MovieChat Forums > Ellery Queen (1975) Discussion > DVD finally coming!

DVD finally coming!

posted 14 years ago by ghostfan
17 replies | jump to latest

So glad to see this show finally coming to legit DVD. I graduated high school the year it came out, loved it then and love it now, even if I know who dun it.

What really tickles me is FINALLY the guy selling sets on EBAY and IOffer (and claiming he holds the copyright!) will be shut down. He was charging $100 a pop!

I knew he was getting away with murder (no pun intended) saying he held the copyright, but unless someone is willing to press, what can you do?

Now we get fully restored prints at a reasonable price! Amazon says the release date is September 28th.

[–] ScarletPimpernel64 14 years ago

Just got the first DVD via Netflix.

What a treat!

"Be sure you're right, then go ahead."
Davy Crockett

[–] ghostfan 14 years ago

is the hook before the show included? You know, so and so is about to be murdered...

and are the copies nice and pristine?

[–] NickKitt 14 years ago

Just got the set and it is FANTASTIC !!!!! Worth every penny !!! Picked it up on Amazon for $32. And it includes everything you could ask for. Episodes pristine and nice. Sound is excellent. Packaging is great. Nice series booklet with some nice stuff about Jim Hutton and his absolute devotion to the show. A wonderful buy and highly recommended. Jim Hutton is to Ellery Queen what Jeremy Brett was to Sherlock Holmes and David Suchet to Hercule Poirot. Yes, the hook is there in all it's glory !!!

By all means, buy it !! You won't be disappointed!!

"Every Troll Matters When Message Board
Domination Is Your Goal."

[–] ghostfan 14 years ago

You said it - it's FANTASTIC! I've watched through disc 2 so far - though I do know the show well - lived on bootlegs for the last few years. They didn't have the hook.

(glad to know there's another Jeremy Brett fan on this board, too)

The thing I am happiest about is the guy who has been selling boots for $100 a set (they were taped off the Mystery channel a few years ago, I believe) is out of business.

[–] autour 14 years ago

The question was:
"is the hook before the show included? You know, so and so is about to be murdered...

and are the copies nice and pristine?"

I didn't notice an answer, so if you're still awaiting one, the answer is yes, they start each with the hook . . . which was then, and still is now, a unique start (as far as I know). Like the unique break right before the rap-up, where he breaks the forth wall and asks the audience if they have it figured out, and offers a clue or direction.

As for the rest of the question, it looks clean and pristine on my system.

I started watching this series off NetFlix a short while ago and am really enjoying it. Wish it had lasted longer.

[–] ghostfan 14 years ago

Thank you for your answer, but i went ahead and bought the DVD's - They are super! Well worth the money! I have been waiting ages for this show, and I am so pleased!

Thanks!

[–] FlaxyMartin 14 years ago

I too recently purchased the DVD and they did a great job with remastering this series and the quality of the box set.

When you watch it today, it makes you wonder what the network was thinking canceling it- and even the viewers who chose NOT to tune in. This show definitely deserved a second season to prove itself, and give the writers more time to come up with clever stories. There easily should have been up to 100 episodes of this show.

[–] buckndi 14 years ago

I had a mad crush on Jim Hutton, and finally getting the DVD's reminds me why. This show was SO well done, and the DVD's are complete with all the elements that made me love it. I was heartbroken when it was canceled (same year my dad passed away, that may have had something to do with it), I launched a bitter letter writing campaign against the network.

"Don't worry. On a new job it's quite common for things not to go well at first."

[–] misspaddylee 14 years ago

I had a mad crush on Jim Hutton, and finally getting the DVD's reminds me why.

I wanted my daughter (age 20) to get a sense of the feel of the show, so I paused before Ellery/Jim's challenge to the viewer. When the clip ended, she was grinning at me and said "You love him, don't you?" What could I say, but Yes, ever since The Horizontal Lieutenant. She's taken the time to watch a couple of episodes with me and I sense love in bloom.

I was heartbroken when it was canceled (same year my dad passed away, that may have had something to do with it), I launched a bitter letter writing campaign against the network.

The cancellation of Ellery Queen marks the only time I ever wrote a letter of protest to a network.

"Madame meets many people, but she usually avoids the mad ones."

[–] ghostfan 14 years ago

I was also crushed when this show was cancelled --

When I was a kid-teenager back in the late 60's and early 70's, I only developed crushes on three actors - Edward Mulhare from the Ghost and Mrs. Muir back in 1968-1970, Patrick Macnee on re-runs of the Avengers, (show was already cancelled) and Jim Hutton in Ellery Queen in 1974-75. I was devistated when GAMM and Ellery were cancelled, and I STILL think they were gone way too soon! Thank goodness for Ellery making it to DVDs - now if GAMM could only make it to a legitimate release, I will never ask for another old show in my whole life!

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Mincom 14 years ago

I really enjoyed this series, and the DVDs was money well spent.

[–] shlubby_has_taste 14 years ago

This is one fine show. Musta been bad timing, maybe, that it didn't get the success it deserved. Too bad. I'm enjoying watching these episodes more than anything else on TV.

I watch alotta TV...but that doesn't mean I don't have a job.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] FlaxyMartin 14 years ago

I can't figure out if it was bad timing or the audience that season (75-76). It is hard to watch these shows remastered for DVD and know there is only ONE season. The show was done so well with the quality sets, 40s hair, make up and fashion, cars etc. Yes, I know getting everyone together to reveal the murderer would have gotten old, but Murder She Wrote ran 12 seasons with the premise that a middle aged mystery writer stumbles across a murder or two every episode (and doesn't need therapy!). It's sad to know Jim Hutton died a few years later. When I watch the show, I love his character. He's likable, funny, charming, and I love the story lines within the story that involve him and a lady friend. He had good chemistry with those women, it worked. I know if the series was given a second season, it would have only gotten better. This easily should have been a show that stopped because of the death of Jim Hutton, not because of ratings.

[–] shlubby_has_taste 14 years ago

Nicely said. I've made the same comparison myself to Murder She Wrote--who's creator also produced EQ. A VERY close premise, but I think EQ was simply a much better show. It just didn't make sense that it didn't fare better ratings-wise. People's taste is a funny thing.

I watch alotta TV...but that doesn't mean I don't have a job.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

But weren't the mystery shows more popular in the eighties than in the seventies?

In the eighties and early nineties, we had Miss Marple, Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Campion, etc. Murder She Wrote was one of many mystery shows running at that time. I know of only a few which were popular in the seventies.

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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen