount rack of a department store a red box that said BATMAN: THE MOVIE. It was $5. The font and version of the Batman logo were very serious/comic movie cool. But something about the iconography of the title and logo didn't sit right, so I turned to the back of the box and, sure enough, they were trying to pass off the 60s Batman movie (which either has few or no rights issues) off as a "serious" Batman film. They probably would sell more copies of they dumped the subterfuge and just presented it as 60s Batman.
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
The nobility of the almost-human porpoise.
posted by JHarris at 5:50 PM on January 15, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 5:50 PM on January 15, 2014 [9 favorites]
My life was ruined when Mission Hill came out on DVD and none of the awesome songs were in it. It was hard to explain to my girlfriend how much of an influence the show had on my music tastes when none of the music was there, and my favorite joke was edited out because of copyright. It just isn't the same giving someone a wikipedia list of music that was in a show.
posted by gucci mane at 5:52 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by gucci mane at 5:52 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
And Adam West didn’t need molded plastic to improve his physique. Pure. West. And why doesn’t Batman dance anymore? Remember the Batusi?
posted by entropicamericana at 5:53 PM on January 15, 2014 [17 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 5:53 PM on January 15, 2014 [17 favorites]
Batman doesn't dance anymore because that wouldn't be gridmark.
posted by bleep at 6:06 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by bleep at 6:06 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
The show was wonderful on so many levels, but it deserves special Bat-kudos for the star-studded window cameos.
posted by Longtime Listener at 6:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [14 favorites]
posted by Longtime Listener at 6:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [14 favorites]
Batdancing would be totes gridmark!
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
christmas has come really early this year
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:16 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:16 PM on January 15, 2014
I did not know the Batman '66 comics existed!
posted by crossoverman at 6:20 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by crossoverman at 6:20 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
I did not know the Batman '66 comics existed!
They do and they are amazing. They capture the look and writing of the show perfectly. Even if you've never touched a comic in your life, if you liked the 60s Batman show, you'll love that series.
posted by Sangermaine at 6:23 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
They do and they are amazing. They capture the look and writing of the show perfectly. Even if you've never touched a comic in your life, if you liked the 60s Batman show, you'll love that series.
posted by Sangermaine at 6:23 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Pssht. Call me when the special edition blu ray is released.
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:24 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:24 PM on January 15, 2014
Don't tell me THAT, gucci mane! Mission Hill was amazing!
posted by Evilspork at 6:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Evilspork at 6:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
About those statements regarding Daria and WKRP - I watched the NBC show "Life" when it was originally on the air, and it mostly contained music by artists I wasn't familiar with. Then the show was on DVD, and they replaced the music with other artists I wasn't familiar with that they could apparently get cheaper, and it was amazing how much it changed the feel of the show. Which was a cop show. Can't imagine WKRP without the original '70s rock.
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
The show was wonderful on so many levels, but it deserves special Bat-kudos for the star-studded window cameos.
Heh! Don Ho got a bit political there, didn't he? And who the fuck is/was that Carpet King? Was he the Empire Carpet guy of his day?
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:34 PM on January 15, 2014
Heh! Don Ho got a bit political there, didn't he? And who the fuck is/was that Carpet King? Was he the Empire Carpet guy of his day?
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:34 PM on January 15, 2014
To properly appreciate this comment, it should be read at a Dutch angle.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:36 PM on January 15, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:36 PM on January 15, 2014 [6 favorites]
Cyril Lord -- the Carpet King.
Died in Barbados? I'm in the wrong business.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:36 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Died in Barbados? I'm in the wrong business.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:36 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
gucci mane: that is so Kafkaesque
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 6:40 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 6:40 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Man, I don't know what to make of that Col. Klink cameo. I mean, Batman clearly takes place in the present day (well, present for then, anyhow), but Klink looks the same as he did during the war. And I guess that's fine. Comic time is like that. But then Batman is able to identify Klink at first glance--but I guess that's fine, too. You can put that down to Batman being Batman.
But then Klink reveals (from the barest of promptings) that he's looking for an underground agent, and Batman makes a comment that suggests Klink isn't there entirely legally. But Batman doesn't try to arrest him or bring him in or anything, which suggests...what? Did Klink get into government work post-war? Is he on the good side now, like Wernher von Braun?
