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Post by justwall on May 1, 2016 19:28:38 GMT -5
Yes I want to ask again why they won't air the old Our Gang Little Rascals black and white TV show on TV? Will there ever be a chance for them to put it back on the air again? They should air it on MeTv.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2016 19:59:41 GMT -5
Ugh... here we go again.
This question was asked before, and I will explain the reason why The Little Rascals black-and-white episodes are never appearing on TV anymore:
1. Most of the generation who grew up with the theatrical shorts have passed away, or are nearing death. This is credited to ratings being in decline in the last decade. Some theatrical shorts are gradually entering the public domain, if I recall.
2. There is also fear of politically incorrect material and negative references towards certain people. There could be such references that could spark outrage.
3. There are tons of DVD sets of the black-and-white theatrical shorts, if I recall. There may be some DVD sets that contain the post-Hal Roach era shorts.
If you want to broaden the question to include the 1980s animated series, there are two possible reasons:
1. The animated series is owned by multlple companies. CBS Television Distribution owns the Little Rascals brand, but more than one company may share the ownership of the animated series.
2. The series may be banned from being rebroadcast in the U.S. and also banned from home video releases possibly due to Eugene "POrky" Lee suing Hanna-Barbera Studios for using his likeliness without his consent. The ban may be part of the conditions of the settlement. Even though Lee passed away in 2005, his estate is likely respecting his wishes and the ban remains in effect.
Plus, it was announced by Warner Archive on Facebook on April 23, 2016, that the animated series is not cleared for a DVD release. This may be due to the ban from Lee's lawsuit.
Hope this clears things up.
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Post by tboneator64 on May 2, 2016 10:33:24 GMT -5
I'll add further that broadcast rights issues prevent "The Little Rascals" shorts airing in Canada, as the current U.S. based rights holders of the Hal Roach Sound Library chose not to splurge for sub licensing these for Canadian Broadcasting. Thus, we don't even get to view the occasional TCM airings of the 1929-38 'Our Gang' shorts. The later MGM one reelers are another matter! Of course, our current Cable Provider can't get TCM at all (Rights issues sometimes rear their ugly heads, even amongst competing Cable & Satellite providers regarding stations they can and can't carry, it appears!), so for me, the above points are moot. Thankfully, I have every 'Our Gang' sound short from the Hal Roach and MGM eras, plus the recently released Warner Archive DVD-R of their only Feature Film, GENERAL SPANKY (1936), so I'm well covered that way! That's too bad about the animated series not having clearance for DVD release! While I was aware of their existence in the 1980s, I was in my mostly non viewing Saturday Morning cartoon mode at that time, so I probably only caught snippets here and there. Your stating the case of Eugene "Porky" Lee's lawsuit against Hanna Barbera reminds me of the situation with Tommy "Butch" Bond's seeking compensation for the airing of his 'Our Gang' appearances and TCM deciding to simply not broadcast the MGM 'Our Gang' shorts in which he appeared. It's too bad that a deal agreeable to both parties couldn't be reached in either case, as it seems that everybody loses, including the potential viewers, but so it goes! CHEERS!  |
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Post by mtw12055 on May 2, 2016 11:08:02 GMT -5
The whole 'likeness' issue is a confusing mess. King World owned the rights to the Rascals, which apparently gave them permission to use the kids' likenesses in merchandise and such. But you'd think that the Rascals themselves would technically own their own likenesses. It's difficult to say what the kids' Hal Roach contracts said about the matter, but the reason why Tommy Bond was eventually able to sue (apparently both) Turner and King World was because he was never under any contract during his period as "Butch." With that in mind, it's hard to say if Porky would have won that lawsuit. After all, Porky (and the other kids, for that matter) were all over TV through the black-and-white re-runs and were unable to receive any kind of payment due to what their contracts said.
But again, you'd think a person would own the rights to their own face!
Either way, I doubt the lawsuit would still be going on. Warners being unable to release the series likely has more to do with CBS's ownership of the Rascals.
