«

Hey everybody - I'm new here. It shouldn't be that way...and yet it is.

I picked up the Soap box (~snicker~) yesterday and now I'm going to get on
top of it. (Not really.) The only other Columbia Tri-Star TV DVD I've seen
is "All in the Family" S1, so please forgive if my review is lacking in the
comparison department.

Absolutely bare bones DVD. Ain't nothing on this set except 25 episodes. The
set, against all logic, crams 10 eps apiece on each of the first two discs,
and 5 eps on Disc 3 - the latter also features a bunch of trailers for other
product. The sound is an incredibly bland mono and the picture (I guess) is
about what you'd expect from a videotaped series made in the 70's. There are
occasional yellow-hued videotape bars/lines that streak across the picture,
but after a while you just forget about it, 'cause you're so into the show.

Anytime something like this is announced for DVD release, one tends to get
excited about the possibilities, so it's always kind of a letdown when the
final product is as realistically bland as this one is.

On the plus side? It's the entire first season of "Soap" - and truth be
told, I'm not gonna complain about that. Not one bit.

A side note - it's been ~years~ since I've watched this series. The intro is
a little different than I recall.

Instead of "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary
Campbell....these are the Tates....and these are the Campbells. And this
is....Soap." - the intro is considerably longer, with Rod Roddy commenting
on Jessica and Mary's houses and their lifestyles and how both families have
secrets and how "if Jessica could change one thing about her life, she'd set
it to song..." Was this always how the first season was? Did the much
shorter intro come into play with the second season? If anybody knows better
than I, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

--
RR

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
it was written on. - Terence McKenna

In article <bk9osk$qjb78$>,
RR <> wrote:
>Hey everybody - I'm new here. It shouldn't be that way...and yet it is.
>
>I picked up the Soap box (~snicker~) yesterday and now I'm going to get on
>top of it. (Not really.) The only other Columbia Tri-Star TV DVD I've seen
>is "All in the Family" S1, so please forgive if my review is lacking in the
>comparison department.
>
>A side note - it's been ~years~ since I've watched this series. The intro is
>a little different than I recall.
>
>Instead of "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary
>Campbell....these are the Tates....and these are the Campbells. And this
>is....Soap." - the intro is considerably longer, with Rod Roddy commenting
>on Jessica and Mary's houses and their lifestyles and how both families have
>secrets and how "if Jessica could change one thing about her life, she'd set
>it to song..." Was this always how the first season was? Did the much
>shorter intro come into play with the second season? If anybody knows better

I believe the shorter intro came into play around episode 16 or 17.



--
Aaron Brezenski
Not speaking for my employer in any way.

Aaron Brezenski wrote:

>> Hey everybody - I'm new here. It shouldn't be that way...and yet it
>> is.
>>
>> I picked up the Soap box (~snicker~) yesterday and now I'm going to
>> get on top of it. (Not really.) The only other Columbia Tri-Star TV
>> DVD I've seen is "All in the Family" S1, so please forgive if my
>> review is lacking in the comparison department.
>>
>> A side note - it's been ~years~ since I've watched this series. The
>> intro is a little different than I recall.
>>
>> Instead of "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary
>> Campbell....these are the Tates....and these are the Campbells. And
>> this is....Soap." - the intro is considerably longer, with Rod
>> Roddy commenting on Jessica and Mary's houses and their lifestyles
>> and how both families have secrets and how "if Jessica could change
>> one thing about her life, she'd set it to song..." Was this always
>> how the first season was? Did the much shorter intro come into play
>> with the second season? If anybody knows better
>
> I believe the shorter intro came into play around episode 16 or 17.

Thanks muchos. I've only made it through episode 6 thus far.

--
RR

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
it was written on. - Terence McKenna

How in the world can they release a sorry series like this on DVD

YET ...a classic series, NORTHERN EXPOSURE , is still not available on DVD!

