Brian, this is awesome news, and I also have noted that the disc count adds up to six single-sided discs per season, which (hopefully) means they will play better than Universal's three double-sided discs which sometimes malfunction. 

Also, hopefully you've already got this covered (or have at least considered looking into it), it would be even more awesome if you could possibly acquire the 1983 reunion film Still the Beaver and include it on the bonus disc (I really think that would be the best bonus that you could possibly include if you can find a way, hint, hint...).  I know there has been some speculation as to who exactly owns the rights to the movie and successful follow up series The New Leave it to Beaver as they were part of the long-defunct Qintex Production company's holdings, but word around the 'net is that RHI Entertainment now owns most (if not all) of the Qintex library, so maybe you could look into that.  Who knows, maybe you could even put a couple episodes of the '80s series on there, too, or find a way to acquire them all and release them in a separate complete box set, which, if marketed right, would also sell very well!

Either way, I must commend you all...my father was the person who got our family started on both the original series and 1980s revival (we do have some old VHS tapes of the 'new' ones so I know they were at least almost as good as the original series), and he has been greatly disappointed that seasons 3-6 haven't been released, and has always wondered why they didn't just say the heck with the single seasons (having to pay for packaging each individual season was part of the reason why Universal couldn't make the numbers work) and just release them all in one box...and now you're going to do it BOTH WAYS, which will be a true dream come true for him and make the best Father's Day gift he has ever received (and I'm really not kidding when I say that!)!

Also, Brian, if you would, please respond to this message in the next couple days to let me know that you have seen it, otherwise I may post it in a new thread so that it will be more visible. 

Thanks,

Matt

The transfers on the season 1 and 2 LITB sets from Universal were pretty good, although the 1st season episodes appear a little grainy. What I don't care for on the Universal sets are those dual sided disks. Looking forward to the improvements Shout Factory makes with the episodes. For me, what's most important is to have the episodes uncut with no scenes deleted. I would say that this Leave It To Beaver complete series set has potential to be the undisputed DVD release of the year for 2010, like it was for Get Smart a few years ago.

Also Brian, any news yet on when Bill Cosby Show season 2 will be available?

Hey, Thanks for taking the time to reply, Brian.  I understand that you probably have a lot of work to do, and I hope you are able to work "it" out...whatever "it" is, of course  .  If "it" is not on there, I will be glad to know that you tried.  The thing is, the "it" that I'm referring to seems to have been all but forgotten (which is why I felt the need to remind you)...I honestly don't think many newer LITB fans realize that "it" was ever made and even fewer have seen "it", and many fans will definitely be in for a HUGE surprise if "it's" rights can be ironed out (and if we are are talking about the same "it"). 

Thanks!

Matt 

Thanks so much! This is the best news I've heard in years as this has been my favorite TV show all my life. And for *years* my two friends and I have been asking each other when we'd get more episodes. Count on each of us getting the complete series.

I too would love to have the reunion TV movie the other poster mentioned; if it can't be in the set I'd gladly buy it separately. 

Thanks once again; you can't imagine how thrilled I am.

(apologies for posting the same message in a new thread; I'm new to this)

Hello Brian and just incase you didn't see my first post I want to thank all of you at Shout for the pick up of LITB!! I was wondering when we might start seeing photos or previews of the complete series and a discription of what will be on it in regards to extras. I'm looking forward to maybe some interviews that never aired, particularly from Hugh and Barbara.

You know how it is when you want something so bad and you know its coming...the time goes so slow!

Thank you and God Bless!

Amy (Hughfan)

Can you tell us how the box will be laid out? Will it be like I Love Lucy The Complete Series in the individual sleeves or like the Garry Shandling's Show box. I think it'd be great to have it in an sturdy plastc box like Spongebob The First 100 EPisodes did. Did you like Vivian Vance's appearance on Rhoda season 2? That's the only reason I'm gonna get RHoda SSN 2. What an funny girl she was :) THanks bri

David Lambert: Calculating at 25 1/2 minutes per episode, the running time for the complete set should be closer to 6000 minutes, not 5600. 400 minutes is a pretty big difference. So yes it does raise a red flag. If the episodes are said to be complete, then perhaps they are sped up/time compressed versions. We'll see, I'm sure Brian Ward can provide more information. But I'll be reading DVD reviews on the set and checking for info on episode run times before I decide to purchase.

BTW: Thanks for the great website tvshowsondvd.com. Very informative!

Brian,

Thank you for the reply. I'm hoping that the DVD's of Leave It To Beaver will be the perfect, flawless release that it deserves to be. I know you folks there at Shout usually do a fine job.

Also Brian, any word yet on a release date for Bill Cosby Show season 2? It is the only item listed in the exclusives without a release date.

Thanks to you Gary for addressing the issue and a big thanks to Brian for immediately jumping on this and giving us the info we all want, SHOUT really realizes that LITB is one of the Holy Grail's of early tv and are making sure it is done right!!!!  They are very aware the fans want UNCUT episodes!!!!!!!!!!!

Me, too. I'm REALLY looking forward to this! Especially when they get to the final season and " Wally's Practical Joke ". Where Eddie and Wally try to get back at Lumpy by  tying a tow chain around the rear axil of his car. The results are hilarious.

The Complete Series new release date:  June 29th.

Darn, I guess its not quite gonna make it in time for Father's Day...ah well, I guess he'll have to wait for Christmas; unfortunately, it won't be as big of a surprise.  I understand, however; if that's what it takes to get this out at all, we'll take it!

Brian,

It'll be fine...maybe we'll just give him a Father's Day IOU...lol!  We definitely want all the extras we can get, if you haven't figured that out yet from all of my previous posts, haha!  Box art looks great, BTW!

Navaros,

I agree that I would like to see some bonus material about the original series, but the fact is, The New LITB stuff is actually more rare and harder to find (the reunion film would be the most appropriate bonus, with everything else being about the original).  The rights for that series have been in limbo for years, so much so that even though the show technically made syndication (it requires 4 seasons/88 episodes to be eligible for syndication, NLITB had 4 seasons/100 episodes), it has not been aired ANYWHERE since 1991, and has NEVER been offered on home video or DVD.  As a result, most have forgotten about it or don't know that it existed in the first place since it was on cable, and it would really be a treat for everyone to see that the story continued with the original cast 20 years later, not just in the 1997 re-make film with a different cast.  Hopefully, we'll find out (soon) that Shout! will oblige us both with plenty of bonus material for all!

Brian,

I appreciate that you did look into getting Still the Beaver, but, as you know, I do understand there were a lot of strings attached and knew it was a long shot. 

However, is it possible that any of these strings may SOMEDAY (in a year or two or three) be unraveled enough to release The New Leave it to Beaver on its own? 

I would just appreciate knowing who exactly holds the rights to the show now, if you can disclose that.  Is it Universal?  Is it RHI?  I know it was produced by Universal, but my understanding always was that Qintex acquired ALL rights to the series, and that's why, when they went out, the show never aired again.  I would just like to lead a horse to water and see if I can point a TV channel in the direction of possibly airing it...I would at least maybe try to get TV Land or someone to air the movie, and it would help to be able to tell them where to look to find it! 

