criterionforum.org

So, there appears to be a total lack of information online as to television shows made before 2000 that are available on Bluray. I thought this thread would do the world a favor and serve as our go-to source for tracking which shows are available - in all regions in HD (given they were made before 2000, since that seems to be the start of the Bluray on tv phenomenon).

I know I haven't found everything, so I'll need some help. Ill exclude made for tv movies, or tv specials (like, I wouldn't consider the tv edit of Fanny & Alexander a tv series) (nor would I count one-off things, like the Peanuts holiday specials, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas). So I guess I'd define it as something with actual episodes.

I'm looking primarily for English friendly releases in any region. I've mostly only searched through US and UK releases, so other regions is where I'll be weakest. I'll put in a non-english friendly section, just so we can all keep track of whats out there. Also, could people make a note for when a series has been butchered (16:9 cropping, other issues).

Also, shows that started in the 80s/90s/etc, but only have seasons made in the 2000s on bluray, do not count, unless their pre-2000s episodes are available (example: The Simpsons have several season on Bluray, but no pre-2000s seasons available on the format). I was going to limit it to pre-90s shows, but even the 90s have a pathetic number of shows represented on the format.

Note on Region encoding. I've mostly used Bluray.com's notes on region codes. When I come across a blu that has only been tested for one market, I'll just include that market's country name (thus something that's meant for the UK and has only been tested for Region B will just have a "UK designation" rather than a "Region A, C untested").

40s
Buster Keaton Show (Complete of what's surviving, Liberation Hall - US)

50s
Abbott and Costello Show (Season One, US)
Alaskans (Complete, WB)
Around the World with Orson Welles (Complete Series, BFI - UK)
Blondie (complete, Classicflix)
Cheyenne (Complete, WB)
Colt .45 (Complete, WB)
Honeymooners, The (Original 39 episodes, Paramount -US)
Huckleberry Hound Show (Complete, Warner Archive)
I Love Lucy (Complete series, Paramount -US) -----------------shoddy AI 'enhancement'
Ivor the Engine (Complete, Fabulous Films - UK)
Leave it to Beaver (Complete, Universal - US)
Lock-Up (Season 1, Classicflix)
Twilight Zone, The (complete series, Image - Region A; Fremantle Region B)
Veil, The (Complete, Vinegar Syndrome - US)
World of Giants (Complete, Classicflix)

60s
Alfred Hitchcock Hour (Season One, Imprint, Aus)
Andy Griffith Show (Complete series, Paramount, US)
Avengers, The (Season 5- barebones, eventual UK release likely to be better, US; Season 4 - UK)
Batman (Complete Series, Warner Bros, US / UK)
Bewitched (complete but 16:9 butchering - Mill Creek) + better (but limited edition) sets from Imprint (Aus)
Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons (Complete, Imprint Aus)
Civilization (complete series, 2entertain, Region B)
Complete and Utter History of Britain, The (both surviving episodes, Network, UK)
Department S (Complete series, Network -UK; Imprint-Aus)
Dick Van Dyke Show, The (Complete series, Image -US, Region A, B, C)
Flintstones (Complete, Warner, US)
Flipper (Complete series, Olive - US)
Frankenstein Jr & the Impossibles (Complete, WB)
Gidget (Complete, Imprint -Aus)
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (Complete, Paramount - US)
Herculoids (Complete, Warner - US)
Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series Box Set (CBS, US)
I Dream of Jeannie (complete series, Mill Creek, US) + better (but limited edition) set from Imprint (Aus)
Jetsons (Complete series, WB - US)
Johnny Quest (Complete series, WB -US)
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har (complete, WB)
Lost in Space (Complete series, Fox - US)
Maigret (Complete seasons 1-4, Kino, US)
Magilla Gorilla Show (Complete, WB)
Man Called Shenandoah (complete, WB)
Man in a Suitcase (Complete, Imprint, Aus)
Mission: Impossible (complete series, Paramount, US)
Monkees, The (complete series, Rhino - US)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (complete series, Universal- US, Network-UK)
Night Gallery (Complete, Kino, US)
Object Z (Complete, BFI - UK)
Outer Limits, The (Complete series, Kino - US)
Prisoner, The (Complete series, A&E Region A / Network Region B)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (Complete series, Network - UK)
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (Complete + includes 3rd "revival" season - WB - US)
Space Ghost and Dino Boy (Complete, Warner, US)
Speed Racer (Complete, Funimation, US)
Star Trek: The Original Series (complete series, Paramount, Region free)
Supercar (Complete, Imprint Aus)
Tales to Keep You Awake (Complete, Severin US) ------ 480i material
Thunderbirds (Complete series, Shout Factory in OAR, unlike UK release)
Top Cat (complete, WB - US)
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum (Complete, Warner, US)
Ultra Q (Complete, Mill Creek - US)
Ultraman (Complete, Mill Creek - US)
Ultraseven (complete series, Mill Creek, US)
Wacky Races (Complete, WB)
Wally Gator (Complete, WB)


