AMAZING STORIES, HULK and More: 7/18 Previews

Message

AndyDursin · #1 Post by **AndyDursin** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:13 pm

Just received my copies of AMAZING STORIES, INCREDIBLE HULK, and JACK OF ALL TRADES from Universal -- looking very nice indeed and....

...no FLIPPERS!! I know Eric Paddon will be happy

as will others who had problems with Universal's previous TV on DVD sets.

Excellent stuff. A full review will be up this weekend!

Edmund Kattak · #2 Post by **Edmund Kattak** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:26 am

Have you had a chance to briefly go through AMAZING STORIES? If so, what are your first impressions?

I cannot wait.

AndyDursin · #3 Post by **AndyDursin** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:10 pm

Ed,
The shows on balance look very good. There's only a 5.1 mix offered and it sounds fine -- one episode had a muffled opening intro for whatever reason but everything else on Disc 1 is good to go. There are a good mix of deleted workprint scenes on many episodes, no supplements otherwise, but everything is at least in broadcast order.

The only omission seems to be the brief "bumpers" that used to air inbetween segments are edited out -- as is the Universal TV logo at the end. Guess I'm so used to seeing these shows broadcast that way it doesn't seem right when they're not there, lol

Also, there are no "alternate" openings -- like when ALAMO JOBE (to name one show) was broadcast it had a ragged, more synth-like opening theme...when it was on Sci-Fi Channel it had that as well (apparently Doug Fake is going to throw that on the 2nd or 3rd volume of the Intrada CDs). Here, it's just the principal "performance" of Williams' theme that most of us know opening each episode.

Again, not a big deal but if you're hard-core AMAZING STORIES aficionado like me you'll notice. Packaging is very good, I do wish they had retained the show's actual graphics, but overall I couldn't recommend it enough.

Incidentally if you buy from Google Checkout they have a $10 off $20 offer at DVDEmpire.com, so you can get it for $26 shipped! (and if not please use the Amazon link through the Aisle Seat site, too

Edmund Kattak · #4 Post by **Edmund Kattak** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:00 pm

AndyDursin wrote:Ed,
The shows on balance look very good. There's only a 5.1 mix offered and it sounds fine -- one episode had a muffled opening intro for whatever reason but everything else on Disc 1 is good to go. There are a good mix of deleted workprint scenes on many episodes, no supplements otherwise, but everything is at least in broadcast order.

The only omission seems to be the brief "bumpers" that used to air inbetween segments are edited out -- as is the Universal TV logo at the end. Guess I'm so used to seeing these shows broadcast that way it doesn't seem right when they're not there, lol

Also, there are no "alternate" openings -- like when ALAMO JOBE (to name one show) was broadcast it had a ragged, more synth-like opening theme...when it was on Sci-Fi Channel it had that as well (apparently Doug Fake is going to throw that on the 2nd or 3rd volume of the Intrada CDs). Here, it's just the principal "performance" of Williams' theme that most of us know opening each episode.

Again, not a big deal but if you're hard-core AMAZING STORIES aficionado like me you'll notice. Packaging is very good, I do wish they had retained the show's actual graphics, but overall I couldn't recommend it enough.

Incidentally if you buy from Google Checkout they have a $10 off $20 offer at DVDEmpire.com, so you can get it for $26 shipped! (and if not please use the Amazon link through the Aisle Seat site, too

I intend on ordering from AMAZON. I think their price was pretty good. I can't wait. In any event, it's interesting that these little details you mentioned are missing. Has Universal been removing their old logos from various series in the past few years or what? Do they think that it might make the release seem dated? Or is it, perhaps, a licensing issue?

Also, I know the version of the theme that you are talking about. I remember when ALAMO JOBE first aired - from the opening bars of the theme - that I knew something was off a little. When I saw JAMES HORNER'S name first appear in the credits, I chuckled a little. Not that it was a bad thing, mind you, but I got this feeling that since HORNER scored the episode, he then took it upon himself to render a performance of the WILLIAMS theme just for spite or something. Now, based on what Doug Fake mentioned, it appears to be just an alternate version that Williams conducted. I dunno. I still feel a little cynical about that. It just sounded a bit off, like it was HORNER'S interpretation of WILLIAMS. Oh well. HORNER did a wonderful job on the episode and that's all that counts.

AndyDursin · #5 Post by **AndyDursin** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:48 am

I'm having a great time revisiting these episodes in their full, uncut lengths...as I wrote before AMAZING STORIES had high quality budgets and talent in front of and behind the camera, so even today the program holds up beautifully (unlike other genre shows of the period like the '80s TWILIGHT ZONE, at least technically).

I'm not sure I could recommend it any more highly...it's tremendous fun, even with the occasional clunker of an episode.

Eric Paddon · #6 Post by **Eric Paddon** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:32 pm

Universal's first TV on DVD releases left the old Universal tags alone (Night Gallery, Battlestar Galactica, Columbo Season 1) but since then they have cut them all out. The only one they kept them in on more recently was "McMillan And Wife" because the theme music always segued naturally into the Universal tag in a different arrangement.

At least thank goodness they're not drumming Goldsmith's logo and tag into our heads as much as they were before. I've grown to HATE that from the overexposure.

Edmund Kattak · #7 Post by **Edmund Kattak** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:52 pm

AndyDursin wrote:I'm having a great time revisiting these episodes in their full, uncut lengths...as I wrote before AMAZING STORIES had high quality budgets and talent in front of and behind the camera, so even today the program holds up beautifully (unlike other genre shows of the period like the '80s TWILIGHT ZONE, at least technically).

