More "Here's Lucy" DVDs?

[NOVARick]

I'm listening to Stu's Show on Shokus Internet Radio. Paul Brownstein, who has the DVD rights to "Here's Lucy" is the guest. Stu made a comment that there will be no more "Here's Lucy"s on DVD. Brownstein responded, "Never say never." So maybe we have a tiny bit of hope here that we will see more "Here's Lucy."

[Benno123]

I have a feeling that we will see more HL on DVD, but the question is when. I think that we'll get The Lucy Show first, with all six seasons available. After TLS, then we'll see HL on disc. Just my prediction.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Benno123

I have a feeling that we will see more HL on DVD, but the question is when. I think that we'll get The Lucy Show first, with all six seasons available. After TLS, then we'll see HL on disc. Just my prediction.

I hope you're right. Don't hold your breath even for "The Lucy Show" to be released on DVD. CBS Paramount Television has some concerns about the fact that there are already public domain episodes available on the cheap. They were reluctant even to put out a release of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" on DVD, thinking people are only interested in buying the six seasons of "I Love Lucy." The word is they will be paying close attention to how well TLDCH sells before making a decision on whether to release TLS. So get out an buy a copy (or two) of TLDCH!

[rjt100]

I totally disagree that CBS/Paramount Home Video is concerned about the 30 public domain episodes of "The Lucy Show" affecting the sales of a season-by-season release of "The Lucy Show." There are still 126 episodes (some of them are true classics) that are in the vaults and they should all be released. There are just as many public domain episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" being sold and CBS/Paramount Home Video released all eight seasons on DVD.

There is definitely an audience for "The Lucy Show" just by the fact that "The Best of Here's Lucy" sold better than expected. The only thing holding up the release of "Here's Lucy" is probably the Arnaz children and the licensing fee.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by rjt100

I totally disagree that CBS/Paramount Home Video is concerned about the 30 public domain episodes of "The Lucy Show" affecting the sales of a season-by-season release of "The Lucy Show." There are still 126 episodes (some of them are true classics) that are in the vaults and they should all be released. There are just as many public domain episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" being sold and CBS/Paramount Home Video released all eight seasons on DVD.

There is definitely an audience for "The Lucy Show" just by the fact that "The Best of Here's Lucy" sold better than expected. The only thing holding up the release of "Here's Lucy" is probably the Arnaz children and the licensing fee.

Whether or not you agree CBS/Paramount is concerned about the issue of public domain episodes, the fact is they are. I have this from a most reliable source, someone who's been dealing with them so obviously would know. These are business people, so obviously they're going to be concerned about these issues. "The Lucy Show" isn't "The Andy Griffith Show." It is perceived as a lesser Lucille Ball series compared to "I Love Lucy" and there are questions about whether there is a big enough market for people to continue spending money on "Lucy" after they already own the more superior "I Love Lucy."

[drewfussclass101]

hey,

novarick do you have an email address for the cbs/paramount people so i can email them and ask them what the plans are for TLS. Its a long shot i know but still worth it

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by drewfussclass101

hey,

novarick do you have an email address for the cbs/paramount people so i can email them and ask them what the plans are for TLS. Its a long shot i know but still worth it

I'm afraid I don't have their contact information, but I can check with a couple guys who might. I agree with you it doesn't hurt to try. I get the sense the marketing people there don't really understand this particular market. The way I see it, shows like TLDCH and "The Lucy Show" are more desirable to Lucy fans for the mere reason that they are not as accessible as "I Love Lucy," which continues to run daily on TV Land. On the other hand, I understand the fear Paramount has. The studios are finding it's hard to make a profit on releases of TV series on DVD. Think about it: they're priced only a few dollars more than a movie on DVD, which is the price the market will bear, but there's about 12 times as much material as a movie DVD. There also tends to be a trend when a series is released that the first season may do well, but then second season sales are lower, and each subsequent season gets even lower. So with TLS, they're looking at it as a less popular continuation of "I Love Lucy."

I wonder, though, how companies like MPI are able to continue to make money on releases of shows like "The Doris Day Show" which isn't exactly doing stellar sales, yet they're now up to the season four release (the current Amazon.com rank of Season 4, which came out just a week ago, is way down below 4,000). But then a show like "Mary Tyler Moore," which managed to break the top 30 in its most recent release (season four) was considered by Fox not to be successful. Maybe these big studios like Fox and Paramount just don't have a good business model for doing DVD releases while little companies like MPI and Shout! are somehow able to make it work.

[drewfussclass101]

where do you go to check the ranks and how a dvd is doing on amazon i looked and couldnt find it

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by drewfussclass101

where do you go to check the ranks and how a dvd is doing on amazon i looked and couldnt find it

I first search the item, then under the product details it indicates the rank among all DVD sales. There is a link there that, if you click on it, takes you to the top 100 list. But based on another message you posted on the "I Love Lucy" board, it appears you've already figured this out.

[storrs19]

Following up on the Public Domain thing here, exactly how did 30 episodes of TLS wind up in PD anyway? Seems Desilu would have renewed the copyrights on the entire series and not overlook 30 random episodes. I have always wondered about this.

Chad

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by storrs19

Following up on the Public Domain thing here, exactly how did 30 episodes of TLS wind up in PD anyway? Seems Desilu would have renewed the copyrights on the entire series and not overlook 30 random episodes. I have always wondered about this.

Chad

The story I heard is that it happened in the late '70s. Some admin at Paramount messed up and didn't get the copyrights renewed on those 30 episodes as well as episodes of several other series including "The Andy Griffith Show."

[Robert 13]

I hope we get more "Here's Lucy" on dvd at some point. But I'd rather have some official "Lucy Show" dvds first. The set they did release for "Here's Lucy" is fantastic! If they weren't going to release season sets, then this was the next best thing.