70s
Battlestar Galactica (complete series, Universal - US; Koch Media - Germany)
Bionic Woman (complete, Shout!, US)
Blake's 7 (Series 1-2, BBC)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (complete series, Kino, US)
Charlie's Angels (Complete, Mill Creek - US)
Citizen Smith (Complete, Fabulous Films - UK)
Columbo - (Complete series, Geneon - Japan)
Doctor Who: Story #051: Spearhead From Space (BBC, US/UK)
Doctor Who Tom Baker / John Pertwee / etc (BBC, US / AUS; UK)
Emergency! (Complete, Universal, US)
Famous Five (Complete series, Koch Media, Germany)
Fawlty Towers (BBC)
Incredible Hulk (Complete series, US/UK)
Invisible Man (Complete Series, Ascot Elite Home Entertainment, Germany, Region Free)
Josie and the Pussycats (Complete, WB)
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space (Complete, WB)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (complete series, Kino, US)
Life on Earth (Complete series, 2entertain - Region B)
Little House on the Prairie (Season 1-9 + Complete set, Lionsgate, US)
New Adventures of Batman (complete - Warner -US)
New Avengers (Complete, Studio Canal - UK)
New Fred and Barney Show (complete - Warner -US)
Odd Couple (Complete, Paramount - US)
Paddington Bear (Complete, Fabulous Films - UK)
Persuaders, The (Complete series, Network - UK)
Professionals (Series 1-4, Network - UK)
Rockford Files (Complete Series, Mill Creek - US)
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (Complete series, Section 23, US)
Shazam! (complete series, Warner, US)
Six Million Dollar Man (complete, Shout!, US)
Space: 1999 (Complete - Network Region B + Shout Factory - Region A)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (Paramount, US)
Super Friends (complete series, Warner - US)
Sweeney, The (Series 1, Network (OOP); Series 1-2 Old Gold - UK)
UFO (Complete series, UK - Network; Germany - Epix)
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (Complete - Warner, US)
Wombles (complete, Fabulous Films - UK)
Wonder Woman (complete series, Warner, US)
World at War (complete, Network - UK -only the Network release is not cropped!!)

80s
A-Team (Complete series, Fabulous Films - UK)
Airwolf (complete series, Fabulous Films - UK, Mill Creek -US)
Baywatch (Complete - Visual Entertainment - US)
Blue Thunder (Complete - Sony - US)
Brideshead Revisited (Complete Series, Acorn -Region A, un-restored, read reviews before buying)
Cheers (Complete, Paramount, US)
Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers (complete series, Disney, US)
Doctor Who Peter Davison [Season 19] (BBC, US; UK = limited)
Dragon Ball Z (Funimation -US) -AVOID THE SEASON SETS. Only get the Level 1.1, 1.2 sets (though this series is in hiatus).
Fraggle Rock (Sony, Complete + Includes complete animated series -US)
Hammer House of Horror (Complete series, Network, UK)
Jim Henson's The Storyteller (Complete, Via Vision - Aus / Fabulous Films - UK)
Kimagure Orange Road (Season 1, Discotek, US)
Knight Rider (Complete series, Mill Creek-US, Fabulous Films-UK)
MacGyver (Complete series, CBS)
Magnum PI (Complete series, Fabulous Films - UK)
Master, The (Complete Series, Kino - US)
Miami Vice (Complete series, Mill Creek-US, Fabulous Films-UK)
Murder She Wrote (complete series, Universal, USA)
Patlabor The Mobile Police (early days/collection 1-4, Section 23, Region A)
Pee-wee's Playhouse (Complete series, Shout Factory, US)
Poirot (complete series, Acorn, Region A)
Police Squad! (Complete series, Australia)
Quantum Leap (Complete series, Mill Creek - US)
Ranma ½ (Sets 1-7, Viz Media, US)
Red Dwarf (BBC, complete, UK)
Robin of Sherwood (Complete series, Acorn Region A/ Network Region B)
Seinfeld (Complete, Sony) ------------ ONLY 4K, as Bluray = widescreen hack
Sherlock Holmes (Complete series, MPI, USA)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Complete series, Paramount, Region free)
Terrahawks (Season 1-2, Network, UK)
Thundarr the Barbarian (Complete, Warner - US)

