MovieChat Forums > WKRP in Cincinnati (1978) Discussion > LOVING the new DVD set!

LOVING the new DVD set!

posted 10 years ago by jason_tasch
13 replies | jump to latest

I have been whipping through the series at a break-neck pace, and I must say that I am loving having "WKRP in Cincinnati" on DVD at long last! Almost all of the music has been restored and the few unavoidable changes do not really bother me. In the earlier version, one of the WORST edits was with The Contest That Nobody Could Win, but on this set, that scene with the actual contest was completely restored.

Jennifer's "Fly Me To The Moon" doorbell is back.
Ivan's "Hold Me CLoser, Tiny Dancer" farewell to Les is back.

And many many more!

And of course, it is the ENTIRE SERIES!!!!

[–] squirreletta 10 years ago

The picture quality is surprisingly good too.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the old DVD release edit out the part in Turkey's Away when Les tries to take refuge in the shoe store but stops, saying "Oh no. I can't go in there!"? I love that it's back!

~A chat with you and somehow death loses its sting.~

[–] rexb-2 10 years ago

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!

On the new Shout Factory edition of the Episode "The Contest Nobody Could Win" the ending of this episode is different than I have ever seen. Johnny isn't shown getting the case back from the fraudster. After Mr. Pesoli (sp?) shows his IDs Mr Carlson yells for Andy and runs out. But the scene fades and doesn't show Johnny enter the lobby.

One of the summaries on IMDb describes the Johnny ending as I remember it but that's not what is shown here.

[–] rexb-2 10 years ago

OK I just checked the "old" CBS issue of the first season episode and it has not only the ending I have always known BUT it is a completely different filmed ending. The fraud guy is a different actor - the real contestant has different lines, Carlson leaves but comes back to fire Herb and Les, then Johnny walks in with the case he retrieved. There is no conversation between Johnny and Venus in a epilogue.

I had no idea there was a completely different ending out there.

I'm guessing the Shout Factory version is the original???? Anybody know for sure?

[–] rexb-2 10 years ago

OK, comparing even further, the new release version is a completely altered script with many changes from the syndicated version I am more familiar with. I don't remember this version at all.

[–] vinsane 10 years ago

Someone posted a link to a forum on another thread here and a member on that forum posted a detailed summary of all the changes in the new release. The summary of those two different versions and his similar confusion over why it was done was the longest segment there.

It's kind of putting me off buying this new release if it's still a "doctored" version of what I remembered. I get that restoring over 85 percent of the songs is far better than what went before but, in another way, it kind of underscores that we will never see the fully restored series. I hope the magic elves in the video archives will at least preserve the truly untouched original episodes in a format that will not deteriorate. Then if the music ever falls into public domain some distant generation will be able to watch it and wonder whatever became of me...

Eeek!!! I'm getting dressed.

[–] RoIn100 10 years ago

So what would be the purpose of these changes? It does not sound like there were any music licensing issues involved.

[–] Ariane1998 10 years ago

I wonder about this. This is the only episode I know.

http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2008/10/wkrp-episode-contest-nobody-could- win.html

I know that in many syndicated versions you don't hear Johnny talking about giving away lip gloss over the final credits. I guess because of music rights to "Lotta Love" so they just cut Johnny's words out and put generic music on?

[–] jersey-3 10 years ago

I too am very confused by the change to this episode. Granted, I haven't seen the original, non-syndicated version since it originally aired...but the version I knew had Vincent Schiavelli playing the fake Don Pesola and Johnny rescuing the money.

The version on the DVDs seems rushed and weird. Totally different than anything we've seen before.

But here's what I found from a web search: "And in their quest to use original broadcast masters for every episode, Shout! wound up making a very unusual discovery: the ending of the episode “The Contest Nobody Could Win” is an earlier version with a different guest actor. Nobody knew two complete versions of the episode existed, so I can’t blame Shout! for not realizing they were using a different version from the one we’ve normally seen in reruns. And hopefully they’ll find some way to make the other version available too, maybe via a replacement disc or a fix when they release the seasons separately. But meanwhile, the usual ending is on Fox’s DVD set, and the two versions make for a fascinating comparison. It just goes to show you how difficult this show is to keep track of and how many alternate versions it exists in: in all my years of watching TV, I’ve never heard of a non-pilot episode existing in two different, authorized masters with completely different endings and actors."

[–] Huge_Ego_sorry 10 years ago

So much of the original is back. Episodes are almost 25 minutes each.

[–] skiptan71 10 years ago

Just watched that episode tonight and knew right away this episode was wrong. I've watched it when it first aired and in syndication and never seen this ending before. There was the different imposter and Johnny saves the day. No talk at the end about the station giving away 10k and now giving away lip gloss. Except for this episode I can't complain at all so far, Shout! did a wonderful job, and if they ever came out with the complete unaltered episodes with every song and scene I would buy that set too! But this set is worth every penny so far!! As I watch this show again for the first time in a long time I can't believe this show didn't go longer(I've heard the reasons why) just really great writing! Saving the Turkeys away episode for Thanksgiving!

[–] jason_tasch 10 years ago

When I had originally mentioned "The Contest That Nobody Could Win", I had gone specifically to that episode to that scene with the actual contest, and was so thrilled that it had been restored to its original cut, that I had not even finished the episode. It had not even occurred to me that the ending would be so different, not only with the replacement of actor Vincent Schiavelli, but also the final resolution to the problem!

SHOUT! Factory should make a replacement disc for Season 1, Disc 1, with the proper episode, including the proper contest and proper ending.

Other than this GLARING glitch, I have enjoyed revisiting the entire series on DVD!

[–] Ariane1998 10 years ago

There is an interesting review about this DVD set on this link. He mentions that apparently Shout! Factory had no idea that there were two versions of this episode.

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/television/wkrp-in-cincinnati-the-compl ete-series-home-video-review/

^^^Scroll down to the "Caveats" section^^^

This author is also the one who posted so many WKRP episodes with the original music in his old blog:

http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2009/03/links-to-wkrp-episodes-posted-so-f ar.html

[–] snelling 10 years ago

I bought the bootlegs of the syndicated series back in 2006. The main improvement with Shout! Factory's discs is the brightness and less muddy look to the overall appearance, but the few extra minutes with dialogue or scenes that (while not important) add to the layering of the shows. I prefer the ending to "The Contest Nobody Could Win" with Johnny bringing the briefcase full of money back to Mr Carlson. So now I have both.

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley