The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (1970-1975)

[Trekkie313]

How can a character singing less than half of a song be constituted as non-fair use? This is just patently absurd and a clear case of overreaching abuse by copyright holders. ITS NOT THE ACTUAL SONG

[DawnShadow]

Originally Posted by telly1138

Not to nitpick and quibble, but I don't think it's a "studios don't care" thing that's causing classic TV (and some more modern titles like "Married... with Children" and "Dawson's Creek") to get hacked up. It smells more like a "music ain't cheap and we're doing the best we can" thing.

They're not doing the best they can when they edit out public domain music. Stuff like that shows that they aren't even trying.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by telly1138

Not to nitpick and quibble, but I don't think it's a "studios don't care" thing that's causing classic TV (and some more modern titles like "Married... with Children" and "Dawson's Creek") to get hacked up. It smells more like a "music ain't cheap and we're doing the best we can" thing.

It smells more like a “we’re too cheap to shell out for it to make sure a beloved classic show remains intact instead of butchered all to hell” thing. At least Miami Vice and Freaks & Geeks made it through unscathed.

[wildhoney66]

i wonder how many songs they weren't able to get the rights too? it kinda feels like why even bother if you can't use the right music ya know? it took years to get shows like china Beach and the wonder years or Miami Vice onto dvd with the right music the music for the odd couple shouldn't have as much issues as those shows since they used much more in the series or am i wrong?

[Atreyu]

I would be more than willing to pay a little extra if they got the rights to all the music. But since this is one of my all-time favorite shows I will still buy the Blu-rays

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by Atreyu

I would be more than willing to pay a little extra if they got the rights to all the music. But since this is one of my all-time favorite shows I will still buy the Blu-rays

Exactly. I’ll gladly pay a bit more for a set if the studios need to obtain the rights to the music. I’ve been streaming the first season on Paramount + and no music so far except for the main theme song so I guess the original music was pulled from streaming as well which doesn’t surprise me. It’s frustrating that I won’t be able to experience the show as it originally aired.

[AlanClarke]

As much as I adore this show (and it's one of my all time favourites), I would never buy the edited episodes again. These cuts aren't minor, they're extremely noticeable, they cut out punchlines and plot beats, characters teleport across the room, hell they cut out the CLIMAX of the whole show! The big finale? The big moment the whole show was leading up to? Gone. Cut. Deleted.

Some years back, I got off-air recordings of the episodes and made my own fan edits reinserting the deleted scenes into the DVD versions. Unless this release is fully uncut, I'll stick to those.

[Wizard65]

I barely remember this show as I was a little guy when it started, but my mother loved Randall so she watched it all the time.

I remember some of it from syndication in the 70s. Yes, it's a very funny show.

Two things though:

1. $80 for a 50 year-old show?

2. Commentaries? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all the major players deceased...?
Are they commentaries from some television critic?

[erixon20]

Originally Posted by Wizard65

I barely remember this show as I was a little guy when it started, but my mother loved Randall so she watched it all the time.

I remember some of it from syndication in the 70s. Yes, it's a very funny show.

Two things though:

1. $80 for a 50 year-old show?

2. Commentaries? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all the major players deceased...?
Are they commentaries from some television critic?

1-Yes-that is a lot for it. I have the DVD's and if this looks better or much better than the DVD's I will get-eventually.


2-Yes-they are all gone(Unfortunately). It would have been great to hear them talking about episodes-sigh.

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

The music rights= major issue in the US. I’m a David Hasselhoff fan and the recent Knight Rider Blu-ray box set from Turbine had all the original music which pleased the fans. Also got the original music for the Baywatch BD release in the UK.

Baywatch UK BD set?
I thought only the German and the heavy DNR US existed.

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by AlanClarke

As much as I adore this show (and it's one of my all time favourites), I would never buy the edited episodes again. These cuts aren't minor, they're extremely noticeable, they cut out punchlines and plot beats, characters teleport across the room, hell they cut out the CLIMAX of the whole show! The big finale? The big moment the whole show was leading up to? Gone. Cut. Deleted.