And then Klink says that Col. Hogan is still carrying out his escape attempts, and that makes the least sense of all. Escape? From where? From who? Where to? It's the 1960s.
Man, it's this kind of stuff that keeps me up at night.
posted by KChasm at 6:42 PM on January 15, 2014 [29 favorites]
But then Klink reveals (from the barest of promptings) that he's looking for an underground agent, and Batman makes a comment that suggests Klink isn't there entirely legally. But Batman doesn't try to arrest him or bring him in or anything, which suggests...what? Did Klink get into government work post-war? Is he on the good side now, like Wernher von Braun?
And then Klink says that Col. Hogan is still carrying out his escape attempts, and that makes the least sense of all. Escape? From where? From who? Where to? It's the 1960s.
Man, it's this kind of stuff that keeps me up at night.
posted by KChasm at 6:42 PM on January 15, 2014 [29 favorites]
That WKRP music rights issue means that it is dead to me.
This scene built around Pink Floyd has to be just cut out of any available format.
posted by dglynn at 6:45 PM on January 15, 2014 [6 favorites]
This scene built around Pink Floyd has to be just cut out of any available format.
posted by dglynn at 6:45 PM on January 15, 2014 [6 favorites]
perhaps I can interest you in this plate of beans
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:45 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:45 PM on January 15, 2014
Some days you just can't get rid of a plate of beans!
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:46 PM on January 15, 2014 [13 favorites]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:46 PM on January 15, 2014 [13 favorites]
Will nobody rid me of these meddlesome beans?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:48 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:48 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Pruitt-Igoe: that is so Kafkaesque
Hey man, don't mess with the grubermeister.
posted by gucci mane at 6:52 PM on January 15, 2014
Hey man, don't mess with the grubermeister.
posted by gucci mane at 6:52 PM on January 15, 2014
dglynn: "That WKRP music rights issue means that it is dead to me.."
The fact that I can't in any way purchase the Les Nessman "Hot Blooded" scene is why we need less lawyers.
posted by Sphinx at 6:53 PM on January 15, 2014 [7 favorites]
The fact that I can't in any way purchase the Les Nessman "Hot Blooded" scene is why we need less lawyers.
posted by Sphinx at 6:53 PM on January 15, 2014 [7 favorites]
Yeah -- why is Batman so chummy with a Nazi?
Not just a Nazi, but a Nazi from another network!
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:53 PM on January 15, 2014
Not just a Nazi, but a Nazi from another network!
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 6:53 PM on January 15, 2014
DVDs, schmevds. Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
posted by orange swan at 6:55 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 6:55 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Sphinx: Picture me scampering around carrying a huge round old school bomb, fuse burning, cackling with glee.
I don't know what you actually look like (I keep thinking of S.P.H.I.N.X., sorry. SPHINX!), so I'll go with this.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:56 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
I don't know what you actually look like (I keep thinking of S.P.H.I.N.X., sorry. SPHINX!), so I'll go with this.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:56 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
The holiday period is far behind us, but I would suggest skimming the linked audio in this previous post for an egg-cellent eggnong recipe with Egghead.
posted by Artw at 7:04 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by Artw at 7:04 PM on January 15, 2014
filthy light thief: "so I'll go with this"
It's this.
I'm shaped oddly similar, yet a skosh swarthier than M. West in the late '60s, and I took my name from an old omnipotent computer in a story that I can't seem to find.
To be honest, nobody sent up the '60s oddness that was Batman more than the Simpsons. Crusty's allies, Hoo, Hah, and Hee summed it up in one frame.
posted by Sphinx at 7:10 PM on January 15, 2014
It's this.
I'm shaped oddly similar, yet a skosh swarthier than M. West in the late '60s, and I took my name from an old omnipotent computer in a story that I can't seem to find.
To be honest, nobody sent up the '60s oddness that was Batman more than the Simpsons. Crusty's allies, Hoo, Hah, and Hee summed it up in one frame.
posted by Sphinx at 7:10 PM on January 15, 2014
First, I have to build a weird car...
posted by pompomtom at 7:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [14 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 7:13 PM on January 15, 2014 [14 favorites]
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
Still waiting for Now & Again.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:24 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
Still waiting for Now & Again.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:24 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
KChasm: Klink was far more aware of the goings on in the camp than he let on, but kept quiet because he could see how the war was progressing, and would much rather have an amiable relationship with some high-value American POWs than die in a frozen ditch somewhere between Berlin and Siberia. His detailed knowledge of clandestine operations meant that Klink was brought to the US under operation paperclip and worked with the newly formed CIA post war.
