Question For Anyone With "Uncut" Tapes? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Jack1000 · 07-14-2003, 12:04 AM

Guys,

For years and years, there is probably no other sitcom than the Brady Bunch that employs the practice of "Quick Fade to Black." This is where the screen goes to a quick black fade out, often in the middle of a line and the next scene starts in the middle of a sentence. I had asked some months ago about the ending of Mrs. Watson's speech in "Her Sister's Shadow." and was told by a moderator that the next line (after the audience clapping in that faded "Vote For Brady" stockpile footage) both Columbia House/ Paramount's tapes start out in the middle of Jan's next line....."and I wanted to win at something so badly, I didn't know what to do." I would assume that there is a "fade to black" in that scene in the Columbia House/Paramount VHS tapes, just as there is on TV Land and ALL syndicataed editions of the Brady Bunch.

I would make an educated guess that if you guys have "Quick Fade to Black's in your Columbia House or Paramount tapes that something is missing! There is no way, using my example from "Her Sister's Shadow" that something isn't missing. How can you tell if you get a VHS or DVD that you really have an uncut version? Somebody from Paramount (now Viacom) needs to go back to the original masters and do a check especially if this show comes to DVD. Boxes even on DVD versions say "The Complete ____ Season." But I don't think they say "The Uncut Version." I don't have a DVD player, but if you go to almost any Brady Bunch episode. (and Gilligan's Island is just as bad) you will find anywhere from 5-8 fade to blacks in almost every episode!

Question is not just for the The Brady Bunch but for any "fade to black" sequence in any sitcom. If you have any version of a show, you can't be sure it's uncut unless you have the original master to compare it to.

Keep this in mind if/when Brady Bunch comes out to DVD.

Jack

TV Guy · 07-17-2003, 12:43 AM

I agree that it's possible that Columbia House may have inadvertently released edited episodes in some cases (they admitted to mistakenly using some edited copies when releasing "Good Times").

As far as the specific scene in "Her Sister's Shadow" that you're talking about, I don't think it's necessarily edited. The reason that they start with the end of Jan's explanation to her parents is that they beat the rest of the explanation to death earlier in the episode, and there was no reason to have to hear it again. Starting with the end of Jan's explanation is simply a technique to eliminate exposition that we have already heard. It's actually a pretty common technique in TV writing. I've seen it used in "Cheers" pretty frequently.

That said, it's just one man's opinion.

07-14-2003, 12:04 AM	#1
Jack1000 Member Senior Member Join Date: Dec 05, 2001 Posts: 2,055	Question For Anyone With "Uncut" Tapes? Guys, For years and years, there is probably no other sitcom than the Brady Bunch that employs the practice of "Quick Fade to Black." This is where the screen goes to a quick black fade out, often in the middle of a line and the next scene starts in the middle of a sentence. I had asked some months ago about the ending of Mrs. Watson's speech in "Her Sister's Shadow." and was told by a moderator that the next line (after the audience clapping in that faded "Vote For Brady" stockpile footage) both Columbia House/ Paramount's tapes start out in the middle of Jan's next line....."and I wanted to win at something so badly, I didn't know what to do." I would assume that there is a "fade to black" in that scene in the Columbia House/Paramount VHS tapes, just as there is on TV Land and ALL syndicataed editions of the Brady Bunch. I would make an educated guess that if you guys have "Quick Fade to Black's in your Columbia House or Paramount tapes that something is missing! There is no way, using my example from "Her Sister's Shadow" that something isn't missing. How can you tell if you get a VHS or DVD that you really have an uncut version? Somebody from Paramount (now Viacom) needs to go back to the original masters and do a check especially if this show comes to DVD. Boxes even on DVD versions say "The Complete ____ Season." But I don't think they say "The Uncut Version." I don't have a DVD player, but if you go to almost any Brady Bunch episode. (and Gilligan's Island is just as bad) you will find anywhere from 5-8 fade to blacks in almost every episode! Question is not just for the The Brady Bunch but for any "fade to black" sequence in any sitcom. If you have any version of a show, you can't be sure it's uncut unless you have the original master to compare it to. Keep this in mind if/when Brady Bunch comes out to DVD. Jack

07-17-2003, 12:43 AM	#2
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	I agree that it's possible that Columbia House may have inadvertently released edited episodes in some cases (they admitted to mistakenly using some edited copies when releasing "Good Times"). As far as the specific scene in "Her Sister's Shadow" that you're talking about, I don't think it's necessarily edited. The reason that they start with the end of Jan's explanation to her parents is that they beat the rest of the explanation to death earlier in the episode, and there was no reason to have to hear it again. Starting with the end of Jan's explanation is simply a technique to eliminate exposition that we have already heard. It's actually a pretty common technique in TV writing. I've seen it used in "Cheers" pretty frequently. That said, it's just one man's opinion.