90s
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (Complete - Discotek, US)
Baseball (complete series, PBS, US)
Batman: The Animated Series (Warner Bros - US)
Berserk (Complete, MVM - UK)
Captain Planet and the Planeteers (Complete, WB -US)
Cardcaptor Sakura (Complete Series, NIS America - US)
Charmed (Complete Series, Paramount) - Widescreen hack
Cowboy Bebop (Complete series, Anime Ltd. - UK /Funimation -US)
Darling Buds of May (Complete - Via Vision - Australia)
Dawson's Creek (complete - US)
Farscape (Complete, Sony - US)
Flash, The (Complete, Warner - US)
Frasier (Complete, Paramount, US)
Freaks and Geeks (Complete series, Shout Factory - US)
Gunsmith Cats (Complete Series, AnimEigo - US)
Inspector Rex (Seasons 1&2, Via Vision, Australia)
Ken Burns' Civil War (PBS, US)
King of Queens (complete series, Mill Creek, US) ----- (Widescreen butcher)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Complete, WB, US)
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Complete, Sentai - US; Animatsu - UK)
Northern Exposure (Complete, Universal - US)
RoboCop: The Series (Complete, Screenbound UK - all other releases = garbage)
Seaquest (Complete, Mill Creek - US)
Serial Experiments Lain (Complete series, Funimation, Region A)
Sopranos, The (Season 1, HBO, Region free)
Superman Animated Series (Complete -WB)
Toxic Crusaders (Complete, Troma - US)
Trials of Life (Complete Series, 2entertain - Region B)
Twin Peaks (Complete Series, Paramount - US/UK)
Untouchables (Complete, VEI - US)
Vision of Escaflowne (Complete series? Anime Ltd - UK)
West Wing (Complete - WB - US)
Yu Yu Hakusho - (Complete series, Funimation - Region A/B (C untested)

Mini-series / TV films (excluding films shown theatrically)

Alan Clarke television films (BFI)
Holocaust (1978 - Complete, Paramount)
House of Cards (UK series, complete, BBC -Region A / 2entertain -Region B)
James Clavell's "Shogun" (1980) (Complete, Paramount, US)
Lonesome Dove (Complete Series, Weinstein, Region free)
Object Z (Complete, BFI - UK)
Power of Myth (Complete, Film Movement -US)
Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 series (Complete series, A&E/ 2entertain - both region free)
Roots (Complete Series, Warner Bros, US)
Smiley's People (Complete series, Acorn Media, not restored, read reviews before buying)
The Stand (1994) (Complete, Paramount)
Stephen King's IT (Complete, WB, US)
Tales Out of School - Four Plays by David Leland (Network, UK)
Time Bokan Royal Revival (Complete - both episodes, Section 23)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Complete series, Acorn - Region free, not restored, read reviews before buying)
V (complete, WB - US)
Wolcott (Complete, Network - UK)

Non-English friendly:

Lupin the Third (Second series, ?, Japan)

Single Episodes (pre 2000 shows available only as a single episode. Perhaps the entire season will be expected in the future)

