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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 27, 2021 22:05:54 GMT -5
That's really helpful. While I love Bill Bixby, I have zero patience for the repetitiveness of each episode of that series. Whenever I get a hankering for it, I watch one of the TV movies that spun out of that series. The pilot, the marriage special, the Trial (with Daredevil) and especially the Death of the Incredible Hulk, but never the regular episodes. My two younger sons find pre 1999 television to be largely unwatchable. They grew up with shows that (generally) had overarching story arcs and are generally much less episodic than what we grew up on. It's not just the age, because both are fans of old movies...including films going back to the 40s. It's the one-and-done nature that they don't like and that really nothing changes in the show except the weekly plot. They're watching the wrong stuff. I defy anyone not to watch the Bob Newhart Show and the Mary Tyler Moore Show and not laugh. In terms of action/adventure or mystery/drama: The Wild Wild West, The Man From UNCLE, Mission: Impossible, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man (first 3 seasons, at least), The Equalizer, Miami Vice (first two seasons, at least), Crime Story, Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, The Avengers (British tv), The Sweeney, Danger Man, Have Gun, Will Travel, Maverick.... I can go on, especially if 1999 is a cut -off. There are plenty of shows with character arcs over seasons, including the aforementioned Michael Mann shows, Miami Vice and Crime Story. Shows like Hill Street Blues and St Elsewhere had a continuity. Comedy series would revisit characters and past storylines, if there was a good reason. Shows like Moonlighting and Remington Steel had a continuity of relationship, while doing episodic stories. I would point towards certain producers/companies as an indicator of quality work, more than a premise. MTM produced fantastic tv in the 70s and 80s: Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Hill Street Blues, St Elsewhere; Norman Lear pioneered "dramady", with shows like All in the Family, Good times, etc. Jack Webb's Mark Seven was great for police, rescue series, with quality writing and engaging stories (characters could be a mixed bag). Gary Marshall had the magic touch, in the 70s, etc.. Story arcs were more the world of the mini-series, daytime and prime time soap operas, and throwbacks to the Saturday matinee thrillers, like NBC's Cliffhangers and Filmation's The New Adv of Flash Gordon. |
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Post by rom on Apr 29, 2021 20:34:21 GMT -5
Great thread. As a kid/young teen back in the '80's, I remember watching re-runs of the early '70's series Kung Fu on the weekends. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite shows, and was an excellent (and unusual) combination of the American Western & Eastern mysticism. The late David Carradine did a great job as the stoic Caine, and it was interesting to see how he would deal with the various aggressors who would come after him in each episode. Also really enjoyed the flashbacks to his younger years, which not only had a lesson/moral, but were relevant to the current storyline in the given episode.
When the DVD sets started coming out years ago, I was extremely disappointed that S1 was presented in the incorrect aspect ratio - i.e., they incorrectly converted a show that was initially presented in the full-screen format to widescreen, which resulted in the top & bottom of the picture being cropped. This really butchered the picture, and as such made this tough for me to watch. IIRC, they corrected this in S2 & S3, but that still left S1 in incorrect & truncated format.
It would be great if they would re-release the series to Blu (or even re-release it to regular DVD) in the correct fullscreen format for all three seasons.
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Post by tarkintino on May 2, 2021 18:46:45 GMT -5
I think a good measure of whether you'll enjoy it or not would be if you've seen the Incredible Hulk show; if you've seen that and you liked it then you'll probably enjoy Kung Fu as it has that same kind of plot structure of hero wanders into town, gets befriends person in need and then helps out at the end before moving on again on a vague mission. With The Incredible Hulk, its strength rested in the weight Banner carried for more than what was established in the pilot--he was a character destined to have any attempt at personal joy ripped from his life, but what hit the viewers is that they cared so much for Banner that when fate played a terrible hand, they felt it, feeling he was effectively cursed--by his own tragedy inspired desperation to experiment on himself. That, and at several times in the series, others hunted him or wanted to exploit (uncover) what created the Hulk. All the while, Bill Bixby delivered one the greatest interpretations of a comic-based character to date, and he's head and shoulders over all three actors who portrayed Banner in the movies (Bana, Norton and Ruffalo). |
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Post by profh0011 on May 22, 2021 15:59:21 GMT -5
The pilot film from the original Kung Fu series had a huge impact on me. Decades later I saw it again and in scene after scene I kept thinking, "so that's where I got that idea from." I often think the best kind of inspiration is when you don't know where it came from when you're doing it. This has happened with my own writing a number of times. Then years later I'll be watching a rerun of something, and realize, " Oh, THAT's where this came from." |
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Post by profh0011 on May 22, 2021 16:07:13 GMT -5
When the DVD sets started coming out years ago, I was extremely disappointed that S1 was presented in the incorrect aspect ratio - i.e., they incorrectly converted a show that was initially presented in the full-screen format to widescreen, which resulted in the top & bottom of the picture being cropped. This really butchered the picture, and as such made this tough for me to watch. IIRC, they corrected this in S2 & S3, but that still left S1 in incorrect & truncated format. AUGH!!!
