From what I have read there are plans to eventually release the "I Love Lucy"
series on high-definition dvd. I'm thinking that there's a good chance that the same will be done with the Honeymooners. I heard that on a recent music award show they showed a segment of video from a 50's variety show that had been processed with the latest computer technology that made the video clip look as though it had been filmed with modern video equipment.
How awesome that would be if they applied that technology to the Honeymooners series and then released it on high-definition dvd. Anyone out there have an opinion on this. Tell me what you think.:wave:

Nobody wants to see this happen?:confused:

I have 2 different sides to this. 1 side says yes since some of the episodes could use a little work & it would be nice to see it crystal clear. The other side kind of likes the "old" look to the shows & would miss it BUT I guess the original releases could alway be kept incase. So the answer is yes I'd like to see this done.

I have 2 different sides to this. 1 side says yes since some of the episodes could use a little work & it would be nice to see it crystal clear. The other side kind of likes the "old" look to the shows & would miss it BUT I guess the original releases could alway be kept incase. So the answer is yes I'd like to see this done.

You make a very good point. There's a very unique aura and feel to the episodes when viewed just as they are right now. I would hate to lose
experiencing that captivating effect. As long as the original releases were
available it would be interesting to compare the differences.

The other side kind of likes the "old" look to the shows & would miss it
I agree, I personally love the scratchy black & white feel of the show. That's one of the reasons I could never really get into the color episodes. On the other hand, if they were able to restore the Lost Episodes to look like the Classic 39, it'd definitely be interesting to see.

Just out of curiosity Bill S. what did you think about the replacements *Alice & Trixie* in The Color Honeymooners? To be honest I've never seen them & really don't intend to. As much as I love Art & Jackie I could never imagine Alice & Trixie being played by someone other than Audrey or Joyce.

Just out of curiosity Bill S. what did you think about the replacements *Alice & Trixie* in The Color Honeymooners? To be honest I've never seen them & really don't intend to. As much as I love Art & Jackie I could never imagine Alice & Trixie being played by someone other than Audrey or Joyce.
I'm not much of a fan of the Color Honeymooners, I could never get used to them. They're kind of sad in a sense, with the musical numbers, different wives and an older Gleason & Carney recycling old Lost Episode scripts that I already know and love, it just seemed unnecessary. I'm not saying Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean weren't good actresses, they just weren't Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph. Even Pert Kelton took some getting used to, but she was the first Alice, so I was able to accept that. A part of me wishes Jackie would've just left it alone after the 50's, but I guess the color versions were good for the time, since the Lost Episodes that they were remaking didn't come to light until the 80's.

Agree 100% thanks for sharing your opinion. I often heard it was hard for Jackie to let go of The Honeymooner characters as they were one of the biggest things he really loved & put all his effort into..I guess maybe that's why he had to give it another go. I'm sure he would be glad that the Kramden's & Norton's are still going strong.

The Honeymooners in color doesn't look right to me. It seems unnatural. Even though they were shot that way, it looks alien to me. Besides, I'm not a fan of musicals anyway and to have the "fake" Alice and Trixie just adds to the dislike factor.

The Honeymooners should be viewed in black and white, with the episodes ("lost" and "classic") from the fifties.

Besides, I would think that you can only do so much to old film via upconverting. I'd be curious to see what enhanced digital HD Honeymooners would look like, but not at the expense of taking away the original look and feel.

That's like when they take old recordings and use noise reduction as part of the remastering process for CDs - it kind of sucks the life out of the recording. Tape hiss was part of the original tape and your ears adjust to it after a while. Same with video artifacts.

That's like when they take old recordings and use noise reduction as part of the remastering process for CDs - it kind of sucks the life out of the recording. Tape hiss was part of the original tape and your ears adjust to it after a while. Same with video artifacts.

True. The occasional line or 2 through the episodes is something I don't even notice anymore while others new to seeing it are annoyed by it. Never knew the Color Honeymooners had singing in them *until today* don't-even-want-to-imagine. The originals are always the best :).

True. The occasional line or 2 through the episodes is something I don't even notice anymore while others new to seeing it are annoyed by it. Never knew the Color Honeymooners had singing in them *until today* don't-even-want-to-imagine. The originals are always the best :).

I've seen a few of them. Nothing special. They should have left well enough alone.

I remember they aired a colorized '50s episode of The Honeymooners back in the mid-'80s when colorizing technology was a new thing and it looked horrible. It looked like a child had colored it with crayons. And that's only a slight exaggeration.

I've seen a few of them. Nothing special. They should have left well enough alone.

I remember they aired a colorized '50s episode of The Honeymooners back in the mid-'80s when colorizing technology was a new thing and it looked horrible. It looked like a child had colored it with crayons. And that's only a slight exaggeration.
More like an understatement, if you ask me. If I wanted to see The Honeymooners in color, I'd settle for those late '60's Miami-made installments. As I've seen on AmericanLife (and MPI's Color Honeymooners Collection #1). The '70's hour-long non-musical specials, well . . .

Never knew the Color Honeymooners had singing in them *until today* don't-even-want-to-imagine.
Yeah, the Kramdens and Nortons randomly breaking out in song and dance really takes away from the realism of the show. With the black & white shows, it was almost as if you were a neighbor looking in on this struggling family from outside the window. I'm sure the same could be said about some of the color shows too, but if my neighbors just randomly jumped up and started singing out of nowhere I think I'd get outta town. :lol:

^LOL especially a Ralph Kramden type! Like he says in the "Catch a Star" episode "I don't know what he's drinking but whatever it is get me a case of it."

The more I think about it, making them look as though they were filmed today is wrong. They were filmed over fifty years ago. To me, tweaking them too much is like airbrushing the original look or performing plastic surgery.

