Just wondering if anyone out there besides myself prefers the "Colorized" First Season episodes instead of the original B&W ones? I know MeTV aired the colorized versions at least once, does anybody by any chance have those in their collection? I would love to get copies of them.

I never thought they did a very good job so I actually prefer the B&W versions. However, if they ever release the episodes and use the process they did on Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie I'd snap them up in an instant.

Personally, I don't like colorization of any kind. I want any programs that were originally produced in black and white to remain black and white. If you can only enjoy programs that are colorized, well, you can't really enjoy the classics now, can you?

I love colorization, especially the new modern version of it, it looks completely real and natural. However when Gilligan was colorized it was done when colorization was in it's infancy and anything but perfected. Suffice it to say, this early primitive effort at colorization leaves a lot to be desired. BUT, if they were to re-colorize it today using modern techniques I too would "snap it up" in a second.

I think ALL b/w movies/TV shows should be colorized, I dream of this coming true one day. And to the b/w only stuck in the mud color deniers I say open your eyes, life is in color and so should all movies and TV. If you don't like it, keep it to yourself.:D

I love colorization, especially the new modern version of it, it looks completely real and natural. However when Gilligan was colorized it was done when colorization was in it's infancy and anything but perfected. Suffice it to say, this early primitive effort at colorization leaves a lot to be desired. BUT, if they were to re-colorize it today using modern techniques I too would "snap it up" in a second.

I think ALL b/w movies/TV shows should be colorized, I dream of this coming true one day. And to the b/w only stuck in the mud color deniers I say open your eyes, life is in color and so should all movies and TV. If you don't like it, keep it to yourself.:D

Are you kidding me? Classics should not be tampered with in any way just to make it more "palatable" for modern audiences. If it was originally broadcast in mono, it should not be updated to stereo. If it was originally shown in standard definition, it should not be updated to high definition. If it was originally produced in black and white, it should not be colorized!

MeTV just loves the colorized prints they have. I don't think they even air season 1 in B/W anymore. IMO that's a terrible shame, chiefly because the color prints are ancient and atrociously made. The castaways' flesh tones look like they're awkwardly caught somewhere between the B/W and color worlds. The vegetation, as in every plant you see, is colored a nice uniform shade of dull green. This is worse than a cheap cartoon, and much, much worse than just leaving well enough alone and showing them in B/W! :confused:

As I explained, these current colorized 1st season Gilligans were colorized when colorization was first started, in it's infancy and in no way perfected to the modern technological state that colorization is today. So there's no doubt these Gilligans should be colorized again using today's modern techniques, then what a beautiful picture :rainbow: we'd have to enjoy.

Just imagine, one day seeing the Honeymooners classic 39 in beautiful living color, Dennis The Menace in COLOR, the first season of Hazel and the first 5 seasons of My 3 Sons in wonderful modern day colorization!!!!:clap: I hope I see this become a reality, ALL TV/Movies filmed in b/w and mono NEED to be colorized and STEROFIED. :yippee: You can watch the stodgy versions if you insist,:snob: but allow us progressive forward thinkersparty: the pleasure of watching our entertainment the way it should be seen and heard IN COLOR :rainbow1: AND STEROFIED!!!:cheer:

MeTV just loves the colorized prints they have. I don't think they even air season 1 in B/W anymore. IMO that's a terrible shame, chiefly because the color prints are ancient and atrociously made. The castaways' flesh tones look like they're awkwardly caught somewhere between the B/W and color worlds. The vegetation, as in every plant you see, is colored a nice uniform shade of dull green. This is worse than a cheap cartoon, and much, much worse than just leaving well enough alone and showing them in B/W! :confused:

Thank you, PhoenixAcres. I couldn't agree more. I'm quite relieved that there are people like you who can appreciate the classics for what they are and don't need to have them "modernized" to make them more palatable to contemporary audiences. I swear, Hazel Anyday is pretty much a personification of the "Viewers are Morons" trope in that he/she can only appreciate something old if it's "refined" to look new.

I would imagine most classic TV fans prefer shows in their original format, i.e. without colorized alterations. I was fortunate to be exposed to these old shows when I was really young so I'm able to appreciate both color and B/W shows equally.

Personally I would never be able to enjoy colorized series, no matter how good they are, because it's essentially re-directing and re-making the shows by putting in extra content that isn't native to the show. But there is a market for colorized episodes, as evidenced by a few of the posters here. My feeling is as long as the original untouched content is still available to watch I really can't complain if they colorize old series.

I agree with "Phoenix Acres" assessment of the color quality of the 27 year old color job done on Gilligan's first season and I've already explained TWICE the reason for it's lack of quality. I don't chew my cud 3 times, re-read my every word over and over if it takes till you understand. And Glickman seems to suffer from attention deficit even more, Glick you better re-read it twice as many times as Phoenix, your elitist nose might be getting in the way of my brilliant words.

