SHOUT! Studios Blu Ray Request: "Route 66: The Complete Series"

[stevearino]

Dear Brian,

I have a proposal for SHOUT! Studios: to make a deal with Sony Pictures Domestic Television Distribution for SHOUT! Studios to issue and release, for the first time EVER on Blu Ray, "Route 66: The Complete Series," a loving showcase of all 116 hour-long episodes of the hit 1960-1964 TV series "Route 66" 100% Complete, 100% Uncut, AND 100% Unedited, just the way that each episode originally aired on the CBS Television Network, with each episode Digitally Remastered AND Lovingly Restored from the original CBS Television Network Master Prints.

As I'm sure you know, Brian, in 2012, "Route 66" was previously issued AND released as a Complete Series set on DVD, with at least TWO episodes sourced from Syndication Prints, BUT with the utmost care and respect, I'm 100% Certain that SHOUT! Studios will do a WONDERFUL job with Restoring AND Remastering all 116 hour-long episodes of "Route 66."

In case you've forgotten, Brian, here's the Inside Information from an avid viewer of the show in relative recent years thanks to the DVDs and the advent of YouTube.

Created by Bert Leonard & Stirling Siliphant, "Route 66" was a hit '50s Adventure Series originally airing on CBS from October 7, 1960 - March 20, 1964, with the original 30-Minute Pilot episode used as an episode of the '50s Cop Show "Naked City" telecast on April 28, 1959 on the ABC Television Network titled "Four Sweet Corners," in which George Maharis (born on September 1, 1928 in New York City, New York) and Bobby Morris (born on January 7, 1934 in Reading, Pennsylvania) portrayed recent Army grads Johnny Gary and Lincoln "Linc" Ridgeway, respectively, who returned to visit Johnny's hometown of New York City, New York (where the Pilot was filmed entirely on location), only to discover that Johnny's younger sister, Cora (Rochelle Oliver), was part of a Shoplifting Ring run by a thug (Frank Sutton, futurely of the Mayberry spin-off "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."). Cora was lucky to get off easy at episode's end, with all charges dropped against her in connection to the Shoplifting Ring, while Johnny & Linc left NYC behind to go on various subsequent adventures across America. 3 1/2 weeks later, on May 22, 1959, Bobby Morris, at age 25, died of a Massive Stroke in rural Lake Wohlford, California, survived by a young wife, Janice, and young son; after ABC passed over on "Route 66," Bert & Stirling made a revised "Route 66" in February 1960, filming the revised Pilot entirely on location in Concord, Kentucky. George Maharis was retained, his character renamed Buz Murdock, and all Army References dropped.

After beating out a number of other aspiring young actors (including a young Robert Redford), Martin Milner (born on December 28, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Seattle, Washington and later Los Angeles, California) was cast as Tod Stiles, a recent 24-year-old Orphan whose widower father dropped dead of a Coronary Thrombosis, leaving him with nothing more than a Chevrolet Corvette, which Tod and Buz (an employee of Tod's father in Hell's Kitchen) subsequently rode around across America, with each "Route 66" episode subsequently filmed entirely on location in various places such as New Orleans, Tampa, New York City, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between across America.

Midway through filming of Season 2, after filming the episode "Even Stones Have Eyes" entirely on location in Austin, Texas, George Maharis, after filming Stunt Work for the episode underwater, became very sick and cold with a fever and subsequently was given a Vitamin B12 Shot by a local Doctor which unfortunately, as was common back then, turned out to be Infected, thus giving George severe Hepatitis and earning him a month in a local California Hospital missing the rest of filming Season 2 of "Route 66"; though he eventually returned to the show for the start of Season 3 in August 1962, shortly after filming an episode entirely on location in St. Louis, Missouri, George Maharis suffered a relapse of his earlier Hepatitis symptoms and was ordered by his local California Doctor to either "Get Out or Risk Permanent Liver Damage or Death," and Permanently Resigned from "Route 66" in late 1962.

Soon afterwards, George Maharis was replaced in Spring 1963 by actor Glenn Rothenburg (born on August 17, 1933 in El Monte, California), known professionally as Glenn Corbett, a former Male Physique Model for Bob Mizer, who joined the cast of "Route 66" as Lincoln "Linc" Case, a former Vietnam Vet who became Tod's traveling companion for the rest of the series' run--which came to an end in January 1964, when CBS announced the official cancellation of "Route 66" after over a year of poor ratings upon George Maharis' resignation.

Before the cancellation, however, "Route 66" provided a very sad case of Life Imitating Art: in September 1963, an episode was filmed entirely on location in Niagara Falls, New York called "I'm Here to Kill a King," in which Robert Loggia portrayed a visiting Foreign King and Martin Milner portrayed both his regular character Tod Stiles, the good guy, and Paul Caines, a character hired to Assassinate Robert Loggia's visiting King; 2 1/2 months later, on November 22, 1963, U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, age 46, was Shot and Killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas; due to the coincidental nature of the fictional and real-life tragedies, the "I'm Here to Kill a King" episode was temporarily postponed from its originally scheduled airdate of November 29, 1963 and would eventually air 4 months later on March 20, 1964, the week AFTER the 2nd part of the 2-Hour Series Finale telecast on March 13, 1964.

In the 2-Hour Series Finale split into 2 parts airing on March 6, 1964 and March 13, 1964, respectively, on CBS and filmed entirely on location in Tampa, Florida, "Route 66" reached the end of its Mother Road after Martin Milner's Tod Stiles character met and fell in love with future TV "Jeannie" Barbara Eden, appearing as Margo, whom Tod married at Finale's end and eventually settling down in Houston, Texas, where Linc also settled down.

Reruns of "Route 66" eventually aired on Nickelodeon as part of its inaugural Nick at Nite lineup from July 1, 1985 - June 30, 1987 and more recently were seen on MeTV.

Tentatively, Brian, SHOUT! Studios shall issue and release "Route 66: The Complete Series" on Blu Ray on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at a cost of ONLY $99.99 wherever Blu Rays are sold; besides the aforementioned "Four Sweet Corners" Pilot, Brian, I'd LOVE to see OTHER Bonus Features on the "Route 66: The Complete Series" Blu Ray, including, but NOT limited to, such direct-to-DVD featurettes as "Route 66: The Mother Road," a Documentary about the making of "Route 66" as told via archive interviews from, among them, series stars Martin Milner, George Maharis, Glenn Corbett and series creators Bert Leonard & Stirling Siliphant.

I hope this is taken into good consideration, Brian, and thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Steve Arino