Tweaking TV History
Posted October 20th, 2005 by RD Heldenfels
I was looking at an upcoming re-release of "Sex and the City" on DVD when I noticed a significant change in one episode. Samantha, a social outcast after a prominent matron caught her with the matron's husband, redeemed herself by making contact with John F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy himself did not appear in the episode, being presented instead as a figure in a shining light; it was a funny little bit.
But we all know that Kennedy came to a sad end, and "Sex and the City" took that into consideration. Kennedy's name was later edited out of the episode, and Leonardo DiCaprio's substituted. It's the revised version that is preserved on DVD.
And it made me cranky.
TV shows on DVD should preserve the programs as they were first shown. They often do not, notably by substituting music from the original telecasts, or by distributing episodes as they were edited for syndication, which means that shows have been trimmed to make room for more commercials. The "Sex and the City" cut is another way of reshaping a show for the historical record, and one that makes the series less a part of the time in which it was made.
Should the show also, then, take out all references to designers and shoemakers from the show's heyday, replacing them with chic names of the current moment? Should Leo's name now give way to a shinier, younger actor?
October 21st, 2005 at 10:25 am
I could not agree with you more, Rich.
True fans want to buy the series they fell in love with AS they fell in love with them.
Sure, seeing the occasional NYC establishing shot with the Twin Towers is a bit jarring in older shows. But these series took place in a certain time and place, were part of fans' lives in that same time and place.
What next? Digitally tinkering with "I Love Lucy" so that no one is ever seen smoking a cigarette?
October 21st, 2005 at 11:07 am
i was watching king kong, on WE, the other night (dont ask)… would that they were to have gone about removing the twin towers there… the movie (and therefore the ape) would have never gotten off the ground… truth be told, i am worried LEO could me just as an untimely and/or unfortunate ending as JKK jr… then… what would happen, would HBO recall the DVDs to substitue another piece of male meat… (also, where does this put the great seinfeld ep "the contest"… wasnt JFK jr the reason for elaine's loss?)
October 21st, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Good points, both of you. Frank, "The Contest" episode of "Seinfeld" does indeed have repeated references to JFK Jr., both in Elaine's situation and with regard to "The Virgin" (continuing from the episode before '['The Contest"). And the episode remains that way in its DVD version.
Funny you should mention "I Love Lucy" and smoking, Mark. The series was sponsored by a cigarette company and the opening of the show included a large cigarette pack. (The credits over a heart were introduced later, for reruns.) The DVDs have included the cigarette-pack opening, but as a bonus feature, with the heart opening used on the episodes themselves.
October 21st, 2005 at 10:21 pm
I can't believe they did that. That's a little much if you ask me. However, what really gets me is when pivotal music is replaced on the dvd version. I know getting the rights to certain music clips can be expensive (and that expense can be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher dvd prices), but I can't stand when I watching Dawson's Creek on dvd anymore. They couldn't afford music, so the producers often substituted subpar music into the void(Yes, I know there are many Dawson's critics out there, but I'm sure they can relate to essence of the story.). Also, Joan of Arcadia didn't even preserve the credit sequence at the beginning of each episode because they had to decide between music in the episode and Joan Osborne's song, "What If God Was One of Us."
October 22nd, 2005 at 5:11 am
Right you are, Tina, and that's something I have written about several times in my DVD column. For example, a recent PBS documentary about the '60s included quite a bit of music from the period but the DVD of it has generic sounds — even in a place where the narration refers to a specific song. And the DVD of "Providence" did not include the show's opening version of "In My Life."