http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3074

Geez... they sure know how to upset the fans.
DONT BUY THIS.

I can't say I'm surprised. I find it amazing how a big company like this puts out screwed up releases of this, Saved By The Bell. while a much smaller company like Shout Factory can put out good Punky Brewster releases. The sad thing is us fans who expressed our displeasure wasn't enough for them to care about. How crappy quality can the originals be anyway, they're less than 20 years old? believe their attitude and the attitude of other companies who have screwed up sets is should consider ourselves lucky to have it out at all. Sure, studos will go out of their way for shows like Friends or Star Trek but the lesser shows are often treated poorly.

Here's a petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/alfdvd2/petition.html) that might help things, though they almost never work.

This sucks. :( I'm not buying the season 2 dvd.

I am sick of everyone complaining about the 2 minutes cut off of ALF for Season One, and I think you all need to keep your mouth shut for season 2.

Be happy the series is being released on DVD cause god knows if it wasn't lions gate, it wouldn't be released. Quit Complaining. Sounds like you all have too much time on your hands or you aren't very happy.

Get over it.

I agree with the above poster. Sure its too bad you wont get the original uncut episodes, but I would rather have a 20 minute episode (oppsed to 22) than no episode at all! I went and rewatched Season 1 and barely noticed differences! If you don't like it, don't buy it. Just quit crying, because it won't make Lion Gate change their minds. I cant wait till this season comes out and I will snatch it up right away!

The original episodes are more like 24-25 minutes, compare that to these 20 minute ones... its 4-5 minutes cut out, not 2.

For syndication the episodes were cut down to 21 minutes. These edited versions were used for the US DVD release. Plus they DO only cut 2 minutes not four to five minutes. if they cut five minutes then there would only be 4 minutes of commercials, that is wrong. there are more commercials than that.

Every show has been edited 2 minutes prior to 1995!!!!

I compared them myself... pilot episode on dvd: about 21 minutes or so...
pilot episode on vhs (full episode): 24,20 minutes (estimated)... thats 3 minutes edited.
Episodes DID air about 24-25 minutes until about 1991 or so.

I dont expect people to care about this, but well.. if you wanna go ahead and buy this junk, then do. But dont complain if the company keeps releasing cut episodes just cause they are too cheap to get the proper versions. Who knows... maybe in a few years all DVD companies will consider using syndicated eps cause its cheaper and the buyers will buy any junk they release.

Conclusion: Lions Gate are too cheap to get the proper versions of the episodes and you support this scam.

As soon as I found out that the episodes on Season 1 were cut, i forgot about any plans of buying it, and there's no way I would pay for a similarily cut Season 2 release.

If you are happy paying money for it fine, but you'll just have to accept the fact that a LOT of fans are seriously pissed off at this - telling them to shut up is ridiculous.

Quit complaining, we know you wont buy the sets, that won't change EVERYONE's desicion. Myself and Preditor74 are the only ones who has enough balls to say our own opinon on the case, rather than agree with everyone and complain.

What part of Shut up didn't you understand.

Quit complaining, we know you wont buy the sets, that won't change EVERYONE's desicion. Myself and Preditor74 are the only ones who has enough balls to say our own opinon on the case, rather than agree with everyone and complain.

What part of Shut up didn't you understand. i WAS stating my own opinion - I'm not trying to change anyone else's opinion, but I DO think that people should be AWARE that these episodes ARE all cut, and NOT in the form that they originally aired.

The part of Shut up that I dont understand is what you hope to accomplish by going around saying that to anyone that has a different opinion than you do.

Reminder:
4. No personal attacks - ...No impersonation of other users. Also, do not act in a matter interpreted as condescending towards other users. They have just as much right to express their opinion as you.

Do NOT tell forum users to "Shut Up" and act in a rude tone just because their opinion is different from yours. It's NOT tolerated.
---
There comes a certain expectation with TV DVDs...that the episodes are in reasonable quality COMPLETE shows...if we wanted to watch syndication edits, we'd watch syndication. TVDVD is an outlet in which commercial time is a nonissue, allowing studios to release the episodes uncut.

My issue with the way the issue was handled is that Lions Gate, not ONCE with the season 1 releases, mentioned that the episodes were edits. By allowing edited episodes to filter through to the consumer, solely because the studio is too cheap to clean up the original prints - it sets a bad precedent for other studios that want to release TV DVDs. "Hey, I don't want to spend as little money as over, so I'll just release edited versions....the consumer didn't care then, won't care now"

I DO care...there is no way I'm going to plop down my hard earned money for copies of episodes which are ultimately the exact same that [random station x] airs at 7:30 on weekend mornings - If I'm to buy a TV DVD release, I damned well want the original episodes

Quit complaining, we know you wont buy the sets, that won't change EVERYONE's desicion. Myself and Preditor74 are the only ones who has enough balls to say our own opinon on the case, rather than agree with everyone and complain.

What part of Shut up didn't you understand.


maybe YOU should teach us all the MEANING OF SHUT UP by EXAMPLE.

