I would LOVE to see a "special edition" DVD set of the complete 1961 "Alvin Show" series. I loved the cartoons, and I have almost all of the original Chipmunks LP's from the 1960's. (I also have VHS tapes of the original Alvin Show cartoons, taped off a local station in the 1980's.) I liked the 1960's Chipmunks better than the 1980's version of the cartoons. A DVD set is about due, considering that 2008 will be the 50th anniversary of Ross Bagdasarian Sr.'s initial Chipmunks recordings...special features could include the first TV appearance of David Seville and the Chipmunks, when they were conceived as drawings of rodents rather than the now-familiar Alvin, Simon, and Theodore characters that we know and love...this segment, in which they sang "The Chipmunk Song", originally appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in December, 1958. Commercials featuring the Chipmunks, including spots for Jell-O, Post cereals, and Soaky soap, could appear on this DVD set as well. And Capitol Records (which took over Liberty Records, the Chipmunks' original label) could also release 50th anniversary CD's of the original 1950's/1960's Chipmunks albums, all, except for the Christmas albums, have been out of print for years...the CD's could also be tied in with a DVD package as well. Please bring back the Chipmunks on DVD, especially since the characters' 50th anniversary is coming up in 2008.
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tobyradloff
16 years ago
I read recently where 20th Century Fox plans to release the original 1961 "Alvin Show" on DVD in May, which will most likely coincide with the DVD release of the current "Alvin and the Chipmunks" film that's now in the theaters. The 1961 show used mostly Ross Bagdasarian-penned songs as well as common children's songs and standards; the only "iffy" song, copyright-wise, might be "The Alvin Twist", which was taken from Chubby Checker's "The Twist". As for the later "Alvin And The Chipmunks" series from the 1980's, that could very well see a DVD release as well, although there will be more copyright issues involved, since the later series used more copyrighted songs...but there have been several VHS and DVD releases of later Chipmunks stuff in the past. As for sound recordings, I wouldn't be surprised if Capitol issues a 50th anniversary box set of the Chipmunks' 1958-1969 recordings that were originally on Liberty...bonus tracks could include early David Seville tunes such as "The Witch Doctor", "The Bird On My Head", and "The Trouble With Harry", which Ross Bagdasarian Sr. recorded under the name "Alfi and Harry" in 1956. Sony BMG could do the same thing with the later Chipmunks recordings done by Ross Bagdasarian Jr...those recordings were originally on RCA and Sony Wonder, except for the Pickwick-issued "Chipmunk Punk" album from 1980, which was the Chipmunks' comeback album. 2008 will be a big year for Alvin and the Chipmunks, since the characters will be celebrating their 50th anniversary.
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jmfabiano524-1
16 years ago
Toby hit the nail right on the head....I understand TAS is going to come out, but fans of the '80s series might have to wait or be ready to be disappointed, as the popular music they used would be more costly. So either they have to wait, or watch as the show gets WKRP'ed (and hey, who released the DVD set of THAT series???????)
And if The Alvin Twist gets deleted, I will take names....I was obsessed with that short when they were seen on Nickelodeon ("What if the girls start screaming, and I go into a trance and do the twist?") It's a parody so it could get by, but The Tick lost some episodes on DVD due to pulling episodes with parodies of copyrighted characters.
J.
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tobyradloff
16 years ago
I still haven't heard of a release date, or whether the company that is supposedly putting out the DVD set is going to be 20th Century Fox. Where I read about the supposed May DVD release of "The Alvin Show" was on Wikipedia; where the source was that posted that there I couldn't find. I found nothing about an "Alvin Show" DVD release on DVDVerdict.com, a couple of other DVD sites, as well as Fox Home Video's own web site. Fox is releasing the DVD of the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie on April 1, and several Chipmunks titles (from the 1980's era) that were previously released on VHS and DVD are being reissued in April. Nothing yet about the 1961 "Alvin Show" or the 1980's "Alvin and the Chipmunks" TV series yet. Wikipedia is not that reliable of a source; perhaps some big fan of the series who had wishful thinking posted that. But I wouldn't be surprised if both TV series eventually got DVD releases, since 2008 is Alvin and the Chipmunks' 50th anniversary. If indeed the rumor is true about a May release of the 1961 TV series, I will definitely place my order with Amazon once I get an actual release date.
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heidi-237
16 years ago
tobyradloff - I really appreciate your information. Count me among the baby-boomers who LOVED the original show and would be thrilled to be able to buy it as a DVD set! I was so excited to find a copy of Life magazine from 1959 that has an article inside about Ross Bagdasarian. I so hope it is true that it may be released soon.
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minerals
16 years ago
One thing i can say is if sometime in May they did release this original show on DVD it would be good becuase i was born in 1981 and i want to see the original show of those chipmunks becuase of that crazy scientist clyde crashcup because i have only seen the one bit where he appears a short time on that special titled "A Chipmunk Christmas" One thing I have to tell all of you is I have found out that because of how good the live action Alvin and the Chipmunks movie has done they plan to make a sequel that will include the three Chipettes. So right there if they do make a sequel and it does good then they will have to release the 1980's cartoon because of how that is where the Chipettes are first introduced. I have to say that no matter what version we watch I can not get enough out of hearing Dave yelling at Alvin!
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auteur_theory
16 years ago
YES! Finally, the wait will be over soon. 20th Century Fox is releasing the complete series on one big box set sometime in 08 or 09. reason why: they are re-releasing everything chipmunk after the success of the new movie and a sequel in 09 with THE CHIPETTES starring, Jason Lee (Dave), Justin Long (Alvin) and Drew Barrymore (Brittany the chipette)
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diceroller
16 years ago
>< NO, Really so we have no realease date yet?? just '08 or '09??
btw. thats cool about a sequal, but 'The Alvin Show' is REALLY coming to DVD???
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tobyradloff
15 years ago
Paramount recently released a DVD called "The Very First Alvin Show", which features the pilot episode, as well as two 1980's Chipmunks segments. I am still hoping that a "complete series" DVD set would someday be released by Paramount.
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