Phoenix, you're a perfect example of the know it all snob who thinks his opinion and only his opinion is the right way of thinking and anyone who dares disagrees is beneath you or as Hillary would call everyone who doesn't agree, a "deplorable".

To show how wrong you are again, as if there were any need to, I happen to be an old geezer who saw these shows back when they were first broadcast and even then I wished they were in color. I told you I am a forward thinker. If you had your stuck in the mud b/w elitist way no one would be allowed to watch an old TV show unless they watched it on a TV set made in 1954 by Philco, after all that's the way it was meant to be, right?

Now that I've shown you the error of your ways and you now can't wait for everything to be colorized, just like me, let's hear it for COLORIZATION, modern day colorization (In case you still don't get the difference between colorization from 1988 vs. new beautiful colorization of 2017). Let all cheer together for a NEW color version of Gilligan Season 1 and let's not leave out a beautiful color version of Citizen Kane either, right?, ready? All together now, Hip Hip Hooray Hip Hip Hooray COLORIZATOIN Is Here To Stay!!!:happyface

I would imagine most classic TV fans prefer shows in their original format, i.e. without colorized alterations. I was fortunate to be exposed to these old shows when I was really young so I'm able to appreciate both color and B/W shows equally.

Personally I would never be able to enjoy colorized series, no matter how good they are, because it's essentially re-directing and re-making the shows by putting in extra content that isn't native to the show. But there is a market for colorized episodes, as evidenced by a few of the posters here. My feeling is as long as the original untouched content is still available to watch I really can't complain if they colorize old series.

Yeah, that's my opinion, too. I was just afraid that with the way Hazel Anyday was talking, he/she was saying that old b&w programs should only be seen if they were colorized and stereoified.

Yeah, that's my opinion, too. I was just afraid that with the way Hazel Anyday was talking, he/she was saying that old b&w programs should only be seen if they were colorized and stereoified..
Yep, it appears that is his preference.

To Hazel Anyday: Believe it or not, I want you to be happy. You're able to get enjoyment out of colorized shows that I can't, but that's alright. As I've said, there is a market for this process and I have no problem as long as the originals are available as well. Everyone is entitled to their preference. That's why I said "personally", "IMO", etc. when I was talking about why I dislike colorization.

We've seen recently what can be done with I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show, and I have no objection when colorization is processed that well. And I mean REALLY well!! Existing GI is a different story -- it pales by comparison and really should be redone if Season 1 is to be seen in color.

When film fans object, mainly they cringe at the idea of old "film noir" being colorized. I think it's a totally different realm when you imagine what could be done with lighthearted TV fare like Mister Ed, Make Room for Daddy (Rusty!!), Dennis the Menace, Bachelor Father, My Favorite Martian (early) , and so many other series.

I'd like to see Gilligan redone...I'm sure it could be greatly improved, given what they did originally. I'd like to see some other classic episodes colorized, like CBS did with Lucy. Such as the In the Soup episode of Leave It To Beaver, for example.

Phoenix A. I owe you an apology, I got the names of who I was talking to mixed up. I meant my wrath to be addressed to Glickman, not to you Phoenix, as far as his opinion as being the only right opinion.

And yes I would love to see all b/w movies/TV shows in color, but that's a fantasy I don't hope to see come true, but wouldn't it be great. And as I've said before in these arguments, if you like these things in b/w, by all means watch them that way, I just don't like it when the b/w elitists try to stop us color lovers from seeing these shows in beautiful color.

And once again, as I've said now 3 times, the existing Gilligan colorized 1st season shows do look lousy. Why, class??? Let's see if you were listening. Yes, because they were colorized way back 30 years ago when colorization was in it's infancy and in no way improved to the standard that it is today in 2017. So, yes, Gilligan needs to be re-colorized with today's tech, but to be honest, I'd much rather see Dennis the Menace, Hazel, Gunsmoke and Honeymooners colorized first before they get to re-colorizing Gilligan. Gilligan is not one of my real favorites anyway.:cool:

They should colorize that back-and-white episode of Moonlighting. And the "That's Our Rosey" episode of "Roseanne".

Are you kidding me? Classics should not be tampered with in any way just to make it more "palatable" for modern audiences. If it was originally broadcast in mono, it should not be updated to stereo. If it was originally shown in standard definition, it should not be updated to high definition. If it was originally produced in black and white, it should not be colorized!

:clap :yeahthat

:uplol:

To make the older shows "more palatable" is definitely not the sole reason for colorization; actually I think that falls far down in importance to helping bring in new, younger viewers seeing the series for the first time.

I'm in my 50s and just now getting around to viewing series from the 1950s like I Married Joan and Life with Elizabeth. The star power of Jim Backus and Betty White, coupled with newly colored primetime presentations, could help get these series the exposure they deserve and ensure their not being lost to the new generations.

To make the older shows "more palatable" is definitely not the sole reason for colorization; actually I think that falls far down in importance to helping bring in new, younger viewers seeing the series for the first time.