Adventures of Robin Hood, The (The Sheriff’s Boots, Retro-Action! volume 3)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents / Hour
Baron, The (Something For A Rainy Day, Retro-Action! volume 3)
Champions, The (The Invisible Man, Network: Retro-Action! volume 1)
Danger Man (No Marks for Servility - Retro-Action volume 2; View From the Villa - Volume 3)
Department S (A Small War of Nerves, Network's Retro-Action! volume 1)
Fireball XL5 (A Day in the Life of a Space General, Network, Fireball XL5 set - colorized)
Four Feather Falls (Gunfight On Main Street, Network, included on the Fireball XL5 bluray set)
Gerry Anderson Supermarionation - with select random episodes,too many to list here.
Gideon’s Way (The Tin God, Network, Retro-Action volume 2)
Invisible Man, The (Secret Experiment, Network, Retro-Action! volume 3)
Man in a Suitcase (Somebody Loses, Somebody… Wins?, Network, Retro-Action volume 2)
New Scooby Doo Movies (Almost Complete ... missing Addams Family episode + 8hours content per disc....
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - (When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things?, Network's Retro-Action! volume 1)
Rawhide -(first four episodes, Explosive Media)
Return of the Saint (One Black September, Network, Retro-Action! volume 3)
Saint, The (The Queen’s Ransom, Network, Retro-Action vol 2; "The Ex-King of Diamonds" - on the Persuaders Bluray)
Shirley’s World (The Rally, Network, Retro-Action! volume 3)
Simpsons (various pre-2000s episodes available, please see Colin's post below)
Space Patrol (two episodes, Network Bluray set UK - OOP?)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (Tribbles episode, available on Season 2 of the Star Trek TOS Bluray)
Strange Report (Report 2493: Kidnap - ‘Whose Pretty Girl Are You?, Network - Retro- Action! volume 1)
Zoo Gang, The (Revenge: Post Dated, Network, Retro-Action! volume 3)

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Shame list (SD jobs, cropping, other avoid discs)

Adventures of Tin Tin (UK Bluray, Anchor Bay, cropped to 16:9)
Defenders of Earth (German Bluray - all 65 episodes on a single disc! up-converted!)
Doctor Who 1996 TV movie (BBC - UK) - All indications point towards this being an upscale.
Diagnosis Murder (Complete series, VEG, US) - Shit looking SD upconversion
Dragon Ball Z (Series 1, Funimation, Region A/B) - Avoid the season sets, cropped + crap "remaster" hack job
Farscape (Complete series, A&E -US, History - UK) - SD upconversion (competently done, but still, not good)
Friends (Complete series, Warner - Region free) (16:9 cropping, also missing "extended episodes" from DVD sets)
Highlander (German Bluray Series 1 - up-converted SD footage)
Invisible Man (US Bluray, Complete series, Millennium Media, SD footage, 16:9 cropping, avoid at all costs)
Jackson Five, The (Complete Series, Classic Media - US) - bad audio quality (which is terrible for a show all about music)
Nash Bridges (Complete series, VEG, US) - Shit looking SD upconversion
Prime Suspect (Complete Series, Acorn Media, US) - Cropped to 16:9
Sailor Moon (Viz Media - US) -Worse than DVD quality. AVOID! See EddieLarkin's post.
Tales from the Crypt (volume 1, Intergroove, Germany,) - Censored apparently. FSK-18. Plus SD footage, not HD.
That 70s Show (Series 1-2, Mill Creek, Region A) (In 16:9, cropped)
Thunderbirds (UK Bluray, Complete series, ITV - cropped to 16:9)
Time Tunnel, The (Complete series, Revelation Films, UK) - SD up-conversion,
X-Files, The (Complete series, Fox -US) (16:9, first four seasons suffer)
World at War, The (US/UK Bluray, cropped to 16:9) - New Network Bluray is in proper AR, ONLY BUY THE NETWORK BLU!

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Mods, I'll update this thread as new things are announced - thus I thought it would work better than the catch-all "tv on DVD thread." Besides, this aggregation doesn't exist anywhere else online to my knowledge.

There are releases of that Jeremy Brett Holmes series and Columbo on blu in Japan, too.

David Attenborough's Life on Earth and Trials of Life are out in the UK.