Tragically Hogan fell victim to the same agencies secret experiments with hallucinogens under project MKULTRA. When Batman encounters him, Klink is running the "Private Care Facility" where the CIA stores it's victims who have too identifiable a link to the agency or too high a public profile (Hogan's connections to OSS and his memoir, published post war) to be safely written off. They're both trapped by circumstances in a grim parody of their former lives.
posted by Grimgrin at 7:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [31 favorites]
Tragically Hogan fell victim to the same agencies secret experiments with hallucinogens under project MKULTRA. When Batman encounters him, Klink is running the "Private Care Facility" where the CIA stores it's victims who have too identifiable a link to the agency or too high a public profile (Hogan's connections to OSS and his memoir, published post war) to be safely written off. They're both trapped by circumstances in a grim parody of their former lives.
posted by Grimgrin at 7:29 PM on January 15, 2014 [31 favorites]
And THAT'S why we need a Hogans Heroes reboot!
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:30 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:30 PM on January 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
And THAT'S why we need a Hogans Heroes reboot!
With David Bowie as producer.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 7:37 PM on January 15, 2014
With David Bowie as producer.
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 7:37 PM on January 15, 2014
AlonzoMosleyFBI: "And THAT'S why we need a Hogans Heroes reboot!"
Is Col. Klink the commandant of Gitmo?
Colonel Hoghani!!!
posted by Sphinx at 7:40 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
Is Col. Klink the commandant of Gitmo?
Colonel Hoghani!!!
posted by Sphinx at 7:40 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
Maybe not the "best", per se, but as of this date the top ten shows in demand by users of TVShowsOnDVD.com are:
Maybe not the "best", per se, but as of this date the top ten shows in demand by users of TVShowsOnDVD.com are:
- The Wonder Years (1988)
- Batman (1966)
- Salute Your Shorts (1991)
- Ed (2000)
- Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (1998)
- Homefront (1991)
- You Can't Do That on Television (1979)
- John Doe (2002)
- Now and Again (1999)
- Sisters (1991)
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
Frank's Place. Music residuals issues.
posted by IndigoJones at 7:50 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
Frank's Place. Music residuals issues.
posted by IndigoJones at 7:50 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
The remaining seasons of The Muppet Show probably have the same issues. I recently rewatched it, obtaining seasons four and five via *ahem*, and every time they'd cover a Beatles song we'd sigh and say "and this is why we can't get a DVD". Though honestly, I'd rather it never be released than butchered the way WKRP was. I've also gotten a copy of Frank's Place through similar methods.
posted by tavella at 7:57 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by tavella at 7:57 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
Purrrr-fect.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:57 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by octobersurprise at 7:57 PM on January 15, 2014
I had forgotten about "Ed". Mrs. Mosley in particular would love to see that released.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:00 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:00 PM on January 15, 2014
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
USA's Night Flight. Which will never happen, of course, because for the best years of the show's run, the producers just didn't give a good goddamn about licensing. But I can dream.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:04 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
USA's Night Flight. Which will never happen, of course, because for the best years of the show's run, the producers just didn't give a good goddamn about licensing. But I can dream.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:04 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
I just--
FRANK GORSHIN. THE RIDDLER.
I mean you talk about your genuinely unsettling. It reminds me of nothing so much as Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka, where there's these moments of absolute raving darkness interspersed throughout the light-hearted kid stuff-- I love it so much that it has rendered me more incoherent than usual and I love it and wish to put it in my eyeballs immediately.
posted by dogheart at 8:05 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
FRANK GORSHIN. THE RIDDLER.
I mean you talk about your genuinely unsettling. It reminds me of nothing so much as Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka, where there's these moments of absolute raving darkness interspersed throughout the light-hearted kid stuff-- I love it so much that it has rendered me more incoherent than usual and I love it and wish to put it in my eyeballs immediately.
posted by dogheart at 8:05 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
The Wonder Years (1988)
This will never happen because of music licensing. Or, at least, it won't happen to my liking. There are scenes in that show that need their original music.
I found a torrent recently or a direct download from somewhere and got what effectively looked like uploaded episodes that had been recorded to VHS.
