Jeffersons Pilot - Alternate Episode Edit on IMDB Streaming

[cloggedmind]

For those of you who enjoy minutiae, IMDB Streaming has an alternate cut of the Pilot Episode "The Jeffersons Move Up" as part of the All in the Family series run.

Firstly, it is an edited episode, missing Edith's first interaction with Louise, but there is an interesting anomaly..

Now, it looks like two versions of the Pilot must have been made and re-tooled at some point, one with the other Helen and Tom from the previous All in the Family episode and one with Roxy Roker and Franklin Cover. And, I can't be sure that either one was done with a studio audience. But! The IMBD episode is missing the laugh track during the Willis' scenes, and only a "guide" laugh can be heard, making the whole interchange between George, Tom and Helen all the more awkward in a dramatic sense, as well as a technical one!

It ain't like that on the dvd.

The IMDB episodes up to this point in the series (All in the Family) is a mixed bag of unedited and syndicated cuts. Some look to have been re-transferred in the last 10 years, re-instating "From Television City In Hollywood" at the beginning of many, and those eps have full 25 minute run times.

Some early episodes even had color bars and vintage slates, while others have modern slates with text referencing Sony, so I'm sure there are some new transfers in there, somewhere. It's just so jumbled and you never know if you'll get a complete or a cut episode!

Some clock in at 21 minutes or less and are obviously cut.

But, that missing laugh track thing had me floored! Never knew undedited (or, unsweetened) tapes existed for this show?

Wonder what else could be in the Sony vaults that we don't know about?

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

For those of you who enjoy minutiae, IMDB Streaming has an alternate cut of the Pilot Episode "The Jeffersons Move Up" as part of the All in the Family series run.

Firstly, it is an edited episode, missing Edith's first interaction with Louise, but there is an interesting anomaly..

Now, it looks like two versions of the Pilot must have been made and re-tooled at some point, one with the other Helen and Tom from the previous All in the Family episode and one with Roxy Roker and Franklin Cover. And, I can't be sure that either one was done with a studio audience. But! The IMBD episode is missing the laugh track during the Willis' scenes, and only a "guide" laugh can be heard, making the whole interchange between George, Tom and Helen all the more awkward in a dramatic sense, as well as a technical one!

It ain't like that on the dvd.

The IMDB episodes up to this point in the series (All in the Family) is a mixed bag of unedited and syndicated cuts. Some look to have been re-transferred in the last 10 years, re-instating "From Television City In Hollywood" at the beginning of many, and those eps have full 25 minute run times.

Some early episodes even had color bars and vintage slates, while others have modern slates with text referencing Sony, so I'm sure there are some new transfers in there, somewhere. It's just so jumbled and you never know if you'll get a complete or a cut episode!

Some clock in at 21 minutes or less and are obviously cut.

But, that missing laugh track thing had me floored! Never knew undedited (or, unsweetened) tapes existed for this show?

Wonder what else could be in the Sony vaults that we don't know about?

I dont think there is a version with the other tom and helen for the move up episode. I do recall seeing a pic of a different helen with Franklin Cover in the move up episode

[cloggedmind]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I dont think there is a version with the other tom and helen for the move up episode. I do recall seeing a pic of a different helen with Franklin Cover in the move up episode

Wow! So, the Helen character was re-cast again? Who was the other actress?

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

Wow! So, the Helen character was re-cast again? Who was the other actress?

Yeah its another darkskin lady with tom and I think I saw the pic on the episode guide for IMDB

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

Wow! So, the Helen character was re-cast again? Who was the other actress?

This is the pic I am referring to. This looks like another version of the pilot

[cloggedmind]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

This is the pic I am referring to. This looks like another version of the pilot

Nope, never seen that version with the different actress. I wonder if that iteration still exists somewhere?

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

Nope, never seen that version with the different actress. I wonder if that iteration still exists somewhere?

The actress name is Midge sinclair and I believe her name is in the closing credits for the Jeffersons Move Up episode

[mets82]

If I'm not mistaken, she was in the movie Coming to America. She played Akeem's mother.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by mets82

If I'm not mistaken, she was in the movie Coming to America. She played Akeem's mother.