Thanks and still looking forward to the original Complete Series!   

Matt

Just a short note of appreciation for getting this set out!

LITB along with I LOVE LUCY are among the few B&W shows that my kids actually watch and we can enjoy together!!

I am pretty darned sure that there is a lot of this they haven't seen so this will be a nice 'get'!!

Brian,

I saw the list of extras "so far" over on tvshowsondvd.com...looks great! But how about some audio commentaries on a few key episodes since you're going to have cast members on hand anyway for the "Forever the Beaver" featurette (unless this is already recorded at this point)?  If you can only do it for one episode, perhaps you could have them talk during the series finale, as it has clips from several of the most memorable episodes, and they could talk about all of them in one half hour?!  If its too late for the narration, perhaps a "pop-up video" type text commentary would be nice.  An interesting note about the LITB series finale is that it was the VERY FIRST sitcom to have what is today a common practice in final episodes...a clip show! 

Yes, I also agree that the U.S. Savings Bond episode should be included.  It was actually a re-cut of another first season episode, which I believe was "The Bank Account" (but don't hold me to that!).  I have included links to both an Amazon and eBay listing for this ca. 1985 VHS, released under the title "Kids Klassics", below.  There is also a rather detailed description of one fan's "Dream DVD Set" on the Amazon page (this person must be a real 'Beaver psychic...he also claims to have predicted the "Lunch Box" packaging used for Universal's Season 1 release), which matched unbelievably to the actual one that Shout! is now working on (although this reviewer could not have possibly known about it as the post was made in November 2005!!!  Brian will get a kick out of this!)  The eBay link features the cover art.  Also, something else that just came to mind:  will these include the original intros with Hugh Beaumont saying "...and that's our story tonight on 'Leave it to Beaver'"? 

http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Klassics-Leave-Beaver/dp/B0007GGYW0/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1270947318&sr=8-1-fkmr3

http://cgi.ebay.com/VHS-Leave-It-To-Beaver-SEALED-NEW_W0QQitemZ170457020844QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVHS?hash=item27b007b9ac

Wow, Brian, you guys really are on the ball, aren't you?  Good to know a bit more on the bonus features...and that the savings bond episode is included (I actually posted those links not only to help describe what I was talking about, but also so that YOU PERSONALLY would look at them...the Amazon one has a person describing his "Dream" LITB Complete series set (he posted it in 2005), and it really is funny how closely the set you're putting together resembles his 'dream'!.  Its great to hear that Stu is involved with this, I listen to his show from time to time (my father and I have both listened to at least most of the 'Beaver' ones), and he really does seem to know what he's talking about, and knows how to get the stars to "spill the beans".

Also, I'm quite intrigued to see that the board game will be included with this...I honestly would have never thought that something like that would be included!  Is this a small scale replica (a la a "travel game" size) or full size?  It is definitely going to be interesting to see how you will fit all of this into one cube shaped box!  On a related side note, we once saw the "Leave it to Beaver" Money Maker Game (I assume this is the one you are talking about here) in mint condition at an antique store, but unfortunately saw it just a moment too late...another Beaver fan beat us to it by just a few seconds!  We have seen them elsewhere, but never in as good of condition usually with many (or all) pieces missing.  Although this will be a reproduction, it will still be fun to see exactly how one would play a game based on LITB!      

BTW, I already have my (or rather my DAD's...ahemmm ;) ) boxset locked in at amazon with a fairly decent discount ($139.99...I pre-ordered only a couple days after the announcement was made in January!).  My family and I are still debating on how we are going to present it to him with the release delay past Father's Day and all, but we'll figure it out when the time comes! 

TCMjunkie,

They are not planning to re-release seasons 1 and 2 at this time, although they may come back and release them after seasons 3-6 are released individually (IF this happens, it will be a couple years at least).  They are still available on Amazon from Universal for the time being.  Personally, as much as individual seasons cost, I'd at least consider pooling my financial sources together to get the complete box, even if you can't get it right away.  It costs less overall for the complete series than it does if you buy the individual sets (in the end after you buy individual seasons 1-6, you will likely end up paying @$20 more than if you just bought the complete set, and then you won't have remastered seasons 1 and 2 and the bonus disc and game).  If you can't come up with the dough right away, I'd wait a few months until you can afford it before I would start buying the individuals...especially when you've waited this long; and, as I said, you'll still be waiting 1-2 years before they get to season 6 individually, so even if it takes you TWO YEARS to save, you'd still be ahead!  It's up to you, though, of course!

Mr. Brian Ward person man,

For this DVD Boxed set, will Shout! have remastered the first and second season episodes for this DVD? Have Shout! looked into realeasing Green Acres? Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!

Brian,

I can't seem to see the pic of the game through the link in your previous post.  Any way you could get Dave to post it on tvshowsondvd.com? 

Bravo to everyone at SHOUT - the release of the complete series is reason for fans rejoicing and with the release being done by SHOUT it gives us all confidence it is being done with style and class!  Now how about CAR 54 WHERE ARE YOU? or IT'S ABOUT TIME! Maybe DENNIS THE MENACE and THE JACK BENNY SHOW??  The cut episodes of FKB that were on the 1st set in their cut versions so fans can have every episode in uncut version, SHOUT gave us perhaps the two of the holy grail of family orientated sitcoms of the 50's with the release of FKB and LITB! We can dream!  Because dreams do come true especially with the wizards of dvd at SHOUT!   

BRAVO to Brian Ward and the entire team at SHOUT!   TV LAND should give you all a special award for preseving tv classics for all time! 

Hello Brian!

Steve from Buffalo, NY here....... I want to thank you and the folks at SHOUT for giving us LITB. I met Jerry Mathers at the Buffalo Convention Center, about ten years ago. He is a genuinely 'cool' dude. I would like to ask you if you have intentions of remastering/rereleasing  "The New Leave It To Beaver"? I believe it used to be on the Disney Channel, some years ago.

Thank you Brian!!!

Steve from Buffalo

on "The New Leave it to Beaver"...maybe if the process is that expensive, you could go in on it with a cable network who could air the episodes and raise awareness again (I vote TV Land, if you can get them on board).  I understand your basing the decision to produce these on the success of this set, I would do the same in this situation. 

*lecagr, the show really was pretty good...I had forgotten how good it was until I found someone online who I traded for it.  I personally think that the new show kept pace very well with the original...it was really believable that the Beav and family would have evolved into the characters they portrayed in the new series...hands down the best revival series ever imho.  And contrary to those who give the show a bad wrap, it REALLY was pretty successful, too...it is historic in that it was one of the first ever Disney Channel original series AND, later, one of the first originals for TBS as well...a combined 4 seasons/100 eps.  Yes, like every show, there are a few episodes that could have been forgotten, but overall they maintained the high quality that the original series offered.  However, I suspect that those who bad mouth it do so because it was like it was kinda stuck in the 50s/60s at times with the moral stories etc...it was too innocent in the 80s with shows like "The Cosby Show" and "Growing Pains", but the fact is, had the show skipped 20 years into the future in Fall of 1963 and produced these right after the original, no one would have thought twice about the innocence factor and it would have gelled very well with the previous seasons.

on original "Leave it to Beaver"...I really can't wait to give it to my dad, and then hopefully get to see this for myself!  I wonder what you mean by "fun" menus?!  Only a little over a month now until we can find out! 