Minkin wrote:Also, shows that started in the 80s/90s/etc, but only have seasons made in the 2000s on bluray, do not count, unless their pre-2000s episodes are available (example: The Simpsons have several season on Bluray, but no pre-2000s seasons/episodes available on the format).

That is mostly true, but I can confirm that the US Blu-Ray releases of Season 14 and Season 15 of the Simpsons have been including selected older episodes as extras (themed to the packaging - so 14 is Treehouse of Horror and 15 is Otto-centric shows. Season 16 is including 'flash forward' shows from other seasons to tie in with the Professor Frink packaging and Future-drama episode in this season in which Frink plays a main role, and Season 17 is around Sideshow Bob) on their discs. The 'bonus' episodes included (with HoH subs but understandably without the commentaries or extras of the full season sets) are:

Season 17:

Krusty Gets Busted (Season 1)
Cape Feare (Season 5)
and post 2000 there is The Man Who Grew Too Much from season 25

Season 16:

Lisa's Wedding (from Season 6)
Bart To The Future (from Season 11 - aired March 2000) and Holidays of Future Passed (Season 23) are post-2000

Season 15:

The Otto Show (from Season 3)
Das Bus (from Season 9)
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge (from Season 11 - aired May 2000)

Season 14:

Treehouse of Horror V (from Season 6)
Treehouse of Horror VI (from Season 7)

colinr0380 wrote:

Minkin wrote:Also, shows that started in the 80s/90s/etc, but only have seasons made in the 2000s on bluray, do not count, unless their pre-2000s episodes are available (example: The Simpsons have several season on Bluray, but no pre-2000s seasons/episodes available on the format).

That is mostly true, but I can confirm that the US Blu-Ray releases of Season 14 and Season 15 of the Simpsons have been including selected older episodes as extras (themed to the packaging - so 14 is Treehouse of Horror and 15 is Otto-centric shows) on their discs. The 'bonus' episodes included (with HoH subs but understandably without the commentaries or extras of the full season sets) are:

Well, that shows me. I had no idea they were including older episodes along with the newer seasons! One would think they would avoid that practice, so they wouldn't show the change in quality so easily (and not have it dismissed by visuals/audio).

Hmm, this makes for an interesting predicament - whether to count/make mention of these one-off episodes. I would say it would make for an interest side-list and include them, but I'm not sure its entirely helpful for everyone. I don't think anyone would be buying Season 15 of the Simpsons, just to have the earlier episodes, well unless thats the final straw to push them over (well, it might be the case for me with season 14).

Perhaps others could voice-in whether those should be tracked as well. I just see it getting out of hand though. That and since its only a "one-off" episode in most cases, its difficult to treat them the same as the seasons. On the flipside, it does allow us to know what might be in the realm of possibility for a bluray upgrade. I just don't feel like, say including every Retro-Action show/episode, or all the Star Trek episodes that they like to throw on to the various sets: (the bluray sampler including episodes from season 3 and 5; or Season 2 of TOS bluray included a Tribbles disc with both an Animated series and DS9 episode. I suppose my original statement was more towards limiting the list to pre-2000 seasons, rather than episodes, but you added an interesting twist.

So let me know how this list should be shaped. In either case, thanks everyone for contributing so far! Also thanks Colin, I might better consider the season 14 bluray now - which I had been on the fence (I had no idea about the included bonus episodes).

In exciting news, I just discovered that Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel is getting a Bluray release! (complete series) - on August 26th. Edit -doing some reading, this might only be a SD upscale - thus it will probably end up on the Shame list. Wait for reviews before pre-ordering.

I have that Acorn release of Tinker Tailor, and in comparing it to the DVDs- it's not an astonishing improvement, it's true, but it is noticeable enough that if I were choosing which to pick up I'd go for the blu set. DVDbeaver seems to back that up, too.

Not sure if this counts, but S1 of The Sopranos (from 1999) is available.

In the UK, David Leland's series of plays Tales Out of School are available on Blu-ray, as are two episodes of Space Patrol, a colourised episode of Fireball XL-5 (along with an HD Four Feather Falls). All three sets are from Network, who have also released all three series of Robin of Sherwood, The Prisoner and series one of Space 1999.

Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space is also coming out here in June.