Yes she was

[vitoscotti]

Watching AITF from the start on IMDb tv. Up to S5 E17 Jeffersons Move On Up. This thread explains some of the episode's flaws. But, the whole episode is unprofessional. Sherman Hemsley always smiling, the awkward pauses between lines, single person laugh in background. The entire episode is a trainwreck. It appears to be an unpolished rehearsal. Is any of this alternate IMDb tv episode on the DVD version? Or is it all different? From the studio vault.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by vitoscotti

Watching AITF from the start on IMDb tv. Up to S5 E17 Jeffersons Move On Up. This thread explains some of the episode's flaws. But, the whole episode is unprofessional. Sherman Hemsley always smiling, the awkward pauses between lines, single person laugh in background. The entire episode is a trainwreck. It appears to be an unpolished rehearsal. Is any of this alternate IMDb tv episode on the DVD version? Or is it all different? From the studio vault.

What episode is a trainwreck? Jeffersons Move Up?

[cloggedmind]

Here's a clip of the alternate edit of "The Jeffersons Move Up":



This isn't a "trainwreck" as described above, rather than a technical anomaly. During transfer, the canned laugh track was omitted from the soundtrack during the scenes of Tom and Helen that were inserted into the next-to-final edit. It makes the scene play awkwardly for the home viewer, but this is indicative of only one stage of how programs get assembled for final release. And, it's rare and neat to see!

This copy was likely pulled from the archive by accident during recent years for digitizing as part of the online collection of All In The Family. A few episodes of AITF on IMDB are new (as of 2007, anyway!) transfers that are more complete than the dvds, including color bars and slates at the start:


Madge Sinclair is, indeed, erroneously credited as Helen Willis instead of Roxy Roker on this particular transfer.


Somewhere down the line, we need someone to go through the classic series libraries like the Norman Lear collection and re-transfer episodes from broadcast masters. There's no telling what else may be lurking in the archives!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

Here's a clip of the alternate edit of "The Jeffersons Move Up":



This isn't a "trainwreck" as described above, rather than a technical anomaly. During transfer, the canned laugh track was omitted from the soundtrack during the scenes of Tom and Helen that were inserted into the next-to-final edit. It makes the scene play awkwardly for the home viewer, but this is indicative of only one stage of how programs get assembled for final release. And, it's rare and neat to see!

This copy was likely pulled from the archive by accident during recent years for digitizing as part of the online collection of All In The Family. A few episodes of AITF on IMDB are new transfers that are more complete than the dvds, including color bars and slates at the start.

Somewhere down the line, we need someone to go through classic series like the Norman Lear collection and re-transfer episodes from broadcast masters. There's no telling what else may be lurking in the archives!

Are you saying the pilot on IMDB is a lot different?

[cloggedmind]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Are you saying the pilot on IMDB is a lot different?

The IMDB edit is different insofar as the soundtrack is concerned and is a syndicated edit, clocking in at 22:32, eliminating Edith's first bit with Louise in the kitchen. I will be checking this against the dvd version to see if any other edits are present. Also, since AITF's episode "Gloria's Pregnancy" runs 27 minutes on IMDB with color bars and slate, I intend to do a comparison to the dvd with that one, as well, to see if there are any differences.

Still glad to have a copy of this to go with The Jeffersons complete series set. I think this stuff is fascinating.

I wish they would re-transfer Sanford and Son as complete episodes from the broadcast masters, as I would looooove to see the entire end credits film play out to the end of the song. Maybe it would also be possible to eliminate the dialogue and effects (audience) from the music to get a clean version of that mix of the theme, as well?

Rhino pulled off a miracle getting The Monkees transferred from original negatives, Sony could certainly put some effort into these Norman Lear perennial cash cows and give us something spectacular, surely?!!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

The IMDB edit is different insofar as the soundtrack is concerned and is a syndicated edit, clocking in at 22:32, eliminating Edith's first bit with Louise in the kitchen. I will be checking this against the dvd version to see if any edits are present. Also, since AITF's episode "Gloria's Pregnancy" runs 27 minutes on IMDB with color bars and slate, I intend to do a comparison to the dvd with that one, as well, to see if there are any differences.

I think this stuff is fascinating. I wish they would re-transfer Sanford and Son as complete episodes from the broadcast masters, as I would looooove to see the entire end credits film play out to the end of the song. Maybe it would also be possible to eliminate the dialogue and effects (audience) from the music to get a clean version of that mix of the theme, as well?

Rhino pulled off a miracle getting The Monkees transferred from original negatives, Sony could certainly put some cash into these perennial cash cows and give us something spectacular, surely?!!

I was thinking that IMDB had the pilot with the other helen lol