Emergency! The Complete Series Blu-ray (1972-1979)

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by tatterdemalion

I can see why this show changed the way our country did emergency care & made many want to be firefighters.

Then this show clearly made the world a better place and saved many lives. Putting your life in danger to save the lives of one or more other people is the best definition of heroism. (There are some very bad definitions of heroism floating around, unfortunately. Many summer reading programs try to convince kids that reading is heroic.)

So I"m glad that this TV series is being released in its entirety on Blu-Ray. I have one small complaint. Having the firefighter badge on the front cover is an excellent choice. But instead of a plain red background behind the badge, I would have surrounded the badge with the faces of the five central characters. John Gage and Roy DeSoto would be on top, and Nurse McCall, Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early would be on the bottom.

[Ned Brainard]

While I'm not particularly interested in Emergency, I do applaud Universal's recent efforts with catalog television on blu. If we're talking about Jack Webb, I would also like to have Dragnet (in both its B&W and color versions) and Adam-12 upgraded to blu.

One last lament - if we can get all of Emergency, Leave It to Beaver, The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, and Knight Rider (on 4K no less), what is the hold-up on relatively two measly seasons of The Munsters?

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by Ned Brainard

While I'm not particularly interested in Emergency, I do applaud Universal's recent efforts with catalog television on blu. If we're talking about Jack Webb, I would also like to have Dragnet (in both its B&W and color versions) and Adam-12 upgraded to blu.

One last lament - if we can get all of Emergency, Leave It to Beaver, The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, and Knight Rider (on 4K no less), what is the hold-up on relatively two measly seasons of The Munsters?

Black and White Dragnet will probably never happen, since they've been locked in a vault since the 60s and didn't even get videotape masters in the 80s. They would need all new scans from the original 35mm film, and that would cost more than they'd probably make back.

The color version, though, should be ready to go.

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by ElectricPeterTork

Black and White Dragnet will probably never happen, since they've been locked in a vault since the 60s and didn't even get videotape masters in the 80s. They would need all new scans from the original 35mm film, and that would cost more than they'd probably make back.

The color version, though, should be ready to go.

There's also the issue that much of the B&W Dragnet is PD so Universal may not have much desire to do anything with it. One can still dream though.

[Crimson King]

Originally Posted by Ned Brainard

There's also the issue that much of the B&W Dragnet is PD so Universal may not have much desire to do anything with it. One can still dream though.

Sadly, many B&W episodes are considered lost.

Episodes of the original, black and white Dragnet (1951-1959) are considered lost. While a large number of episodes have been recovered and released, it's estimated that around 64-66 episodes have been found from the original 276, meaning a significant portion is missing. The missing episodes primarily stem from the early seasons, with some missing from every season.

[Jar Jar Stinks]

Originally Posted by ElectricPeterTork

Black and White Dragnet will probably never happen, since they've been locked in a vault since the 60s and didn't even get videotape masters in the 80s. They would need all new scans from the original 35mm film, and that would cost more than they'd probably make back.

The color version, though, should be ready to go.

Wouldn't they want that content for streaming?

[revgen]

Originally Posted by ElectricPeterTork

Black and White Dragnet will probably never happen, since they've been locked in a vault since the 60s and didn't even get videotape masters in the 80s. They would need all new scans from the original 35mm film, and that would cost more than they'd probably make back.

The color version, though, should be ready to go.

Quantity also plays a role. The entire 50's Dragnet is 276 episodes. A massive undertaking. Even if they could make the $$ back, the initial investment would be enormous.

[Crimson King]

Originally Posted by revgen

Quantity also plays a role. The entire 50's Dragnet is 276 episodes. A massive undertaking. Even if they could make the $$ back, the initial investment would be enormous.

Most of the Black and White episodes are considered lost.

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by Crimson King

Most of the Black and White episodes are considered lost.

Lost to the general public, perhaps. But Universal's had 'em safely in storage for over 50 years. So in actuality, they're not lost, they're just in the vault.

[David McMinn]

Will this be available through Amazon?

Hopefully the TV movies (season 7) will be complete and unedited not the 2 parters as shown in syndication.

[Atariboy]

Just because it doesn't circulate in collector's circles doesn't mean it's lost. But it sadly does us little good even if the entire run is extant.

As for Adam-12 and color Dragnet, they weren't recipients of HD transfers post vault fire. They're still the 80's era SD tape transfers that ranged from poor quality (some of the Dragnets in particular look bad) to acceptable (most of Adam-12). So don't hold your breath for either one hitting Blu-Ray anytime soon. That said, if the bonus Adam-12 episode ends up presented in pristine form then there's hope since I doubt they'd do it just for a bonus feature here.

And for 'The Munsters', I have a suspicion it might be with Kino Lorber.

[Marty_McFlyin]

Package art.

[bmasters1981]

Just counted the discs, and there are actually 30 (28 for the main event of the actual NBC series, and 2 more for the Final Rescues).