Hey mattyg,

I'll agree The New Leave It To Beaver is not without some merit, but the original series on DVD is sufficient for me. For those who'd like to have the follow up series on DVD, perhaps Shout Factory will look into it if DVD sales of the original series are strong.

Hi

Has anyone else seen this:

http://www.dvdtown.com/review/leave-it-to-beaver-tv-series/dvd/8103

You will be even more excited!

Hello Brian:

I have several Shout! Factory DVD sets--Jack Paar, "Father Knows Best," "You Bet Your Life," Dick Cavett--all exceptional. So I have complete confidence the "Leave It To Beaver" DVD sets will be done properly.

Funny enough, I was saying to a friend recently that Shout! or S'More (my two favorite TV on DVD companies) should finish the "LITB" releases, since Universal had dropped the ball on it (as had Sony with "Hazel" and "The Nanny" as well). And today I read my intuition was correct--I am delighted!

I'd like to send you a private e-mail, with a question about "LITB" and also about television DVD acquisitions generally (a business inquiry, if you will). Is there some way I could do so, through the Shout! e-mail system?

Keep up the good work, and my suggestion for a future Shout! release is "The Rifleman," which was supposed to have been released by another company and never was (except for a half dozen "best of" sets on MPI years ago).

You folks do a great job, even in this day and age of medicority and cultural illiteracy (with Generation Y & Z know-nothings serving as corporate execs and perpetuating stupidity even further).

Too bad Shout! can't also run TV Land (Viacom/CBS) and/or ABC, FOX & NBC. Maybe then we wouldn't be so inundated by "The Stupid American Idle Housewives Of The Jersey Shore" or another forensic crime franchise (I'm still waiting for one with gay corpses--"CSI: Provincetown/Key West/Fire Island (choose your poison)."

Shout! Factory has also given fans of quality TV talk shows the real gems (Cavett, Paar & Snyder--and hopefully more of them), while those flunkies at 30 Rock (a network now so in its depths it had to create a sitcom about it, co-starring a guy who threatened his own kid) had to re-instate Jay Leno as a caretaker after they realized what dolts they had in Conan and Fallon.

But it's not entirely the fault of the networks on this score. After all, it's difficult to produce an intelligent, sophisticated talk show when there are so few interesting and talented guests to book on them, most of the real brains and talents being dead or too old to sit on a couch for extended periods of time.

Jim

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the update on captioning.  For my education, why did Shout go with captioning over English subtitles?   The major downside to closed captioning is that they do not transmit over most modern DVD connetions (meaning not over HDMI connections nor over progressive scan component connections).  Essentially anyone with an HDTV and a newer DVD player will be outta luck with the captions.

This issue aside, I think what Shout is doing here is fanstastic and deserving of mega kudos.

Thanks.

Steve 

I read a review on the 3rd season set which included run times for all the episodes. They run from slightly below 25 minutes to slightly over 26 minutes. I'm not an expert on the series, I suppose it's possible the episodes are uncut and some shows just run a little shorter than others. TV shows from this era were generally very consistent within seconds regarding episode run times, which makes the LITB episodes with shorter run times of up to a full minute appear a little suspect as to their completeness.

Yes, I believe Brian on the runtimes thing.  In fact, it is actually very rare for every episode of ANY TV series to run exactly the same length...I don't find what you said about "seconds" to be accurate at all (I have every uncut episode of "Lassie"...and NONE of them run exactly the same time as the previous episode!).  I know sponsorship was different back in those days, but its possible the extra minute missing from some episodes went toward advertising.  There is no question in my book that they are complete, but even if they weren't, we certainly can expect to see 3-4 minutes more per episode then just about anyone living today has seen in the last two decades or so.  Most cable channels and other syndication outlets chop them down to 21-22 minutes these days...thats at least 3-4 minutes of "unseen" footage for every episode.  AWESOME!

BTW, we have decided to go forward with the Father's Day gift...he still doesn't know for sure its what we're getting him, he just heard it was coming out but didn't know exactly when.  We gave him a box of candy yesterday and told him he'll have to wait for the rest of his present until July 4th, lol. 

@Matty-Giving your Dad his set on the 4th of July is the right thing to do, having to wait till Christmas for it would be HUGE torture for a huge LITB fan like himself! I hope he enjoys his set!! :)

@Mr. Ward or anyone who knows: Will the podcast be put up later after it's over for download? I'd sure like to hear it but it's easier for me to download and listen to them when I have time :)

Hi Brian,

Sorry to re-post my question below; perhaps it got overlooked amongst all the discussion over the past couple of days.  

Congrats again to Shout for all the great press this release is getting.

My question:

Again, this is not meant to demean or criticize this wonderful release in any way....the issue of subtitle inclusion is a big one to those who rely on them from time to time though.

Good luck with Stu's show!

Full details on how to find this interview (which is live right NOW) can be found in the Shokus press release:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Leave-Beaver-Stu%27s-Show-LitB-Cast-and-Brian-Ward/13956

Hiya, Brian! I'm liiiistening. 

Thanks for the straitforward response, Brian.  I understand completely and can appreciate the expense involved.

Brian Ward said:

>>> "Purists want their images to be crisp. But they also want the natural traces of film to be eliminated. I'm sorry. Wha?? I won't do it, gang. I won't take away the integrity of the film they shot Leave It To Beaver on by blurring it, just so that a few reviewers can say there was little-to-no trace of film grain." <<<

Hi Brian,

It could be that I am one of the reviewers you were talking about earlier regarding the "film grain" topic (maybe not, though, because I don't post DVD reviews for a living; I just like to review things on my own).....

But I'm still a bit confused by the comment of yours that I just copied above. It seems to me that NBC Universal (with Shout's! assistance) DID do exactly what you seem to be saying is impossible to accomplish with the "Leave It To Beaver" episodes for Seasons 3 thru 6 -- i.e., virtually all of the visible and sometimes-distracting film grain HAS, indeed, been removed from the DVD prints which I now have sitting on my shelf of LITB Seasons 3 thru 6 -- and this has been done without "softening" or "blurring" the image in any way that I can detect.

In fact, those S.3 thru S.6 episodes look absolutely beautiful and perfect in a (virtually) "grainless" condition. There might be a very small amount of grain still visible in those Season 3-6 shows, but it's much less than in Seasons 1 and 2 to be sure.

Plus, there's at least one episode that I noticed from Season 1--"Brotherly Love"--that definitely has had additional grain cleaned from the print when comparing it to the 2005 Universal DVD version of that episode. And the newer version of that show from Shout!, with less grain visible, looks fantastic. It's not soft or blurry at all.

But from what you just said above, Brian, I get the impression that in order to see a perfect and blur-free image, we would HAVE to see some grain in the image, in order to avoid the blurriness. But I'm seeing virtually no grain in the Season 3-6 shows, and they look as crisp and clear as can be.

