EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm in the Middle Seasons 1-7 Coming to DVD Starting 2012!

mass5160

New member
Cheers, Richiepiep for sharing those pics!

I suppose it's possible that they could've switched to 35mm, but then switched back to 16mm due to preference, or even budget, but that's just an outside guess. It could just simply be a matter of sources stating "shot-on-film" which was taken to mean 35mm by assumption.

I think a lot of people get confused over film formats, because there are so many, just like videotape formats too, to be honest. It could also be that because Seasons 6 & 7 were broadcast in HD, the assumption is that "only 35mm is capable of HD" but as I said previously there are films that are shot entirely in 16mm, or even have elements of 16mm crossed with 35mm and the difference is almost unnoticeable.

I personally feel with digital distribution that the extra features will become a thing of the past. You can buy the first season of Rome in HD from iTunes for £24.99, whilst amazon sell both series in one Blu-Ray package for £25.08 at the time of this post. So in this case, for another 9 pence you get both seasons, with artwork, extras and superior picture and audio quality.
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Hi Mass,

Well, those pictures are in our Gallery anyway, section Behind the Scenes, where you can study them in greater detail, if you wish.

Thanks for the info on Rome. I hope buyers will realize what they're missing out on if they go for the seemingly cheap and easy option of digital downloads!

Apparently, (Super) 16 mm film has long been a popular format for budget TV productions, even recently, where you would expect digital shooting. I've found a list which includes series like The Walking Dead, Chuck, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, The Middle, Psych, Burn Notice, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Life on Mars.

Also feature films like Black Swan and The Hurt Locker.

As for some older ones:

Dawson's Creek (also shot by Malcolm in the Middle cinematographer Levie Isaacks)
The O. C.
Sex and the City
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (first two seasons)
Charmed (first season)
Gilmore Girls
Veronica Mars
Malcolm in the Middle (of course!)
Third Watch
Monk
Renegade
Pensacola
Invisible Man
Tour of Duty
West Wing (last season)


According to the posters, "the quality of these shows varies all over the map". A lot depends on the skills of the cinematographers, lighting technicians, editing and scanning in HD or not etc.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/modern-productions-shot-on-16mm-film.267477/

http://www.cinematography.net/edited-pages/production-formats-2010.html

Rich
 
Last edited:

mass5160

New member
I'll admit that I was surprised to see 'Black Swan' was shot on 16mm. I was always under the impression that it was shot digitally if I'm being honest. But I have the Blu-Ray and it looks fantastic.

It's also good to see Buffy on that list too, because they're remastering that series in HD too, although from the screenshots I've seen, it looks like it's been smothered with DNR, and for the most part, it looks like they clipped the top and bottom without any extra picture information to the sides. I'm not really a fan of that show though, so I haven't sat down and watched an episode all the way through.

According to the posters, "the quality of these shows varies all over the map". A lot depends on the skills of the cinematographers, lighting technicians, editing and scanning in HD or not etc.

That's it exactly. I can't seem to help but think how some episodes in Season 3 of MitM look under-lit to be honest. Especially the Christmas episode, it just looks so damp and under saturated.
 

Tyno

Malcolm-France
Considering Fox has recently stopped releasing Blu-Rays for all of its current series, even its new and successful titles, I wouldn't hold my breath for a Blu-Ray release any time soon...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Richiepiep

Administrator
Considering Fox has recently stopped releasing Blu-Rays for all of its current series, even its new and successful titles, I wouldn't hold my breath for a Blu-Ray release any time soon...

Hi Tyno,

Thanks for the update! Yes, it does seem that all physical media, even the high-definition ones, are considered too much of an investment now to put out, or at least spend too much money on, in these uncertain times, where it's all about the cheapest possible, even free or illegal, downloads or streams. And media are more and more seen as disposable, not something for keeps ....

I hope the French DVDs are selling well though, because you have such a large, active and dedicated fanbase! Do you have any figures you'd like to share?

Rich
 
Last edited:

mass5160

New member
Well, my Season 4 set from France arrived today, and skimming through it, I'm happy with it. It's not field blended unlike the UK set, although the bonus Company Picnic episode actually does suffer from field blending this time around. Showshank have informed me that this is because it was the only source available for the episode. From what I understand, they've worked extremely hard for the inclusion of it, as it seems FOX was either difficult, or unaware of the complete episode's existence.

I'd also like to include this screenshot comparing the UK to the FR release.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/102882

With the FR release being interlaced, the "horizontal stripes" will not be apparent during playback, as DVD players are equipped with their own de-interlacing software, whilst the UK set has ghost frames forever, it is impossible to remove that without going back to the source material, which is only accessible to the studios and owners. I do however, acknowledge that the ghosting will probably not bother everyone.
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Thanks a lot for your comments, Mass, and for the explanation of the availabke source material. Yes, if you happen to get such inside information, it can turn out that the publishers are not to blame at all, but it's the reluctance of the original producers to investigate their sources, and invest in restoration or re-editing of the material. If they are convinced it's no longer of profitable retail value, they will often simply rely on syndication by third parties or downloads of old episodes, in whatever shape or quality they happen to be.

