DS DVD set 12 out already!!

While at Best Buy yesterday, I was shocked to see on the shelf 2 copies of DS DVD set #12!  Two weeks before it's actual release!!  I couldn't resist at $43.99 and picked it up.   For the first time since I have been buying these DVD's, I have a problem with one of the discs. Disc #2 in the set will not play at all. I have tried it in 3 different players. It's so bad, that it won't even boot up to the menu. It just grinds in the players.

So my question is, what does one do with a bad disc? I suppose I could take it back to Best Buy and maybe they would trust me to replace the whole thing.  But they only had one left and that may also be bad.

Does MPI have a good track record for replacing bad discs?  If I call them woud they send me out a replacement?


On a side note, there is some more ediiting being done here on some episodes.  At least 3 snips I have noticed so far. Nothing major, but it's very frustrating in my opinion.  In episode 695, there is a scene with Barnabas reading about Quentn's life in the family history book. Maggie is beside him talking with him.  In the orginal Worldvision tape that was syndicated in the 80's, the tape starts jumping between their scene, but you can still hear some dialog. The MPI DVD has completely removed the scene between Barnabas and Maggie. I understand why they do this. They want a seemless looking show with no tape breaks. However, my humble opinion is that we should be able to see the show in the way it is original presented. Tape breaks and all.  I guess I will be keeping my 1980's syndicated tapes that have all of these gaffs intact!

Were these on the VHSes?

I don't know about the VHS tapes Darren, as the only MPI tapes I bought were 153-200. The MPI tapes were originally too expensive, and I already had off air copies from the New Jersey Network reruns of early to mid 80's.  I just needed the elusive final year.   I assume the trims were done on the MPI tapes as well.   That scene I mentioned was also trimmed for the tapes that SCI FI ran.  However my tapes from the Worldvision reruns of 1985 did not have the edits. Those tapes were complete as variious breaks and jumps of the tape were left in tact. I guess at that time they didn't care about making it perfect.

Another edit is on episode 695. At the end, Amy is burning Chris's shirt in the fire. On my 1985 syndie episode, the tape breaks yet again causing severe black screen picture but with jumbled audio.  In the Sci FI and DVD version, this "break" has been corrected by editing a still video frame of the fire place over the dialog of Don Briscoe and Denise Nickerson. I noticed many scenes like this on the Sci FI reruns.  Many times when the original tape jumps or goes to black, they will edit a still frame of a character or object to make it a seemless shot.  Of course they didn't do this on the 1980's syndie episodes.     

I can't believe MPI would edit the tapes used for the current DVD release.  I'm just now watching the first disc on DVD # 11 and I'm quite surprised by the video and audio glitches that were left in--there was certainly no effort to edit these epsiodes!  (Thank goodness!!)

I can't speak to the Worldvision syndicated shows from the mid 1980s, but if the edits you mention were made after those initial syndicated airings, then one must assume that Dan Curtis (and maybe Jim Pierson) had some say in such edits way back when DS was licensed to MPI for release on home video in 1989.

But--since I haven't seen your tapes, and since I "wasn't there," this is only my opinion and speculation.

Brian

Hi Brian,

You are partly correct in your statements. When sci fi channel purchased the entire package of tapes in 1992, this was DS first excursion into cable that reached a wide audience. The tapes were cleaned up and "tweaked" in a way. The bloopers were of course left intact, but the video glitches and broken scenes were removed or carefully edited out. Unfortunately portions of dialog were left out in some cases when doing this.   The 1989 VHS tapes seem for the most part the same tapes that played in syndication in the 80's. (although a higher quality master) But all the unedited video glitches were left in. The DVD's seem to be so far the same edited versions that Sci FI aired.  The new streamlined and seemless episodes.  ANyone who is a Shadows purist like myself should still hold on to their old 1980's tapes, as "those" original shows will never be seen again!

Well! As opposed to that condescending Detroit Free Press article about DVD set #11, here's one from the NY Daily News about set #12 that actually does get it:

'DARK SHADOWS: COLLECTION 12 (MPI, 14 hours, not rated, $59.98) These 40 episodes from 1969 cover some high points in the Gothic soap opera: Barnabas traveling back to 1796, werewolf Chris Jennings on the attack, Maggie Evans discovering the ghost of Quentin Collins. Cue the Top 40 "Quentin's Theme."'

Here's a link to the full article: DVD Digest
(There's interesting news if you're a fan of the vampire/werewolf film Underworld...)

Many times when the original tape jumps or goes to black, they will edit a still frame of a character or object to make it a seemless shot...

I think that's a perfectly acceptable restoration practice - if a seamless "fix" can be made that prevents the viewing being disrupted, it should be done for the DVDs.

On the subject of the wholesale removal of scenes, I did recently raise the matter with Jim Pierson, who confirmed that MPI never edits the shows. Any edits are on the new masters made by Worldvision about 6 years ago. Apparently a monitoring system has been put in place to avoid cuts making it onto DVD and he does say that he'll pursue the matter further, so hopefully we'll be seeing less of these problems..