Happy Thanksgiving 2019 Everyone! Time to celebrate one of TV's finest moments! And feel free to share any memories of the songs played on the show since this is a music forum after all.
Obviously the final scene is the best from the episode. However, I love the Pink Floyd scene, that is sadly omitted from the DVD release. I have said it before, the individual attorneys who negotiated the music rights and the producers/director who decided to shoot on video vs. film were beyond idiotic. I don’t know about you, but I would shell out $$$ for a blu ray release of the unedited complete series. Big Guy: Do I hear Dogs barking on that thing? Dr. Fever: I do. Big Guy: ...Pigs on the Wing, what does that sound like? Dr. Fever: I don’t do requests.
They did the same to Quantum Leap. The music was so critical and then they cut it out for the DVD set. I think it was eventually restored for the blu ray set.
Courtesy of noted LA writer Mark Evanier... In the case of WKRP, a Sony TV exec told me the costs would have been over $20,000 per episode to keep the songs in for home video (and impossible with Led Zeppelin). Particularly for a 4-season show that only hit 90 episodes and never got great ratings. I don't think it was a very profitable series. If they were to spend $2 million dollars clearing all the music rights (and it could potentially be more), they'd never, ever make that back selling 5000 or 10,000 boxed Blu-ray sets to fans. Me personally, I would do it anyway, but that's why I'm not a big studio exec. Quantum Leap is from Universal, and Universal is notoriously cheap about everything. When UMG was part of Universal Studios, they owned a massive number of record labels, but since the 2004 split-up, they'd have to pay for those rights like everybody else. That's a similar problem: five seasons, 97 episodes, and the show was never a huge hit. You spend a few million dollars restoring the rights for home video, how many discs will they sell? There are different music rights for streaming, so it's possible they were able to work out an affordable deal on that. I know for a fact that all the Quantum Leap episodes were remastered in HD, but I don't know if they also did a 4K/HDR pass. They did for Miami Vice, and the music rights there were always integral because Michael Mann insisted on it.
Yep. Same episode. Carlson walks around and doesn’t feel that he doesn’t contribute at the station (which he doesn’t.) This ultimately leads to him to hatching his “secret,” and legendary Thanksgiving station promo. Due to licensing from the Floyd camp (read: Roger Freaking Waters) wanting an insane amount, this scene in syndication is either 1) heavily edited to remove Dogs playing, and has limited dialogue with Carlson and Johnny or b) removes the scene all together except the entrance and keep up the good work. Again, MTM was asleep at the wheel while “producing” this show. Too stupid to see future syndication royals and too cheap to shoot on film (which could have addressed some of the stupidity.) There are others on this forum can provide more insight to the legal side of music licensing while recording on video vs. film. I’m just a part time lawyer.
I am almost 100% sure that it was shot on video. However, I would defer to someone in the industry. Maybe @Vidiot can provide some insight into the show. Had it been shot on film, the music licensing would have been different (cheaper) in the long run. Again, I’m not an expert on TV music licensing.
MeTV showed it this week with Pink Floyd intact. I was really happy to see it again as they aren't showing the series regularly any more.
Yep, I DVR'd it just to see if the Pink Floyd scene was still there with their music and all, and it was. Laughed it up quite a bit again, too!
It was my understanding that WKRP was shot on video because it made music rights more affordable vs. being shot on film, something akin to variety shows also being shot on video due to music rights.
WKRP in Cincinnati was very definitely shot on standard-def videotape using Norelco/Philips PC-70 cameras, not film. Because of the success of Norman Lear's shows, many (if not most) American 1970s TV sitcoms were shot on videotape. The rare exceptions shot on film would be the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Newhart, Phyllis, and Rhoda. The single-camera comedies (M*A*S*H, Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Nanny & The Professor, etc.) were shot on film.
The DVD release managed to keep something like 95% of the music in place, and that was OK by me. Far better than the earlier, bowdlerized release of the first season. Floyd and the Stones were the notable omissions.
The cover of Pink Floyd’s Dogs was credible. They also seemed to edit-out when that band’s name was mentioned. Shout Factory did an excellent job with this set.
I was hoping some industrious internet person would have capped these new broadcasts. I checked if any were floating around online awhile back but saw nothing. I'm quite happy with the Shout! discs and I also have rips of the unadulterated series, but it would handy to have episodes with replaced music in better quality.
WKRP may not have been a big hit in its original run, but it would up being one of the more valuable library titles for MTM. When MTM got new ownership in the late 80s, a key piece of their strategy was to better monetize their library. So there was an increased push on their part to sell “Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Rhoda”, “Hill Street Blues” and the like to local stations. But the locals only wanted more “WKRP”. That was the main reason they revived the show.
Is there none among us who would shed a tear for these poor victimized birds, to end their lives in sheer terror plummeting groundward? Not me. I keep hoping for a U.S. pres that says the pardons are off! Really a nasty and vicious creature the turkey, anyway, what kid wants to pet one? Surprisingly good with mashed potatoes and gravy however...
Turkeys Away is on METv tonight: What's On MeTV? Glad they keep showing this even though the show is not in rotation.
Cool! I just set our TiVo, thanks for the heads up. They have a number of great classic Tgiving episodes tonight. Recording a few of them. dan c
