Purchasing The Hazel Seasons 1-5 On Ebay - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

idojfan60s · 02-02-2021, 12:50 AM

I remember watching Hazel back in the '60s and I'm interested in purchasing each of the seasons on ebay. The thing is that while I can get 2, 3, or even 4 of the individual seasons pretty cheap, I've noticed that there are a number of sellers who are selling all five seasons in a dvd box set making each season even cheaper to purchase. Now I have read elsewhere that sets like these could be bootlegs because of how cheap they are and I'm wondering if anyone here has had a good or bad experience regarding buying a collection of all the seasons or have also heard of the reputation of these sets as being inferior bootlegs. I would appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks!

stevea · 03-13-2021, 11:50 PM

Nothing specific on Hazel, but IMO much of what's on Ebay are bootlegs, particularly if they're real cheap. Buyer beware, and really study the seller feedback.

I nearly got burned on Dark Shadows on there till I read up on it.

I think the legit Season 1 of Hazel is out of print, but I'm pretty sure that's the only season that was remastered when released on DVD. I was able to get it off Amazon.

damon strong · 03-14-2021, 07:52 AM

I bought the complete series DVD set off Ebay, and I don't believe they are bootlegs. There are complaints all over the internet about how poor the picture quality is on Seasons 2-5. Washed out, pinkish tones, grainy. They are complete and uncut, save for a couple episodes which seem edited.

idojfan60s · 03-27-2021, 01:35 PM

Between Amazon and Ebay, I finally wound up purchasing the individual seasons from sellers who appeared to be reputable sellers. Aside from some issues with picture quality from seasons 2 -5, I thankfully saw nothing which made me believe that any of them were bootleg dvds.

1960'sTVfan · 01-16-2023, 12:00 PM

The DVD's of Hazel are nicely done, season 1 from Sony and seasons 2-5 from Shout Factory.

It appears that only two episodes are edited, Campaign Manager from season 3 is an edited/syndicated version so I imagine that the complete episode is lost and could not be found.

It's A Dog's Life from season 4 is edited because of music.

Welcome Back Kevin also from season 4 has some minor print damage but it isn't too bad.

stevea · 01-16-2023, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damon strong

I bought the complete series DVD set off Ebay, and I don't believe they are bootlegs. There are complaints all over the internet about how poor the picture quality is on Seasons 2-5. Washed out, pinkish tones, grainy. They are complete and uncut, save for a couple episodes which seem edited.

The episodes on the Shout! DVDs appear to have been sourced from the videotape masters from the 80s or 90s (back when the studios generally transferred their film masters to videotape). These look really good for the most part and Hazel is no exception. Fortunately, when these were mastered to videotape, they transferred both the network and syndication versions, and Shout! got the network versions, with the exceptions noted.

02-02-2021, 12:50 AM	#1
idojfan60s Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 5	Purchasing The Hazel Seasons 1-5 On Ebay I remember watching Hazel back in the '60s and I'm interested in purchasing each of the seasons on ebay. The thing is that while I can get 2, 3, or even 4 of the individual seasons pretty cheap, I've noticed that there are a number of sellers who are selling all five seasons in a dvd box set making each season even cheaper to purchase. Now I have read elsewhere that sets like these could be bootlegs because of how cheap they are and I'm wondering if anyone here has had a good or bad experience regarding buying a collection of all the seasons or have also heard of the reputation of these sets as being inferior bootlegs. I would appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks!

03-13-2021, 11:50 PM	#2
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,217	Nothing specific on Hazel, but IMO much of what's on Ebay are bootlegs, particularly if they're real cheap. Buyer beware, and really study the seller feedback. I nearly got burned on Dark Shadows on there till I read up on it. I think the legit Season 1 of Hazel is out of print, but I'm pretty sure that's the only season that was remastered when released on DVD. I was able to get it off Amazon.

03-14-2021, 07:52 AM	#3
damon strong Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 17, 2010 Location: Toronto ontario Posts: 143	I bought the complete series DVD set off Ebay, and I don't believe they are bootlegs. There are complaints all over the internet about how poor the picture quality is on Seasons 2-5. Washed out, pinkish tones, grainy. They are complete and uncut, save for a couple episodes which seem edited.

03-27-2021, 01:35 PM	#4
idojfan60s Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 5	Between Amazon and Ebay, I finally wound up purchasing the individual seasons from sellers who appeared to be reputable sellers. Aside from some issues with picture quality from seasons 2 -5, I thankfully saw nothing which made me believe that any of them were bootleg dvds.

01-16-2023, 12:00 PM	#5
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,049	The DVD's of Hazel are nicely done, season 1 from Sony and seasons 2-5 from Shout Factory. It appears that only two episodes are edited, Campaign Manager from season 3 is an edited/syndicated version so I imagine that the complete episode is lost and could not be found. It's A Dog's Life from season 4 is edited because of music. Welcome Back Kevin also from season 4 has some minor print damage but it isn't too bad.