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'Batman' 1966-68 live-action TV series wish for Blu-ray/DVD

jefferiestubes8

Commodore
Commodore
With the success of actually getting a 40-year old 'Star Trek' TOS on Blu-ray I'm surprised the owners would not want to come to an agreement to remaster this TV series to a proper home video release.
120 episodes.

backstory:
Disagreement between DC Comics (who own the Batman character. DC's sister/parent company Warner Bros., which took over DC in 1976 could also be involved) and 20th Century Fox (who own the program itself).
The argument has been made that DC comics does not wish to distort the current image of the Dark Knight by having the overtly-campy 1960s series competing head-to-head with more modern takes,
SOURCE


One of the things that would hurt sales is the very dates surf music from the 1960s and a younger audience under 25.
The target for this 2 season TV series is the over-35 crowd anyway who grew up watching the show in syndication or original broadcast. I really loved the show and after seeing TOS season 1 remastered in HD 'Batman' could look just as good visually.

A question would be would the earlier episodes have the famous seatbelt shots that parents groups forced them to add to later episodes?

This series has never even seen a DVD or even VHS home video release so now there IS the possibility that Warner Brothers would telecine the cut negative to High Definition, dust bust and clean it up, remaster the sound and release on Blu-ray and DVD.

The cheap way out is if they just telecine the cut interpositive to HD but that is better than nothing.

special features Wishlist:
-include the Adam West & Burt Ward Screen Test

-include a commentary from West & Ward
-include a commentary from remaining crew

A feature length documentary could be done as well for special features including interviews with: Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Victor Paul (stunt coordinator)

-remix the dialogue, mono music, and sound effects tracks to 5.1 surround sound.

-include old interviews from the Warner Brothers archives (shot on film from the 1960s) with these key people who have passed away: Burgess Meridith (Penguin), Neil Hamilton (Police Commissioner Gordon died 1984), Stafford Repp (Police Chief O'Hara died 1974), Alan Napier (Alfred [the Butler] died 1988), Oscar Rudolph (Director of 37 episodes, 1966-1968), Bob Kane (writer 93 episodes, 1966-1967), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler ), Victor Buono (King Tut), Vincent Price (Egghead ), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Minerva), Nelson Riddle (music composer)

-include old promos about the show from ABC

-Interviews with all of the actors who have played Batman in the live-action feature films and Adam West. A roundtable discussion sit-down would blow minds!
 
I think it's all about complicated rights issues. I highly doubt DC comics is worried about damaging Batman's street cred.
 
I think it's all about complicated rights issues. I highly doubt DC comics is worried about damaging Batman's street cred.

Agreed.

I think anyone of any reasonable age these days has seen the original Batman series. That certainly hasn't hurt any of Batman's "cred."

It's rights bullshit. Everyone just wants to make sure they get thier nickle out of the sale of a 40 year old TV series.
 
One of the things that would hurt sales is the very dates surf music from the 1960s and a younger audience under 25.

"Surf music"? Bite your tongue. Neal Hefti's title theme has a blues-based melodic and rhythmic structure, and Nelson Riddle's episode scores are very, very jazzy.
 
With the success of actually getting a 40-year old 'Star Trek' TOS on Blu-ray I'm surprised the owners would not want to come to an agreement to remaster this TV series to a proper home video release.
120 episodes.

backstory:
Disagreement between DC Comics (who own the Batman character. DC's sister/parent company Warner Bros., which took over DC in 1976 could also be involved) and 20th Century Fox (who own the program itself).
The argument has been made that DC comics does not wish to distort the current image of the Dark Knight by having the overtly-campy 1960s series competing head-to-head with more modern takes,
SOURCE


One of the things that would hurt sales is the very dates surf music from the 1960s and a younger audience under 25.
The target for this 2 season TV series is the over-35 crowd anyway who grew up watching the show in syndication or original broadcast. I really loved the show and after seeing TOS season 1 remastered in HD 'Batman' could look just as good visually.

A question would be would the earlier episodes have the famous seatbelt shots that parents groups forced them to add to later episodes?

This series has never even seen a DVD or even VHS home video release so now there IS the possibility that Warner Brothers would telecine the cut negative to High Definition, dust bust and clean it up, remaster the sound and release on Blu-ray and DVD.

The cheap way out is if they just telecine the cut interpositive to HD but that is better than nothing.

special features Wishlist:
-include the Adam West & Burt Ward Screen Test

-include a commentary from West & Ward
-include a commentary from remaining crew

A feature length documentary could be done as well for special features including interviews with: Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Victor Paul (stunt coordinator)

-remix the dialogue, mono music, and sound effects tracks to 5.1 surround sound.

