Mr. Terrific news - Why I'm beginning to hate Universal

[sbeamish]

A friend in Germany just e-mailed me to let me know that Mr. Terrific is actually, finally going to be getting an official DVD release. Unfortunately, as far as we know, it is only being released in Germany, and in German and under the title "Immer wenn er Pillen nahm."

No word yet as to whether this 7/17/09 release will have an English language option. Absolutely no word on an American release.

Come on Universal. Let's see some action, A-C-T-I-O-N, action. I ain't gettin' any younger here.

[bencasey]

Do you really believe Universal would ever dream of releasing the show here? C'mon, you're smarter than that. Do you want me to list the dozens and dozens of shows that are far, far more popular that Universal owns that they will never release? Shows that were highly rated that ran for years. Just hope that there is an English option and if there is, thank your lucky stars and buy it!

[sbeamish]

Originally Posted by bencasey

Do you really believe Universal would ever dream of releasing the show here? C'mon, you're smarter than that. Do you want me to list the dozens and dozens of shows that are far, far more popular that Universal owns that they will never release? Shows that were highly rated that ran for years. Just hope that there is an English option and if there is, thank your lucky stars and buy it!

I didn't really believe that it would ever be released in Germany. Though it is far more popular over there, as far as I know it hasn't been run in syndication in the last six years.

Miracles do happen. I never thought I'd see "Good Morning World."

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

I didn't really believe that it would ever be released in Germany. Though it is far more popular over there, as far as I know it hasn't been run in syndication in the last six years.

Miracles do happen. I never thought I'd see "Good Morning World."

Good Morning World is owned by Sam Denoff, an independent producer. You are comparing apples and elephants. How does the fact that an independently produced show comes out have anything to do with Universal, which owns thousands of series and doesn't even bother with the popular ones? Just to explain, Universal owns the following shows that have not been released:

Six Million Dollar Man
Bionic Woman
Marcus Welby, MD
Run for You Life
It Takes a Thief
The Bold Ones

Do I need to go on? They never even got past 2nd season of Leave it to Beaver and that show is a million times more popular. And the only reason that a bunch of black and white 50s Universal shows have come out is because the 16mm prints fell off the back of a truck on the way to the landfill and companies can get them from collectors and license them from Universal.

Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Is there an English option on the DVDs?

[sbeamish]

Originally Posted by bencasey

Is there an English option on the DVDs?

That I don't know yet. I've seen the listing on Amazon.de, the German Amazon site, but, of course, I can't read German. Even my German friend is unsure at this point.

My question would be: isn't it possible that some independent DVD producer might license Mr. Terrific or some of these other shows for release so Universal simply collects a fee and assumes no financial risk? Didn't you once say that almost happened with The Pruitts of Southampton?

You asked about my beliefs. I'll tell you what I believed a mere four years ago.

At that point I'd already been searching for Mr. Terrific for about three years. I believed that I had already maxed out on the series; that all I would ever find was the compilation movie, the unaired pilot and the two episodes aired by TVLand.

That was it. There simply didn't seem to be any more episodes available.

It was not faith nor my "belief" that I was destined to find the show that made me keep searching. It was "hope:" a hope that defied the odds. But it doesn't really cost you anything to keep hope, even an impossible hope, alive.

I got lucky, and now we have all 17 episodes (14 in English). This COULD not have happened without my two friends in Germany. It WOULD not have happened if I'd given up hope. I think a lot of fans are amazed by how this once "lost" series has been restored.

So maybe you're right. Maybe this is the last hurrah. This could well be the last batch of new prints we ever see from this show. And maybe I'll luck out again, and there'll be an English option.

But even if there's no such option, I'll keep hoping (and whenever possible pressing) for a complete, pristine set of eps in English.

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

My question would be: isn't it possible that some independent DVD producer might license Mr. Terrific or some of these other shows for release so Universal simply collects a fee and assumes no financial risk? Didn't you once say that almost happened with The Pruitts of Southhampton?