I'm certainly no expert on film stock and film developing processes, etc., but the things you just said above about LOSS OF GRAIN = BLURRINESS AND SOFTNESS just has not happened with LITB Seasons 3 thru 6. They look terrific in a grain-free state.

Anyway, in the final analysis, it really doesn't matter HOW you (and NBC Universal) accomplished the feat -- the main point to be made is: You have done something that very few people (including me) could have possibly predicted was going to happen....you have managed to release every single episode of one of the very best television series on DVD, in virtually perfect quality, with lots of great extra features, for a very reasonable price. (I got my set for just $113.89; and I know several other people got theirs for only $85 via a special coupon offer from an online retailer. And you can't beat that with a stick.)

And I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you, Brian Ward, for doing an exemplary job in producing what is now my #1 favorite TV-on-DVD boxed set on my shelf -- Shout! Factory's stellar "Leave It To Beaver: The Complete Series" 37-Disc set.

I bow to you, sir.

P.S. -- my lengthy review for the LITB set is linked below (in case anyone here has 7 or 8 hours to spare, maybe 9). ~grin~

http://Leave-It-To-Beaver-On-DVD.blogspot.com

Brian Ward said:

>>> "David, you're actually not one of the folks I'm talking about, though I can most certainly answer the question about indoors vs. outdoors. That's precisely what I mentioned above. The film stock used for exterior scenes use "slow" stock, meaning the grain is small and compact. The scenes indoors require a "faster" stock, so the grain is larger and certainly more apparent. The "mystery" is why S3-6 look cleaner. The more and more I research it, the more I'm convinced that Republic--responsible for the first two seasons--simply used a different stock. Precisely one of the differences between a big studio motion picture and something from, say, Roger Corman's library. Make sense?" <<<

It makes perfect sense, Brian. And thank you for taking the time to post the information about it.

Your response has cleared up the "mystery" in my mind (for the most part anyway). Your explanation about a smaller studio (Republic) being forced to use a lesser grade of film stock than was used by Universal Studios makes perfect sense.

I think perhaps the "Mystery Of The Grain" has been solved (even though it's just a guess on Brian Ward's part -- but it sounds like a reasonable hunk of guesswork to me).

Okay, so now that that mystery has essentially been put to bed, I think I'll go watch a couple more episodes of The Beav. I'll start with "Wally's Dinner Date" -- one of my favorites from Season 6.

      "No girl in the world is going to settle for a liquid diet." -- Edward W. Haskell; "Wally's Dinner Date"

-----------------------------

      "Well, [Ward], just because you were a hoodlum when you were young is no reason to have my babies travelling around the countryside like a couple of gypsies!!" -- June Bronson-Cleaver; "Train Trip" (Season 1)

Thanks for answering. I'm very interested in the DVD business. Do you get to decide the artwork and have a copy to show to a board of execs or womething?

David Von Pein's informative review of the complete set points out something interesting. The season 1 episodes of LITB have an opening "teaser" sequence that originally appeared before the opening credits. This is how the season 1 episodes appear on the DVD's from Universal. But on the Shout Factory discs, the teasers appear AFTER the opening credits. One exception, the episode "Music Lesson" has the teaser properly placed before the opening credits. And in the episode "The Black Eye", the teaser scene is missing completely. So someone goofed there. Those who plan to dispose of their season 1 sets from Universal might want to think it over first, I know I am hanging on to mine.

Otherwise, this complete series DVD sounds pretty good, I plan to order it soon.

Brian actually already did his best to answer this in a previous post.  He said that they were placed on the DVDs just as they were placed on the masters, so they appeared on the "uncut" masters that way.  Personally, although I most definitely wasn't around in those days, I believe the teaser likely DID, in fact, appear after the credits.  There are a few original sponsor intros floating around on YouTube (if only I'd have thought of that a couple months ago, maybe Brian could have looked into including those on the DVD too...drats...), and although none of them include the teaser, there is a voice over advertisement that introduces the opening credits, and then heads directly into a promo.  Perhaps the teasers didn't originally air before the credits to allow for the sponsor intro.  On the other hand, maybe the teaser was placed after the credits to allow a lead-in to a sponsor message before the first act.  (in other words, maybe the original order for season one was like this:  sponsor intro; opening credits; episode teaser; sponsor promo; first act.  This would give the viewer a "teaser" as to what the episode was about so they would stay tuned through the sponsor message!).  Either way, if they were printed on the masters that way, there must be a reason!  (In Still the Beaver, the '80s revival series only season on The Disney Channel before moving to TBS and becoming The New Leave it to Beaver, Barbara Billingsley did episode intros in the same fashion as Hugh Beaumont did for the original series!  And these DID appear before the credits for the new show, so if history repeats, then its hard to tell, really!)

This is really a question for someone who has an 8mm print from the original broadcasts...and there are a few of those out there as they appear on eBay from time to time.

Here's an example of one of the intros I'm talking about from season four (includes GE intro and cast promo for Purina Dog Chow):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyw2kEXUmnM

Also, another interesting sponsor related note (maybe this is covered on the DVD somewhere, I haven't gotten to look at it yet, so idk):  an ice cream company (I believe Haagen Daaz, not for sure) sponsored several of the early episodes, so when you see an end credits sequence that has a background that makes you want an ice cream cone, that's because you actually are looking at real ice cream!  8D

----- Original Post -----
by David Von Pein at 7/1/2010 10:47:17 PM


I'd be willing to bet that the teaser intros were originally aired before the main titles.

Yes I agree with David on that. Teasers prior to opening credits is almost always the case with few exceptions. One exception I can think of is The Brady Bunch, those episodes originally aired with opening credits first, then a brief teaser scene which started off the episode. I believe The Partridge Family episodes were made this way also. With Leave It To Beaver, I believe the first 16 episodes of season 1 have the teaser intros with Hugh Beaumont narrating. For episodes 17-39, the teaser is simply a short sequence that is seen again later on in the episode.

Wow Brian.....I just received my wonderful set yesterday and I have to say I'm so HAPPY!! You guys did a stand up job with these DVDs!! There isn't one thing that I find wrong. Again thanks so much in bringing our beloved show back to life! Great sound and picture and I certainly don't see what the reviews say about the "grainy" look because so far everything is crystal clear!

God Bless!

You're probably right, David.  I honestly didn't go back and search for Brian's original reply (there's so many, now!), I just remembered reading it earlier.  I was just speculating...its likely they were before the credits, but still possible they appeared the other way during original broadcast.  I was just presenting a case as to why they may have appeared that way originally.  Again, its hard to tell, really, unless you actually have a copy of the original broadcast. 

Sponsors did some kinda strange things in the early days of TV...ads were worked directly into the credits for most programs, and casts were hired as spokesmen for sponsors products (see the example video in my previous post).  The Lucy Show in the 1960s still did this per their DVD release, so I know many series continued in that format at least through that time frame. 

Well, we just gave Dad his set...he was very surprised to actually see it in person.  We are watching one of his favorites, "The Merchant Marine" right now.  It really is as clear as everyone said it would be...awesome job, Brian!