I mean, if I can't watch Kevin and Winnie break up to the strains of The Stylistic's You Are Everything, what is even the point?
posted by crossoverman at 8:23 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
This will never happen because of music licensing. Or, at least, it won't happen to my liking. There are scenes in that show that need their original music.
I found a torrent recently or a direct download from somewhere and got what effectively looked like uploaded episodes that had been recorded to VHS.
I mean, if I can't watch Kevin and Winnie break up to the strains of The Stylistic's You Are Everything, what is even the point?
posted by crossoverman at 8:23 PM on January 15, 2014 [5 favorites]
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
The Senate Watergate Hearings.
posted by Bokmakierie at 8:24 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
The Senate Watergate Hearings.
posted by Bokmakierie at 8:24 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
Frank Gorshin was amazing even in the 1990s behind-the-scenes TV movie with an Adam West-Burt Ward frame story.
I worked on every season of Hogan's Heroes on DVD and totally buy the theory that Klink and Schultz were professional soldiers who were disgusted with the Third Reich and were serving in a Stalag Luft as a form of conscientious objection.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:31 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
I worked on every season of Hogan's Heroes on DVD and totally buy the theory that Klink and Schultz were professional soldiers who were disgusted with the Third Reich and were serving in a Stalag Luft as a form of conscientious objection.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:31 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
All I need is for Upright Citizens Brigade Season 3 to finally come out on DVD. Apparently, Poehler/Besser/Walsh/Roberts recorded a commentary track for it a year and a half ago, but Comedy Central are apparently too busy to be arsed to put it out.
Also, I'd really appreciate it if Shout Factory stepped up the releases on the MST3K box sets, so we completists can have a prayer of getting them all on DVD before the inevitable death of the format.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:35 PM on January 15, 2014
Also, I'd really appreciate it if Shout Factory stepped up the releases on the MST3K box sets, so we completists can have a prayer of getting them all on DVD before the inevitable death of the format.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:35 PM on January 15, 2014
I'll Fly Away needs a DVD release.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:47 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:47 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'll second that. Loved I'll Fly Away.
posted by orange swan at 9:07 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 9:07 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
I watch Netflix with the captions on, for no particular reason, and recently while watching Scrubs it kind of freaked me out when music would come on and the subtitles would be totally wrong. As if they were subtitles for... an entirely different song that had been replaced because of licensing issues.
It is downright embarrassing how long it took me to figure that one out.
posted by Jeanne at 9:20 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
It is downright embarrassing how long it took me to figure that one out.
posted by Jeanne at 9:20 PM on January 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
When I was in kindergarten, my mom helped me write a letter to WSBK-TV to ask if they could help me find a utility belt like Batman's. Someone at the station wrote a nice note back politely saying that no, they were very sorry but they did not know where I could buy a Batman utility belt. As a kid I was disappointed by that reply, but ever since I've had a warm feeling for WSBK. Whoever wrote that letter, you rock.
Having said that...I'm sorry, but DVD? Who fucking cares. In terms of striking while the iron is hot this is like when Comedy Central premiered Lil' Bush halfway through the president's second term. You missed the boat, so how about you not embarrass everybody by trying to leap from the dock. Put the show on Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, whatever. DVD? Great, why don't you release it on LaserDisc too just in case.
posted by cribcage at 9:22 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
Having said that...I'm sorry, but DVD? Who fucking cares. In terms of striking while the iron is hot this is like when Comedy Central premiered Lil' Bush halfway through the president's second term. You missed the boat, so how about you not embarrass everybody by trying to leap from the dock. Put the show on Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, whatever. DVD? Great, why don't you release it on LaserDisc too just in case.
posted by cribcage at 9:22 PM on January 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
If there really were a Batman, he would be corralling all those responsible for getting the soundtrack stripped off WKRP and getting them locked up in Arkham.
posted by Ber at 9:30 PM on January 15, 2014
posted by Ber at 9:30 PM on January 15, 2014
Strange Interlude: "Also, I'd really appreciate it if Shout Factory stepped up the releases on the MST3K box sets, so we completists can have a prayer of getting them all on DVD before the inevitable death of the format."
I really think Shout Factory is releasing them as quickly as possible. Rights negotiations take a lot of time and effort. They've already been able to release some episodes that most people thought they'd never be able to get - Double 007, for example.