-include old interviews from the Warner Brothers archives (shot on film from the 1960s) with these key people who have passed away: Burgess Meridith (Penguin), Neil Hamilton (Police Commissioner Gordon died 1984), Stafford Repp (Police Chief O'Hara died 1974), Alan Napier (Alfred [the Butler] died 1988), Oscar Rudolph (Director of 37 episodes, 1966-1968), Bob Kane (writer 93 episodes, 1966-1967), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler ), Victor Buono (King Tut), Vincent Price (Egghead ), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Minerva), Nelson Riddle (music composer)

-include old promos about the show from ABC

-Interviews with all of the actors who have played Batman in the live-action feature films and Adam West. A roundtable discussion sit-down would blow minds!

The thing all legal parties concerned should keep in mind is that the generations that watched the original Batman are aging. Once we're gone -- who is going to care about the Adam West Batman?

Especially given it's hardly seen on TV anymore either.

The time for them to milk this for all the profit they can get out of it is NOW!
 
Especially given it's hardly seen on TV anymore either.

It airs every Friday night at 9 and 11 PM Eastern on the American Life cable channel, followed by the Van Williams/Bruce Lee Green Hornet series from the same producers (which was played straight rather than campy and is a pretty interesting show). Tonight's Batman episode is the second season premiere, "Shoot a Crooked Arrow," featuring Art Carney as The Archer.
 
^Once a week like clockwork. I just saw it myself less than an hour ago. That doesn't qualify as "hardly seen."
 
I don't see this show making it to DVD anytime soon, if indeed ever. There's the endless legal wrangling between the networks, and also the random (often unpaid) cameos during the 'wall walking' scenes. Wouldn't they have to individually negotiate with all the actors in those bits?
 
Especially given it's hardly seen on TV anymore either.

It airs every Friday night at 9 and 11 PM Eastern on the American Life cable channel, followed by the Van Williams/Bruce Lee Green Hornet series from the same producers (which was played straight rather than campy and is a pretty interesting show). Tonight's Batman episode is the second season premiere, "Shoot a Crooked Arrow," featuring Art Carney as The Archer.

Okay, I have to ask. What's the American Life cable channel?
 
What pisses me off most about the rights issue holding this show back from being released on DVD is that all the surviving actors involved in it are already so old, if this issue remains unresolved much longer, they'll all be dead by the time it is. :( And it's a shame, because I'm sure they'd be up for participating in the DVDs. After all, Adam West and Burt Ward were delighted to do commentary for the movie, and I think I saw Julie Newmar interviewed for a "Star Trek" DVD, even though she was only in one episode of that series!
 
Especially given it's hardly seen on TV anymore either.

It airs every Friday night at 9 and 11 PM Eastern on the American Life cable channel, followed by the Van Williams/Bruce Lee Green Hornet series from the same producers (which was played straight rather than campy and is a pretty interesting show). Tonight's Batman episode is the second season premiere, "Shoot a Crooked Arrow," featuring Art Carney as The Archer.

Okay, I have to ask. What's the American Life cable channel?

I was wondering that myself...
 
Okay, I have to ask. What's the American Life cable channel?

It's basically a nostalgia channel aimed at older viewers and showing reruns of lots of shows from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. It's the only place I've ever been able to find reruns of Mission: Impossible and The Green Hornet. It also runs shows like Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues, LA Law, Trapper John M.D., and Remington Steele, and it runs episodes of all four Irwin Allen sci-fi shows in a block on Thursday nights. In the daytime, though, it's mostly infomercials, lifestyle shows, things like that. I think. I never paid much attention to its daytime schedule.
 
Especially given it's hardly seen on TV anymore either.

It airs every Friday night at 9 and 11 PM Eastern on the American Life cable channel, followed by the Van Williams/Bruce Lee Green Hornet series from the same producers (which was played straight rather than campy and is a pretty interesting show). Tonight's Batman episode is the second season premiere, "Shoot a Crooked Arrow," featuring Art Carney as The Archer.

That's not exactly a popular channel.

I don't have it. Ergo, it is certainly hardly ever seen -- by ME.

So, your effort to make me look somehow foolish has failed.

Congratulations on your failed attempt to make me look foolish or to make yourself appear "superior" in some way (I notice that quite often in your posts, BTW -- nice. I'm sure you win LOTS of friends with that.)

In any case, even if it is airing on some po-dunk obscure station that DOES NOT mean it's uncut.

And that's really the way I'd like to see it. Uncut, remastered with cleaned up prints and sound.

I highly doubt they are showing it like that.
 
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