Now, about The New Leave it to Beaver...lol.  If ever you do get around to release that set, I have a little bit of important information about one special episode that belongs in Season One, but most people don't think exists...it does exist because I have it...it was actually produced to air as the Disney series finale, but shelved when it was picked up by TBS!  I'll give you more info if (or should I say WHEN...at least I hope its WHEN) Shout! decides to release it. 

Job well done...hope to watch a few more episodes on my Dad's set later this weekend!

Wow, I knew that *someone* had prints of these...luckily it was the one and only Stu Shostak himself!  Well, I guess that clarifies the speculation up.  I knew this was the only way we would get a definitive answer...at least he took the time to check his films and verify it for us! 

Dave, thanks for sharing your email, and thank Stu for us all! 

I was pretty sure the teasers for season 1 were originally seen prior to the opening credits, nice though for Stu to verify that fact.

Interesting that the video portion of the teaser for "Brotherly Love" is different from this same episode on the Universal DVD. I imagine Shout Factory used another print of this episode for their DVD, not the same print as seen on the Universal DVD.

Different versions of same TV show episodes are uncommon, but some do exist. I have seen two different versions of The Patty Duke Show episode "House Guest". Both versions contain scenes that the other version does not have. Unusual, but true.

lecagr--

Yes, it is wierd when there are two completely different versions of shows that both have uncommon scenes, as opposed to just a shortened (or "syndicated") version of the same show!  I really think this happens more than any of us realize.  Even 1990s shows like Boy Meets World and The Wonder Years have episodes that have alternate versions (the ones that come to mind for both Savage series are their finales...both of these have different versions of their same respective scenes!).  Also, even though this isn't a TV episode, The Brady Bunch Movie notably has several scenes that differ between the broadcast TV version and the home video version.  In fact, each of the two versions contain an entire "B-storyline" that is different from the other version.  And what's funny, I do think I remember both storylines being present in the theatrical version...so I guess there are actually three versions of the movie.  These are REALLY strange.

mattyg,

The process of filming TV show episodes is no different from movies as both have an editing process and scenes get cut/eliminated before the final result is created. For a TV show episode to have more than one version exist, another version would have to be created some time after the original version, using some scenes that were not utilized in the original version. This is probably what happened in the case of the Patty Duke episode "House Guest". It's unusual though as scenes that are cut during the original production are normally not utilized at a future time to create a different version of the same episode. As far as I know, most of the time the original episode is the one and only version. In a rare case maybe, if the producer is not satisfied with the original version, they might go back and re-edit the episode, create another version in attempt to improve it.

Leave It To Beaver in color? No, I don't think so. Keep it in black and white as it was made and this is the way it's meant to be seen. I'm not in favor of colorizing black and white movies or TV shows.

I received the six season set on Saturday of the long weekend.

Although I have had time only to see a few Season 3 episodes, the featurettes, and three of the "Stu's Show" segments, let's just say I am thrilled beyond belief. Not just with the show but with Shout's classy presentation. And the sound quality was something I picked up on right away.

So, many thanks to the Shout people for making it possible for us.

Yep, Leave It To Beaver is just fine in it's original form, black and white episodes with a laugh track. I ordered the complete series set, when I receive it and have a chance to watch some episodes I'll post my thoughts on the DVD's.

Regarding studios reissuing DVD sets, I'd like to see Universal reissue season 4 of Emergency! Really poor audio quality in some episodes of that set. Video quality is substandard also, but I can live with it.

brandon and Navaros (and everyone else, lol)--

I am not a purist, but I really do think the laugh track makes the original show.  It really was a sitcom, even though it wasn't filmed in front of an audience, largely because of the use of outdoor sets.  The lighting was done correctly, though, and the original Leave it to Beaver has the same sitcom feel as all the 'Lucy' series and the aforementioned Andy Griffith Show, among others.  However, The New Leave it to Beaver is a different story.  It was filmed and lighted like a movie rather than a sitcom, not unlike another favorite of mine, The Wonder Years (anyone who has read my previous posts know I overmention 'TNLITB' and 'TWY', but they are some of my personal favorites, lol).  TWY didn't use the laugh track because it was equally serious and funny, and realistic.  TNLITB was also all of these (well, maybe not as realistic as TWY, but still...) and the sets looked real, and it was very obvious that there wasn't a bunch of people sitting in bleachers just behind the cameras, but the producers felt the need to put the laugh track in anyway (the short live '90s revival of The Bradys did this as well...there was an episode where Marcia was fighting alcoholism, and they actually dubbed in a laugh track...AWEFUL!).  In fact, the premiere movie, Still the Beaver, was originally aired without a laugh track, but when the series was picked up, they went back and re-edited it to include a laugh track.  It was really crummy...especially the movie, being more sad than funny with the absence of Ward being felt so hard.

Anyway, on the other hand, I WOULD like to see many black and white shows in color...although there are other classics I'd rather see before 'Beaver'.  Probably the #1 on this list is I Love Lucy, of course...  At least CBS gave us a taste of color on the 'Complete Series' set on an episode that Desi himself considered filming in color (but ultimately didn't solely because it was too 'spensive'), and it really was amazing how good it was (see samples below!)...it looked just like it had been filmed that way in the first place.  I know it would be very expensive to colorize every single episode of a long running series (I'm sure it would be even more than it cost Shout! to remaster 'Beaver' for the complete series DVD), but I definitely think certain key episodes of many B&W series should be put out there...'Lucy's' 'Italian Movie' episode with the grapes or the ones with the chocolates/TV commercial, 'Dick Van Dyke's' "It May Look Like a Walnut" episode, 'Beaver's' 'soup billboard' episode, and many other classic TV examples.  Maybe TV Land or someone would even be interested in airing the newly colorized versions as a weekly series?!  Would surely draw big ratings (or at least what they call big ratings). 

*And, NO OFFENSE to anyone directly...we're all friends here (or probably would be if we actually knew each other), but those of you purists out there should really pipe down about colorization...as long as the show (or movie) is available in its original B&W form and not altogether being replaced by the colorized version, I don't think you should be arguing about colorization (I myself don't want to see the B&W gone entirely, but I would like to have the option to see it in color!).  YES, it might change peoples perception of the program a little, but it can also enhance the experience and even draw in a whole other audience who might otherwise ignore a show just because its B&W.   As long as the original version is available, you don't even have to watch the color version if you don't want to...but please don't argue against it and ruin it for those of us who do want it!  It doesn't really affect you purists at all, the original version is still out there...and, in reality, if you saw how well it would look in color, I'll bet you'd change your mind.  I'm not talking about that 1980s "Ted Turner" color where peoples teeth were gray and their eyes yellow...I mean 99% correct digitally enhanced color like the 'Lucy' sample here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD0Qr5B9idk  Really hard to believe this sample was originally black and white, huh?  Click here to see a split screen of B&W and color for the same 'Lucy' episode:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-yYO9-kh3w  .  Really is amazing isn't it?  They look just as good in this episode as in "The Long, Long, Trailer" and "Forever Darling".  If you didn't know better, you'd never have guessed!

