MovieChat Forums > Baretta (1975) Discussion > how does this not get syndicated?

how does this not get syndicated?


Apologies if somebody's already cover this--would appreciate a point to the thread--but how are so many crap series on regular cable, and this series is essentially unfindable and always has been?

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[deleted]

Sorry, that should've been "covered"...read before sending, read before sending...

Yeah, I'm completely (and unfortunately) aware of how the business works. Money, not art. Still, I'll guarantee you somebody could make some dollars rebroadcasting episodes of Baretta.

As for today's shows, I don't want to come off as unreasonably nostalgic; in fact, I usually go against that grain. I actually think there's more good stuff to watch now than there ever has been. I just think it's too bad that after all that time, effort, and money, a show disappears essentially forever, or close to it.

I've also had the experience--more than once--of going back to shows I would've sworn were in the best-ever category, only to find that with time and changing tastes, they don't seem as fantastically wonderful as I remembered them. For every Barney Miller (which I think still plays incredibly well, with some of the scripts seeming like they could've been written yesterday, re both quality and relevance), I'll see two, or five, or whatever, that leave me wondering why I thought it was all that great at the time. I'm fairly sure that wouldn't happen with Baretta--which I haven't seen in many years--but then, I wouldn't bet the house on it either.

Regardless, I do think some old-show channel could make some money running it.

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"Baretta" was syndicated plenty in the years after its network run. Nickelodeon TV Land even ran it a year or two before Blake was indicted for killing his wife. It seemed ridiculously bad and out-of-date ten years ago, and I can only imagine the stink attached to Blake makes it even harder to watch now.

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Universal released the first few seasons after Blake was arrested. I cannot
understand why they don't' release the full four seasons on dvd. Money is numero uno to these distributors. Universal should finish what they started and release the entire series if they want to make money.

The show was a quality one, and Robert Blake was perfect in the role. He is still very much a favorite with the public.

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They released the first season, which was a half season, and it completely tanked. That's why they haven't released any more.

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After the show went off the air, it was shown in syndication quite regularly in Chicago. ME-TV tried to bring it back shortly before Blake's indictment, then it was gone.



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It was also shown in local syndication on a TV station here in Toronto where I live (Sun TV) every afternoon in a package of shows from Universal TV along with a package of shows from Warner Bros, and also (I think) on another local station called OMNI.

It may not be rerun anymore because it's past it's prime as a TV show, and also because shows like Mad Men, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The King Of Queens, The Nanny, Arrested Development, and a couple of other are being rerun now (the 90's and early 2000's are now the past, as hard as it is to believe.) Also, it may have been rerun to death.

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I don't know if this still holds true but years ago I read that stations want a show to have at least 100 episodes. That way I guess they won't repeat them as much and 20 episodes will last them about a month if they show it once daily (excluding weekends). It says here that Baretta has only 82 episodes. I just purchased season 1 and I'm looking forward to seeing Robert Blake again (one of my favorites).

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It tanked during a time when season sets were typically $50-75. If released now at a much more affordable price point, they would do very well.

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Actually, from what I've heard, unfortunately, it won't; the market for older TV shows on DVD (with a few notable exceptions) isn't great right now, and so a show like this might not sell at all compared with newer ones, even if it was offered at a lower price.

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The retail price for season one was $25. It was a short season so there's only three discs and there's no special features. If that didn't sell well, then they won't put out other seasons which would have more discs and cost more. It would be great if Hulu streamed it. With the way they trim shows for syndication nowadays, it's not even worth watching reruns on TV.


George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

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The best hope is for it to be made as a MOD (Manufacture On Demand) disc by Universal's version of Warner Archive, but that won't really happen until Universal decides to do that. And as I said, the show is quite old and may be considered dated by viewers. It could also be offered on Netflix.

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I'm watching it right now and it's not at all dated. It's remarkably good.


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To you, yes, it's not dated. To many others these days, it probably is, and that's why it didn't sell in big enough numbers to warrant a second season box set.

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All old shows are dated. The fact is some shows are just better than others. I enjoyed Baretta when I was a kid but looking back it wasn't a GREAT show. Columbo, for example, is still a great show and it's older than Baretta. But the DVDs sold well and it's still rerun today.

George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.

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All old shows are dated. The fact is some shows are just better than others.


Exactamundo and correctamundo! And that's exactly why Baretta isn't seen that much these days compared to Columbo or was successful on DVD-it's not as good as Columbo and never was.

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People, there's a simpler reason why this show has disappeared from cable/syndication and why no other label picked up the show for the rest of its run on DVD as was the case with other titles Universal abandoned after one release (Dragnet, Adam-12 etc.)

The reason is that the tape masters that were used for cable airings are gone. They went up in flames in the big fire at Universal in 2008 that destroyed videotape transfers of other TV shows as well. Some titles had multiple sets of tape transfers out in circulation which is why shows like "Dragnet" etc. were not lost but because "Baretta" was not actively airing on cable at the time, that meant only one set of transfers were accounted for and they are gone. These were the same transfers incidentally used for the Season 1 release.

Now this does not mean the show is gone forever in the sense of no more elements exist. The 35mm film masters the show was originally made on were not affected by the fire (they are kept in a different facility) so it is always theoretically possible for Universal to make a new set of tape masters transferred from the original 35mm film elements. The problem is they won't do this because it would cost a lot of money and unless another cable channel desperately wants the show that much to pay for the transfer costs, it's not going to happen any time soon.

"Switch" is another show that was impacted by the fire so that's why that too will not be seen again or make it to DVD unless another set of transfers turns up that were unaccounted for. The Australian company Madmen in fact searched high and low for a set of "Switch" masters to release on DVD in Region 4, but were unable to find any (though in the process they did find the only set of transfers for the short-lived 80s series "The Law And Harry McGraw" in rough shape).

Bottom line is that the only way you can get episodes beyond Season 1 is to find older syndication/cable recordings. Until then, the story of this show on cable and DVD is at a permanent dead stop.

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All or most of the other 1970s detective shows--Mannix, Kojak, Rockford, etc.--still get shown on channels like MeTV and Decades. Because of Blake's murder trial scandal, it's unlikely we'll see Baretta in reruns again. Whether or not Blake did the crime, he has been cancelled.

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