I'm not sure I could recommend it any more highly...it's tremendous fun, even with the occasional clunker of an episode.

Andy, I've been on the AMAZING STORIES bandwagon since it debuted in 1985. In fact, I think that it was THE MISSION that may have been the debut of the series in MTS Stereo. I was working at Radio Shack at the time and I bought this MTS Stereo tuner which looked like nothing more than an analog FM stereo tuner with a dial you had to turn in order to get from channel to channel!. I hated the fact that it wasn't even a quartz-locked tuner. It had the misgivings of drifting sometimes, but covered both VHF and UHF (My god, in the new world of HDTV both VHF and UHF are now ancient history). However, I was able to enjoy THE MISSIOn in glorious stereo sound (with a little bit of hiss and buszzing for added measure). In fact, I may actually have a cassette tape that I made of the sound that night somewhere around here. I remember that I got around the point when the plane was just landing when I had to flip the cassette over.

I had recorded nearly half of Season 1 on my old monophonic Panasonic VCR, when I finally bought a Sharp HiFi Stereo unit in late 1985. I recorded the second half of Season 1 and all of Season 2 in HiFi Stereo. Howver, the tpes have not survived the years well. Dropouts and Oxide wear has nearly made these tapes unplayable any more. The DVD comes at an ideal time, as I can now dispose of the old tapes.

I just got confirmation that Amazon shipped the DVD out yesterday. hooray!

Edmund Kattak · #8 Post by **Edmund Kattak** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:56 pm

Eric Paddon wrote:Universal's first TV on DVD releases left the old Universal tags alone (Night Gallery, Battlestar Galactica, Columbo Season 1) but since then they have cut them all out. The only one they kept them in on more recently was "McMillan And Wife" because the theme music always segued naturally into the Universal tag in a different arrangement.

At least thank goodness they're not drumming Goldsmith's logo and tag into our heads as much as they were before. I've grown to HATE that from the overexposure.

Eric, Goldsmith was my hero and I'm still in mourning. However, I agree, I'm getting sick of the over-use of his Universal logo theme all the time, even though it says volumes about him that a studio would still use this theme after 10 years (keeping into consideration that he's been dead for 2 years already).

AndyDursin · #9 Post by **AndyDursin** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:30 pm

Ed, good times all

I was in 5th grade when AMAZING STORIES debuted so it really struck me as a kid and just continued to boost my interest in the cinematic world and how much I've gravitated towards it.

Like you I taped most of the shows as well. Somehow I think I lost interest a little during its 2nd season but I had that 1st season tape for years before it broke...then when I was in high school Universal started syndicating those AMAZING STORIES: THE MOVIE compilations, which I taped as well, which was also the first time I could hear the episodes in stereo. I also remember taping THE MISSION to a cassette just so I could hear the last 10 minutes of Williams' score!

This box set is just tremendous...I wish the packaging had been more appealing and they kept the bumpers, but those are minor issues.

Monterey Jack · #10 Post by **Monterey Jack** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:31 pm

I finished the first disc of the Amazing Stories set tonight, and, ah, the 80's nostalgia! I had to laugh in "Alamo Jobe" when Jobe runs into a breakdancer who steals his hat!

Agreed with Andy that the show's production values were very high, and mostly stand up today (and the ending of "The Mission", which absolutely blew my mind at age 11, pre-dated Roger Rabbit by three years). And the music across the board is exceptional (and I hope Doug Fake will give us the next two CD volumes soon). Tremendous fun!

Monterey Jack · #11 Post by **Monterey Jack** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:10 pm

Well, I finished off the set tonight. Final tallies...

-Great episodes: "The Mission", "Mummy, Daddy", "Vanessa In The Garden", "No Day At The Beach", "Dorothy & Ben" (I wept by the end

), "Mirror Mirror" (up until the silly ending), "The Doll".

-Good episodes: "One For The Road", "The Amazing Falsworth", "The Main Attraction", "Santa '85", "The Sitter", "Boo!"

-Terrible episodes: "Guilt Trip" (who on earth wants to see Dom DeLuise making out with Loni Anderson?!

), "Hell Toupee", "Grandpa's Ghost" (WTF was up with that ending?).

The rest of the episodes were watchable but nothing spectacular. Still, it was fun to re-visit a show that I first watched when I was 11.

Hopefully season 2 has a better ratio of quality vs. crap. Bring on the next volume of Intrada's CD set!

AndyDursin · #12 Post by **AndyDursin** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:21 am

Hopefully season 2 has a better ratio of quality vs. crap.

It doesn't. Outside of FAMILY DOG and MISCALCULATION (funny '80s comic horror with Jon Cryer) there's not much to talk about. The big-hour long episode is Robert Zemeckis' terrible GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS with Christopher Lloyd and Mary Stuart Masterson -- and even Alan Silvestri's score, if memory serves, was disappointing.

Monterey Jack · #13 Post by **Monterey Jack** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:39 am

So, any word on the release of season 2? I'd hate it if Universal pussed out and didn't release it.

Eric Paddon · #14 Post by **Eric Paddon** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:57 pm

That would be typical of Universal if we had another show of theirs not get to a Season 2 (and I remain infuriated by nothing on Dragnet, Adam-12 and Hardy Boys). But I think it likely if the plan is for something like February-March, then they would not announce it until November-December.