Before Shout Factory's recent announcement of the series on DVD and way before Antenna TV and Logo started airing the series, how did you guys build your collections?

For years the show had not seen much syndication time besides local stations airing it and of course E aired it in the 90s. Recordings were very rare and almost impossible to find.

It made a brief appearance on Comcast's now defunct on demand platform called Tube Time (airing 3 full seasons, and a partial 4th season). The sets that went around in traders circles at that time came from those airings. Seasons 5-9 were very hard to find, until recordings from Comedy Gold appeared about 3 or so years ago (Thanks Joker). Finally when Antenna TV picked the show up, people were able to make their own sets.

As a big fan of the show, I have spent hundreds of dollars on homemade sets and recordings of the show to build my collection. If I had known that Shout would eventually release the series, I could have saved myself that burden. LOL!

LOGO butchered the show to pieces, as I've said before and will again!:angryfire It was totally unwatchable on there cause you were only getting about 19 1/2 minutes of show...if you take out the theme.

Also, it is running on Fetv now. I am looking forward to the box set though!

I had the following on VHS:
Most of S2 from the local Fox affiliate airings circa 1991
S1 from a brief TBS run in late 1992
Some S2 and S3 eps from the E! airings circa 1995
Complete Series on disc from Tube Time, Deja View and Comedy Gold airings

Next week I can toss all those!

I have 128 episodes of the series recorded and saved on my DVR, airings from Antenna TV, but if I decide to buy the complete series DVD I'll be able to delete those recordings and free up a bunch of space on my DVR.

Yes, our previous collections of the show can be retired. As always with any classic show, I keep the original airings regardless of whether that show is on DVD. The historical value of those airings are priceless.

Yes, our previous collections of the show can be retired. As always with any classic show, I keep the original airings regardless of whether that show is on DVD. The historical value of those airings are priceless.
For space reasons, etc. I always get rid of my old tapes or bootlegs when a show is released on DVD. The only exception is if the DVD has cut scenes or music replacement (for example, the S6 "Malibu Mansion" episode of Laverne & Shirley which had a large scene missing on DVD).

We are definitely on the same page when it comes to music number editing with DVDs. I have kept my The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley and Happy Days bootlegs for those reasons. I have also kept a few episodes from my bootleg set of Mama's Family because of the music number that were cut from those DVDs.

For space reasons, etc. I always get rid of my old tapes or bootlegs when a show is released on DVD. The only exception is if the DVD has cut scenes or music replacement (for example, the S6 "Malibu Mansion" episode of Laverne & Shirley which had a large scene missing on DVD).

I saw that episode on Me-TV with that scene intact and I was OK with it being cut from the DVD. Didn't add much IMO.

I don't think it will be necessary to save TV recordings of One Day At A Time episodes since the DVD set is said to have uncut episodes. Haven't seen any complaints so far regarding anything being edited. If I decide to buy the DVD's, I won't need the Antenna TV airings anymore and will be freeing up a bunch of space on my DVR.

Also from Antenna TV, I recorded seasons 1, 3 and 4 of The Joey Bishop Show. And from Get TV, I recorded the Peter Loves Mary episodes, and also recorded The Girl With Something Extra episodes. I've transferred all of these on to DVD's since it's questionable if they will ever get a retail DVD release.

Back in the 1980's, from about 1983 to 1987, I recorded East Side Kids and Bowery Boys movies from WGN TV in Chicago. I still have these and I'm glad I kept them, the movies are uncut but what makes them unique is that they have a certain aged appearance to them which gives them a cool nostalgic/retro look. These airings were from a time before all the older stuff started getting digitally remastered and restored.

We are definitely on the same page when it comes to music number editing with DVDs. I have kept my The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley and Happy Days bootlegs for those reasons. I have also kept a few episodes from my bootleg set of Mama's Family because of the music number that were cut from those DVDs.
Well I am still kicking myself for tossing my MAMA tapes as soon as StarVista announced the release because they stated the episodes were complete which was a lie. I don't mind losing the Harper Days sequence from the "Mama for Mayor" two-parter that much, but I really miss the "Singin' in the Rain" bit from "Mama in One".

Back in the 1980's, from about 1983 to 1987, I recorded East Side Kids and Bowery Boys movies from WGN TV in Chicago. I still have these and I'm glad I kept them, the movies are uncut but what makes them unique is that they have a certain aged appearance to them which gives them a cool nostalgic/retro look. These airings were from a time before all the older stuff started getting digitally remastered and restored.

I know what you mean - It's that pre-digital analog "16mm Film Print" look of older prints that have that "look and feel" :)

It's like the smell of old comic books - there's nothing else like it :)

I know what you mean - It's that pre-digital analog "16mm Film Print" look of older prints that have that "look and feel" :)

It's like the smell of old comic books - there's nothing else like it :)

Yes, those were 16mm prints of East Side Kids/Bowery Boys that WGN used to air back in the day.

Nowadays, everything is digitally remastered and restored. There's nothing wrong with that, but the remastered stuff doesn't have the aura and charm of an old 16mm print. :)

Well I am still kicking myself for tossing my MAMA tapes as soon as StarVista announced the release because they stated the episodes were complete which was a lie. I don't mind losing the Harper Days sequence from the "Mama for Mayor" two-parter that much, but I really miss the "Singin' in the Rain" bit from "Mama in One".

I am such a huge fan of Mama's Family that I can't watch episodes where the music has been cut out or replaced. No matter how corny their music numbers were, they made the show what it was. Harper Days, You're Gonna Miss Your Everlovin Mama, Everything Old is New Again, Side By Side, Hard Hearted Hannah, Singin in the Rain and Midnight Choo Choo among several others are the reason I fell in love with the show. The cast seemed to have so much fun doing those numbers.

I started collecting episodes when I was in college back in the early 2000's. I got a hold of some VHS Tapes with about 20 some episodes from random seasons from when it aired on E! back in the mid 90s. I then got a hold of some episodes that had been put on DVD from Tube Time/Dejaview and Comedy Gold. I even got a hold of some original CBS recordings.

With all that said, I was able to get a complete set together of all episodes. All that work ...now I've got the Complete Series! It gives me hope for Head of the Class, It's a Living and the Hogan Family to come out on DVD!

I have given up hope for It's a Living. I don't even know if WB has digitalized the series yet. It would be great to see on Antenna. I guess we'll just have to be content with your bootleg set with VHS rips.

I have given up hope for It's a Living. I don't even know if WB has digitalized the series yet. It would be great to see on Antenna. I guess we'll just have to be content with your bootleg set with VHS rips.

I'd love to see It's a Living on Antenna:)