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1966 Batman series on Blu-ray and DVD November 2014 discussion

The end of the Marsha's stealing diamonds two parter apparently (I'm not that far myself yet).

According to the same poster on another forum claims there is a version of the pilot with voiceover, the debate is supposedly over whether it was first broadcast that way or if it's a repeat only thing.
 
Apologies for the double post, but I thought folks would want to know this.Apparently Amazon UK are refunding some of the money to people who complain about the absence of the advertised digital copies from the British version.

I was amazed when watching The Penguin Goes Straight that there was a sequence in it that was totally homaged in The Dark Knight. The difference being that when the lights in the prison cell went out and Batman appeared he didn't start smashing the suspects head on a table. Instead he did a shadow bat dance that so scared the crook they fainted (well, that's Batman's story anyway. It actually looks more like the poor guy cracks his skull open on a wall).
 
Have you seen the price of the Limited set on Amazon UK? Its more than doubled to £235! It was a lot before at £110 but now. I was going to have it for Christmas but I'm fast changing my mind. I did consider the standard DVD but this has made me confused as to what's happening:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/112114_1515

And here at Amazon.com has really thrown me: the regular Blu-ray set referenced above will be more than the Limited Edition set.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PVBCSNA...veASIN=B00PVBCSNA&creative=373489&camp=211189

I'm gravitating to the idea that if the Blu-Ray set of Battlestar Galactica '78 due out on Region B Blu-Ray tomorrow has all the extras and there's no (short-term) chance of a remastered version with CGI effects coming out then I'll ask for that instead.

Holy Disappointment Batman!
 
I recall reading the narration from the opening of the pilot was left off for overseas runs. Other than that I have no idea, but I did see both versions on Youtube, before they ended up getting yanked recently.


I prefer the one with no voiceover. It lets you get into the Gotham universe without being leed by the nose there and feel the city and the music. It's the longest 99% SFX-free score cue in the whole series.
 
It's worth noting that the Marketplace price for the set is only so high because of chancers trying to take advantage of the fact Amazon have withdrawn the set from sale. Once they've sorted out what (if anything) they're doing about the issues it'll be back on sale cheaper. Also, other countries have been announced as getting a "Basic" blu ray set without the extra tat which, as it'll almost certainly be coming to the UK, will be a lot cheaper as well.
 
Speaking of the Blu Ray, Warner Bros. is preparing to replace discs which were released with missing scenes ("Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds") or missing narration (pilot). A lot of fans found yet another reason to go ballistic over "their" Batman (cost or lack of their extras demands not being met were among early reasons), so Warner is working toward correcting the problem, along with providing a new extra.
 
I'm gravitating to the idea that if the Blu-Ray set of Battlestar Galactica '78 due out on Region B Blu-Ray tomorrow has all the extras and there's no (short-term) chance of a remastered version with CGI effects coming out then I'll ask for that instead.

I'm glad I read your post because it inspired me to check for a Blu-Ray of BSG '78 in the US. There WILL be one. Actually, two! Linky
 
standard ed.

Today the standard blu-ray edition streets
Batman: The Complete Series (Standard Edition)

here is the direct Amazon link with today's date for street date.

Standard Edition Blu-ray release of the series, which features everything this Limited Edition does, minus the trading cards, batmobile, and Adam West scrapbook. Here, the three digi-packs and episode guide are housed inside a more standard-looking cardboard slipcase.
from the highdefdigest review of the limited edition blu-ray.
also from the review
There are still semi-frequent instances of dirt and debris on the print. These are not so frequent or noticeable to interfere with one's enjoyment of the episodes, but they are there, although it appears a lot of effort has been made to clean the image up
Totally acceptable for 120 episodes that are 40 years old. It was television made for standard definition television.


also of note:
Warner Bros. Addresses Batman TV Series Blu-Ray Glitches, Offers Replacements
In an official press release (via Batman News),
"one 60-second dropped scene in the episode entitled Marsha’s Scheme of Diamonds; a brief piece of rarely-heard William Dozier narration that originally opened the pilot episode, Hi Diddle Riddle; and an assembly of villain tags from the end of assorted episodes."
see the link for US & Austrailian customers.
 
This November, DC will be publishing an adaptation of Harlan Ellison's story, with a script by Len Wein and art by Jose-Luis Garcia Lopez.