That said, the chances of ALL episodes being released - even ignoring the KTMA ones - is approximately zero.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:04 PM on January 15, 2014
I really think Shout Factory is releasing them as quickly as possible. Rights negotiations take a lot of time and effort. They've already been able to release some episodes that most people thought they'd never be able to get - Double 007, for example.
That said, the chances of ALL episodes being released - even ignoring the KTMA ones - is approximately zero.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:04 PM on January 15, 2014
The show was wonderful on so many levels, but it deserves special Bat-kudos for the star-studded window cameos yt .
I had forgotten how happy that Bat Man interstitial frenetic song makes me. <3
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:34 PM on January 15, 2014
I had forgotten how happy that Bat Man interstitial frenetic song makes me. <3
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:34 PM on January 15, 2014
I was insanely jealous of Robin's sequined bikini. I had no idea, at that time, I also wanted to be Batman & Robin's sandwich stuffer. I figured that out a couple years later.
posted by Goofyy at 12:19 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Goofyy at 12:19 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
FRANK GORSHIN. THE RIDDLER.
My favorite Batman villain! I remember reading a review about the series long after it had first aired that stated Gorshin's portrayal of the Riddler made him seem just possibly unbalanced enough that could be actually dangerous. He didn't play it all buffoony like Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero. Gorshin has stated that he'd modeled The Riddler's maniacal laugh on Richard Widmark's character in Kiss of Death.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:21 AM on January 16, 2014
My favorite Batman villain! I remember reading a review about the series long after it had first aired that stated Gorshin's portrayal of the Riddler made him seem just possibly unbalanced enough that could be actually dangerous. He didn't play it all buffoony like Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero. Gorshin has stated that he'd modeled The Riddler's maniacal laugh on Richard Widmark's character in Kiss of Death.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:21 AM on January 16, 2014
Thanks IndigoJones. I agree. Frank's Place is my number one unreleased TV show. But I don't want it released without the original music.
Several years ago I purchased the entire series of Homicide. What I wasn't aware of was that all the music including just normal background music had been replaced with soft jazz. It was unbearably bad. I gritted my teeth and watched the first episode. But five minutes into the second episode, I turned it off, took it to my neighborhood Half-Price book store and sold it for about 1/3 of what I had just paid.
I wish we could get several congress persons strapped into chairs and forced to watch this Clockwork Orange style for the entire run of the show, until they begged for mercy, signing new legislation to revoke the insane copyright extensions that are causing this and so many other messes.
posted by marsha56 at 2:03 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Several years ago I purchased the entire series of Homicide. What I wasn't aware of was that all the music including just normal background music had been replaced with soft jazz. It was unbearably bad. I gritted my teeth and watched the first episode. But five minutes into the second episode, I turned it off, took it to my neighborhood Half-Price book store and sold it for about 1/3 of what I had just paid.
I wish we could get several congress persons strapped into chairs and forced to watch this Clockwork Orange style for the entire run of the show, until they begged for mercy, signing new legislation to revoke the insane copyright extensions that are causing this and so many other messes.
posted by marsha56 at 2:03 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you have fond memories of the shwo, I recommend staying away from Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights by Burt Ward. It's sleazy and not in a fun way.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:31 AM on January 16, 2014
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:31 AM on January 16, 2014
While you all are waiting for Adam West, take a minute (or 100) to watch an earlier caped crusader: Judex - a campy 1963 Georges Franju remake of a 1916 serial that is a the direct ancestor of Batman.
posted by kanewai at 4:35 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by kanewai at 4:35 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Near the end of his life, Frank Gorshin wrote and starred in a one-man tribute to George Burns. I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to see it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:17 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:17 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
Don't forget Dragnet (the original, incredibly influential version, not the '60s version) and for 1970s kids like me there's a bunch of fondly remembered dreck not released including Project U.F.O. and Salvage 1.
posted by acroyear at 5:18 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Salvage 1.
I was thinking about this series and the premise just the other day. What **would** I do with my own privately owned rocket ship?
posted by mikelieman at 6:14 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
I was thinking about this series and the premise just the other day. What **would** I do with my own privately owned rocket ship?
posted by mikelieman at 6:14 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
You'd go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back and sell it. Duh.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:20 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by octobersurprise at 6:20 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
HELL YEAH!
