Why is the Adam West's Batman TV series not on DVD?

[MeanJoePhaser]

Frontier wrote:

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Bet my bottom dollar that DC doesn't want the embarrassing humiliation of people who haven't seen that show to do so, lol.

Then I guess they better spend some of those DARK KNIGHT millions buying every copy of the 1966 BATMAN movie which is available on DVD.

[RandyS]

Trek4Ever wrote:

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Be careful for what you wish for, the idea of cutting them out would grate on completists' nerves who want the ENTIRE, original, unedited show. Don't believe me, look at all the complaints from Quantum Leap fans over how they replaced period songs in segments.
Heck I am a big fan of the old show the Odd Couple and was mighty peeved when I found out that the so called complete DVDs had songs edited out. It doesn't feel complete to me and to have to shell out good money for the DVDs apparently that is too much to ask for.

Being a completeist myself, I know what you mean. Don't remember what was edited out of Quantum Leap though, I have those DVD's, and they seem the same to me.

I wouldn't want the Batman cameos cut either, but it WOULD cut down on the complicated legal mess that seems to follow this show.

[TedShatner10]

Greg Cox wrote:

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Er, the musicians and their estates?

I mean, it's a nuisance, but you can't just ignore the legalities because they're inconvenient. People are entitled to their share of the profits.

Legal does not necessarily mean objectively right and too much greed can cause so much damage, the endless courtroom bickering buries common sense with so much shit, nobody gets a fair slice of the pie, and this case is no exception. And it is not just the usual suspects, the overweening record companies, holding things up but the show itself is being squabbled over by two or three seperate corporations (the company who made the actual show are different to the company that owns the character of Batman and the comic books etc).

Different parties are trying to cheat each other, but an impatient consumer base will ultimately cheat them all by downloading the fought over show themselves.

[The Borgified Corpse]

MeanJoePhaser wrote:

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Then I guess they better spend some of those DARK KNIGHT millions buying every copy of the 1966 BATMAN movie which is available on DVD.

Even if they bought every copy available, the rights to that one are still in the clear. They can't bury it the way George Lucas has tried to bury the Star Wars Holiday Special.

As for protecting new viewers from cheesy Bat-products, that doesn't make sense. They still sell copies of Batman & Robin, don't they?

[Cmndr J Crichton]

Perhaps they're waiting for a Blu Ray release.

[Falcor5]

Hermiod wrote:

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It's shown on BBC Four over here, which is considered to be the BBC's high brow channel.

As far as I know its not shown anywhere here in the US these days. Or maybe I am wrong? Anyone know?

[chappa-ai]

As a kid, this show WAS the definitive batman. The costumes were cool, Batgirl was HOT, the car secretly belonged to me and I was just loaning it to Adam West, and my set of Mego toys completed the ensemble. As an adult, the campy spoofs are hilarious and with the quantity of Batman fans surely out there (you KNOW this from the continued toy manufacturing, new movie releases, etc) you KNOW there is an immediate consumer group for this release.

I would buy the DVD set on pre-order as soon as available. In fact, I've already bought DVD-R copies of this series, but NONE of them are studio quality.

It pathetic that shows like "Mork & Mindy", "Gilligan's Island", "Hogan's Heros", and many others are officially avaiable for purchase on DVD, but this iconic and era-defining show remains unreleased.

And they should not cut the cameos. The wall-climbing gags were one of the regular jokes on the show, and cutting them would be like Luke without his lightsaber due to legal issues.

Hollywood execs, this is ENTERTAINMENT business, so do your jobs and start entertaining. Get past the petty royalties squabbles and deliver products that consumer want to buy. Namely, Adam West as Batman.

[Greg Cox]

I'm not sure it's just the cameos. The Green Hornet tv series produced by the same people is also unavailable, presumably because of rights issues.

Maybe there's a hassle with the original producer? Or the original contracts?