Awhile back, someone gave me a link to a REALLY CHEAP box set of the complete series of "LOST IN SPACE". I had already bought season 1 by then. I checked it out, and discovered the ad said the episodes on the el cheapo box were all re-formatted to "widescreen". B***S***! B***S***!!! I stuck with the regular ones for seasons 2 & 3.
I have a home care client who's told me, more than once... that he feels it's "too much trouble" to adjust the picture format on his TV for different shows or films. It makes me shake my head in dismay.
On mine, it is SO EASY to switch from "normal" to "zoom" (I don't think I ever use the other couple of options). "Normal" for old TV shows (and about 95% of my self-recorded videotapes) and "zoom" for newer TV shows (THE FLASH), movies on DVD, or movies I taped myself off of TCM.
I mean, if you try to watch a square picture on "zoom", the top and bottom will get cut off. If you try to watch anything widescreen in "normal", you'll have BLACK BARS on ALL 4 sides of the picture. 
Occasionally, I'll have some widescreen movie that isn't quite really wide widescreen, and trying to watch it in "zoom" will also cut off the top and bottom of the picture. But again, it takes seconds to check and adjust.
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Post by rom on Sept 27, 2021 15:02:00 GMT -5
When the DVD sets started coming out years ago, I was extremely disappointed that S1 was presented in the incorrect aspect ratio - i.e., they incorrectly converted a show that was initially presented in the full-screen format to widescreen, which resulted in the top & bottom of the picture being cropped. This really butchered the picture, and as such made this tough for me to watch. IIRC, they corrected this in S2 & S3, but that still left S1 in incorrect & truncated format. AUGH!!!
Awhile back, someone gave me a link to a REALLY CHEAP box set of the complete series of "LOST IN SPACE". I had already bought season 1 by then. I checked it out, and discovered the ad said the episodes on the el cheapo box were all re-formatted to "widescreen". B***S***! B***S***!!! I stuck with the regular ones for seasons 2 & 3.
I have a home care client who's told me, more than once... that he feels it's "too much trouble" to adjust the picture format on his TV for different shows or films. It makes me shake my head in dismay.
On mine, it is SO EASY to switch from "normal" to "zoom" (I don't think I ever use the other couple of options). "Normal" for old TV shows (and about 95% of my self-recorded videotapes) and "zoom" for newer TV shows (THE FLASH), movies on DVD, or movies I taped myself off of TCM.
I mean, if you try to watch a square picture on "zoom", the top and bottom will get cut off. If you try to watch anything widescreen in "normal", you'll have BLACK BARS on ALL 4 sides of the picture.
Occasionally, I'll have some widescreen movie that isn't quite really wide widescreen, and trying to watch it in "zoom" will also cut off the top and bottom of the picture. But again, it takes seconds to check and adjust.
Good post. Just saw this, given that I haven't been to this site in 5-6 months. Note that with the Kung Fu S01 DVD's, even if you "adjust" your TV aspect ratio on your screen, you still won't be getting the full picture here. I.e., in this particular case the picture is truncated/cut off at the top and bottom of the screen. The only way we'll ever see the correct "fullscreen" aspect for S01 of the KF DVD's is if they're re-released with this correct aspect ratio. Which, honestly - may never happen. |
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Post by profh0011 on Sept 30, 2021 20:30:41 GMT -5
Hey, I wonder... I actually loved KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES more than the original KUNG FU. But the "network" that ran it, on many occasions, BLATENTLY, OBVIOUSLY ran episodes in the wrong order. What's the point of heavy "continuity" if those in charge are going to screw it up at every opportunity?
Is this on DVD yet, and, if so, did they "fix" the running order?
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