[78-L] Dean Martin Question - New Tilme-Life DVD

[Thomas Stern]

this from ASK.COM:
 From 2003 until August 2007, a 29-volume Best of The Dean Martin Variety Show collection was sold by direct marketing firm
Guthy-Renker via infomercials and a website.

In mid-2007, NBC Universal filed suit in U.S. District Court against several parties, including Guthy-Renker, claiming copyright
infringement, forcing G-R to temporarily withdraw the DVDs from sale.[4] The lawsuit was in regard to a dispute over rights to
footage used in the DVD series , material to which NBC claimed it still held the copyright.[4] The conflict was discovered when
NBC Universal looked into plans to release its own DVD set.

Also named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit was longtime Dean Martin Show producer Greg Garrison, who, NBC claims, had
rights to use only excerpts from selected episodes of The Dean Martin Show[4] for the DVDs-episodes which, according to NBC,
Garrison purchased years earlier from the network for a syndicated run of The Dean Martin Show that aired worldwide from 1979 to
1981. Garrison died in 2005, before the lawsuit was brought forward.[5]

A settlement among all of the parties to the suit was reached on January 2, 2008. As a consequence, the Guthy-Renker website once
again began selling the collection, and infomercials advertising it returned to the small screen.[6]

There remain two other lawsuits pending over rights to material used in the Best of Dean Martin Variety Show series, but neither
of those suits affected sales of the home video collection[7]

Unaffected by legal disputes were the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials, which continue to be marketed on DVD by Guthy-Renker.
Total revenues from Dean Martin DVD sales have been rumored to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The Martin shows have
not been on television since their original telecasts.

On February 3, 2011, it was revealed that a brand new package of DVDs featuring footage from The Dean Martin Show would be
released on May 24, 2011 by Time-Life Video. Unlike the earlier Guthy-Renker collection, which was marketed via mail order
subscription, these new sets would be aimed largely at the retail sector. [8]

On March 21, 2011, NBC Universal TV Consumer Products Group issued a press release disclosing its participation with Time-Life on
the project.[9]

On April 3, 2011, more details emerged about the content of the new DVDs, including:

1) what guest stars would be featured, and from which original episodes the footage would be taken[10];

2) the fact that the new products - unlike the older ones from Guthy-Renker that featured a mix of bits and pieces drawn from
various episodes and seasons of The Dean Martin Show - would be arranged by individual episodes (albeit edited ones)[10];

3) the fact that NBC and Time-Life hold the rights to release additional volumes of Dean Martin Show material in the future[10];

4) the fact that although Greg Garrison Productions has no involvement in the production of the new DVD sets, its partnership with
Guthy-Renker has been permitted to continue to sell the 29 volumes of Dean Martin Show footage that G-R has already produced[10].

In an online report posted July 9, 2011, Deana Martin, one of Dean's daughters, told columnists Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
that the first sets of Dean Martin Show DVDs released by Time-Life in the late Spring had sold so well that a second collection
was already being planned, and that she (Deana) would be contributing commentary to it.[11]This information has been independently
confirmed by officials at both Time-Life and NBCUniversal.[12]


-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com]On Behalf Of Steve Ramm
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 8:27 PM
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
Subject: Re: [78-L] Dean Martin Question - New Tilme-Life DVD



I don't have the Guthy Renker set but I do have new 6-DVD set and frankly I was disapointed. It's only exceprts and there are
virtually no solo Deans. They spend a lot of time on the comedy. The think that made this different than the G-R set is that these
are grouped by show. There is the opening and then from 18 -35 minutes of a show and then the final credits (so you can see who
was edited out). The G-R are just excepts in no sequence.

The quality of the image varies too. Just my opinion.

Steve


> From: sternth at attglobal.net
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 16:47:58 -0400
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Dean Martin Question
>
> I've seen the Time-Life set at COSTCO, about $5 per dvd (a 6 DVD package for $30).
> The Guthy Renker seems to me to be a rip-off - outrageously overpriced.
> They seem to draw on the same material, but I haven't done a segment by segment comparison.
> There is a Woody Allen performance on both that is the same.
>
> Do you have a contents list for the Guthy Renker material? I think the Time Life
> segments are listed on their website.
>
> Best wishes, Thomas.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com]On Behalf Of Jeff Sultanof
> Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 4:38 PM
> To: 78-L Mail List
> Subject: [78-L] Dean Martin Question
>
>
> I hope there are one or two Dean Martin fans out there who can answer this
> question.
>
> Guthy-Renker currently sells DVDs of the Best of the Dean Martin Show, 29
> DVDs in all (I'm not talking here about the roasts). Supposedly producer
> Greg Garrison purchased several segments of the show from NBC and created
> these DVDs from those segments.
>
> There is now a set from Time-Life of Dean Martin Show excerpts. Can anyone
> tell me if these are comprised of different material from the Guthy-Renker
> series, or do they draw from the same episodes?
>
> Many thanks,
> Jeff
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