I'm in my 50s and just now getting around to viewing series from the 1950s like I Married Joan and Life with Elizabeth. The star power of Jim Backus and Betty White, coupled with newly colored primetime presentations, could help get these series the exposure they deserve and ensure their not being lost to the new generations.


Okay, but we also have to have the option of being able to view the original black and white versions as well.

Absolutely. I'm always hopeful to see more b & w series, and just as hopeful that they'll be properly restored. It's a great loss that so much of the DuMont network output is gone. There have been too few stories of recovery for any lost early series; Mr. Peepers seems to be a pretty rare exception, where it had been believed lost. From much later on, videotape wiping is a tremendous problem for daytime and other network programming.

Preservation of the original elements is of paramount importance. Maybe we will see some nice, crisp My Three Sons b & w in the future, but for now only Seasons 1 & 2 are available with restored video.

Wouldn't mind if season one were colorized, using modern technology. The B&W disks would still be available. Must say that the season one disks are quite outstanding as far as picture quality. I watch a lot of old TV shows on disk using a desktop computer and 24 inch monitor and GI season one is outstanding. As an aside, DVD drives on computers are slowly going away. I build computers and computer cases that will accomodate a DVD or Blu-Ray drive are slowly being phased out.
I think the first effort to colorize GI season one was called Tintoretto. At the end of the show credits seem to remember that name, with a graphic of a butterfly in flight.

Absolutely. I'm always hopeful to see more b & w series, and just as hopeful that they'll be properly restored. It's a great loss that so much of the DuMont network output is gone. There have been too few stories of recovery for any lost early series; Mr. Peepers seems to be a pretty rare exception, where it had been believed lost. From much later on, videotape wiping is a tremendous problem for daytime and other network programming.

Preservation of the original elements is of paramount importance. Maybe we will see some nice, crisp My Three Sons b & w in the future, but for now only Seasons 1 & 2 are available with restored video.

Glad you agree with me. I honestly thought you were going to be another Hazel Anyday. Boy, do I feel quite humbled right now.

There is nothing better for anyone to aspire to than to be just like humble little me.:rolleyes: And I do indeedy do also love old b/w series, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to see them in glorious color.:) Would love to see My 3 Sons first 5 seasons in color, WOW, now that would be fantastic!!:D

I've recently seen some of the season 1 episodes again on MeTV. According to the credits they were colorized in 1991. Before anyone ever thought of remastering, DVD, better quality prints, etc. The prints they used appear to be 16mm syndication prints, which makes sense--this is what TBS had access to--but the quality is akin to what was sent around to TV stations years ago--BAD. Probably no one will ever go back and re-colorize from better sources, like the 35mm originals. BUT, it would probably be possible to color correct the horrible original job. Someone ought to attempt it!

Kudos to MeTV for running season 1 in black and white this time around.

https://archive.org/details/07-the-sound-of-quacking

Just look at how the Gunsmoke sequence was "colorized"! Lulz!!

These were an interesting curio, but little else. All of the episodes are uploaded, currently, on Archive courtesy of myself, including the vhs releases. But, these don't usually last long before being deleted, so grab what you can. They include all the METV glitches and standard-def, vhs artifacts that you can imagine!

There were 6 vhs tapes released by Warner Bros around 1994 that contained the episodes unedited and not time-compressed, like they were on TNT.

You really have to use your imagination and squint a little to get past the primitive nature and limited color palette. Let's see: Green, grey (shaded darker to make blue and a kind of pale purple), linen(sepia/flesh tone?), red and yellow. That's 5 colors, plus the areas left in black and white and not shaded. Weird choices, too, like making Gilligan's hair red (auburn, ultimately) in episode 1, "Two On A Raft" and 12, "Birds Gotta Fly..", just detract from the whole experience. Sorta.

I'm of an age where my first viewings of Gilligan and tons of other shows like Star Trek, which was produced in color, were on black&white television sets. We didn't have a fully functioning color set until the 80's!

The funniest part is that it seems the colorizing team spent more time on their logo than on the actual program!

https://i.ibb.co/z4Ks8HZ/VTS-01-1-VOB-snapshot-26-52-2023-06-24-17-59-24.jpg (https://ibb.co/z4Ks8HZ)

Also, worthy of note:
METV Carolina never, to my knowledge, aired episode 12 in colorized form. It was always black and white even during the holiday show marathon that the archived copy was taken from (that came from a different broadcast area, obviously!). I did try to capture that one show repeatedly, but it was always the same b&w version. No clue why.

During the original run of these colorized shows, METV retained the 4x3 aspect ratio. After a time, the image on all the episodes, even seasons 2 and 3, got zoomed for a bit of fake widescreen-ing, as you'll see in episode 12, taken from a much later run.

LOL for those that prefer the Black and White originals - just click your tv settings to Black & White - my tv has that setting

I like the colorized myself