Link (http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-03-19-lear-collection_N.htm)

It's a box-set hall of fame: The Norman Lear Collection is a 19-disc DVD set featuring the first seasons of All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, One Day at a Time and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

(June 9, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $159.95).
Along with hours of featurettes and two All in the Family pilots, the set includes new interviews with Rob Reiner, Bea Arthur, Jimmie Walker, Adrienne Barbeau, Rue McClanahan, Bonnie Franklin and Mackenzie Phillips.

Producer Lear is pleased that such shows as All in the Family, with bigoted Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), got viewers talking.

"I would get mail by the tens of thousands. Whether they agreed with Archie or disagreed with Archie, what they all said was, 'My father … my mother … my sister … my family … we argued about this, that and the other thing,' " Lear says. "I think conversation about those issues is what our democracy is all about."

Lear credits actors for his success with spinoffs. "I knew (Maude's Bea Arthur) would just kill with Archie," Lear says. Before the show was over, CBS program chief Fred Silverman "was on the phone saying, 'That woman needs a show of her own.' "

All in the Family, Sanford and Son among series in 19-disc box

Link (http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6645367.html?desc=topstory)

MARCH 20 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is packing in the complete debut seasons of seven of Norman Lear’s highest-profile series, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons, into a 19-disc set streeting June 9.

The Norman Lear Collection (prebook May 7; DVD $159.95) is the first TV on DVD set from Sony to be themed around a single creator.

The featured series also include Maude, Good Times, One Day at a Time and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Lear was involved in crafting the collection, helping to create six hours of documentaries, featuring mostly new interviews with such series stars as Bea Arthur, Rob Reiner, Rue McClanahan and Bonnie Franklin.

In another highlight, two All in the Family pilots never before released on video—“Those Were the Days” and “And Justice for All”—also are part of the Lear Collection.

Bob Oswaks, Sony Pictures Television’s president of marketing, believes this unique treatment of Lear’s work is necessary, considering his impact on the industry.

“I don’t think you can be a fan or someone working in modern TV that has not had some influence from Norman,” said Oswaks. “He took chances and really was a chronicler of what was going on in people’s lives.”

Sony has long wanted to release a Lear retrospective, starting when the studio first released seasons of Sanford and Son and All in the Family in 2002.

“This has been so long in the making,” said Marc Rashba, Sony VP of marketing. “We started talking about this around the birth of the TV DVD business. We’ve been saving all of these great ideas to later pull them together into a Norman Lear box set.”

Sony is positioning the set as a gift item timed to Father’s Day on June 21 and school graduations.

I was so excited to see "All in the Family" listed at tsod.com until I saw it was a re-hash of Season 1 in this box-set. Wish they would continue with Season 7. I have all first seasons in this set so I won't be buying it.

I'd love to get the bonus material, espiecially for AITF, The Jeffersons & Good Times which I already own on DVD but I sure as hell am not double dipping. They should have just made special fatures on the season sets.

I have every set as well as one of the two AITF pilots. Not sure who this is being produced for. What I would buy is a DVD set of Norman Lear failed shows:

All That Glitters
The Dumplings
Grady
Hanging In
Mr. Dugan
A Year at the Top
Hot L Baltimore
The Nancy Walker Show

Now if they did a set with the full runs of those shows, I would grab it in a second. All of the series in this release I've owned for years.

I just saw this on tvshowondvd site. This is just plain stupid and absurd!:mad: Why release DVDs fans already have???? Who is going to pay big bucks for extras that could be included in new relaeases from "All in the Family" Season 7......Maude Season 2 and One Day At Time Season 2......The Jeffersons Season 7?

Come on Sony!! This is a rip-off and a slap to all the fans of this show!!:mad:

Rip-off galore and no sale.

Typical Sony. :rolleyes:

Rip-off galore and no sale.


It's plain robbery!! Shame on you Sony!!:mad:

Agreed. It's just stupidity - why not release the final 3 seasons of AITF already? It's making me damn mad, that's for sure. I'd love to see those 2 unaired pilots and all the featurettes, but I don't want to pay $150 for it.

Now if they did a set with the full runs of those shows, I would grab it in a second.

Likewise.

Completely agree! One thing Sony could easily zone in on is the rare tv market; stuff that hasn't been seen a lot and would be snapped up by fans of rare spinoffs, one season wonders and the sort. I think it could sell really well especially if they did a box-set of such programs. That way you would have to buy the set for whatever it is that interests you. It would appeal to a wider audience that way and sell better. Sony has been sitting on a lot of shows for way too long...

One in a Million
Checking In
Sanford
Grady
Sanford Arms
All's Fair
Gloria
Can't Hurry Love
Style & Substance

And that's just a handful.

I am still fuming over this. I can't believe Sony is doing this!:mad: They are morons!!:mad:

I was unaware a tape of the "And Justice for All" pilot even existed. Norman Lear has been claiming that it's lost for years.

Greg

In the case of Good Times and Sanford & Son, they're triple-dipping, these shows came out with complete series sets after the season sets.

Because none of these series had extras included in their sets, I've put off buying them, now I'm glad. I'm in a good position with this one. But I feel for those who have collected all these series. I hope they follow this up with the remaining seasons of All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place and The Jeffersons, and the second seasons of Maude and One Day.

It looks like Sony has taken the idea given to them by Fox with the Mary Tyler Moore Complete series set a step further by re-releasing the first season of all of these shows and tacking on some interviews that should have been included with the individual releases to begin with. Honestly, these corporate goons have the business ethics of the Khmer Rouge.

I'm not really surprised. :ohno:

I was unaware a tape of the "And Justice for All" pilot even existed. Norman Lear has been claiming that it's lost for years.

Greg


I watched it at UCLA years ago. Don't believe the MTR BS. They think if something isn't waved under their noses, it's lost, as they are too lazy to actually go out and look for anything.

Sony is hemoraging money these days and losing their shirts. This is just a way to try to squeeze money out of already produced products.