Some Beaver Fun & Trivia:

I noticed a small mistake in the Season 6 episode "The Parking Attendants", with respect to the cars owned by Ward Cleaver and Fred Rutherford -- the two cars are exactly the same, right down to the identical license plate number (WJG 865). Obviously, the producers were thinking, Who's going to notice the fact we've given Fred and Ward the exact same car and license plate?

Navaros,

You say you watched the first four episodes, but there has been a great deal of discussion about this...the episodes that are referred to as "being so clear they look like they were shot yesterday" are those in seasons three through six.  Seasons one and two are believed to have been shot on lower grade film stock, explaining their graininess.  You should really look at a few episodes from the later seasons, I think you will change your mind and agree about the clarity of the episodes.   Everyone in my entire family has had a chance to see an episode or two on the set, and we all are stunned at how clear they really are!

I received the LITB complete series set. I do find a few issues with the DVD's, first off I think it would have been better to put the episodes in continuity/production order instead of airdate order. And I would have liked to see a different menu design for each season instead of the same menu for all six seasons, episode titles written in cement. The menus for season 6 should have utilized the 6th season version of the theme song. And there is also the usual problem of inconsistent audio levels in the episodes. But overall, it's a great set and the episodes do seem to be uncut with original background music which is very important. And I'm glad the episodes are presented in their original black and white as they should be. IMO, colorizing black and white movies and TV shows is an act of vandalism and is just flat out wrong. Thanks to Shout Factory for making the complete series available in one shot, it was very nice of you folks to make this possible as LITB fans have been long waiting since Universal stopped issuing the DVD's after the season 2 set in 2006.

One question for Brian Ward- Any chance Brian of Shout Factory acquiring the rights for The Flying Nun and getting the 3rd and final season out on DVD?

The goof up with the season 1 teasers is unfortunate. That's why I'm keeping my season 1 DVD from Universal, when watching season 1 episodes I'll play those discs.

One thing which supports the idea of having the episodes in continuity/production order is the 6th season episode The Clothing Drive. This episode was filmed as an early 6th season entry, but for unknown reason it was aired as the next to last episode. The Clothing Drive is a school related episode, the episode Beaver's Graduation having aired prior to it makes The Clothing Drive ep. obviously out of place when using airdate order.

I find it interesting that the audio does not drop out on the original Universal set of Episode 37 - Beaver Runs Away. How could this happen? 

So Mr. Ward, when will the replacement disc be issued?  It only seems fair considering Dragnet needed a replacement sent out recently.

Thoughts?

As far as the booklet goes...no big deal, really...just a "bonus"...how many DVD sets have NOTHING?  lol.  But since the topic has come up, I will say this, however:  I did find it strange how the distribution of "trivia" was not exactly even.  Many episodes have trivial facts and goofs that many people know of, but these were not used in the book...and the books aren't exactly chock full of info and there is a LOT of blank space on each page, so some of this could have been useful (and some of the "trivia" that WAS used really wasn't what I call trivia).  I also think Shout! needs a good proofreader person REALLY bad...not just because of this set in particular...but in general.  I have found a lot of spelling and factual mistakes that are fairly obvious to even the most casual fan of most shows(how exactly do you spell Barbara Billingsley's last name?  haha). 

Again, though, who cares about the appearance/quality of the books, really.  They are most definitely better than the nothing that most studios give out. 

BTW, I mentioned the "ice cream" end credits in a previous post, does anyone know which episodes this was used for and if they're on the set?!  I've just been skipping around the set with my Dad, and I haven't came across them yet...it would be a shame if they were edited out since they stuck with the respective episodes even in syndication and don't actually say the brand name on them...quite a piece of authenticity!

There is alot to like about this set but after spending time with it you have to wonder if quality control exists at Shout. From the teasers in the wrong place, the audio drop out, the flimsy books, boring menus and lack of subtitles. As for the books in the cases, why not just one book included in the season set? Instead of stuffing them into each case.

It is great to have the episodes but it would also be nice to have them error free. There is alot of praise on here for Shout. Some of it is deserved but lately there seems to be alot of mistakes happening. Not just with this set but with other series sets.

Why should we "Dry Up"?  Are we going to upset the nice people at Shout? I don't see any responses from Mr. Ward regarding the audio drop out.  It is especially annoying when this defect is not on the Universal set. This makes the disc defective and should be replaced. With the teasers being reversed we don't have the original episodes as they were originally seen.

It is a good thing they put out the whole series because if the single seasons don't sell  they will wind up as a select title. Especially if their claim is true that the brick and mortar stores wont carry their retro tv sets anymore.

Dragnet got a replacement disc because of yet another quality control error. Why not a prestigious set like this?.

Who is whining?   It seems the Shout lovers can't face the fact that these guys screwed up.

The Universal disc didn't have the drop out. How could it happen with the Shout version? Are they going to blame the Universal fire?

The product is defective, it should be fixed. How many season's sets did they sell? A few thousand?

Why would they do a replacement for Dragnet because of a few missed sentences?Because it is the right thing to do. If  someone had actually checked the product before it went out they would have had a chance to fix it.

Or did they know about it and ship it anyway? 

Even if that is the case, it is obvious the transfers were not thoroughly checked. Shout screwed up. It shouldn't happen but it did and once again they should do the right thing and FIX it.

If you look back at Mr. Ward's posts here you will read that the remastering took over a year. You would think someone, perhaps Mr. Ward himself would have noticed the mistakes. Interesting.

The uneven/inconsistent audio levels are a problem, I've noticed a few episodes where the audio wavers a bit, it fades for a second or two then gets louder again. And the 6th season episodes seem to have a softer audio level than the other seasons. The menus with episode titles written in cement are really only appropriate for the 1st season, would have been nice to have a different/unique menu design for each season. And it would have been better to have the episodes in continuity/production order instead of airdate order. I also think it wasn't necessary to remaster the episodes in HD, this is not Star Wars it's an old black and white sitcom. But these are issues I can live with, I'm still glad to have the complete set. I didn't expect it to be perfect although I didn't anticipate there would be a problem with the 1st season teasers. That's the main issue with the complete set. Aside from that, the episodes seem uncut and that's very important.

I have posted here because I saw that Mr. Ward, who was involved with this set, posted on here as well and offered answers to questions left on this site. I understand the show is over fifty years old. You are not going to get perfection. But the real issue is that the first 2 seasons that were issued previously did NOT have the teasers reversed or the audio fading and in one case cutting out totally.

An explanation would be nice. But nothing. It was promoted by Mr. Ward as the most complete Leave it to Beavcr ever. Well it isn't and I don't see any movement to correct the problem. I doubt I ever will. After the Father Know Best  mess. Rhoda episodes that were not complete, Mr. Ed  was screwed up and Dragnet was missing the opening of the movie. From all of this it is clear this company has quality control issues.

I emailed a Mr. Landau concerning Father Knows Best. The answer I received back was basically too bad but that's the way it is. When I saw them offer a replacement disc for Dragnet I thought there might be something some hope for the "release of the year". But not a single word.  Do you think Leave it to Beaver will complete its single seasons  being released to brick and mortar stores? Highly unlikely. In fact Mr. Landau stated in his email the the stores don't want to carry Shout product.