The BFI's BS Johnson release will have some TV material.

matrixschmatrix wrote:I have that Acorn release of Tinker Tailor, and in comparing it to the DVDs- it's not an astonishing improvement, it's true, but it is noticeable enough that if I were choosing which to pick up I'd go for the blu set. DVDbeaver seems to back that up, too.

Hmm, Tooze paints the set in a much more favorable light. I guess I'll remove it from the shame list, and (along with Brideshead Revisited) make mention of the potential deficiencies and inform people to read up on it before buying.
---

@willoneill - All seasons made before 2000 count, so the Sopranos Season 1 does indeed count! Along with any other show on bluray made in 1999.
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I included The Prisoner/Space 1999/ Robin of Sherwood under the US sets, since I was originally focused on US sets, but I guess that does a disservice to Network and people in the UK wanting to purchase these shows. So I ask, should I simply add the shows to the UK section, or should I make an "international section" to accommodate for these various sets? Star Trek is similarly available in the UK and other regions, so I suppose that would join the ranks. I'll let the people decide on this issue!
-------

Again, the Fireball XL5 seems like a single episode one-off rather than a season set or complete series (and I might be wary of it as well since its touted as colorized - does it include the B&W version as well?). I suppose the solution to many of these problems might be to get rid of countries and simply list by decades - the various shows (the decade the show started would be the decade of choice for the show - thus Star Trek TNG is the 80s not the 80s/90s). Then, with just the shows listed, I could make mention of what exactly is available for that show - ranging from complete series to season to a single episode. That might solve all of my problems!

Lastly, I'm not sure of what to make of "Tales Out of School" - might that fall under the tv-movie category? I'd rather not be here all day including various TV versions of things that are clearly counted as films, not television series (Fanny and Alexander being the prime case). Also, might my stance on no tv-specials be too harsh? I can see that some might want the various Seuss titles included, but again, its not really a tv series but a single "mini-movie" of sorts.

I'll let the people be the judge!

Again, thanks for all the contributions, keep them coming!

Minkin wrote:I had no idea they were including older episodes along with the newer seasons! One would think they would avoid that practice, so they wouldn't show the change in quality so easily (and not have it dismissed by visuals/audio).

Hmm, this makes for an interesting predicament - whether to count/make mention of these one-off episodes. I would say it would make for an interest side-list and include them, but I'm not sure its entirely helpful for everyone. I don't think anyone would be buying Season 15 of the Simpsons, just to have the earlier episodes, well unless thats the final straw to push them over (well, it might be the case for me with season 14).

Perhaps others could voice-in whether those should be tracked as well. I just see it getting out of hand though. That and since its only a "one-off" episode in most cases, its difficult to treat them the same as the seasons. On the flipside, it does allow us to know what might be in the realm of possibility for a bluray upgrade.

Yes, they were nice inclusions. The disc producers don't seem to be too worried about showing variations in the quality of the animation, in fact they seem pretty open about it! (They even include every pre-title Treehouse of Horror sequence from the previous thirteen seasons cut together into one feature on the Season 14 set, which really shows the development of the animation!)

I think treating them as just a side-list is for the best - it will be a while until the next Simpsons season set anyway, and that will only have three older episodes at most on there if they're following the format of the previous seasons.

This actually concerns me a little for seeing those earlier seasons released in their complete form on Blu-ray, as I wonder whether they would be throwing them as bonuses onto the later Blu-ray seasons if they had any foreseeable plans to do the full season. I hope I'm wrong but perhaps the best we can hope for might be earlier season episodes turning up piecemeal on the later seasons?

I took my own suggestion and just decided to split everything by decade, rather than the confusing "country of distributor." I think the list looks much better now, and I can update it easier with different sets, etc. I think I'll add some of the shows with one-off episodes. So it will look something like this:

Star Trek: The Animated Series (Trouble with Tribbles, available on Season 2 of Star Trek TOS Bluray)

Perhaps, I won't list the episodes in each case, but I'll do the more vague "episodes available in such and such set."

Actually, better than that, I'll have a section for "incomplete seasons" - which will stop any confusion as to whether complete seasons are available for that show.

Everyone happy with this now?