<sigh>

my 2 cents


"RR" <> wrote in message
news:bk9osk$qjb78$...
> Hey everybody - I'm new here. It shouldn't be that way...and yet it is.
>
> I picked up the Soap box (~snicker~) yesterday and now I'm going to get on
> top of it. (Not really.) The only other Columbia Tri-Star TV DVD I've seen
> is "All in the Family" S1, so please forgive if my review is lacking in
the
> comparison department.
>
> Absolutely bare bones DVD. Ain't nothing on this set except 25 episodes.
The
> set, against all logic, crams 10 eps apiece on each of the first two
discs,
> and 5 eps on Disc 3 - the latter also features a bunch of trailers for
other
> product. The sound is an incredibly bland mono and the picture (I guess)
is
> about what you'd expect from a videotaped series made in the 70's. There
are
> occasional yellow-hued videotape bars/lines that streak across the
picture,
> but after a while you just forget about it, 'cause you're so into the
show.
>
> Anytime something like this is announced for DVD release, one tends to get
> excited about the possibilities, so it's always kind of a letdown when the
> final product is as realistically bland as this one is.
>
> On the plus side? It's the entire first season of "Soap" - and truth be
> told, I'm not gonna complain about that. Not one bit.
>
> A side note - it's been ~years~ since I've watched this series. The intro
is
> a little different than I recall.
>
> Instead of "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary
> Campbell....these are the Tates....and these are the Campbells. And this
> is....Soap." - the intro is considerably longer, with Rod Roddy
commenting
> on Jessica and Mary's houses and their lifestyles and how both families
have
> secrets and how "if Jessica could change one thing about her life, she'd
set
> it to song..." Was this always how the first season was? Did the much
> shorter intro come into play with the second season? If anybody knows
better
> than I, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
>
> --
> RR
>
> If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
> include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
> then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
> it was written on. - Terence McKenna
>
>

MemphisGuy wrote:

>> Hey everybody - I'm new here. It shouldn't be that way...and yet it
>> is.
>>
>> I picked up the Soap box (~snicker~) yesterday and now I'm going to
>> get on top of it. (Not really.) The only other Columbia Tri-Star TV
>> DVD I've seen is "All in the Family" S1, so please forgive if my
>> review is lacking in the comparison department.
>>
>> Absolutely bare bones DVD. Ain't nothing on this set except 25
>> episodes. The set, against all logic, crams 10 eps apiece on each of
>> the first two discs, and 5 eps on Disc 3 - the latter also features
>> a bunch of trailers for other product. The sound is an incredibly
>> bland mono and the picture (I guess) is about what you'd expect from
>> a videotaped series made in the 70's. There are occasional
>> yellow-hued videotape bars/lines that streak across the picture, but
>> after a while you just forget about it, 'cause you're so into the
>> show.
>>
>> Anytime something like this is announced for DVD release, one tends
>> to get excited about the possibilities, so it's always kind of a
>> letdown when the final product is as realistically bland as this one
>> is.
>>
>> On the plus side? It's the entire first season of "Soap" - and truth
>> be told, I'm not gonna complain about that. Not one bit.
>>
>> A side note - it's been ~years~ since I've watched this series. The
>> intro is a little different than I recall.
>>
>> Instead of "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary
>> Campbell....these are the Tates....and these are the Campbells. And
>> this is....Soap." - the intro is considerably longer, with Rod
>> Roddy commenting on Jessica and Mary's houses and their lifestyles
>> and how both families have secrets and how "if Jessica could change
>> one thing about her life, she'd set it to song..." Was this always
>> how the first season was? Did the much shorter intro come into play
>> with the second season? If anybody knows better than I, please let
>> me know. Thanks in advance.

> How in the world can they release a sorry series like this on DVD
>
> YET ...a classic series, NORTHERN EXPOSURE , is still not available
> on DVD!
>
> <sigh>
>
> my 2 cents
>

Actually, Columbia TriStar did an online poll about 6 or so months back. In
it, they offered about 30 or 40 different series for consumers to vote on.
The top 6 or so were chosen and "Soap" was one of the big winners (another
one was the live-action "Tick" series which will be coming out shortly). So,
to answer your question, "Soap" is out on DVD because people wanted it to
be.