So now everyone who has started collecting various series will have to order them directly from Shout at inflated prices and outrageous shipping costs or hunt them down on ebay or other re-sellers online.

So Gary, you seem to be friendly with the people from Shout, maybe you can get an answer for us? Clearly we won't be hearing from Mr. Ward and associates. They are busy looking to remaster another 50's show in HD or maybe Our Miss Brooks in 3D!!!

I think all LITB fans appreciate the complete set, it's just that the set has a few problems and could use improvement in a few areas. However, overall it's still a nice set and everything considered I would say that having the uncut episodes is the main selling point.

I'd like to see Shout Factory reissue just the 1st season since that's where the main problems are with the misplaced teasers. Reissue it to match the episodes on Universal's season 1, and correct that audio dropout. The other issues with the set, sameness in the episode menus, episodes not being in production order, inconsistent audio levels, these are minor problems that I can live with.

Worse case if season 1 isn't reissued, at least there is Universal's season 1 to fall back on.

I understand there are many obstacles in getting this older material out. But in this case the first 2 seasons were already released without errors in them. But somehow they popped up in the "release of the year". Why? Can't get a response from anyone. I see Mr. Ward was putting up posts last night but did not address this issue and probably never will.

Responding to David Von Pein,

There are inconsistencies in the audio, I've watched a few episodes where the audio fluctuates from softer to louder. And the 6th season episodes have a softer audio level than the other seasons. But I'll agree that in general the audio in the episodes is mostly clear and crisp.

Regarding the episode menus, there is nothing wrong with them, navigation is easy but at the same time it would have been cool to have a different/unique menu design for each season. The menus with episode titles written in cement get a little dull and repetitive by the 3rd or 4th season. You even said in another forum that you can appreciate this critique.

And I never said that I don't enjoy this set. I enjoy it very much, episodes seem uncut and that's the best thing about it. I've said in my other posts that overall the complete set is very nice. It was great of Shout Factory to make the complete series available in one shot. But there are some aspects that are lacking (those misplaced 1st season teasers) or could have been improved on. Some of us LITB fans want to point these issues out, there's nothing wrong with that. It's a little constructive criticism. I'd like to see Shout Factory correct the issues with the 1st season DVD, and reissue it. If it doesn't happen, I'll keep the 1st season DVD from Universal.

Thanks to Brian Ward for taking time from your busy schedule to address concerns mentioned in this thread. I had figured that this was a joint project between Shout Factory and Universal, with Universal responsible for the episodes and Shout Factory the distributor. But the question remains as to why the 1st season DVD ended up different this time around. I guess Universal would have to answer that one. As far as the audio issues, I guess maybe it's not realistic to expect impeccable sound quality on a 50 plus year old TV show. The majority of episodes do have a clear and crisp audio track.

Regarding the episode menus, it's understandable if budget restraints prevented any diversity in the menus, resulting in all of them looking the same. As they are, the menus are user friendly and easy to navigate.

While the set could be improved in a few areas, I am aware that Brian and other folks at Shout Factory put a lot of work into the production of this complete set. Any critiques are not intended to minimize the work that was involved, the effort is appreciated and overall it's a fine DVD set for any LITB fan.

Brian's quote:

"As for those teasers, look... I'm sorry they're in the wrong order of before/after the opening.  But again, we were given the masters by Universal and I'm a 33-year-old with no memory of how this season aired in 1957.  We weren't provided with copies of the original box sets released by Universal.  Why they ended up in that order in the transfers, I have no idea.  But it happened at Universal; not at Shout.  Had I known going in, I'd have simply had it reversed.  You have my most sincere apologies for ruining your S1 experience.  Admittedly, I may have spent too much time focusing on those seasons NOT previously released on DVD "

After reading this quote I am thinking where is Stu in all of this? After all he is the expert. He posted here to confirm the teasers were wrong. They used him in the bonus disc as well as the commentaries. After spending "astronomical " amounts on this set they couldn't afford to buy the first 2 seasons put out by Universal for a comparison? From what I see on  here there isn't a shortage of experts here who could have assisted Mr. Ward.

It is nice to see an explanation from Mr. Ward and for offering his apologies and I hope his future projects include shows that a 33 yr. old will would remember.

You are taking the quote out of context Mr. Ward. Perhaps using resources that were available to you would have helped make this a perfect set.

I am sure you appreciate many older shows. In this case a preventable mistake was made. I asked where Stu was, who is a LITB expert , who was already working on the project to review it. As I said he even left a post stating the teasers were reversed after it was released. Too late now we will have to live with it. Just one more question. Why coudn't the Universal masters from their release be used?

Thanks for your time Mr. Ward. I enjoy your posts and hopefully your next projeect will be the Donna Reed Show. At least that one goes into the late 60's. LOL!

Hello again Brian,

I do hope you read this because I can't thank you enough for the wonderful job that you did on these sets. I have read so much crap on this board and I'm appauled at the ungratefulness after the hard work you all have done and I honestly don't understand their nitpicks because my set is AWESOME! I really began to believe that we would never have this show on DVD again and then boom....You and Shout made it happen! So thanks again, I love my set and I'm thankful that Shout took this on to make this show come to life for people like me who is BTW only 38 herself! LOL!

God Bless!

Hey Hughfan,

Glad you love the set. For the most part it is awesome. I wouldn't call complaints about the first 2 season nitpicking,

Mr. Ward provided an answer and while I am not happy with the answer there is nothing else to be done to fix it. I am glad I have the Universal sets even with the horrible double sided discs. What were they thinking?

I would love the rest of Donna Reed seasons. It would be a good project for Mr. Ward. He remembers this one. LOL.

I couldn't resist.

Hey any chance of Beaver on Blu ray? Imagine the discussions about grain on the film then!

Not trying to be a jerk so I hope you take don't take this the wrongway. But this is a Shout Factory forum and the people apparantly responsible for this department don't seem to participate here very often, while you thankfully do. So it's not the forum's fault if your the face they put with Shout Factory in the classic DVD forums here since that's all we see. None the less, I'm sure we appreciate the time you spend on here even though you aren't required to. It's nice at least someone working at Shout Factory spends time here and listens to what their consumers think (Hopefully several more lurk around here at least), even if we do seem a bit ungrateful and expect a bit too much perfection at times. I think it shows first hand that you love your job and care about the product your involved with and the fans that are interested in it.

I'm surprised you wouldn't think something was odd when teasers came after the show introduction or that they're placed in different locations throughout the season release (I would think both would've raised a red flag). But I also see how it could've happened with so much material to deal with. I've read through this post a couple of times now in the hope that I catch any glaring errors before posting it, but I'm sure when I come back tomorrow hoping for a reply, I'll feel the urge to edit something I didn't catch tonight. We're all only human.

