Will & Grace on BD?

[samukas]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

I know this is an old topic, but some1 on another forum I visit who's from Germany said they've started playing the first season of W&G in 720p HD just like Friends. But no1 from Germany has capped it yet!

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

It's just funny to me that episodes that never aired anywhere in widescreen (as far as I know) are on this set.

Sorry to bump this thread, but I thought this might be interesting to some.

While I wasn't around back in March 2007 when Drewbee87 said that Germany was airing W&G in HD, I am almost certain that this wasn't true, it was most likely upscaled.

Right now, German channel Pro7Fun is airing W&G seasons 6-8 non-stop, and even the episodes that aired in HD in the US are upscaled.

However, a few months ago I saw some episodes of seasons 4 and 5 on SuperRTL in 16:9, so there ARE widescreen masters for those seasons at least.
I did spot one crew member and camera on one of the corners on episode S05E07 in one of the buffet-scenes. It can be slightly seen in 4:3 transfers as well, although less distracting.

Anyway, if they ever broadcast the show from season one again, I'll be sure to be on the lookout to see if it's widescreen or not from the get go.

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by samukas

Sorry to bump this thread, but I thought this might be interesting to some.

While I wasn't around back in March 2007 when Drewbee87 said that Germany was airing W&G in HD, I am almost certain that this wasn't true, it was most likely upscaled.

Right now, German channel Pro7Fun is airing W&G seasons 6-8 non-stop, and even the episodes that aired in HD in the US are upscaled.

However, a few months ago I saw some episodes of seasons 4 and 5 on SuperRTL in 16:9, so there ARE widescreen masters for those seasons at least.
I did spot one crew member and camera on one of the corners on episode S05E07 in one of the buffet-scenes. It can be slightly seen in 4:3 transfers as well, although less distracting.

Anyway, if they ever broadcast the show from season one again, I'll be sure to be on the lookout to see if it's widescreen or not from the get go.

Thanks for the info! Hopefully one day they will put it out on BD. The show was recently moved to WE TV for the 15th Anniversary. Too bad they didn't put it out on BD for the 15th Anniversary instead. :/

[samukas]

True... heck, I'd even be happy with remastering for HD digital downloads if they don't see the profit on releasing the BD now.
The SD versions are, weirdly, not even on iTunes either.

[Drewbee87]

I don't think it's ever been on any streaming/download site. For a show that won so many awards, did & still does have a huge fanbase, you would think it would be on every major streaming/download site.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by samukas

Sorry to bump this thread, but I thought this might be interesting to some.

While I wasn't around back in March 2007 when Drewbee87 said that Germany was airing W&G in HD, I am almost certain that this wasn't true, it was most likely upscaled.

Right now, German channel Pro7Fun is airing W&G seasons 6-8 non-stop, and even the episodes that aired in HD in the US are upscaled.

However, a few months ago I saw some episodes of seasons 4 and 5 on SuperRTL in 16:9, so there ARE widescreen masters for those seasons at least.
I did spot one crew member and camera on one of the corners on episode S05E07 in one of the buffet-scenes. It can be slightly seen in 4:3 transfers as well, although less distracting.

Anyway, if they ever broadcast the show from season one again, I'll be sure to be on the lookout to see if it's widescreen or not from the get go.

Don't apologize! That's great new info!

It'd be awesome if they decided to do something new with it. For whatever reason, all anyone cares about are Friends, Frasier and Seinfeld. W&G is like the ugly step-child.

[samukas]

Season 1 is starting in March again on Pro7Fun.
I'm be curious to see if it airs in 16:9 or not, but from what I've been able to acknowledge, Germany only got widescreen masters after the middle of season 4.

By the way, for the fun of it, here is that scene I mentioned from S05E07.

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by samukas

Season 1 is starting in March again on Pro7Fun.
I'm be curious to see if it airs in 16:9 or not, but from what I've been able to acknowledge, Germany only got widescreen masters after the middle of season 4.

By the way, for the fun of it, here is that scene I mentioned from S05E07.

I guess if this does ever come out on Blu-ray it'll be like Friends, that scene will be fuzzy from them zooming in to crop that out.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

I guess if this does ever come out on Blu-ray it'll be like Friends, that scene will be fuzzy from them zooming in to crop that out.

Well, that one shot won't be a big deal, at least. It goes by so fast...

Man, I'm REALLY interested seeing it in HD. Please let us know what happens!

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

Well, that one shot won't be a big deal, at least. It goes by so fast...

Man, I'm REALLY interested seeing it in HD. Please let us know what happens!

