Customer Reviews

Norman Lear TV Collection (19 discs)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Does Sony not realize that anyone who would be willing to fork over $100+ for a set like this is a true completist and would rather have continuations of stalled series such as Maude, One Day at a Time, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, All in the Family or The Jeffersons?

The casual viewer would not be interested in a set this pricey. The first several seasons of most of these shows are available for $10-15 in the bargain bins of your local WalMart on any given day.

The true aficionados WOULD HAVE bought a single or double disc release of the bonus features only that are included on this set for a $20-25 price point, but if Sony thinks we will fork over a ridiculous amount of cash, they are mistaken.

Someone will eventually upload these interviews and lost pilots to Youtube. I will save my money and watch them there, thank you very much!

Sony, I am willing to buy ALL remaining Seasons of Maude, One Day at a Time and Mary Hartman, but it's YOU who chooses not to release them, so it's your company's loss.

I hated Sony before but now, I despise them. Why should we have to buy the first seasons of shows that we already own most of the series (with exceiption of Mary Hartman but, that's not even the complete first season, like they advertise it). Most of the people who would really be interested in the extra features in this set already own the first seasons of these shows and would not be willing to buy them again at such an expensive price. I appreciate Norman Lear's contribution as much as the next guy but, why don't they put all the time any money it takes to make a set like this into releasing the remaining seasons of All in the Family, Maude - The Complete First Season, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time - The Complete First Season

I appreciate Norman Lear's contribution to television, but what are we to make of this massive, pricy set? It contains previously released Season One sets of all of his shows. What about those of us who want the interview material without having to spend over a hundred dollars? Personally I am only interested in "Maude". I want Seasons 2-6, not Season One again. Also, this is a massive "coffee table" type of set, not to everyone's liking. Not everyone has the money or space for this kind of item. It would be useful if the interview material were sold separately so those of us who don't want all of the shows could see what interests us. Fans of "Maude" are not necessary fans of "Good Times". That simple logic seems to have been lost. This release is frustrating, to say the least.

Mixed media indeed. Though I'm curious to see the two unaired "All in the Family" pilots, I can't justify spending so much on shows where I already own every Season One collection I really want. So I won't bother buying this "special collection," though will happily buy future, unreleased season sets of "AITF", "Maude," "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Vol. 2", and "One Day at a Time" if Sony bothers to release them. Why? Because it's NEW PRODUCT, not just previously released material like here. So please continue with new-to-DVD seasons. Until then, I'm not paying for seasons I already have, regardless of how it's packaged!

I thought I'd write this review to warn prospective buyers, that this set does not contain the complete season 1 of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, as the product advertisement claims it does. What it does contain is the previously released episodes 1-25 of the series. (Season 1 actually ran for 130 episodes.) Extra features include the last 2 episodes of season 1 (numbered 129 and 130).

This release of the first seasons of all of these shows, instead of releasing the remainder of shows that haven't had their DVD sets released yet, is an abomination by Sony! Why on earth would they waste time releasing this instead of releasing "All in the Family - Season 7" or "The Jeffersons - Season 7"? Why would anybody want to buy the first seasons again, just because of a few added special features. Sony, stop this horrible treatment of customers, and release the remaining seasons of "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons", to name two.

The press release for this set states:

The Normal Lear Collection includes complete first-season sets of seven of Lear's Emmy Award-winning shows: "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "Maude," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times," "One Day at a Time" and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

The 19-disc set includes more than six hours of new documentaries, featurettes and interviews with such stars as Bea Arthur, Jimmie Walker, Rob Reiner and Adrienne Barbeau. Also included are two never-before-seen pilot episodes for "All in the Family" -- "Those Were the Days" and 1971's "And Justice for All," the latter turned down by ABC before producers tried again at CBS.

End of press release.

Other press releases state that there will not be a complete first season of Mary Hartman included. What is odd about this is that fans of these shows will already have collected the first seasons on DVD long ago and will probably not buy them again just to get the extras. Plus I don't believe that any of these shows have all of their seasons released yet. All of them have held up pretty well over time with the possible exception of "One Day at a Time". That is so timestamped in the 1970's I can't imagine it being the least bit watchable today unless you remember it in its first run and love the nostalgia of it all like I do. "One Day at a Time" actually had its first season released two years ago and I was particularly impressed that Sony made a probably expensive peace with the RIAA and included the original recording of "The Hustle" in the episode that originally featured it. A good thing too, since I couldn't imagine an elevator music substitute in that scene.

With all due respect to the familiar likeness of our beloved Norman Lear, Sony needs to allow the fans of these shows to buy the COMPLETE series! I'm waiting for Season 7 of All in the Family and MORE MORE MORE of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman! Sony, stop insulting us and get to work on remastering the unreleased episodes of these timeless shows before the baby boomer generation blows all of its entertainment dollars on classic TV autograph conventions !!!

How can they be doing this to us. I have waited to get season 7 of All in the Family and season 7 of The Jeffersons forever! I am thinking about getting season 1 of Maude but if I did I would want season 2. I think its unfair to re release them and for us to pay more money for them and to have special features on them and not on the first seasons.

Sure, I had some of these shows in separately released sets, but I love the packaging (a work of art itself) and with over six hours of bonus features, I am in Norman Lear heaven! I even caught one of the rare All In The Family pilots on TV Land some years back, but the OTHER one that has never before been released is a sheer delight! The performances are so different, it makes me wonder what it would have been like if THAT pilot were to have become the basis for the series. If there are any Norman Lear fans out there who are on the fence about getting this collection, I can only say don't let the naysayers sway you. I let them influence me, and I'm sorry I did. Now that I have The Norman Lear Collection, I am completely satisfied!