A Call to Action For The Editing of Classic TV Shows!

[Jack1000]

Hi All,

E-mailing the networks won't help, general complaining won't help, it seems that TV Land, supposedly garentees TV satisfaction while editing the classic shows that we love so much! However, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY! What I am proposing to all of us, the sitcom fans, is to write a letter to TV Land's general manager Larry W. Jones and tell him how you feel about the issue of the editing of classic TV shows. Maybe if enough people go directly to management they will see the frustration that is caused when shows are edited down. Here are some things to help you write the letter if you persue this option:

1. Start off by being complimentary about how great it is that TV LAND is a 24 hour classic sitcom network...(You may feel like you want to bash TV Land or Mr. Jones but that isn't going to get us anywhere.)

2. Praise the network for showing I Love Lucy uncut during the marathon. (Even if you are NOT an I LOVE LUCY fan). This sends a positive message that you enjoy seeing classics uncut, and say to Mr. Jones that you would like to see more classics restored to their original lengths. Ask Mr. Jones if TV Land would plan to restore other classic sitcomes to their original lenths. (If I were writing I would ask about such shows as Odd Couple, Leave it to Beaver, Brady Bunch, All in the Family & Gilligan's Island)

3. Explain that the biggest frustration is not only the editing of shows, but how they are edited. You might want to ask him, "Why is it that TV LAND chooses to show a sunset scene with no dialoge and removes classic punchlines to compensate?"

4. Be specific and to the point, using these examples. Although you may feel different, thank him for his time

5. Your letter should be no more than 1 page, word processed if possible.

Send it out and let's see what kind of response we get. This is different than e-mail or a phone call amd it just might get TV LAND to listen. In my view, I don't expect miracles. Maybe out of this we could get a marathon of some other classic episodes uncut, even if it is for a short time.

There's safety in numbers...couldn't hurt to try this!!! The address for your letters would be:

Mr. Larry W. Jones
TV Land
1515 Broadway Avenue
New York, NY 10036

[ABC1]

As I think about it, I wonder if I'm kind of pathetic, in that I actually know exactly what scenes have been cut out of The Love Boat since it's been airing on TV Land.
I guess (or hope) I'm no worse than other fans of other shows--those who actually remember scripts and things like that.
I'm still glad that TV Land has picked up The Love Boat, but I do wish that the episodes were aired uncut--or at least the same way they aired on ABC years ago...added commercials just annoy me--if that's the reason for editing the shows...

[jericho]

I can understand the rising cost of production and talent costs on TV shows, but what I can't understand is why the rates of ads don't adjust accordingly? Why do they insert more time for commericals in a show, instead of just raising the rates of ads in order to keep the commercial time the same? It doesn't make sense to me. I hear this not only on tv but radio too. There are far more commerical minutes per hour on the radio then there was in the 80's or even early to mid 90's. TV shows are now close to 10 minutes of ads per half hour. It has slowly progressed to more commerical time since the inception of TV in the 50's. 10 years from now will we see a 50/50 split of commercials vs. show content? When will the madness stop. When will be too much for the public to take?

[Jack1000]

Hey Guys,

I wrote a letter on Word to Larry Jones yesterday and plan to send it out today! I used the "keeping the sunset scenes intact and removing classic punchlines" as an example in my letter, so if you write, you might want to use a different illustration so that he doesn't think this is a "form letter" thing. I also asked about the shows in my original post being restored to their original lengths! I'll let you know when I get a response!