Series worth the money on DVD...

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by bmasters9, Sep 12, 2018.

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  1. bmasters9

    bmasters9 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fountain Inn, SC
    What series do you think is/are worth the money on DVD, for whatever reason?

    There are at least three that are that for me:

    --The Streets of San Francisco: I recently finished CBS' all-in-one DVD of this 1972-77 ABC police/detective series, and to me, while Michael Douglas and Richard Hatch had equal parts to play in making it successful, I think the main man worth your disc dollar for this series is the late, great Karl Malden (as Lt. Mike Stone); from what I've read, Karl was so successful here that he translated his Stone character into those equally successful and quite well-remembered American Express Travelers' Checks commercials ("American Express Travelers' Checks: don't leave home without them!").

    --Barney Miller: Hal Linden's portrayal of the titular fictional police captain in NYC in this 1975-82 ABC police comedy is worth the money here because he played the captain of a police force that was more about the patience and paperwork and humor than practically any other televised police squad, comedy or drama. Not just that, but its title track and title sequence were very well done for the time.

    --The Bob Newhart Show: Bob Newhart's role of more-or-less even-tempered Chicago psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley in this 1972-78 CBS comedy is, IMO, more worth the money on DVD than his later role of Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on Newhart from 1982-90 on the same network; it's because Dr. Bob Hartley, for reasons I cannot find the words to explain, is far more believable and enjoyable to me than Dick Loudon.

    Which one(s) do you think is/are/have been worth your money?
     
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  2. BILLONEEG

    BILLONEEG Senior Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    One Day At A Time
    Rosanne
    Battle star Galactica (Original)

    That’s what comes to my mind right now-
     
  3. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Breaking Bad, DVD ..complete ?
    YES.
     
  4. clhboa

    clhboa Forum Resident

    Two that I watched the entire series repeatedly are...

    Grounded For Life
    Freaks And Geeks
     
  5. gabacabriel

    gabacabriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bristol, UK
    Bilko
    Larry Sanders
     
  6. Thomas D

    Thomas D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bradenton, FL
    Rockford Files DVDs. I later tried the blu-ray set, and its PQ is great, but I prefer the DVD set for various reasons, including the handling of the pilot episode. Rockford comes and goes on streaming services, so it is good to have my own set.

    Also, Maverick seasons 1-3 DVDs. Rockford was really sort of a modern version of Maverick. James Garner starred in two of the greatest TV series.
     
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  7. Maggie

    Maggie like a walking, talking art show

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    * The Wire
    * Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    * Seinfeld

    All of them have been reformatted for Blu-ray (I think -- not sure about Seinfeld) and the DVD sets are definitive.
     
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  8. bmasters9

    bmasters9 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fountain Inn, SC
    Another one of mine: Wanted: Dead or Alive (w/the great, late Steve McQueen as bounty hunter Josh Randall). This 1958-61 CBS Western has ever been one of my two favorites of that genre (the other being Have Gun, Will Travel [w/the late Richard Boone as Paladin, also on CBS]).
     
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  9. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    I overuse this phrase, but Steve McQueen -- they don't make them like him anymore. Real man, not one of the Hollywood "brat" or "frat" pack grown old.
     
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  10. Holerbot6000

    Holerbot6000 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Hannibal - you can pick up the whole series super cheap and it is one of the most luridly beautiful TV shows ever made. It looks incredible on Blu. I think I picked up all three seasons for like $15.
     
  11. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Frasier. It's not a beautifully mastered set or anything but the sheer quantity and quality of the episodes makes it worth it.

    Star Trek : The Next Generation. Beautifully done set with tons of extras. Great picture and sound, too.
     
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  12. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    WKRP in Cincinnati, for the music scenes that were cut from syndicated episodes.
     
  13. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Friends.

    I've got the red 'complete series' DVD box set, which they have now repackaged. However, Friends is great to get on DVD because the sets include the fully uncut episodes. Every episode (especially in the early seasons) had content cut for syndication, which are the versions shown on TV and on Netflix. The DVDs are the only way to get the complete episodes.
     
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  14. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    Car 54 Where Are You - funniest show ever. And only two seasons, easy to collect.

    Star Trek TOS - classic television.

    I have the first dozen seasons of "The Simpsons" on DVD. It was seeing the compact looking "Season 1" set that finally drove me to buy a DVD player. So much more compact than the dozens of VHS tapes I had laying around. Amazing.

    And Twin Peaks, if you're down with it.

    There are a lot of old shows I loved watching at the time, but I know if I buy the DVDs they'll just collect dust. I'm not very good about watching TV shows.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
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  15. bmasters9

    bmasters9 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fountain Inn, SC
    It certainly is-- that's another that I finished a long time ago. I have CBS' condensed all-in-one of that inaugural Trek on DVD (the remastered one), and it has fit very well on my shelves. I call it the "original-recipe" Trek, because every Trek since then has made changes in various forms, while seemingly keeping to what made the first NBC series great.
     
  16. paulewalnutz

    paulewalnutz Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    Totally agree with you on Car 54. Hilarious.
     
  17. ArpMoog

    ArpMoog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    Has "In Search of" ever had a release? I always liked that show and the intro music.
     
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  18. bmasters9

    bmasters9 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fountain Inn, SC
  19. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    Sorry I didn't add a note on Richard Boone. What a fine actor he was, and I especially liked him in westerns, whether on TV screen or silver screen. He was just fantastic as the bad guy in Hombre, starring Paul Newman as well. Great line (Newman addressing Boone):

    "I've got a question . . . how you gonna get back down that hill?"
     
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  20. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    Deliberately on DVD, because the picture quality doesn't need BR, and nothing is cut.

    "Fawlty Towers" is going for very little and with three seasons, you have a neat compact box to be re-watched at leisure. Low-rez studio video plus low-rez 16 mm footage outdoors.
    "Barney Miller" would be the same. I don't have that one yet, but it's a good reminder. Rather dreadful-looking on (I presume) 1-inch studio video, but the show's a classic. (I need to see if the Shout set has any network edits, now that I mentioned 'uncut' :))


    Anything that originated on 35 mm film I would want on BR or UHD. "The Twilight Zone" I've got and it looks A+++
    Recent things like "Twin Peaks", "Breaking Bad" and "The Sopranos" have tremendous picture quality, so I would never buy them on regular DVD. If anything, they should really be out on UHD to get the Full Monty.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
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  21. Veggie Boy

    Veggie Boy still trudgin'

    Location:
    Central Canada
    A lot of good series have been mentioned already. Here are a few sets I have or are working on.

    Scrubs
    Married With Children
    Get Smart
    Hawaii 5-0 (original series)
    Star Trek TOS and TNG
    Twilight Zone
    Midnight Special

    I would also like to get the original Dean Martin Roasts set. I'm not sure if they are readily available on DVD or BR.
     
  22. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    Blu ray? Even better!
     
  23. Claus LH

    Claus LH Forum Resident

    ....aaand UHD. Even EVEN better! :)
    Netflix had it on with its UHD streaming option, and it was gorgeous.
     
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  24. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Plus Rockford, Homicide, Frasier, Lou Grant.
     
  25. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    I'm seeing mention of shows that aren't series so if that's ok I would include Second City Television and You Bet Your Life. Then the Outer Limits.
     
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