Some years back, I got off-air recordings of the episodes and made my own fan edits reinserting the deleted scenes into the DVD versions. Unless this release is fully uncut, I'll stick to those.

ugh that sounds extra, extra bad
i blame the studios and the music industry (I actually put even more blame on the music industry since it seems absurd that when a studio paid for the rights that each new type of home media magically no longer counts as having any rights and the music studios also often insist on such huge fees that it makes it sometimes way too risky for the studios to bother, so the music industry would rather have nothing than some reasonable extra fee, they don't care if the price they ask makes no sense for the intended use and don't care if they already gave the show or movie rights to use the music. I probably put it around 80% on the music industry side of things, but studios do get some blame too, especially in some cases.)

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW

Baywatch UK BD set?
I thought only the German and the heavy DNR US existed.

You’re right about that one. My bad. I haven’t even watched the remastered episodes which do look better vs the DNR’d US set. I feel sorry for those who went with the US box set. I picked up the German set for the uncut SD episodes. They may not look the best, but that’s how I originally watched the show and it’s a joy to have all the original music montages.

[goathead1]

Originally Posted by telly1138

Folks have a good idea what this is going to look like given Paramount's track record releasing these MOD Blu-ray boxed sets. "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Cheers" are two great examples of what to expect with MOD Blu-ray titles based on their DVD releases. I seriously doubt that anything miraculous is going to happen with "The Odd Couple" and the plethora of edits that exist not only on the DVDs but the streaming masters as well.

This was going to be a Christmas present but now I'm not so sure. Do you know if there is a list of edits/music changes for The Andy Griffith Show?

I dread to think of what I Love Lucy would look like if it were fully released on blu-ray. Were there many edits to the show on DVD or the 2 seasons released on blu-ray?

[telly1138]

Originally Posted by goathead1

I dread to think of what I Love Lucy would look like if it were fully released on blu-ray. Were there many edits to the show on DVD or the 2 seasons released on blu-ray?

Truth be told, every single episode of "I Love Lucy" has been re-edited/changed since the series went into syndication. The classic names-on-satin-heart opening we all know and love was created for syndication, after Phillip Morris stopped sponsoring the show. Many of those openings are presented on the DVD as a special feature. The DVD also featured behind-the-scenes footage and before-and-after comparisons of cut footage. I suspect this content would be carried over if the series EVER makes it to Blu-ray.

As for further edits to the episodes, I came across this on IMDb: "In reruns of the series, much of the music in the beginning and end of scenes were altered or cut to make way for more commercials. Where possible, many of these musical bridges and cues have been fully restored for the DVD release."

[COBill]

That's precisely it.

Music rights were negotiated for the initial run and perhaps syndication, but never for home video.

Read the myriad WKRP stories for more.

It's also why we never got the wonderful series Ed on home video of any kind. (Stuckeybowl forever!)

[WaverBoy]

The Odd Couple — The Incomplete Series (1970-1975)

[metsfan1545d]

day 1

[jtsjc1]

Years ago I got the first 2 seasons on dvd. After reading about the extent of the edits in later seasons I stopped buying. I'm not buying the same hacked up mess again because its on blu ray. Part of the comedy in this show is Felix using songs to embarrass or make fun of Oscar. In the middle of an argument Felix would break out into a song and that made his character what it was. Removing or editing to this extent is a waste to me. Too bad I'd have bought it otherwise.

[iLuv3M3]

So is this not worth purchasing as a gift?

Now I'm back to considering the odd couple imprint bundle, but I'm curious are those ten select episodes going to be edited as well? Is it confirmed this complete series is really cut?

[AlanClarke]

Originally Posted by iLuv3M3

So is this not worth purchasing as a gift?

Now I'm back to considering the odd couple imprint bundle, but I'm curious are those ten select episodes going to be edited as well? Is it confirmed this complete series is really cut?

Nothing's been confirmed but the uncut episodes have never been released on home video. I don't think they've been seen since syndication.