[23skidoo]

TedShatner10 wrote:

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Legal does not necessarily mean objectively right and too much greed can cause so much damage, the endless courtroom bickering buries common sense with so much shit, nobody gets a fair slice of the pie, and this case is no exception. And it is not just the usual suspects, the overweening record companies, holding things up but the show itself is being squabbled over by two or three seperate corporations (the company who made the actual show are different to the company that owns the character of Batman and the comic books etc).

Different parties are trying to cheat each other, but an impatient consumer base will ultimately cheat them all by downloading the fought over show themselves.

You've hit the nail on the head. You'll find the occasional consumer who'll say "ooh, I don't want to cheat anyone out of profits" but 99.999% of us don't care. We want product and if the company won't give it to use, and if there is an alternative, we'll take it.

For example, here in Canada (and I believe in the US as well), the Harry Potter novels were published in both adult and child editions. When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, it was released as an adult HC and child's HC. A couple years later when they finally decided to release the paperback edition, they decided to only release the child's edition in paperback, which was annoying to those of use who'd collected the (generally less expensive) adult editions. I found out that the UK publisher, who issued the same adult editions, did put out a paperback in the adult edition. So as a result the Canadian (in my case) publisher, and the bookstore, lost the sale because I ordered the adult paperback from Amazon.co.uk. They refused to provide the product I wanted, there was an alternative, and I took it.

In the case of Batman, the people involved have now lost 3 (actually more) generations of home video formats in which they could and would have made a ton of money, more than enough to pay for the cameos (what formats? VHS, Videodisc, DVD, and now likely Blu-Ray).

All this said, bear in mind that two other "never to be ever released" series, Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man, are set for release as early as this fall. The impossible can happen, so I can only hope someone gets their act together with regards to the original Batman before enough people who actually have an interest in watching the show are still alive to purchase them.

And, on a dead serious note, I'd really like to see a release happen while Adam West, Julie Newmar, and some of the other surviving cast are still alive and able to provide commentaries, etc. The lawyers have already cost us the chance to hear Frank Gorshin's comments by delaying things too long.

Alex

[jefferiestubes8]

23skidoo wrote:

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The lawyers have already cost us the chance to hear Frank Gorshin's comments by delaying things too long.

Certainly archival 1960s, 70s, 80s interviews with Frank Gorshin discussing his The Riddler character on Batman series could be located and licensed as well as Burgess Meredith and Eartha Kitt. Why people discount archival interviews I don't understand. I would prefer interviews from the 60s or 70s personally. If they are from the 1960s they would be on film and possibly be able to be telecine'd to high definition. Certainly the BBC has done some retrospective on the Batman TV series that could be licensed.

also additional details
9. Home video (non-) release
of note:

material that would be considered DVD featurettes has been released separately. In 2004, Image Entertainment released Holy Batmania, a two-DVD set that included documentaries on the making of the series, as well as rare footage such as the original screen tests of the cast and Lyle Waggoner. [15]

And in 2008, Adam West released a privately issued DVD with the tongue-in-cheek title Adam West Naked for which he recorded anecdotes regarding all 120 episodes of the series.

- Amazon.com listing for Holy Batmania

the documentary was produced in conjunction with 20th Century-Fox, the studio behind the TV show.

Included are West and Ward's screen test

Both West and Ward are interviewed at length, as well as Gorshin, Newmar, Romero,

interviews recorded shortly before their respective deaths. Most of the interviews date from 1989, and the show may have been a 2002 reworking of older material.

from the dvdtalk review
Disc 1 includes 43 minute documentary and separate minidocs on Adam West, Cesar Romero (The Joker), and Julie Newmar (The Catwoman).

Cmndr J Crichton wrote:

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Perhaps they're waiting for a Blu Ray release.

Yes I've been. After seeing TOS-R I think the Batman 1966 series could look just as good if transferred from the 35mm cut original negatives. Last year I made a thread.
'Batman' 1966-68 live-action TV series wish for Blu-ray/DVD

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Greg Cox wrote:

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Er, the musicians and their estates?

I mean, it's a nuisance, but you can't just ignore the legalities because they're inconvenient. People are entitled to their share of the profits.

And we, the customers, are entitled to the final product.