Your Thoughts: A Special Sesame Street Christmas DVD and CD

[Bannanasketch]

I think we can all agree on this... the real travesty is that, as far as Muppet Specials owned by Third parties that center on celebrity appearances go, THIS got released instead of The Great Santa Claus Switch. We're chomping at the bit to see GSCS. We'd sell our collective kidneys to see GSCS. How come we never get GSCS?

 

[Oscarfan]

I wish they'd put that on DVD; they played a clip at a holiday-related montage at the Museum of Moving Image last year and it looks superb compared to what's on YouTube.

 

[minor muppetz]

I think we can all agree on this... the real travesty is that, as far as Muppet Specials owned by Third parties that center on celebrity appearances go, THIS got released instead of The Great Santa Claus Switch. We're chomping at the bit to see GSCS. We'd sell our collective kidneys to see GSCS. How come we never get GSCS?

Should we petition for the rights holders to release this one? Of course that one isn't exactly full of celebrity appearances (just Art Carney... and Ed Sullivan if he counts).

The comment about Muppet specials owned by third parties that center on celebrity appearances seems more fitting for Out to Lunch. I'd like to see that one released, especially since most of us haven't seen it (a few clips have been screened at Henson events in the last few years). Though I think somebody on Muppet Wiki who has a copy of the script said that most of the special doesn't seem too great (of course that's just from judging the script).

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I believe the Ed Sullivan estate owns The Great Santa Clause Switch as it aired as an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. They released most of the Muppet appearances from that show on DVD, I don't see why releasing The Great Santa Clause Switch is such a problem.

 

[Mo Frackle]

I think it almost got a DVD release around 2002/2003 shortly after The Ed Sullivan Show Muppet segments were out.

 

[minor muppetz]

I think it almost got a DVD release around 2002/2003 shortly after The Ed Sullivan Show Muppet segments were out.

I was hoping a release would have come out then. I also wishfully thought it should contain all the Ed Sullivan appearances not on the Muppets Magic DVD as a bonus feature (most of the segments not included were due to music rights, but rights were cleared for one segment to appear on a different Ed Sullivan DVD).

 

[Drtooth]

I wish they'd put that on DVD; they played a clip at a holiday-related montage at the Museum of Moving Image last year and it looks superb compared to what's on YouTube.

Heh! Look at that! It is on Youtube.

Still would rather a DVD, though.

 

[D'Snowth]

I believe the Ed Sullivan estate owns The Great Santa Clause Switch as it aired as an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. They released most of the Muppet appearances from that show on DVD, I don't see why releasing The Great Santa Clause Switch is such a problem.

I hate to say it, but it's stuff like this that kind of makes me realize that Jim wasn't exactly a very business-savvy. I mean, aside from the SST Muppets (up until 2000), it's like he, or company, never even owned the rights to what he created... and it was Walt Disney himself who said never sell anything you create. I know Caroll Spinney said it wasn't until years later, when Lord Grade went bankrupt, that Jim was finally able to regain the actual rights to TMS, TMM, and GMC.

 

[Drtooth]

That's a bit Harsh. Remember, production companies traditionally seek out other production companies, and while Dreamworks owns all it's films, it constantly needs partners to distribute those films in theaters.

Especially since Santa Claus Switch was fairly early in Jim's career before he even really had much of a production company. The only films Henson (now Disney) didn't own were the ones released by Columbia/Sony. And Henson owned the rights to Sesame Street Muppet characters until the EMTV sale.

 

[D'Snowth]

Not trying to be harsh, I'm just saying.

There WERE some positives from the way Jim handled his business, as with the case of TMS, at least Lord Grade let him have free reign over the show and let him do whatever he wanted to, most execs always try to obtain as much of the creative control themselves to the point it's not the same show the creator had invented, but rather, the show the network thinks it wants to have.

But, at least back then, these people also willingly acknowledge that Jim was the visionary behind these things, whereas today, Disney is pretty much doing all it can to erase Jim's name from the Muppets altogether.