Again, it all depends on who the studio is and what elements they have available. Universal does license their shows out but it is contingent on what elements they have available. Timeless Media was able to license quite a few shows from Universal but Universal didn't provide any elements. Timeless had to come up with the prints on their own and had to rely on what had made it's way into the collectors market. Recently, Universal has licensed out some shows to Shout Factory, such as Adam-12 and Ironside. In this instance, Universal already had videotape masters that they could give to Shout. Mr. Terrific would most likely not have an existing set of tape masters, other than the 2 episodes that were mastered for TV Land. And film prints of the show do not exist in the collectors world. Of course Universal has the original elements. But their in-house transfer costs are something $5000 per show. So, for 17 shows, minus the 2 they already ran off for TV Land, it would them $75,000. Hey, nothing is impossible but I just think it would be highly unlikely. But, hey, if the German DVDs have English language as an option, then what difference does it make if it comes out here or not?

[bencasey]

I actually just got an email from amazon germany and it will have English as an option on the DVDs! So, problem solved.

[sbeamish]

Originally Posted by bencasey

I actually just got an email from amazon germany and it will have English as an option on the DVDs! So, problem solved.

I think you've just become one of my best friends.

Edit: Uh, my wife just brought up a point. They do mean the original English soundtrack and not English subtitles, right?

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

I think you've just become one of my best friends.

Edit: Uh, my wife just brought up a point. They do mean the original English soundtrack and not English subtitles, right?

No, not subtitles. Here's the email I got from amazon germany:


Thank you for contacting Amazon.de.


We are sorry for any misunderstanding.


I have checked the data and found that the DVD "Immer, wenn er Pillen nahm" includes both German and English language, however has no subtitles on it.


You can check yourself if you click on this link:


http://www.dvd-forum.at/28768/vorschau_detail.htm


Tonformat: Deutsch (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Englisch (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Untertitel: Keine Untertitel


I hope this helps you further and wish you a pleasant week.



So, you're in! Now, what can we do about me getting the show Hank?

[sbeamish]

Wow. Thanks a lot.

And that link answers another of my questions. I imagine that at "425 Minuten" it probably includes all 17 aired episodes. I was a bit concerned about that.

I wish that I could help with Hank. It's been quite a long time since I've seen that show, and I remember really enjoying it. We never missed it at our house. (I think my mom had a thing for the lead actor.)

I'll keep my eyes and ears open though. And, as I said before, don't give up hoping. I was told that Mr. Terrific had probably been destroyed, that it had been locked away forever due to the whole "pill" thing and also that my only hope of seeing it was if TVLand picked it up. - All wrong.

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

I was told that Mr. Terrific had probably been destroyed, that it had been locked away forever due to the whole "pill" thing and also that my only hope of seeing it was if TVLand picked it up. - All wrong.

Whoever told you it was destroyed is a moron. Prime time filmed series owned by major studios do not get "destroyed", especially if it's Universal. They don't get rid of anything.

[sbeamish]

^ I kind of think the guy who said that was thinking about motion pictures and not television. Weren't a lot of old movies destroyed (some lost forever) to retrieve the silver nitrate in the film stock?

Anyway, the latest news on Immer, wenn er Pillen nahm is that it will not be released on July 17. The release has been delayed for an as yet undisclosed length of time. Amazon.de has pulled the listing and stopped taking pre-orders.

I don't know much more except that fans are being assured the series will eventually be released. For some reason, another series from that time period has to come out first.

I imagine it's something contractual, because I know of no "prerequisite" series for Mr. Terrific.

Time will tell.

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

^ I kind of think the guy who said that was thinking about motion pictures and not television. Weren't a lot of old movies destroyed (some lost forever) to retrieve the silver nitrate in the film stock?

Anyway, the latest news on Immer, wenn er Pillen nahm is that it will not be released on July 17. The release has been delayed for an as yet undisclosed length of time. Amazon.de has pulled the listing and stopped taking pre-orders.

I don't know much more except that fans are being assured the series will eventually be released. For some reason, another series from that time period has to come out first.

I imagine it's something contractual, because I know of no "prerequisite" series for Mr. Terrific.

Time will tell.

Which one? Pistols 'n' Petticoats? The Jean Arthur Show? 90 Bristol Court? Road West? Run for Your Life?

[sbeamish]

^Whoops. I forgot to mention that they haven't announced which series yet.

[bencasey]

Originally Posted by sbeamish

^Whoops. I forgot to mention that they haven't announced which series yet.

How do you know if it's from that time period if you don't know what show it is?