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 6:32 AM on January 16, 2014
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
HELL YEAH!
posted by Harvey Jerkwater at 6:32 AM on January 16, 2014
But if we're talking 70's, then The Fantastic Journey is my pick for Most Wanted On DVD. Mostly, of course, just for the best wakachika wakachika opening credits ever. Second pick is Logan's Run (the series), then The Paul Lynde Show because bad as legend says it is, just how bad can Paul Lynde be? Then Shatner's Barbary Coast.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:48 AM on January 16, 2014
posted by octobersurprise at 6:48 AM on January 16, 2014
So what are the best shows still not on DVD?
Grand, because nobody gives a shit but me (that "5 DVD set" picture on the wikipedia article appear to be either a mock-up or from a bootleg, as far as I can find).
(and no, "Grand", not "The Grand": it had Bonnie Hunt and Michael McKean and the guy who played Baron Munchausen and was about a town where they made pianos)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:49 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Grand, because nobody gives a shit but me (that "5 DVD set" picture on the wikipedia article appear to be either a mock-up or from a bootleg, as far as I can find).
(and no, "Grand", not "The Grand": it had Bonnie Hunt and Michael McKean and the guy who played Baron Munchausen and was about a town where they made pianos)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:49 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was going to jokingly say Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp...but it really is out on DVD.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:59 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:59 AM on January 16, 2014 [2 favorites]
Second pick is Logan's Run (the series)
Call me crazy, but I think that was released last year.
Maybe something called Disc On Demand that Americans have, but better than the bootleg DVDs I got off eBay.
posted by Mezentian at 7:07 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Call me crazy, but I think that was released last year.
Maybe something called Disc On Demand that Americans have, but better than the bootleg DVDs I got off eBay.
posted by Mezentian at 7:07 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Having said that...I'm sorry, but DVD? Who fucking cares. In terms of striking while the iron is hot this is like when Comedy Central premiered Lil' Bush halfway through the president's second term. You missed the boat, so how about you not embarrass everybody by trying to leap from the dock. Put the show on Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, whatever. DVD? Great, why don't you release it on LaserDisc too just in case.
Last time I checked, physical media revenue was several times that of VOD, the latter of which wasn't making up for the overall decline in home media purchases. And the copyright issues regarding VOD are a nasty thicket of crazy right now, so it's not as if they can just put it wherever they want.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:08 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Last time I checked, physical media revenue was several times that of VOD, the latter of which wasn't making up for the overall decline in home media purchases. And the copyright issues regarding VOD are a nasty thicket of crazy right now, so it's not as if they can just put it wherever they want.
posted by zombieflanders at 7:08 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
OMG, Lentrohamsanin! I thought I was the only one who remembered Grand. I loved that show. It was so wonderful.
And Mezentian, you're not crazy. Well, not for thinking that Logan's Run is on DVD, at least. I see it in my local library every time I'm browsing through the TV series. I've been tempted to rent it a few times but I'm sure my childhood memories of it make it seem much better than it actually was.
posted by BrianJ at 7:15 AM on January 16, 2014
And Mezentian, you're not crazy. Well, not for thinking that Logan's Run is on DVD, at least. I see it in my local library every time I'm browsing through the TV series. I've been tempted to rent it a few times but I'm sure my childhood memories of it make it seem much better than it actually was.
posted by BrianJ at 7:15 AM on January 16, 2014
Put the show on Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, whatever.
Sorry, they're all geo-locked.
And, forgive me for not being American or on the Apple teat, but aren't they "cloud" services?
posted by Mezentian at 7:18 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sorry, they're all geo-locked.
And, forgive me for not being American or on the Apple teat, but aren't they "cloud" services?
posted by Mezentian at 7:18 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm sure my childhood memories of it make it seem much better than it actually was.
It's better than Buck Rogers. I really dug it. But is is of its time.
posted by Mezentian at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's better than Buck Rogers. I really dug it. But is is of its time.
posted by Mezentian at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
You Can't Do That on Television (1979)
what it feels like for a struldbrug
posted by No-sword at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2014
what it feels like for a struldbrug
posted by No-sword at 7:19 AM on January 16, 2014
I was acquainted with Frank Gorshin in the late '90s. He was a bitter, bitter man, but not about Batman. No, he was bitter because of a bit of spectacular bad luck.
