Shout! Factory Release of a Classic Series
UPDATE: Because my "review" keeps popping up first, here's a real one now. Hope it helps. (I'll leave an edited potion of my original post at the end.)
Got an early Christmas gift this month. Essentially raised on Barney Miller, I had a couple of lost weekends after the complete series landed on my porch. Here's what I got on Shout's treatment of my favorite series....
The First Three Seasons--Unfortunately, Shout! Factory used what Sony created for their season sets; other than the packaging, they're the exact same discs, menus and all. That means the first season still looks woeful and that two of its episodes (Ramon and The Bureaucrat) are the syndicated cuts. However, Shout has included a complete version of Ramon with the extras (Harris in drag!). The video quality of that version is pretty bad, which should indicate the kind of job Shout faced in getting complete episodes. Which brings me to....
Completeness of Episodes--I wish I could say that...
One of the Best Sitcoms Ever, Great DVD set
Looks like I am the first reviewer here on Amazon to have actually viewed these discs, so hopefully people will find my initial reactions useful.
So much has been said about the series itself I won't repeat any of it here. Just be assured that Barney Miller is one of the best written, best acted sitcoms (or any TV series for that matter) ever. I've seen every episode multiple times and have been collecting recordings of this show on commercially available VHS tapes, broadcast sources, and DVDs for many years. So I was very glad to see Shout Factory pick up the baton where Sony left off and release the show as it should have been from the beginning, as a complete series set.
I have not seen all the episodes in this set yet, but the ones I have seen run about 25 minutes instead of the 22-minute syndicated versions most often seen on TV since the show's original run. The picture quality is great for a TV series shot on video in the 1970s. About as good as it...
Clearing up the confusion: this set is a good thing
There's a lot of confusion in some of the low rated reviews that is based on a lack of information. No one is pulling bait and switch. Sony released the first three seasons then stopped. Shout! Factory has picked up the rights and is releasing this set. In the past they have also released the remaining seasons in individual season format for shows they picked up like this.
This set, beyond the creative packaging contains:
* All eight seasons on 25 discs
* Newly-produced and never-before-seen bonus features
* 32 page commemorative book
* New interviews with the cast (Linden, Gail, Vigoda)
* Original unaired pilot
* Writers' commentary on select episodes
* Entire first season of Fish (the Abe Vigoda spin-off).
The original news is here: [...]
Amazon is offering this at 30% off! This is an incredible deal, and beyond the best news fans of Barney Miller could have hoped for. Emmy- and Gold Globe-winning,...
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