I also included region encoding information - as found from bluray.com. When other regions haven't been tested, I'll just put the country of origin - so that people can assume that the set is primarily intended for that market. Thus The Sweeney is UK, not just Region B (unless there's more accurate information that I can easily bring up, rather than searching through amazon reviews etc for all this info for every show).

Also do note, when something isn't primarily available in the English speaking world, despite having English audio, etc, I'll simply list the country. Thus Columbo is primarily a Japanese set, despite including English audio, since the packaging, menus etc will all be in Japanese. So Columbo is indeed available, but its primarily targeted for the Japanese audience. It is still included in the primary list, but the "Japan" means simply that - the entire packaging is not entirely English friendly.

I'm not familiar enough with the blu-rays of That '70s Show, myself, to say they should go on the shame list above, but the widescreen presentation is somewhat controversial (though it's probably safe to say most viewers of it don't really care about questions of framing outside of wanting to fill their screens). Defenders of the presentation claim that they simply opened up the sides to show dead space that was not seen when the show aired in 1.33:1 and that nothing was cut away (unlike Seinfeld in HD, which cropped away from the top and bottom). Apparently that's true for many of the shots. An HTF member called Mike*SC makes a good, concise point about what's wrong with showing the full widescreen image just to avoid having black bars. Below, Zack Gibbs talks about how they actually did crop or zoom in on many shots to get these widescreen transfers.
From the caps I've compared, the show doesn't look particularly well composed for either ratio, but on principle I really dislike the idea of seeing a lot of empty stage space on the right and left (which is definitely not what filming in widescreen should be about) and reframing and zooming in on some shots, just to fill out people's new TVs.

Gregory wrote:I'm not familiar enough with the blu-rays of That '70s Show, myself, to say they should go on the shame list above, but the widescreen presentation is somewhat controversial (though it's probably safe to say most viewers of it don't really care about questions of framing outside of wanting to fill their screens).

I wasn't sure what to make of the show. I had head both arguments, but didn't think it was quite the same, since it wasn't stretching anything or chopping. The article does change my mind on the matter, although further input from members might be helpful too (wasn't Domino our resident expert on this show?). For the time being though, I'll make a similar note (like Brideshead Revisted/tinker tailor).

I'm surprised by what things have become available in other regions (non-US). I wouldn't have thought that Columbo would have such a Japanese following, or King of Queens for the Germans. I also recently discovered that Tales from the Crypt has also received a German Bluray (although it doesn't list English for the languages, so it will remain in the non-English section until further update). EDIT - Looks like its been censored by the Germans for being too violent as part of their asinine FSK-18 scheme; into the shame list it goes. Anyway, that would be a superb show for the format. HBO has been rather good about treating their shows in HD - so it seems only a matter of time before they go back to older content (at least that's my hope).

Odd since US companies seem incredibly hesitant on releasing any shows in HD. Even a powerhouse moneymaker like Friends only just received attention (reminds me of the beginning of the DVD era when it seemed like Friends and Sanford and Son were the only shows with DVD releases). I suppose very little has HD masters and there isn't too much studio interest in getting the ball rolling - especially since they seem to be licensing first class films right and left to the likes of Criterion/Twilight Time/Shout/etc. Image seems to have the best track record thus far - although they've only done Twilight Zone and Dick Van Dyke - but both have been exceptional releases. Praise to Network for also caring about the odd 70s/80s shows that I'm only now discovering due to the format (Space: 1999 is perhaps the best thing I've seen for a long while).

It does seem as though companies are picking up speed with their television content in HD. I hope they do take the time to either remaster the material or at the very least, not fuck it up (shame list). There are many shows that I would buy in a heartbeat, if they were on the format -and treated properly (like including more than an "animated menu" as a special feature; and for some of these shows, you should count yourself lucky to even have a list of episodes, let alone a description of the episodes). The DVD market for television must be near an end. I can't see too many more people shelling out $45 for each Murder She Wrote season, when everything is available on Netflix. Oh well. I'm sure more stuff will come down the pipeline in the next few years. Here's hoping.

