Muppets Season 1 releases Aug 9, 2005

[MrsPepper]

Beau, do you mean, only having original openings on a few of the episodes?
I suppose that wouldn't be so bad. I wouldn't mind it. I've never seen the original openings myself, so it would be a treat, and having them on only a few episode wouldn't irk me.
But what does irk me is that Disney is selling the set as a "Special Edition", yet we might not even have the original title sequence on the episodes. That's just false advertising. And annoying.

 

[MuppetDanny]

I'm thinking...and I think, what if they include some of the original openings? This, I htink, is most likely. Could it be that they want to keep the new openings for some of the shows for people who are used to that, while including the original openigngs to a number of other shows? I wouldn't be surprised, or mind, if they did that.

That's one possibility, IF the Hensons gave Disney the JH Production prints (the one with Zoot's "Sax & Violence" ending) (the same copies used for "Nick" in the late 90's and the Disney Channel in Australia) where most of the Season 1 shows have their original openings; the exceptions are Rita Moreno, Paul Williams, Charles Aznavour, Lena Horne, Sandy Duncan, Vincent Price, Twiggy, Ethel Merman and Mummenschanz having season 2 openings instead.

 

[Gorgon Heap]

How do you know that, MD?

Does anyone know who one should ask about the original openings, i.e. who to email?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[anathema]

How do you know that, MD?

Easy, he asked me! ;-)

I have a set of off-air recordings from Disney Australia's airings about four years ago. Fifteen of the shows have their original openings; the other nine don't. Coincidentally, those nine shows were released on DVD in France with their original openings intact.

 

[MuppetDanny]

Easy, he asked me! ;-)

I have a set of off-air recordings from Disney Australia's airings about four years ago. Fifteen of the shows have their original openings; the other nine don't. Coincidentally, those nine shows were released on DVD in France with their original openings intact.

you beat me to it anathema

 

[Gorgon Heap]

Easy, he asked me! ;-)

I have a set of off-air recordings from Disney Australia's airings about four years ago. Fifteen of the shows have their original openings; the other nine don't. Coincidentally, those nine shows were released on DVD in France with their original openings intact.

Well, shows there's some hope, but then again in Europe some networks have broadcast the original openings in syndication where American stations had stopped long ago. RTL4 Denmark used the original openings, UK Nickelodeon didn't.

Oh man, I wish GelflingWaldo's source would get back to him with the answer to this crucial question.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[muppet_dk]

RTL4 Denmark used the original openings, UK Nickelodeon didn't.

Hmmm.....RTL4 is not a danish channel I know But DR has access to the orginal openings. And used them when the showed selected episodes of TMS this year and a few years ago.

 

[anathema]

Hmmm.....RTL4 is not a danish channel I know But DR has access to the orginal openings. And used them when the showed selected episodes of TMS this year and a few years ago.

Nah, it's the Netherlands I have some recordings from them with original openings, too. Also, a German TV station has a full set of Season 1 shows with their original openings.

However, regardless of what the broadcasters have, the only country to release the original openings on home video is France (and I'm guessing that only happened because the tapes they used were the original French dubs from the 70s).

 

[muppet_dk]

Nah, it's the Netherlands

I had a feeling that it was a tyical US Dutch/Danish misunderstanding

 

[mattyboy]

most of the Season 1 shows have their original openings; the exceptions are Rita Moreno, Paul Williams, Charles Aznavour, Lena Horne, Sandy Duncan, Vincent Price, Twiggy, Ethel Merman and Mummenschanz having season 2 openings instead.

That's ironic - I remember distinctly in 1994 when The Muppet Show was on Nickelodeon that they only showed those 9 episodes from Season 1 and they had Season 2 openings - those were the ones I taped - quite odd.