Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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262 of 272 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A terrible thing to do to a wonderful series, January 10, 2005
I am reviewing this DVD set, not the series, which is one of my favorites.
I pre-ordered this DVD set as soon as I possibly could, so that I could replace my not-very-high-quality, copied-from-TV episodes on bulky VHS tapes with clean copies on a few DVD's. It had been a while since I had watched the episodes, so I didn't notice anything wrong until I reached "Good Morning, Peoria." When Chick and Rachel were dancing that romantic dance, all I could think was, "Huh? What the heck happened to the music? Wasn't there a *real* song there before?" So I did some digging on the Internet, to make sure my memory wasn't playing tricks on me, and was absolutely horrified to discover that the music in various episodes had been changed. Most especially I was flabbergasted that they messed with the soundtrack of "M.I.A." That is one of the best episodes in the series, and the music felt as much a part of the story as the words. I played the final scene from the DVD, and it was awful, dreadful; the music was no longer a presence, it was just some background noise. Thank heaven I was able to retrieve my old VHS tapes. I played the same scene from them. Even with a grainy, dark picture, the original packed more of a wallop. It wasn't just "Georgia On My Mind," it was also "Unchained Melody," with its wrenchingly appropriate lyrics - "My darling, I hunger for your touch; are you still mine?"
I cannot believe that Universal was unable to get permission to use the original music; so it must have been a question of money. It isn't as if this was a super-cheap set to begin with, but I would not have minded paying a few more dollars to cover the royalties for the songs, so that I could have the real show. I don't care about extras on the DVD's - I don't need interviews, or commentaries, or behind-the-scenes stories, but I do care about being able to watch the show that I loved. And for Universal to release these pitiably maimed things without warning of the changes is an outrage.
What's next? To save money on royalties, dub in the voice of little Johnny Doe from the high school drama club instead of Clark Gable's as Rhett Butler? "American Graffiti" with Muzak-type songs instead of the original classics?
This whole series is about time travel, and one of the most effective ways to evoke a particular time period is to play the music of that time. The unmemorable pap that replaced the classic songs on these DVD's does nothing, *nothing* to add to the show.
I might keep this set, simply because of the terrible reception my TV got when I originally taped the episodes, but I'm not sure; and I will think long and hard before I order the third season.
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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A lot more than "Georgia On My Mind" is missing, January 8, 2005
If you do an internet search with the words "Quantum Leap: The Definitive Music List" you can find a complete list of all the songs that have been removed, along with the episode they were originally in, and also the famous songs that were not removed. Here's a quick rundown of the songs that are missing:
DISCO INFERNO:
"That's the Way I Like It" by K.C. & The Sunshine Band; "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas; "Do The Hustle" by Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony.
GOOD MORNING, PEORIA:
"All Shook Up" by Elvis Presley; "Maybe Baby" by Buddy Holly & The Crickets; "Yakkety Yak (Don't Talk Back)" by The Coasters; "Jail House Rock" by Elvis Presley; "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.
THOU SHALT NOT:
"Locomotion" by Little Eva; "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack.
ANIMAL FRAT:
"Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen (even though you can see characters mouthing the words in the episode); "Surfin' USA" by The Beach Boys; "I Can't Help Myself" by The Temptations.
ANOTHER MOTHER:
"Call Me" by Blondie; "Shake It Up" by The Cars; "He's So Shy" by The Pointer Sisters.
ALL-AMERICANS:
"Big Girls Don't Cry" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons; "The Twist" by Chubby Checker.
LEAPING IN WITHOUT A NET:
"Tequila" by The Champs.
MAYBE BABY:
"Runaway" by Del Shannon; "Dancing In the Streets" by Martha and The Vandellas.
M.I.A.:
"Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding; "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert and His Tijuana Brass Band; "Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross & The Supremes; "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers; "Georgia On My Mind" by Ray Charles.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
DVD set a huge disappointment, December 14, 2004
Dear me, where do I start? So much to complain about. :(
First thing I noticed was that the box image is obviously faked. Scott B.'s and Dean S.'s heads are pasted on the bodies of models. Just inspect Sam's neck and you'll see the joins! One must ask: WHY?!?!
Next, I opened the box, and frowned at the photo of Al, which is not even from Season 2! Unfortunately, my disappointment grew as I open the foldout further. The pocket for the booklet is just an advertisement for other Universal box sets, which if they get the same shoddy treatment as QL then I will be steering way clear of.
And what's this? Only three DVDs? Can Universal get any cheaper than this, to give us 3 x double sided DVDs instead of the usual 6 x single discs?
The actual video transfer is something of a disappointment too. Not only do we have the "cut original music", as mentioned by others (WHICH IS HUGE! see below), but there are numerous visual crackles and pops from the original film present throughout. Absolutely no cleanup was done here. I realize this series was filmed before digital recording came into vogue, but so was my Abbott and Costello box set, and they cleaned up nicely! No one put any effort in here. That said, the transfer is of good color and is fairly crisp, although with a few sequences looking a little grainy. It still looks better than VHS.
The back of the digi pack states "Bonus Material" on the B Side of Disc 3. Well, it ain't there! Nada, as Al would say.
Now... The Music: This is the biggest disappointment of them all, esp for longtime fans. It's not just "Georgia On My Mind" that has been removed, which you might think because other reviews focus on mentioning this song. Fans should be aware that the ENTIRE SEASON has been edited to remove virtually all of the original soundtrack. This is unforgivable. To me, the music was the heart and soul of the era Sam was in. It immersed the viewer in that time period, as was as important to the show in this respect as, say, clothes of the period. Without it, things just fall flat.
*** *** Update *** ***
Here's a list of what's missing:
"Disco Inferno" - 3 songs deleted
"Good Morning Peoria" - 7 songs deleted
"Thou Shalt Not" - 2 songs deleted
"Animal Frat" - 3 songs deleted
"Another Mother" - 4 songs deleted
"All-Americans" - 4 songs deleted
"Leaping in Without a Net" - 1 song deleted
"Maybe Baby" - 2 songs deleted
"MIA" - 5 songs deleted
Total = 31 of the original songs have been deleted and replaced by generic musak.
*** *** *** *** ***
Someone at Universal should be fired for making this decision. At the very least, making mention of these edits should be noted somewhere on the outside packaging. Instead, we are misled and told it is the "Complete" season.
All in all, this box set is a huge disappointment. I bought it (along with season 1) to replace my aging, fuzzy, VHS TV copies. To this end, I must conclude that while they are better visual quality than my VHS tapes, this set is in no way "complete" or even a valid replacement. I was expecting a lot more from something I intend to keep and enjoy forever. I guess I'm just going to have to keep my VHS tapes a while longer.
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