Re: That 70s Show on Blu: the show looks great but it's obvious if you are familiar with the series that these early seasons are composed for academy ratio-- the widescreen isn't a strict unmasking of the sides but more akin to treating the earlier framings as open-matte, meaning you lose info on the top and bottom. Some physical comedy is wrecked in the process, unfortunately. I'd still support the Blus on the whole, but it's a valid concern

Re: Tales From the Crypt, I believe the show, like the Wire and Oz, was edited in standard def, so the masters aren't HD ready. I think I heard the German Blus are actually just standard def eps crammed onto Blu discs?

domino harvey wrote:Re: That 70s Show on Blu

I think that this sort of action by a company should be shamed, not bought. It seems to be a worrying trend with television on bluray (see below). Too bad that aspect ratio problems didn't die with the bluray format (though they seem to be far less common than they were with DVD).

Re: Tales From the Crypt

That's what the reviews seem to indicate as well (SD content, not HD). It would make for a fun show for the format (as long as they go back to the original footage, rather than upconvert). Guess we won't be seeing it for quite a few more years then.

I've update the shame list with quite a lot of additions. Turns out the 16:9 cropping is a much more serious issue than I initially imagined, causing Friends to join the ranks. Farscape appears to be a SD up-conversion job (they claim the original film elements are missing. Even Jeffrey Kauffman says it looks bad, so be warned). Lastly is Jackson five - which has badly compressed audio issues - which is horrible for a show centered around various musical performances.

Lastly, can anyone confirm whether the first season of The Sopranos was in 4:3 or 16:9? I know later seasons were in 16:9, but what of the first season?

TWIN PEAKS was another show shot on 35mm but edited in SD. For the complete series DVD box set they went back and scanned the original film elements then re-edited all of the episodes. However, the original SD master would be used for any special effect scenes involving superimposition or sequences with multiple layers of dissolving images, resulting in a somewhat jarring quality change. I imagine this would only be accentuated if the series was issued on Blu-ray.

Roger Ryan wrote:TWIN PEAKS was another show shot on 35mm but edited in SD. For the complete series DVD box set they went back and scanned the original film elements then re-edited all of the episodes. However, the original SD master would be used for any special effect scenes involving superimposition or sequences with multiple layers of dissolving images, resulting in a somewhat jarring quality change. I imagine this would only be accentuated if the series was issued on Blu-ray.

Oh!, I had been under the impression that they actually redid the effects in HD as well for the Gold box (like Star Trek TNG). I have not seen the Gold Box transfer however.

New addition, coming in 2014:

The Professionals (Network)

(I really hope they keep up with their ITV output. It would be superb if they can do The Avengers).

Looks like FUNimation is going to bring the entire Dragon Ball Z show to Bluray (going by seasons rather than the current volume format). Looks like it will be priced at $44.95 MSRP per season (much cheaper than the previous blurays).

For those so inclined, and even for those who wish to preserve non-butchered image quality, then I suggest you take the following FUNimation survey -where they ask the pivotal question: original 4:3 vs cropped 16:9 (among other questions, but thats the only one that will probably determine the fate of the series release on bluray.

FUNimation Dragon Ball Z Survey (it doesn't ask for any personal information, thankfully).

'The Invisible Man' is available in Germany on Blu-ray.

Positive:
The two discs are region free
The image format is 4:3
The English audio is available

Negative:
The pilot episode and its extended cut as extra on disc 2 are interlaced (1080i50). The other episodes are 1080p / 23.976 [Frames/s].

http://www.ascot-elite.de/movies/index. ... ie_id=1446
http://www.amazon.de/Unsichtbare-Invisi ... B00BM45RVA

Oh shit!

Honeymooners (original 39 episodes) announced on Bluray!! Yes!!

CBS is currently working on the complete Twin Peaks Blu-ray, including FWWM and an hour of deleted scenes from the film!

If we can trust Mr. Belding-- and I think we can-- Saved by the Bell Blu-rays are coming

I'm reading your post while watching a "Good Morning Miss Bliss" rerun on Muchmusic. That's gotta be a sign.

One of the more well known anime series, Cowboy Bebop (1998) is getting a Region B UK Blu-ray release. The first box (episodes 1-13) has just been issued and the second box (with the remaining episodes 14-26) is coming out in September.