Yeah, I had to watch it a second time to see it. lol But I think they'll still crop it out for a Blu-ray release. They shouldn't have any issues with seasons 7 & 8 since they aired in HD when they were originally shown.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

Yeah, I had to watch it a second time to see it. lol But I think they'll still crop it out for a Blu-ray release. They shouldn't have any issues with seasons 7 & 8 since they aired in HD when they were originally shown.

Well, it started from the 11th episode of the 7th season. I should go and check out the others on the DVD and see what they look like.

[wonkavision]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

I don't think it's ever been on any streaming/download site. For a show that won so many awards, did & still does have a huge fanbase, you would think it would be on every major streaming/download site.

The rights and license are probably super expensive. Plus they are still airing this show all over the place on live TV, so it may not be available to license for streaming. The Golden Girls is another show that has extraordinary life still in syndication and difficult to find in a streaming format.

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by wonkavision

The rights and license are probably super expensive. Plus they are still airing this show all over the place on live TV, so it may not be available to license for streaming. The Golden Girls is another show that has extraordinary life still in syndication and difficult to find in a streaming format.

Friends was airing all over TV when it came out on Blu-ray, it's the only reason they were put on Blu-ray because the HD masters made for syndication. lol But it could very well be licensing issues. The seasons starting to air in HD in Germany give me hope that it could happen in the next few years.

[wonkavision]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

Friends was airing all over TV when it came out on Blu-ray, it's the only reason they were put on Blu-ray because the HD masters made for syndication. lol But it could very well be licensing issues. The seasons starting to air in HD in Germany give me hope that it could happen in the next few years.

I'm sure it will happen. I think that it's just super expensive to license right now. Also, in syndication, the show could be doing very well with a time slot in certain markets, which of course draws advertisers.

[Drewbee87]

A Blu-ray release gives them a chance to fix the DVD errors, at least the ones I have on the individual releases. The last disc of season 2 has the episodes out of order & a few season 3 episodes have some scenes missing that aired on TV.

[samukas]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

Friends was airing all over TV when it came out on Blu-ray, it's the only reason they were put on Blu-ray because the HD masters made for syndication. lol But it could very well be licensing issues. The seasons starting to air in HD in Germany give me hope that it could happen in the next few years.

A little correction there, the seasons are not going to air in HD in Germany. They will be upscaled from the original masters that Germany received from NBC/Lionsgate at the time, so nothing new unfortunately.

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by samukas

A little correction there, the seasons are not going to air in HD in Germany. They will be upscaled from the original masters that Germany received from NBC/Lionsgate at the time, so nothing new unfortunately.

For some reason I thought you saying "16:9" meant HD! lol

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

A Blu-ray release gives them a chance to fix the DVD errors, at least the ones I have on the individual releases. The last disc of season 2 has the episodes out of order & a few season 3 episodes have some scenes missing that aired on TV.

It's not just season 3 that is missing scenes. MANY episodes from various seasons are syndicated versions. It sucks.

Originally Posted by wonkavision

The rights and license are probably super expensive. Plus they are still airing this show all over the place on live TV, so it may not be available to license for streaming. The Golden Girls is another show that has extraordinary life still in syndication and difficult to find in a streaming format.

All over the place? It's on 1 station.

I wouldn't consider that "all over the place."

[Drewbee87]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

It's not just season 3 that is missing scenes. MANY episodes from various seasons are syndicated versions. It sucks.



All over the place? It's on 1 station.

I wouldn't consider that "all over the place."

Really? I didn't know that! I didn't start watching the show until 2002 or 2003, so what I seen were the syndicated cuts. But they also shown scenes that weren't on the DVDs. And W&G could be airing on more channels that we don't know about, people have said Buffy is still airing on TV but I never see it on any of the stations in my area. It's certainly playing all over the place internationally.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

Really? I didn't know that! I didn't start watching the show until 2002 or 2003, so what I seen were the syndicated cuts. But they also shown scenes that weren't on the DVDs. And W&G could be airing on more channels that we don't know about, people have said Buffy is still airing on TV but I never see it on any of the stations in my area. It's certainly playing all over the place internationally.

W&G is only airing on Lifetime. That's it. No other stations.

I'm not sure what episodes you're watching that have extra scenes that aren't on the DVD's but I think you might be mistaken.

[wonkavision]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

It's not just season 3 that is missing scenes. MANY episodes from various seasons are syndicated versions. It sucks.



All over the place? It's on 1 station.

I wouldn't consider that "all over the place."

Nope. It's on multiple channels, in my area. I know We is one, Logo another. I don't think Lifetime has it anymore.
What I meant with "all over the place" meant it's on frequently, many hours during the week of airtime, regardless of channel.

ON EDIT
Lifetime is out. We and Logo have it for a second syndication cycle.
Article.