What does surprise me though is to find you didn't spend a bit of time with Universal's two releases. Seems like it would've been useful research to see how Universal handled both releases (Especially since it would've helped you catch these errors) to help improve Shout's own efforts. They must really keep you guys busy. :)

And I don't think anyone is saying the season 1 experience is ruined. I think everyone agrees they're minor errors (At least from what I've seen, I haven't read every last post in this huge thread). People are just pointing them out since they stand out as sore thumbs in a collection that did so much correctly. Nothing wrong to feel a bit disappointed that it's not a definitive collection and having to hold on to a older release as a result. And I don't think it's wrong for people to hope they're fixed and inquire about it. We're fans of this show and want efforts to release it to be as close to perfection as possible just like I'm sure you wanted as you worked to put this out.

At the end of the day, be glad there is so much activity in this thread. It has to be some form of job assurance to see so many people interested in a product you played such a important role in getting out. You should be proud of it and I'm sorry if any of us made you feel like you had to be on the defensive. I'm sure people meant things as constructive criticism only and regret it if you took it any differently.

Thanks for helping to get a great show out on DVD. :)

Of course the criticism was meant to be constructive.The easy answer to the criticism is to blame Universal.It might be fair to blame them but it is clear there was no comparison made between the Universal set and the Shout set. But then maybe they did notice it and put it out anyway seeing that they were not selling the first two seasons on their own.

It is frustrating as a collector to have a product with a glaring defect. It is a shame because the rest of the set is great. Shout puts out alot of great stuff. When you see Shout's name on the product you can be sure it is a quality release. But in this case Mr. Ward and friends screwed up.

I bet it was Gary who told Mr. Ward that this thread had blown up. Actually I was starting to wonder if he works for Shout. LOL.

The criticism wasn't meant to be mean spririted From what I have read here it was fair and deserved. It is great to get a response from Mr. Ward. I doubt that happens too often elsewhere. I can see how all of this isn't a big deal to the fans who just want to see the episodes on dvd. But to a collector this is a big deal. From Mr. Ward's comments it is clear Shout concentrated on seasons 3-6. Have not heard a complaint about those seasons.

So Gary let us know what thread you are moving to so we can follow you there.LOL

I don't really understand Gary's criticism of some comments in this thread (Mr. Ward said to stop the " bickering back and forth", he didn't say that any further criticism of the set shouldn't be discussed here) or quite understand why Mr. Ward reacted like he did in the first place. But everyone should be keeping the thread dedicated to discussing the DVD release and show rather then both sides making personal comments about the other.

There's no need for it at any forum dedicated to this hobby, in my opinion.

Ok so all of that aside.

What is your favorite disc of the 37 in the set?

Yes he is. A few of us have merely been discussing some flaws in the complete series set. That isn't whining. But Gary seems unwilling to accept our constructive critique so he chooses to whine about it. To me, that is disrespect and I won't stand for it. That's exactly how it is, Mr. David Von Pein. It was your mention of the error with the 1st season teasers in your complete series review that started this discussion in the first place. Enough said now about this nonsense.  

Disneylvr: It's hard to choose a favorite disc as each one contains good episodes. But as far as seasons go, I'll say that I like seasons 4, 5, and 6 a tad better than seasons 1, 2, and 3. I think Leave It To Beaver improved as the years went by when the Beav and Wally were a bit older.

I have to agree lecagr.But I would pick the 5th season as a favourite. Perhaps disc 5 five if I had to pick one disc.

As for the earlier seasons I would have to say Universal's season 1

I couldn't resist.

Yes there are many good episodes from the 5th season. I like the 6th season too, but when watching 6th season episodes you can see that the quality of the show starts to decline a bit. Some weaker episodes started slipping into the mix, along with some really good ones like Wally's Practical Joke.

Another TV show on DVD where the teasers and opening credits got reversed is The Flying Nun. Those episodes start with a teaser scene, then come the opening credits. But on the DVD's, it is reversed. Opening credits are seen first followed by the teaser. That is a mistake. Flying Nun DVD's were issued by Sony, not Shout Factory.

A little late in chiming in myself for this set. This is my first post.  I just finished season three and will probably start season 4 tonight.  Great show, only 117 episodes to go!

While I respect the comments and observations of others on the board, I for one wouldn't expect to get replacement discs for some of the things discussed here.  I for one have been collecting since I was about 15 (I'm 40 now) and I think many of us have become spoiled as consumers.  If episodes were cut, totally different story.  However a few things out of order and a few second dropout of audio does not warrant such agressive action IMO.  I'm happy to have these in such great condition and possibly like many of you, there are certain movies and tv shows I've recorded, recorded, purchased, and repurchased for years.  At some point, I have to say enough is enough.  I don't have the space to keep 2 or three copies of things because of such minutia where in reality I'm going to watch the best possible source of this material.  With LITB, I taped some episodes off tv years ago and never really kept up with it so this is really my first and only purchase of this series. 

For example, take the Three Stooges. Over the last 25 years, I've taped episodes on tv that were cut for commercials and content with prints that were pretty beat up and choppy, then episodes that didn't have commercials and may have some cuts, then I bought all the pre-recorded VHS tapes and taped what wasn't on VHS off tv, then I bought what was released on DVD and burned the remainder of what wasn't off television (from a local station where the episodes were restored, uncut, and without any watermarks in the corner).  Then the full run of all 190 came out and people still had their complaints about that.  The biggest being that in the mid to late 50s films, the images were slightly cropped for 'widescreen' among some other things.  For me, it was the end of the line.  I have all 190 on my shelf on DVD.  I don't need to keep any additional copies which I probably wouldn't watch anyway (not to mention those would be kept in a storage case on the 2nd floor of my house...imagine me having to walk up the stairs to bring something down to watch....unheard of!) :)  I know with everything else going on in my life where such a thing as these shows are an escape, I will sleep just as well knowing that my season 1 tags are out of order. My long winded point is that while there may be some imperfections (and that is all objective..to me this set rules!) this is the definitive set for me and I'm glad to finally add this classic series to my collection. 

I'm looking forward to All in the Family season 7 as well.

NOW...I actually do have a question. Does anyone know in the Season 3 finale' 'Beavers Team' if Hugh Beaumont is doing the post production dubs in the outdoor scenes?  When he shows up at the big game, it just sounds like it is someone different.  I don't know if this is already documented elsewhere so I thought I'd ask.

Don't mean to respond to my own post but I wanted to note something that was mentioned earlier in this thread.

I am able to get subtitles on the LITB set.  While the DVDs proper don't have a subtitle option, if I press the mute on my TV, subtitles do pop up...at least in season 4 which is where I'm at right now.  It could just be my set up but I wanted to throw that out there to everyone who was looking for subtitles to give it a try.  I have a Sony home theatre system and Mitsubishi tv.  My DVD player runs through the home theatre system which is run through the television. 

Hope that helps some people out there. :)

Well HelloLarry, I get what you are saying about buying multiple copies of shows. But in the case of Beaver, the first 2 seasons were already released without the errors in those seasons. So it is only reasonable to think that they would be again.

So asking for a replacement did not seem out of order until Mr. Ward said we are out of luck.

Universal is still selling the first 2 seasons on amazon if you want to see what error free looks like. Except for the dumb flipper discs.

I noticed today that Costco here in Canada is selling the Complete Series of LITB for $99.00. Great deal!!!!!