GET OVER IT, INDEED!

I just wanted to point out that all those jumping on the "Lions Gate are cheap" bandwagon as to being the reason why LG aren't using the original ALF episodes might want to consider the money they are spending shooting NEW ALF matierial for the menus (one of the few releases to have these live video intros), the high quality packaging with embossed ALF, and also securing the rights to previously unseen footage such as Season One's gag reel, and the unaired pilot episode. Obviously the budget on these kind of TV DVD releases isnt massive, but if Lions Gate really wanted to be cheap they could have just put out the syndicated episodes with cheap packaging, very basic menus, and no extras. They aren't.

Obviously every single thing in the DVD's production costs money and Lions Gate have to decide in what areas to spend it. They have decided to put the money into presentation and extras rather than paying a lot of money to restore the original episodes for the sake of a few minutes extra footage per episode when they already have great quality syndicated matierial available. Yes, it isn't ideal, and it would be lovely to have the original episodes remastered but with all of the other stuff they are doing for the ALF DVD releases they obviously don't have the budget left for it. If ALF had a larger market and greater sales then sure, maybe they could cover all bases but the retro TV dvd market is crowded enough as it is and the ALF sitcom was rarely re-run on American TV over the past 15 years unlike shows such as Happy Days, Flintstones etc so not everybody is as familiar with it - certainly not enough for the average joe on the street to recognise the cuts made. I don't like Lions Gates decision to use the syndicated episodes but i can definitely see their point when you weigh in all the factors.

All i can say is that i'd rather have something rather than nothing and i was very pleased with most aspects of the Season One DVD release, i'm looking forward to Season Two (and beyond .... hopefully) and there is lots of extra goodies out there that hopefully Lions Gate can track down and include on the future releases. There have been times over the years when ALF fans have had quite a drought as regards to anything "new" so seeing the new footage filmed for extras and the unaired pilot is fantastic. I bet if Lions Gate would have spent the money available on remastering the original episodes and just put them out on their own everybody would be complaining there's no extras so they're damned if they do and damned if they don't really.

I'd rather have a dvd with ONLY the episodes themselves, with no extras at all as long as the episodes are complete, much like the Cheers dvds.

I'd rather have a dvd with ONLY the episodes themselves, with no extras at all as long as the episodes are complete, much like the Cheers dvds.

As a hardcore ALF fan i probably would too (although the extra stuff is great) but these are mass market releases and Lions Gate are aiming them at the average joe on the street who remembers the ALF show from their youth and is willing to spend twenty bucks or so re-living it. I can see that an unaired pilot, rare outtakes, ALF video intros and spangly packaging is gonna be a bigger incentive for them to buy than the discs having a couple of minutes more original footage when most people buying it probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the original and syndicated episodes. Can't really blame them for thinking about this from a sales point of view.

The only decent extra was the unaired pilot, and could that be, hmm, because it was unedited?

Probably not, since very few people had ever seen it to know that. What was wrong with the gag reel then? ALF fans have been asking for years about the availability of behind the scenes footage, they got it and i'm sure many were happy about that. Have you actually watched the DVD since you said you cancelled your order?

maybe YOU should teach us all the MEANING OF SHUT UP by EXAMPLE.

GET OVER IT, INDEED!

hey,

At least Lions Gate is admitting to putting the Syndication episodes on the season 2 release. There is nothing hidden about that, so if you don't want it, don't buy it. I am just sick of people being so picky, they all yearn for alf on dvd but when they get it, they are complaining over 2-4 minutes. That sounds pathetic!

I can't say I'm surprised. I find it amazing how a big company like this puts out screwed up releases of this, Saved By The Bell. while a much smaller company like Shout Factory can put out good Punky Brewster releases. The sad thing is us fans who expressed our displeasure wasn't enough for them to care about. How crappy quality can the originals be anyway, they're less than 20 years old? believe their attitude and the attitude of other companies who have screwed up sets is should consider ourselves lucky to have it out at all. Sure, studos will go out of their way for shows like Friends or Star Trek but the lesser shows are often treated poorly.


That's why I'm so confused. ALF started around 86 or 87 because i remember watching it when I was in 7th grade. How in the hell can the originals be in bad shape when this show is less tha 20 years old?-lol Mind Boggling

I am sick of everyone complaining about the 2 minutes cut off of ALF for Season One, and I think you all need to keep your mouth shut for season 2.

Be happy the series is being released on DVD cause god knows if it wasn't lions gate, it wouldn't be released. Quit Complaining. Sounds like you all have too much time on your hands or you aren't very happy.

Get over it.


Listen Idiot, people have a right to be upset because they are making money off of SHORTER eps. People want FULL LENGTH EPS not some syndicated versions you can record off cable. So if you want to go and spend your money on edited you go right ahead and be happy.

I'm gonna buy it, and I'll be estatic.

I am so excited ALF SEASON 2 plus the movie.

YIPPY!!!!!!!!!