I'm in. :)

I was in. But I just went to buy it at the online store and they want 9.99 for it. I'm not paying 10 bucks for a Batman comic book, let alone an online one.

I bought it, but no, it's not worth the price.

It has a number of problems.

First, the story doesn't feel authentic to the series. It's a generally serious story and Wein tries to throw in a few things to make it a little lighter, but the result feels strange. Even weirder, they publish Ellison's outline, and even though Ellison has dialogue in the outline, Wein uses absolutely none of it.

Second, as much as I love Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, his artwork doesn't feel right in this instance. It's too realistic and too serious.

Third, a big part of the cost is that DC reprints the raw pencils for the entire book. The space could have been better spent with reprinting the Bill Finger story that Ellison was adapting.

And fourth, Finger doesn't get any credit anywhere.

It's a lot of money for something that's very slight and honestly not worth the money. Don't blame you for passing on this at all.
 
I'm gravitating to the idea that if the Blu-Ray set of Battlestar Galactica '78 due out on Region B Blu-Ray tomorrow has all the extras and there's no (short-term) chance of a remastered version with CGI effects coming out then I'll ask for that instead.

I'm glad I read your post because it inspired me to check for a Blu-Ray of BSG '78 in the US. There WILL be one. Actually, two! Linky

I'm glad to be of service :). By the way you may want to check out my post in this thread:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=233971
 
I thought it was rather sweet that, for the Ma Parker story where she takes over Gotham prison, they actually paid Julie Numar to make a small cameo as Catwoman (which, I'd guess was filmed when she came in to do one of her regular episodes are she's not in shot with any of the main characters and it's a fairly cheap to achieve tight close up with a couple of goons either side of her) and they explained where Joker and Penguin were.

No mention of the Riddler, but I understand Gorshin wasn't involved at all with the series in its second year- with both a recast and a gratuitous substitute to come later on- so they presumably hadn't decided if the character was still going to be part of the rogues gallery at this point.

Considering the ease with which characters constantly escape from the prison (or are even released. I think the Governor's faith in his rehabilitation techniques when he can't even get them to take off their super villain costumes is one of the show's best minor running gags) they didn't really need to do any of that so it was rather cool.
 
^Actually Warden Crichton explained in the first Penguin episode that he gives them back their own clothes in the week before their release in order to help them transition back to society. Although I guess later stories showed them in costume at any given time in their prison tenures, suggesting that Crichton got even more indulgent over time.
 
This is a show where the Joker can just put on a ten-gallon hat over his usual attire and pretend to be a Texas oil baron, and people actually buy into it....
 
This is a show where the Joker can just put on a ten-gallon hat over his usual attire and pretend to be a Texas oil baron, and people actually buy into it....

To be fair, is it really that hard to believe that a given Texas oil baron is a ghoulish, gaudy-dressed mass-murdering psychopath? ;)
 
To be fair, is it really that hard to believe that a given Texas oil baron is a ghoulish, gaudy-dressed mass-murdering psychopath? ;)

What mass-murdering psychopath? We're talking about a Joker whose plan to contaminate the Gotham reservoir involved turning the water supply into strawberry jam. This is the Silver Age Joker, who was interested in committing spectacular burglaries or con games with a humorous twist or just plain enormous pranks. Sure, he'd kill Batman and Robin if he could, but that was just part of the game. The mass-murderer Joker didn't return until the '70s.
 
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To be fair, is it really that hard to believe that a given Texas oil baron is a ghoulish, gaudy-dressed mass-murdering psychopath? ;)

What mass-murdering psychopath?

Yes, I know we're talking about a far more harmless version of the character. I was making a joke about Texas oil barons, not striving for complete accuracy about which version of the Joker we were talking about.
 
Or rather, the murderer Joker returned in the '70s. He didn't really become a mass murderer until The Dark Knight Returns.
 
What mass-murdering psychopath? We're talking about a Joker whose plan to contaminate the Gotham reservoir involved turning the water supply into strawberry jam. This is the Silver Age Joker, who was interested in committing spectacular burglaries or con games with a humorous twist or just plain enormous pranks. Sure, he'd kill Batman and Robin if he could, but that was just part of the game. The mass-murderer Joker didn't return until the '70s.
An excellent place to post this.
 
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