Having spent the '50s grinding away as a stand-up comic and impressionist, he finally got the call from Ed Sullivan. His big break. February 9, 1964. He'd be following this new band from Liverpool that the kids were going crazy over.
Basically, Beatlemania hit Frank square in the teeth. The girls screamed right through his act, and he bombed. His stand-up career never recovered, and from that point on, he made his living as a character actor. In his later years, the convention circuit was very good to him, and he went to his grave cursing The Beatles and thanking the heavens for his roles in Batman and the original Star Trek.
posted by Optamystic at 8:21 AM on January 16, 2014 [20 favorites]
Having spent the '50s grinding away as a stand-up comic and impressionist, he finally got the call from Ed Sullivan. His big break. February 9, 1964. He'd be following this new band from Liverpool that the kids were going crazy over.
Basically, Beatlemania hit Frank square in the teeth. The girls screamed right through his act, and he bombed. His stand-up career never recovered, and from that point on, he made his living as a character actor. In his later years, the convention circuit was very good to him, and he went to his grave cursing The Beatles and thanking the heavens for his roles in Batman and the original Star Trek.
posted by Optamystic at 8:21 AM on January 16, 2014 [20 favorites]
You'd go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back and sell it. Duh.
Yeah, that's the OBVIOUS answer, but *after that*? Deliver disaster relief supplies? Stop elephant poachers? Rescue stranded ISS residents? Shoot down UfOs trying to steals our organs?
posted by mikelieman at 8:22 AM on January 16, 2014
Yeah, that's the OBVIOUS answer, but *after that*? Deliver disaster relief supplies? Stop elephant poachers? Rescue stranded ISS residents? Shoot down UfOs trying to steals our organs?
posted by mikelieman at 8:22 AM on January 16, 2014
Can't imagine WKRP without the original '70s rock.
What I can't imagine is how those that demanded the music be taken out unless paid for, can't see the promotional value of having the songs on the DVDs that people buy.
posted by juiceCake at 8:45 AM on January 16, 2014 [7 favorites]
What I can't imagine is how those that demanded the music be taken out unless paid for, can't see the promotional value of having the songs on the DVDs that people buy.
posted by juiceCake at 8:45 AM on January 16, 2014 [7 favorites]
Unfortunately, I will not be able to watch the DVDs, since the news made my head explode and thus my eyes are no longer attached to my face.
posted by ckape at 10:51 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ckape at 10:51 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
> What I can't imagine is how those that demanded the music be taken out unless paid for, can't see the promotional value of having the songs on the DVDs that people buy
Their logic seems to be that people think "I was going to buy this Pink Floyd CD, but instead I guess I can just listen to this WKRP scene over and over!"
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:30 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Their logic seems to be that people think "I was going to buy this Pink Floyd CD, but instead I guess I can just listen to this WKRP scene over and over!"
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:30 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that's the OBVIOUS answer, but *after that*?
I dunno. But better come up with something or get canceled half way through your second season.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:38 PM on January 16, 2014
I dunno. But better come up with something or get canceled half way through your second season.
posted by octobersurprise at 2:38 PM on January 16, 2014
I'm surprised no one's mentioned yet how the producers of the DVD were unable to get the rights to the classic Na-na-na-na-na-na theme song and are going to replace it with the theme to The Odd Couple.
(running away quickly)
posted by JHarris at 2:53 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
(running away quickly)
posted by JHarris at 2:53 PM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]
"I was going to buy this Pink Floyd CD, but instead I guess I can just listen to this WKRP scene over and over!"
That's crazy talk. You can't sync WKRP with the Wizard of Oz.
posted by Mezentian at 4:31 AM on January 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's crazy talk. You can't sync WKRP with the Wizard of Oz.
posted by Mezentian at 4:31 AM on January 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Baby
If you ever wondered
Wondered whatever became of me
I'm livin' on the shelves in every Wal-Mart,
In every Wal-Mart, forever on DVD
posted by infinitewindow at 7:29 AM on January 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
If you ever wondered
Wondered whatever became of me
I'm livin' on the shelves in every Wal-Mart,
In every Wal-Mart, forever on DVD
posted by infinitewindow at 7:29 AM on January 17, 2014 [2 favorites]
« Older No means no. | And they know he’ll play it totally straight Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by The Hamms Bear at 5:32 PM on January 15, 2014