B&W Or Colorized

[snelson]

which dvd set do you prefer i have the colorized versions and i must say they did a great job there were some errors

endora's hair was too red in some episodes.
getrude's ear was black and white.
samantha's hair went from blonde to light gold in some episodes

i am going to record the black and white seasons on tvland unless i end up buying the b&w versions

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by snelson

which dvd set do you prefer i have the colorized versions and i must say they did a great job there were some errors

endora's hair was too red in some episodes.
getrude's ear was black and white.
samantha's hair went from blonde to light gold in some episodes

i am going to record the black and white seasons on tvland unless i end up buying the b&w versions

I thought they did a wonderful & overall superb & accurate job of colorizing Bewitched.

Of course if you get the first two seasons in Color you get them in B/W as well, all you have to do is turn off the color on your remote control for your TV & it i exactly the same grey scale as the B/W sets are.

The B/W sets are not an accurate replication of how Bewitched was originally seen in B/W in 1964 to 1966, if you want the original shadows, lighting, witchy feel, contrast and visual feel then you need to see original studio 16mm prints or the Columbia House & Screen Gems VHS tapes which were done before the show was restored & remastered.

The Columbia House tapes are especially as the show was originally seen in the vintage sense with the same aestetic quality's that were seen back in the 1960's.

So you really don't need to record the shows again in B/W as you will have them already on your Color DVD's with the color turned off.

So i am a proponant of the Colorized episodes as it is a Two for One deal in effect, both Color & B/W.

Larry Tate

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Colorizing alters the grey scale. Turning down the color on a colorized show will get you a black and white picture which is distorted in comparison to the original print.

I consider colorizing a crime against both art and historical accuracy, but that's my thang. If you enjoy your Bewitched in faux hues, then rock on. But don't make the claim that the colorizing process leaves the grey scale of the original unchanged; that is just not true.

[comedyfreak]

I like the colorized and b&w versions.

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by TDRyan

Colorizing alters the grey scale. Turning down the color on a colorized show will get you a black and white picture which is distorted in comparison to the original print.

I consider colorizing a crime against both art and historical accuracy, but that's my thang. If you enjoy your Bewitched in faux hues, then rock on. But don't make the claim that the colorizing process leaves the grey scale of the original unchanged; that is just not true.

The point is that Sony used a colorized turn the color off grey scale for their B/W option on seasons one & two not the original print, that is what i meant that if you have the colorized version & turn the color off then you get the exact same version as the B/W one that Sony offered, even though it is very different then the original version seen in the 1960's which you can see on the CH VHS tapes.

That is just Sony being cheap & not wanting to pay for two restored versions.

I don't consider the colors fake looking at all, in fact they in my view look very realistic as if they were filmed in color which creates a seamlessness as you go into the actual color filmed season 3.

Even N@N when they got the color episodes as well in 1998 i think it was, used the restored grey scale prints in showing the B/W episodes before the colorization took place & as such the B/W episodes clearly looked as they do now & different then they had in the early 1990's when they had used the original unrestored prints from the 1960's, the restoration process altered the B/W look from the original well before the colorization took place.

Larry Tate

[TeeVeeCloset]

Bewitched is one of the few classic series I didn't collect, I love it though and just picked up the colorized version (only choice available) two pack containing seasons 1 and 2 at target for $19.99.....I couldn't pass up that type of bargain! Wish they would continue this with future seasons, but they probably didn't produce as many season 3 and beyond sets that need to be sold at bargain basement prices.

[catlover79]

I went out and bought the first 5 seasons the day they first came out. All Target had were the colorized sets, so that's what I got. But I like the b&w, too - that's what I saw on my local station!!

[Schmoopie]

I prefer the original black and white and then the color versions that came out later-the way they were meant to be. I didn't even know they made colorized ones, I thought they just filmed the first few seasons in black and white and then the later ones in color when it became available.

[MickeyMac]

Black and white all the way. I wouldnt take the colorized versions for free. Frankly I think colorization looks cheap and tacky. Original black and white prints should stay that way.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...the reason that "BEWITCHED" was originally filmed in black and white during its first two seasons was primarily due to...financial considerations, on both Screen Gems/Columbia and ABC's part.

First, ABC was ill-equipped to telecast more color programming than the two series already scheduled ["THE FLINTSTONES" and "JONNY QUEST"] for its 1964-'65 season, simply because they didn't have the money to expand its color technology to more of its affiliates [and most of them couldn't afford to telecast color shows because they didn't have the resources or technology- how many times did regional editions of TV GUIDE describe ABC's color shows duirng the '60s with the disclaimer, "Channel - will not colorcast this program"?]. The network finally generated enough cash to improve their color telecasting abilities to begin 100% color programming in prime-time in the fall of 1966.

