What was the first 'complete' TV series on VHS?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by O Don Piano, Jun 29, 2011.

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  1. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member Thread Starter

    Does anyone know what the first collected TV series that was put out? Just curious.
     
  2. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    Very good question indeed.
     
  3. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    According to Google, it was X Files.
     
  4. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Probably something through Columbia House.. Maybe Star Trek.
     
  5. spanky1

    spanky1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I could maybe believe this was the first series on DVD, but not VHS. Star Trek is probably a great guess.
     
  6. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    It was DVD, I mis -remembered the thread title. For VHS Google says " I Love Lucy."

    Nobody else uses Google ????
     
  7. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I wouldn't take much stock in a Google result's "answer" to this question.
     
  8. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    :laugh:
     
  9. Big Pasi

    Big Pasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vaasa, Finland
    I had Police Squad on VHS in early 90's. Two cassettes. Of course it's only 6 episodes, but still...
     
  10. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I had Top Cat in the late eighties, though I doubt that's the first, I bought the complete Twin Peaks when that came out around 1990, did that cost a lot of money. :sigh:
     
  11. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    Pity me! :laugh: I actually bought it on LaserDisc - 17 discs (one for the pilot and four 4-disc boxes that retailed for about $130 each*) Part of me is amazed I was so foolish :wave: and part of me is grateful that no other TV shows I liked came out complete on LD or I would have had to declare bankruptcy.

    * my memory has it that season one came out on VHS first and then LD later, but the next three boxes (season two parts 1, 2 & 3) came out on LD long before the VHS tapes did.
     
  12. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    You win, I think I spent a couple of hundred pounds on the VHS tapes, people nowadays don't know how lucky they are with cheap DVD box sets. :)
     
  13. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Star Trek came out on VHS on Columbia House long before the '90's.
     
  14. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Why would anyone have ever bought a complete series on a format like VHS? Laserdisc I could understand; but they're only going to put at most 2 episodes of a half-hour series or 1 episode of an hour long series per tape.
     
  15. Atari265278

    Atari265278 Forum Resident

  16. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I still have some TV shows on VHS so I'd have to check, but I think in the UK we got two full episodes, 50-60 minutes each, on a tape.

    Laserdisc was a very minority format here, and DVD was on the distant horizon, so VHS was really the only game in town during the late eighties and early nineties.
     
  17. Texastoyz

    Texastoyz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas, USA


    Completists
     
  18. ziggysane

    ziggysane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Dark Shadows was released in 200 volumes over 5 years, 1989-1994. If that wasn't the first, I'm pretty sure that it must have been the largest.
     
  19. Steve Litos

    Steve Litos Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    Trekkies are a powerful bunch as legit and significant Star Trek videotape releases started in 1980.

    From various web sites, the first cronological videotape/laser disc Star Trek run started in 1985 and finished in 1988.

    Unless someone can come up with something else, the winner by definition is probably Police Squad tv show around August 1985 since the run was only 6 episodes on 2 tapes.

    The earliest tv shows I can find on the net of any home format system was an episode of Roger Ramjet cartoon, The Incredible Hulk cartoon, or an episode of Gadabout Gaddis the Flying Fisherman on the 1972 Cartrivision system.

    According to a Billboard article from 1971 "Gadabout" even negotiated releasing tapes on the "never went commercial" Motorola video tape system. He must have been a popular guy!
     
  20. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    That's just as much as you can fit on a CAV laserdisc. Or one side of a CLV disc.

    David Lynch's 'On The Air' came out (in the States) on one VHS tape, and that was 7 episodes. They used the ultra-slow speed, though, to make you REALLY want to buy the laserdisc edition that they would never release.
     
  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    And I did the mastering on all those, circa 1984.

    I think the first complete series out on VHS was I Love Lucy, possibly followed by Star Trek or Twilight Zone. I think all three were available around 1988-1990. Heck, I have a complete set of Lucy on pre-recorded Betamax tape! (With the first one autographed to me by Lucille Ball.)
     
  22. fergojisan

    fergojisan Atari 2600 Gadabout

    Location:
    Felton, DE
    Was the M*A*S*H VHS collection complete? I'm pretty sure they weren't in broadcast order, someone else may know for sure. I remember seeing them long ago and they had the early tabbed boxes, or whatever you call it (the box closed so the tape didn't fall out).
     
  23. Benno123

    Benno123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    Were those Betamax tapes available in stores or through Columbia House subscription? I remember CH having the VHS, but I don't remember Beta tapes being available.

    While we're on it, I also remember when The Honeymooners were available on VHS. Not the "lost episodes" but the actual series. I would consider that complete as well since there are only 39 episodes.
     
  24. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Still have my set right here. Looks and sounds great. :agree:
     
  25. LSP2003

    LSP2003 Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles

    I bought all of those as well - I can not believe that I spent that much to get a series. I sold them right when laser was going out and I got over $200 for at least one of those on ebay. Those last couple sets became pretty tough to find. And then I got the dvd gold box, with the pilot, as a gift and that was way under $100 for the whole thing.
     
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