As you know I have the German version of the uncut Company Picnic episode, which came out as part of their S3 release, and it's the same in its heavy interlacing, as was to be expected - see screenshot. I still wonder why their releases are PAL instead of NTSC (they haven't told me so far, or wouldn't), but apart from that it's a rerelease of the French sources.

Company_Picnic_German_DVD_Full_episode.jpg
Interlaced full Company Picnic episode - German DVD

By they way, it turns out I had the full Company Picnic episode all along as part of an old torrent download, but I never realized it, because it was on a back-up disk, and bad quality at that. :blushing: Anyway, I'm glad you located it before me, so the French publishers could determine what they were after!

Company_Picnic_VHS_Copy_Full_episode.jpg
Screenshot full Company Picnic episode from VHS copy, locker room scene

Rich
 
Last edited:

mass5160

New member
Cheers Richiepiep. Here is a screenshot from a few frames earlier on the FR DVD. The interlaced screenshot you provided shows up as progressive frames on the FR DVD, so I picked a slightly earlier frame to highlight the field blending. I presume your German DVD also suffers from this amongst the interlacing as well?

vlcsnap-2014-12-05-18h50m46s169.png

Comparing both of them colour-wise, I would definitely say the German release has a more natural colour palette. What do you think?
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Aha, I think I see what you mean now! You mean that after you de-interlace the image, you are left with field blending or ghosting in the case of the uncut episode, but not in the two-part one? Honestly, I wasn't aware of such technicalities. You are quite right of course, because I made screenshots of the same image from both versions of the episode after de-interlacing.

Company_Picnic_German_DVD_cut_episode_deinterlaced.jpg Company_Picnic_German_DVD_uncut_episode_deinterlaced.jpg
Left: Company Pinic cut (2-part) version, right: uncut version.

I notice that ghosting makes the moving image, I mean when you just watch the episode at normal speed, in the second shot appear fuzzier than in the first case.

As for the colours, I agree that the French image appears just a bit warmer, more of a late aftenoon glow than the German one, which is a bit paler. I must say it's hardly noticeable though.

How to account for that? Different DVD authoring, even though they use the same source? Would a German editor have made it a bit brighter along with the PAL-conversion? Anyone's guess!

Rich
 
Last edited:

mass5160

New member
Yep, the syndicated one is interlaced, whilst the uncut one is field blended, there is no interlacing at all on the FR DVD. It's a minor annoyance, but at least it's just the one episode affected. The effort put in to making the inclusion of this episode possible far outweighs the condition of the source material, and I still appreciate fully that they took the time to include it at all. As to why the source is field blended is a mystery, but I don't believe either DVD labels were responsible for doing it after transferring, it would be inconsistent.

Regarding the authoring, it's all down to personal preference of whoever is responsible for transferring them from tape > HDD > DVD. I imagine the PAL conversion was probably done from the tape to HDD transfer, as opposed to first digitizing it then converting, which would cause the quality loss to be more apparent.
 
Last edited:

gregmasciola

New member
Well, my Season 4 set from France arrived today, and skimming through it, I'm happy with it. It's not field blended unlike the UK set, although the bonus Company Picnic episode actually does suffer from field blending this time around. Showshank have informed me that this is because it was the only source available for the episode. From what I understand, they've worked extremely hard for the inclusion of it, as it seems FOX was either difficult, or unaware of the complete episode's existence.

I'd also like to include this screenshot comparing the UK to the FR release.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/102882

With the FR release being interlaced, the "horizontal stripes" will not be apparent during playback, as DVD players are equipped with their own de-interlacing software, whilst the UK set has ghost frames forever, it is impossible to remove that without going back to the source material, which is only accessible to the studios and owners. I do however, acknowledge that the ghosting will probably not bother everyone.

So basically, this "field blending" is what causes the video to appear jerky when the camera pans, right? If this is the case and these discs don't suffer from it, I think I'll double-dip and buy the French sets, too. I'm glad to have the UK sets just to have the show, but since the French versions seem to be better, I think I might buy them. I'll probably wait for the full series box set, though. I'll pay less per season.
 

gregmasciola

New member
Well, my Season 4 set from France arrived today, and skimming through it, I'm happy with it. It's not field blended unlike the UK set, although the bonus Company Picnic episode actually does suffer from field blending this time around. Showshank have informed me that this is because it was the only source available for the episode. From what I understand, they've worked extremely hard for the inclusion of it, as it seems FOX was either difficult, or unaware of the complete episode's existence.

I'd also like to include this screenshot comparing the UK to the FR release.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/102882

With the FR release being interlaced, the "horizontal stripes" will not be apparent during playback, as DVD players are equipped with their own de-interlacing software, whilst the UK set has ghost frames forever, it is impossible to remove that without going back to the source material, which is only accessible to the studios and owners. I do however, acknowledge that the ghosting will probably not bother everyone.

So basically the video on the French set doesn't look jerky when the camera pans? If so, I think I'll double-dip and get the French seasons as well. I'm glad to have the UK set, but Season 2 was way too dark, and Seasons 4 & 5 have jerky video (probably from the field-blending).
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
French DVD releases cont.