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Post by tboneator64 on May 2, 2016 12:21:52 GMT -5
The whole 'likeness' issue is a confusing mess. King World owned the rights to the Rascals, which apparently gave them permission to use the kids' likenesses in merchandise and such. But you'd think that the Rascals themselves would technically own their own likenesses. It's difficult to say what the kids' Hal Roach contracts said about the matter, but the reason why Tommy Bond was eventually able to sue (apparently both) Turner and King World was because he was never under any contract during his period as "Butch." With that in mind, it's hard to say if Porky would have won that lawsuit. After all, Porky (and the other kids, for that matter) were all over TV through the black-and-white re-runs and were unable to receive any kind of payment due to what their contracts said. But again, you'd think a person would own the rights to their own face! Either way, I doubt the lawsuit would still be going on. Warners being unable to release the series likely has more to do with CBS's ownership of the Rascals. The likeness issue certainly didn't appear to have any effect on the eventual release of the entire 'Our Gang' Sound Film Library, either! Of course, we only have to look to Laurel & Hardy to discover just how complicated and confusing the 'likeness' issue can become when it pertains to anything outside of the original live action Films, and sometimes apparently even within them, in the case of Tommy "Butch" Bond, in terms of commercial broadcast! "A confusing mess" is indeed, a most apt phrase! CHEERS! |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2016 15:45:02 GMT -5
Maybe Eugene Lee hated the animated version of Porky, perhaps?
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Post by myhomeo on May 2, 2016 16:34:41 GMT -5
Another possible reason for the original shorts not being aired: It's quite possible younger viewers just aren't interested. It's hard enough getting them to watch black and white material anyway.
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Post by mtw12055 on May 2, 2016 17:14:09 GMT -5
Yeah, not to be pessimistic, but I think the main reason is just lack of interest and not knowing what to do. It's a toss-up between "they're too old" and "they're too politically incorrect." CBS seems to have difficulty marketing the Rascals in the 21st century. Their 'sell sheet' treats the series as though it's "Barney & Friends." www.cbsconsumerproducts.com/tvcity/pdf/little_rascals.pdfOn the plus side, home video sales still seem to be going well enough. |
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Post by tboneator64 on May 3, 2016 18:19:22 GMT -5
Yeah, not to be pessimistic, but I think the main reason is just lack of interest and not knowing what to do. It's a toss-up between "they're too old" and "they're too politically incorrect." CBS seems to have difficulty marketing the Rascals in the 21st century. Their 'sell sheet' treats the series as though it's "Barney & Friends." www.cbsconsumerproducts.com/tvcity/pdf/little_rascals.pdfOn the plus side, home video sales still seem to be going well enough. For better or worse, home video is the best, and often, the only way to view the sound era shorts. On that end, it's too bad that a number of the RHI/Vivendi volumes have gone out of print! I'm sure glad that I picked these up a few years back! As for the Hanna Barbera cartoons, if I ever get to view these in a proper release, great. However, if I don't, it won't bother me too much, as my preference is for the Theatrical Shorts, especially the Hal Roach Talkies! I've recently decided that I'm in no great hurry to get the available MGM Silents, at least for the moment. There's just too many other titles that I desire, but sadly, not even an almost sufficient budget to accommodate all of these! Frankly, we're also at a stage in life where, much as it pains me, we'll probably have to amp up the purging since sooner or later, we'll be living in much smaller accommodations, if you get my meaning! CHEERS! |
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 18:37:49 GMT -5
I'll add further that broadcast rights issues prevent "The Little Rascals" shorts airing in Canada, as the current U.S. based rights holders of the Hal Roach Sound Library chose not to splurge for sub licensing these for Canadian Broadcasting. Thus, we don't even get to view the occasional TCM airings of the 1929-38 'Our Gang' shorts. The later MGM one reelers are another matter! Actually, ASN (Atlantic Satellite Network) in Atlantic Canada did air the Little Rascals animated series in syndication from 1983 to 1984. It aired on Monday afternoons at 12:30 p.m. Atlantic Time. But yeah, I don't think I ever heard tell of the black and white episodes ever airing in Canada except through the feed from U.S. affiliates (especially Detroit). The 1994 feature length movie did get shown in Canada, though. But at least the VHS and DVD releases of black-and-white episodes were available in Canada. Bought some Cabin Fever VHS tapes at Wal-Mart in the late-90s, and boy, were they dirt cheap. |
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