You can process the charm and soul out of something if you go overboard with technology. I don't mind if they fix a film splice or restore a frame or fix some minor glitches that would detract from watchability. But that's as far as it should go for me.

You can process the charm and soul out of something if you go overboard with technology.[/QUOTE]

I agree with your statement. It will be interesting to see just how much they effect the look and feel of the show.

Like he says in the "Catch a Star" episode "I don't know what he's drinking but whatever it is get me a case of it."
Or as worded in the remake "Ralph Kramden Presents": "Find out what he's drinking, and order me a case."

Or as worded in the remake "Ralph Kramden Presents": "Find out what he's drinking, and order me a case."

I've never heard of "Ralph Kramden Presents" is it the same story line as "Catch a Star?" And I made a little mistake he actually said "I don't know what it is but whatever he's drinking get me a case of it" eh I wasn't to far off :).
-Had to edit this post since I re-read & saw you said "remake." Excuse the stupidity I'm having a slow day.-

They are actually releasing I Love Lucy season sets on High Definition? You got to be kidding me, the I Love Lucy video transfer are gorgeous, there is no need to release I Love Lucy on high defintion, I guess I might be the only one who thinks that is a pointless rerelease...

They are actually releasing I Love Lucy season sets on High Definition? You got to be kidding me, the I Love Lucy video transfer are gorgeous, there is no need to release I Love Lucy on high defintion, I guess I might be the only one who thinks that is a pointless rerelease...

If it's MPI doing it, their motive is to squeeze more money out of people!

If it's MPI doing it, their motive is to squeeze more money out of people!

Very true and it is pretty sad and pathetic

I've never heard of "Ralph Kramden Presents" is it the same story line as "Catch a Star?" And I made a little mistake he actually said "I don't know what it is but whatever he's drinking get me a case of it" eh I wasn't to far off :).
-Had to edit this post since I re-read & saw you said "remake." Excuse the stupidity I'm having a slow day.-
In any case, I understand . . . the story lines of both episodes in question are indeed the same, the differences being among the casts (i.e. who played Alice and Trixie) - however, George Petrie played the desk clerk at the hotel where Gleason was staying, in both versions.

I know at the end of Act IV of the 1967 "Ralph Kramden Presents," Norton propositions Jane Kean and gets a slap in the face - and he recognizes she reminds him of Trixie. Did the original 1956 "Catch a Star" have that same gag (or variation thereof) viz Joyce Randolph? (I saw dribs and drabs of the original, but am more familiar with the redo, believe it or not.)

They are actually releasing I Love Lucy season sets on High Definition? You got to be kidding me, the I Love Lucy video transfer are gorgeous, there is no need to release I Love Lucy on high defintion, I guess I might be the only one who thinks that is a pointless rerelease...

Check out the "I Love Lucy" message board on this website and search around. There is one thread that talks about "I Love Lucy" season sets being released in High Definitioin.

Did the original 1956 "Catch a Star" have that same gag (or variation thereof) viz Joyce Randolph? (I saw dribs and drabs of the original, but am more familiar with the redo, believe it or not.)
I'm pretty sure Norton didn't get slapped in "Catch A Star."

^Yeah Norton wasn't slapped.

If it's MPI doing it, their motive is to squeeze more money out of people!
MPI doesn't have the rights to I Love Lucy though, do they?

^Yeah Norton wasn't slapped.
Thanks for clearing that up, I knew I'd remember something like that if it happened.

MPI doesn't have the rights to I Love Lucy though, do they?



No, that distinction goes to CBS, which also owns the Classic 39 Honeymooners.

I think if MPI wanted to release ILL they would probably have to pay some astronomical fee for it, especialy when you consider that it's Lucy and it makes $$$$$$$$$$ for CBS.

MPI did release some of the Beverly Hillbillies on DVD in 2 season sets, I believe. They were "authorized" by Paul Hennings estate, but from what I understand, not all episodes from season 1 & 2 were included, just the ones from those seasons that are considered public domain. By doing that MPI could release a quality set without having to pay rights to the films so it was pretty much money in MPI's pockets. I could be wrong or have some of the information wrong, but I think that CBS owns Hillbillies, except for the rights of some of the shows that are PD. (kind of like how The Dick Van Dyke Show has 6 or 8 shows that keep getting released on cheap DVDs because those few episodes are in the public domain, as are episodes of the Lucy Show. Does anyone know why this happens?)

I think if MPI wanted to release ILL they would probably have to pay some astronomical fee for it, especialy when you consider that it's Lucy and it makes $$$$$$$$$$ for CBS.

MPI did release some of the Beverly Hillbillies on DVD in 2 season sets, I believe. They were "authorized" by Paul Hennings estate, but from what I understand, not all episodes from season 1 & 2 were included, just the ones from those seasons that are considered public domain. By doing that MPI could release a quality set without having to pay rights to the films so it was pretty much money in MPI's pockets. I could be wrong or have some of the information wrong, but I think that CBS owns Hillbillies, except for the rights of some of the shows that are PD. (kind of like how The Dick Van Dyke Show has 6 or 8 shows that keep getting released on cheap DVDs because those few episodes are in the public domain, as are episodes of the Lucy Show. Does anyone know why this happens?)


You're right about the public domain shows. That Beverly Hillbillies set is screwed up. You can get countless versions of those shows packaged by different vendors and as cheap as dirt! FYI. I believe there is a remastered version of the WWII epic series "Victory at Sea" which is 26 episodes. It will cost you a pretty penny on the A&E/History Channel website....but Walmart's bargain bin had the series on 2 seperate discs for $1.00 each.