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

Richiepiep

Administrator
Thanks for posting all those Rich!
Well, I just felt like counterbalancing a bit the often less than essential gripes from our side, also from me, about release dates, subtitles, aspect ratios, frame rates, extras and the like, and show how much the series means to a lot of less than zealous, but no less enthusiastic fans and viewers in general, and what a great job Fabulous have done releasing all seasons!

I know, it could always haven been better, but I now realize Fabulous put a lot of effort into cult movies and series, even getting cast members together for commentaries, making documentaries, and doing image restoration (e.g. Automan and The Mysterious Cities of Gold releases), which may not always pay off in purely commercial terms. That it may not happen or succceed in the case of MITM is, I assume, not because Fabulous is negligent, but because there are other constraints of rights, time and effort.
 
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Richiepiep

Administrator
Well, PAL resolution is 720x576 and can only be projected at 25 fps.
This intrigued me, so I checked the technical specs of another American TV series release by Fabulous Films that I have, the Eerie, Indiana box. I thought it would be NTSC, but this time it's really PAL (as the back cover indicates) at a resolution of 720x576 and frame rate of 25 (interlaced 50)! Of course, this could be a straight film source transfer, rather than a video transfer.

The good news, at any rate, is that it doesn't look jittery, and there are no compatibility problems with either software or (TV/DVD) hardware. The only issues are some film grain, fuzziness and interlacing artefacts, but this is understandable, given the age of the source and transfer.

Rich
 

Magic-J

New member
For the interlacing artefacts issue, when you are watching the DVD on your PC just run it with VLC, right click on the video, go to "deinterlace mode" then select "linear". Now do another right click, go to "deinterlace" and select "on". It works amazingly on my computer.

BTW: I love the episode where Marshall meets a girl who can draw objects that actually become reality. :p
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Thanks, Magic-J, it really works fine!

Yes, that was an episode I liked too. I also loved episodes like "Heart on a Chain" and "The Dead Letter" (both poignant, with great dream sequence) and imaginative ones with some twisted pointed social commentary like "ATM with a Heart of Gold", "The Loyal Order of Corn", "Zombies in P.J.s" and "The Broken Record". And just plain weird ones like "The Lost Hour" and "Tornado Days".

I think my next purchase from Fabulous, apart from MITM, will be "Garry Shandling". I really need to see some eps, it's been ages, and I don't remember much, so I can update our "Ancestors" Gallery.
 

mass5160

New member
Season 2 pushed back.

For those of you who don't already know, Season 2 has been pushed from Oct 29th to Nov 19th now. I received an e-mail from amazon about it, and Fabulous Films have just announced it via their Facebook page.
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Thanks, yes, I got this message too. Maybe they will find some time to include subtitles or a little bit of extras - never give up hope!

Rich
 

Richiepiep

Administrator
Unfortunately, when I look at the current Fabulous Films entry for their S2 release, no extras, not even subtitles, just a stills gallery (sounds really old-fashioned by now, the idea of a DVD stills gallery, right?) - all of which we already have, I reckon.

This still leaves room for improvement.

Rich
 

mass5160

New member
Mine's been dispatched!

Well I've just woken up to an e-mail from amazon saying that my copy has been dispatched, so hopefully I'll get my copy on time this time around haha.
Honestly can't wait to see how they've handled this one though, it's still not sunk in properly about the wait for long over due Malcolm DVDs finally being over...almost :D
 

ScarfaceJoker

New member
Could somebody who gets it please let me (and everyone else!) know if it's got subtitles?

Will probably buy it anyway but just wanted to know in advance! :)
 

Tyno

Malcolm-France
dvd-integrale-full.jpg
 

mass5160

New member
I've just recieved my copy and skimmed through the first disc. First episode has a TV PG logo at the start, and a "Fox Widescreen" bumper for a second, and the 7th has just the TV PG logo at the start. So I'm guessing these are sourced from broadcast masters of some sort, other episodes on Disc 1 are clear of logos. Once again they're presented in NTSC.
And someone asked earlier so I might as well confirm that there are unfortunately no subtitles.
 

Cap N Crunch

New member
mass5160, What you describe is not stock footage? What you have are TV Rips, which can be found for free on the internet. I were really excited to hear "from this site" that MITM were being put to dvd. Shows put to dvd have no rating logo nor station logo. Hopefully one day a proper reproduction will take place. So sad...
 

mass5160

New member
mass5160, What you describe is not stock footage? What you have are TV Rips, which can be found for free on the internet. I were really excited to hear "from this site" that MITM were being put to dvd. Shows put to dvd have no rating logo nor station logo. Hopefully one day a proper reproduction will take place. So sad...

Sorry, I'm describing the official Season 2 DVD Set from Fabulous Films that I bought from amazon -- I wouldn't pay anything for pirated materials no matter what it is.
I believe I've heard somewhere that the Netflix versions have TV PG logos on some episodes? Perhaps these DVDs are from the same source?
 

BBC2

New member
If i had my way they would all be remastered from the original film negatives and released on bluray! And not in widescreen, well the seasons which weren't supposed to be lol.

I'm rather concerned about the release after reading a review on amazon
I quickly noticed a problem with a juddering effect on panning scenes, where the motion appears to be rather jerky. On investigation, this looks to be due to the source material having been de-interlaced and then re-interlaced. This results in a bigger, so less fluid movement between each frame, as well as every fourth frame being shown twice in a five-frame set; all causing the juddering effect, which personally, I find quite distracting. The R1 Release does not suffer this problem. It also suggests this R2 transfer is from another video source rather than from the original film.

Does anyone else notice this problem?
 

Cap N Crunch

New member
Sorry, I'm describing the official Season 2 DVD Set from Fabulous Films that I bought from amazon -- I wouldn't pay anything for pirated materials no matter what it is.
I believe I've heard somewhere that the Netflix versions have TV PG logos on some episodes? Perhaps these DVDs are from the same source?

mass5160, I hear you, unfortunately that is the only source for MITM besides the first season, which is a dvd rip. All else is recorded from a televised source. I'm surprised to learn that Amazon would be involved with pirated media. Anything for a buck I guess...
 

Wezzo

New member
mass5160, I hear you, unfortunately that is the only source for MITM besides the first season, which is a dvd rip. All else is recorded from a televised source. I'm surprised to learn that Amazon would be involved with pirated media. Anything for a buck I guess...

You are confused. They are not pirate DVDs. They are simply sourced from broadcast masters. They are licensed by Fox.
 

Cap N Crunch

New member
You are confused. They are not pirate DVDs. They are simply sourced from broadcast masters. They are licensed by Fox.

Wezzo, I may be confused, I should try and remember that this is a UK production. Here in the US we call what is being peddled here "bootleg copies". If you will notice the first season has no logos whatsoever, which is the US standard. Why would a person pay to view what is readily available on the internet for free? When you buy a legitimate dvd movie you see no logos throughout the movie, the same is applied to a tv series, licensed or not...
 
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