O/T Steptoe and Son Series 3 DVD

[Laurence Piper]

The shelves are full of DVD box sets of classic TV of every kind and Steptoe is as much a classic as any of the others yet it's also one of the poorest in terms of presentation. I don't know which of Andy's niche crowds I fit into but if it's a series that is good enough to get quoted in all the docs as one of the best of it's kind. And if the writers are considered worthy of getting an Arena special devoted to them (much of which concentrated on Steptoe) then it deserves better than this. No excuses. BBC releases are generally the worst of all the companies. They need to sharpen their act.

[Gary Robinson]

Scampi and Black Forest Gateaux crowd is that what Galton and Simpson were eating in the restaurant?,or is it a title for one of the new evening plays?.

[Laurence Piper]

What evening plays are they then? Didn't know about that. Bet they're all filmised and not real plays at all though, like the afternoon ones!

[Gary Robinson]

Exactly,mushy peas and chips!

[Andy Henderson]

I recently have bought 'Coast' and 'A History of Britain' - both excellent BBC DVDs. In the case of BBC comedy like 'Steptoe', the aiming point is probably mass market at a budget to mid price range. The main catch aren't tv enthusiasts, which Laurence belongs to. Certainly the guy I knew who worked for a well known DVD company specialising in older material explained that they aimed at the 'wealthy' 50+ bracket, who liked 'a bargain', bought on impulse and nostalgia. They couldn't care less if the picture was grainy, it is the programme they are interested in.

[Nigel Blunt]

So, no VIDFIRE or COLORIZATION again? I bet they haven't even remixed the SOUND.

[Andy Henderson]

If they had tampered with the Steptoes, someone on here would probably be moaning - 'wish they would leave them alone'!

[Gary Robinson]

Question to the BBC,who were the Steptoe and Son DVD releases aimed at?
A.Spotty Herberts
B.Scampi and Black Forest Gateaux crowd
C.Mass Market
D.Loaded 50+ crowd

[Laurence Piper]

I don't really care who it's aimed at. Steptoe has a broad audience and deserves better treatment.

[Andy Henderson]

I don't think the Steptoe DVDs look that bad anyway. In many respects, the grain and the b/w gives them atmosphere. There are far worse film recordings (judging by picture quality). I don't think there is a broad audience for the show anymore, just in the same way that Morcambe and Wise have slowly faded from the public consciousness. As far as the business sense in releasing more expensive 'collector editions', there isn't much in the way of material that could be used as support extras. In a Utopian world everything would be better, but I do wonder if the people who complain about DVDs have worked in a business world and had to budget on a large scale project?

[Gary Robinson]

How much would it cost to clean a print up(Get rid of tramlines etc)cant be that much with todays technology?

[Fluff Not Alf]

Gary said:

How much would it cost to clean a print up(Get rid of tramlines etc)cant be that much with todays technology?

Probably between £1500-2000 per half hour episode, to gold standard quality (this includes going back to the best film copy and transferring on the best equipment which is a good start for restoration).

[Laurence Piper]

Certain shows deserve to get the full treatment on DVD. If Steptoe doesn't qualify as one of those then I just don't know what does! If it has faded from view then that's only because of a lack of proper repeat seasons in recent years (unlike other shows that get repeated to death). I recall though that the "lost" Steptoes got notably high ratings in the '90s when they were systematically screened (and from substandard recordings, a repeat from which was a "first" in itself). Interest in anything has to be stimulated anyway -. something that TV doesn't do very well when it comes to it's own past, although the medium is used as a graveyard for every old cinema movie under the sun, year in year out.

I can't see how the graininess and general poor unrestored prints gives the Steptoes atmosphere though; it just makes them look much older and hissier than they really need be. What was once on crisp videotape at the height of the swinging '60s now looks it was made in the same era as a Buster Keaton silent (it doesn't say much for all the spectacular work of the Doctor Who restoration team or some of Network Videos lovingly restored releases either). It just makes hard work of watching something that should be a real pleasure! I think that people will buy something once but if the package is substandard then they'll be shy again (and then all the told-you-sos can cry out that "these old shows" don't sell" - but it's a self-fulfilling prophesy if you aren't seen to care for a series and chuck out cheap, no-budget releases in an age where restoration and special editions are everything). The chickens will come home to roost eventually. You can only get away with something for so long...

[Stephen Doran]

whats the pic like on "the three feathers",ive seen vhs copies quite liney?

[Andy Henderson]

"The chickens will come home to roost eventually. You can only get away with something for so long... "

You again ignore commercial considerations. I bought the 'definitive' (full price) Spacecraft set for the Moon Landing and the whole moonwalk is a b/w film recording. Now earlier this week, we had the pleasure of seeing the BBC's videotape of the same footage.

There is no comparison, the BBC footage is better. However, I accept that the official NASA archive may only have kept a film recording. Sometimes things just work that way. Now, it should have been VT and the moon landing footage is historically more important that Steptoe.

I doubt though if any of the people buying the set really noticed they were watching a kinescope.