[MifuneFan]

That looks great . I really wish every studio packaged shows like Universal.

[DavidRoylance]

I think no series is off limits now. If I had put a post up a month ago saying - I wish Universal would put out a complete set of Emergency with the follow up movies I am sure I would have had a lot of replies saying - that will never happen - It wouldn't be profitable - etc.

Remember, blu ray and 4k are a collectors market. We typically pay more for quality products because we LOVE the discs we buy.

We are living in a time when an outfit like ClassicFlix is restoring all of Hopalong Cassidy for blu ray release.

Who would have figured on an Alfred Hitchcock TV series being outsourced to an outfit like Imprint.

Truly, I think nothing is off limits.

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by DavidRoylance

I think no series is off limits now. If I had put a post up a month ago saying - I wish Universal would put out a complete set of Emergency with the follow up movies I am sure I would have had a lot of replies saying - that will never happen - It wouldn't be profitable - etc.

Remember, blu ray and 4k are a collectors market. We typically pay more for quality products because we LOVE the discs we buy.

We are living in a time when an outfit like ClassicFlix is restoring all of Hopalong Cassidy for blu ray release.

Who would have figured on an Alfred Hitchcock TV series being outsourced to an outfit like Imprint.

Truly, I think nothing is off limits.

I think a month ago, a thread about an Emergency Blu release would've gotten a lot of "you're right, this is overdue" or "it'll happen eventually", since the show has had available HD masters for ages, and Uni is fairly good about pumping out the stuff it has lying around in MOD sets (unless it's The Munsters) or at least licensing it to someone who'll release it.

And along those lines, you also would've gotten a lot of "oh, shit, I hope Mill Creek doesn't get it and ruin it" responses.

However, I do hope you're right that nothing is truly off limits anymore.

Originally Posted by Atariboy

Just because it doesn't circulate in collector's circles doesn't mean it's lost. But it sadly does us little good even if the entire run is extant.

I am not a fan of the current definition of lost media that the internet has come up with. Quite a bit of what they consider "lost" is exactly as you say... just not available in collector's circles. But that doesn't make it lost. We know where it is, what is extant, and possibly its condition, so it is in no way lost. We just don't have free and easy access to it. I mean, if a person is in prison, we don't have 'em on the side of a milk carton as "lost", do we? That's where a lot of so-called lost media is... in corporate jail.

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

That looks great . I really wish every studio packaged shows like Universal.

The packages in the shot for the Emergency set are the best of both worlds... space saving, but not stackers. If given a choice, I'd probably say offhand I prefer Paramount's old "every season gets its own case" method, but those do get thick. The two or three thicker cases are a good compromise. And Paramount's fat all in one Lucy case that stacks on hubs is about on par Mill Creek's "stack all the discs on a spindle and piss off" cases. So Uni's doing a decent job on the storage front.

[qballrail]

Emergency! was, and still is, among my favorite TV shows. Although I already own the series on DVD, this new format is a must-have. I sure hope Universal puts more care into this offering than the 2016 DVD release, in which seasons 5 and 6 have a few episodes that look like scraps off the cutting room floor. It would also be appreciated if the packaging doesn't employ cardboard sleeves, rather sturdy plastic cases. We recently invested in M:I (Paramount) from the 60s on Blu-ray which was presented in cardboard sleeves rendering many discs scratched. I've received sets that vary from the picture.

I eagerly await this release and sincerely hope great care is exercised in remaster and presentation.

KMG-365

[bmasters1981]

Originally Posted by qballrail

We recently invested in M:I (Paramount) from the 60s on Blu-ray which was presented in cardboard sleeves rendering many discs scratched.

You think that's bad-- try that Martinis and Medicine Collection release of M*A*S*H, that hit 70s and 80s CBS war dramedy; the preponderance of the reviews on Amazon were truly against how it was packaged (some, for one, said the sleeves rubbed up against and scuffed the discs real bad, and the discs remained compromised even after all efforts to restore them, so a lot of money was wasted).

[jtsjc1]

Originally Posted by bmasters1981

You think that's bad-- try that Martinis and Medicine Collection release of M*A*S*H, that hit 70s and 80s CBS war dramedy; the preponderance of the reviews on Amazon were truly against how it was packaged (some, for one, said the sleeves rubbed up against and scuffed the discs real bad, and the discs remained compromised even after all efforts to restore them, so a lot of money was wasted).

After I got it I bought a large cd case and moved all the dvds into it. The box itself is nice and sturdy but the sleeves were a horror show. I wasn't risking damaging the discs to keep them in there.

[bmasters1981]

Originally Posted by jtsjc1

After I got it I bought a large cd case and moved all the dvds into it. The box itself is nice and sturdy but the sleeves were a horror show. I wasn't risking damaging the discs to keep them in there.

And you did right-- I think anyone who gets an all-in-one of any series that could be compromised like that M*A*S*H go should consider doing very much the same thing.