Hi all.

I just read about the recent release of the French S5 DVD set on the Malcolm France News pages. Again, Malcolm France, working with publishers Showshank Films and The Corporation, went out of their way to create a great-looking product for the fans.

The sleeve features a very nice composite of 6 individual cast member shots, with a fitting theme ((don't) wash your dirty linen in public) and a great pun on the fact that we have 5 children now in Season 5.

Malcolm_French_S5_DVD_sleeve_front_MITMVC.jpg

The video image quality is reported to be better than before, as this was the first season to be specifically geared to widescreen TV.

Malcolm France again compiled a digibook for the first 3,000 buyers, containing an episode guide, and 20 anecdotes about the season.

So far the good news. There's a downside too, as Fox couldn't or didn't want to release any extra video features this time, so the French team themselves created compilations of all the appearances of Bernard the Hamster, and of all moments when the family goes nuts (pétages de plombs - literally 'blow a fuse').

Great idea again, but this doesn't bode well for future releases! Does this mean we won't ever have any official releases of the later season bloopers, no outtakes, no promo clips, no looks behind the scenes, or cast and crew interviews, commentaries, series farewell videos, family therapy sessions, Bryan's improvisations and so on?! :eek:

It's not just that I'm feeling extremely disappointed about this, it'd also be a tremendous sales boost (or at least it's supposed to be, to my admittedly old-school mind) to have a wealth of bonus features like that! Of course, we don't know exactly what's in store for us, but it's not encouraging ....

Rich
 
Last edited:

mass5160

New member
Hi gregmasciola,

Indeed the jerky panning has been fixed for the FR release, and likewise the dark video on Season 2 has also been fixed on the FR version, although the FR sets are still presented in NTSC format, Richiepiep has confirmed that the German releases are in PAL if this is more advantageous for you.

Richiepiep - I flew through the Season 5 set these past few weeks, and it's consistent with all the other seasons, possibly Showshank's best release yet. The presentation is definitely superior to the other seasons, as you said with all the extra care the makers put in for the widescreen presentation. I think "Victor's Other Family" suffered slightly in that one shot was generated from a 4:3 source, and so is pillarboxed, it's used twice throughout the episode, but only lasts a second. I don't recall this being the case when it was on TV years ago. The ending to "Dewey's Special Class" has to be the most messed up ending throughout the entire series run haha.

And although the lack of extras is indeed disappointing, at least we haven't been bombarded with excuses this time, ha. Perhaps they'll release a complete box set with an exclusive bonus disc like they do with other shows? As unlikely as that sounds, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Season 6 is due out in April. Has there been any more news regarding further German releases?
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Season 6 is due out in April. Has there been any more news regarding further German releases?
Hi Mass,

(High Mass?) :innocent:

Thanks again for the great info! Though I don't have the French release (already having the American, British and German releases, and French S1 - I don't want to turn my house into a shrine, and my wallet into a black hole), I'll be looking into Victor's Other Family and Dewey's Special Class to see what may have been going on there.

As for the Germans, they have been extremely tight-lipped about business matters like sales figures and future plans. They've only disclosed Seasons 4-7 may be released from Spring 2015 onwards. I asked a few times, but got no replies, so I gave up, not out of frustration, but because that's the decent thing to do. They will have their rather obvious reasons for not divulging them, so I respect that.

Rich
 
Last edited:

Richiepiep

Administrator
Richiepiep - I think "Victor's Other Family" suffered slightly in that one shot was generated from a 4:3 source, and so is pillarboxed, it's used twice throughout the episode, but only lasts a second. I don't recall this being the case when it was on TV years ago. The ending to "Dewey's Special Class" has to be the most messed up ending throughout the entire series run haha.
I see what you mean - there is one 'stock photograph' of a supposedly Canadian suburb that is used twice in the old 4:3 pillarboxed format (with black borders), which could easily have been stretched, and which was indeed stretched when it was aired in widescreen on Fox TV a few years ago. See attached screenshots. It must have been overlooked! Weird, though.

vlcsnap-2015-03-14-19h14m47s229.jpg vlcsnap-2015-03-14-19h33m12s245.jpg
Canadian street: DVD, left, TV widescreen broadcast, right.​

Rich
 
Last edited:

BBC2

New member
Yes, the same TVPG and Widescreen logos are there. It really looks like all current DVD editions use the same 'TV masters' (or 'second-generation' ones, whatever Fox was willing to release), but treated these differently with regard to resolution, colour grading, brightness and so on.

Company Picnic looks really great in widescreen (apart from the fact that now you can see Francis isn't naked when dragged across the ice at the end ;)) and with all the additional scenes! I wonder how they went about the dubbing of those scenes. Well, at those points they just switch to the English audio and add foreign subtitles - though of course this is of no concern to us English speakers.

By the way, the long version of Company Picnic is a bonus feature here. You have the two split episode versions on the regular menu.

Rich

Do those German subtitles disappear at those points when you select to watch the episode in English audio?
 
Top