And second, that was just fine with Screen Gems, because, let's face it, when it came to producing color shows prior to 1966, they were cheap. If they could "get by" with producing just two or (at the most) three network series in color every season, that was fine with them [the cost of filming Hanna-Barbera's series in color, which they distributed, was Bill & Joe's responsibility, which they embraced because they knew TV's future was going to be COLOR]- especially if the show's sponsor was willing to spend the extra money to film it in color {i.e. Ford Motor Company's "HAZEL" and Chrysler's "EMPIRE"...and both of those were on NBC, the ONLY network to regularly telecast a handful of color series on a weekly basis in the early '60s}. The special effects used on "BEWITCHED" was the main reason Screen Gems didn't want to spend the extra money to initially film it in color. And General Motors' Chevrolet division, even though they COULD afford the extra cost, was only a co-sponsor [with Quaker Oats], and decided not to offer additional funding for color, as they did by fully sponsoring "BONANZA" on Sunday nights over NBC. In the fall of 1965, however, Screen Gems began producing almost all of its weekly series in color (including the conversion of "THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER" to full color, and new series "GIDGET" and "THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY")- except "BEWITCHED" and "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" (those special effects again), even though Sidney Sheldon offered to pay the extra $400 per episode for color in "JEANNIE"'s first season, yet Screen Gems executive Jerry Hyams told him, "Don't throw your money away".

Finally, when all three networks "converted" to 100% color programming in prime-time for the fall of 1966, Screen Gems bowed to the inevitable, and allowed color filming on "JEANNIE"...and "BEWITCHED". They "found" the extra money {Sidney Sheldon, as producer and owner of his series, chipped in}.

And yet, it cost SONY (the successor to Columbia) untold millions of dollars to "convert" the first two seasons of "BEWITCHED" and "JEANNIE"'s initial season to color, for syndication/cable and DVD use, in 2000. And all because those controlling Screen Gems in the '60s were cheap....

[OH Nuts!]

I'll take the show any witch way...b&w or color its A LOTTA fun!!!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by OH Nuts!

I'll take the show any witch way...b&w or color its A LOTTA fun!!!

My sentiments exactly!!!!

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

...the reason that "BEWITCHED" was originally filmed in black and white during its first two seasons was primarily due to...financial considerations, on both Screen Gems/Columbia and ABC's part.

First, ABC was ill-equipped to telecast more color programming than the two series already scheduled ["THE FLINTSTONES" and "JONNY QUEST"] for its 1964-'65 season, simply because they didn't have the money to expand its color technology to more of its affiliates [and most of them couldn't afford to telecast color shows because they didn't have the resources or technology- how many times did regional editions of TV GUIDE describe ABC's color shows duirng the '60s with the disclaimer, "Channel - will not colorcast this program"?]. The network finally generated enough cash to improve their color telecasting abilities to begin 100% color programming in prime-time in the fall of 1966.

And second, that was just fine with Screen Gems, because, let's face it, when it came to producing color shows prior to 1966, they were cheap. If they could "get by" with producing just two or (at the most) three network series in color every season, that was fine with them [the cost of filming Hanna-Barbera's series in color, which they distributed, was Bill & Joe's responsibility, which they embraced because they knew TV's future was going to be COLOR]- especially if the show's sponsor was willing to spend the extra money to film it in color {i.e. Ford Motor Company's "HAZEL" and Chrysler's "EMPIRE"...and both of those were on NBC, the ONLY network to regularly telecast a handful of color series on a weekly basis in the early '60s}. The special effects used on "BEWITCHED" was the main reason Screen Gems didn't want to spend the extra money to initially film it in color. And General Motors' Chevrolet division, even though they COULD afford the extra cost, was only a co-sponsor [with Quaker Oats], and decided not to offer additional funding for color, as they did by fully sponsoring "BONANZA" on Sunday nights over NBC. In the fall of 1965, however, Screen Gems began producing almost all of its weekly series in color (including the conversion of "THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER" to full color, and new series "GIDGET" and "THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY")- except "BEWITCHED" and "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" (those special effects again), even though Sidney Sheldon offered to pay the extra $400 per episode for color in "JEANNIE"'s first season, yet Screen Gems executive Jerry Hyams told him, "Don't throw your money away".

Finally, when all three networks "converted" to 100% color programming in prime-time for the fall of 1966, Screen Gems bowed to the inevitable, and allowed color filming on "JEANNIE"...and "BEWITCHED". They "found" the extra money {Sidney Sheldon, as producer and owner of his series, chipped in}.

And yet, it cost SONY (the successor to Columbia) untold millions of dollars to "convert" the first two seasons of "BEWITCHED" and "JEANNIE"'s initial season to color, for syndication/cable and DVD use, in 2000. And all because those controlling Screen Gems in the '60s were cheap....

I never saw the first season of Jeannie until N@N showed it. It was never in syndication with the other episodes when I was a kid. Although I did see the first 2 seasons of Bewitched , they weren't syndicated as much as the rest of the series. I never understood why the shows weren't syndicated together regardless if it was in color or not.