Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen Review - Page 4 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

LUNCH · 04-12-2012, 12:11 PM

It would be nice for example if some oufit like either or both Antenna and Me-TV(or someone else) put at least a few of these programs back on the air.Some of them sound quite good. As already pointed out,a lot of the shows mentioned are available.

Leslie Eckhardt · 04-13-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUNCH

It would be nice for example if some oufit like either or both Antenna and Me-TV(or someone else) put at least a few of these programs back on the air.Some of them sound quite good. As already pointed out,a lot of the shows mentioned are available.

A few years ago I e-mailed ME-TV requesting that they show Pete and Gladys and Wonder Woman and I got a response back from them saying that neither series was available for syndication at that time. I can understand why a practically unknown show like Pete and Gladys would not be Paramount's (who holds the rights) big syndication priority, but with a one-time popular rerun like Wonder Woman, I have to assume that there are some rights issues involved. Even the most obscure programs have things like music rights, product placement issues and so forth. Plus Wonder Woman (like Superman and Batman) has it's primary rights controlled by a comic book organization. What I don't understand is the difference between, say, DVD rights and broadcast rights. Wonder Woman is available on DVD but not for broadcast. Batman is available for broadcast but not for DVD. Both formats bring in revenue for the rights holder (through the sale of commercial air time or the sale of DVD discs).

bencasey · 04-22-2012, 01:42 PM

Pete and Gladys is actually a Sony property. It was owned at one point by Embassy, Norman Lear's company and thus it went to Sony when they bought out his company.

Leslie Eckhardt · 04-23-2012, 11:23 AM

Hmmm. The TV on DVD page is where I sourced Paramount as having the rights. But if Sony owns it it has no better a chance of being released as most people have not even heard of this show. My roommate who is one year older than me never heard of or saw it, but enjoyed it when I showed him some episodes from my bootleg DVD set. The show may not have been I Love Lucy, but it still managed to get a few laughs and Cara Williams was very good (she was nominated for an Emmy) in it.

04-12-2012, 12:11 PM	#46
LUNCH Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 23, 2010 Location: New York State Posts: 1,304	It would be nice for example if some oufit like either or both Antenna and Me-TV(or someone else) put at least a few of these programs back on the air.Some of them sound quite good. As already pointed out,a lot of the shows mentioned are available.

04-22-2012, 01:42 PM	#48
bencasey Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: Long Beach Posts: 1,692	Pete and Gladys is actually a Sony property. It was owned at one point by Embassy, Norman Lear's company and thus it went to Sony when they bought out his company.

04-23-2012, 11:23 AM	#49
Leslie Eckhardt Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 293	Hmmm. The TV on DVD page is where I sourced Paramount as having the rights. But if Sony owns it it has no better a chance of being released as most people have not even heard of this show. My roommate who is one year older than me never heard of or saw it, but enjoyed it when I showed him some episodes from my bootleg DVD set. The show may not have been I Love Lucy, but it still managed to get a few laughs and Cara Williams was very good (she was nominated for an Emmy) in it.