--
RR

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
it was written on. - Terence McKenna

<< The top 6 or so were chosen and "Soap" was one of the big winners (another
one was the live-action "Tick" series which will be coming out shortly). So,
to answer your question, "Soap" is out on DVD because people wanted it to
be. >>

Soap is genius.

Wade365 wrote:
> << The top 6 or so were chosen and "Soap" was one of the big winners
> (another one was the live-action "Tick" series which will be coming
> out shortly). So, to answer your question, "Soap" is out on DVD
> because people wanted it to be. >>
>
> Soap is genius.

It's noteworthy that, as I rewatch the series, it's not *quite* as perfect
as I remember it. (It has been ~years~ since I've seen it.) It's still very
fun and watchable, but being as "Soap" was a series that tackled issues,
much of it comes across as hopelessly dated. A fine example is the
exploration of homosexuality through Jodie (Billy Crystal) - granted, this
*was* the first time something like this was done on American TV. But as a
society, we've moved so far past what is presented in this series, that it
might even come across as borderline offensive to many people. I can get
past it, but it's hard not to notice.

So, as much as I love it, I personally wouldn't call it genius, as it's so
firmly rooted in the era in which it was made. (To me, true genius is
timeless and there are a number of aspects of this series that simply are
not. But that's just me...) Now the individual performances of Richard
Mulligan, Katherine Helmond and Robert Guillaume are pretty damn genius.

--
RR

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
it was written on. - Terence McKenna

RR wrote:
> Wade365 wrote:
>> << The top 6 or so were chosen and "Soap" was one of the big winners
>> (another one was the live-action "Tick" series which will be coming
>> out shortly). So, to answer your question, "Soap" is out on DVD
>> because people wanted it to be. >>
>>
>> Soap is genius.
>
> It's noteworthy that, as I rewatch the series, it's not *quite* as
> perfect as I remember it. (It has been ~years~ since I've seen it.)
> It's still very fun and watchable, but being as "Soap" was a series
> that tackled issues, much of it comes across as hopelessly dated. A
> fine example is the exploration of homosexuality through Jodie (Billy
> Crystal) - granted, this *was* the first time something like this was
> done on American TV. But as a society, we've moved so far past what
> is presented in this series, that it might even come across as borderline
> offensive to many people. I can get past it, but it's hard not to notice.

I should add on to the above. As the series begins, Jodie is contemplating
getting a sex change operation - not because he feels he should actually be
a woman, but because he feels it's the only way he can be with his famous
quarterback lover. A preposterous notion in this day and age - there's also
the subtle implication that a gay man will be happier if he can be a woman.
It might be easier to buy into if the character of Jodie was as much of a
loon as many of the characters on "Soap", but he's not. He's one of the more
level-headed folk on the show. So whereas this may have been something TV
audiences of the 70's accepted with no question, today it comes across as
pretty inane.

--
RR

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness,
then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp
it was written on. - Terence McKenna

<< t might be easier to buy into if the character of Jodie was as much of a
loon as many of the characters on "Soap", but he's not. He's one of the more
level-headed folk on the show. >>

If anyone is actually watching this series for the very first time with the DVD
release, I think it's also worth noting that it seemed to take Crystal a
handful of episodes to really figure out the character. He was playing him too
over-the-top and cliche-ridden in the first handful of episodes, before
eventually settling into a regular guy who happened to be gay.

"MemphisGuy" <> wrote:

> How in the world can they release a sorry series like
> this on DVD
>
> YET ...a classic series, NORTHERN EXPOSURE , is still not
> available on DVD!

It's actually very easy. Aside from the fact that the relative
merits of the two series are your opinion, not necessarily
shared by a majority of consumers (me? I don't consider either
series to be "classic", but I would say that NE deserves it
less than SOAP), there is the fact that the "they" who released
SOAP (Columbia) are not the same "they" who have the rights to
NORTHERN EXPOSURE (Universal).

Would you really expect Columbia to sit on its hands waiting
for Universal to release NORTHERN EXPOSURE so that it can
release SOAP afterwards?

-- jayembee