"Amounting to less than five minutes of footage within the 50-plus hours of entertainment, the issues encompass one 60-second dropped scene in the episode entitled Marsha’s Scheme of Diamonds; a brief piece of rarely-heard William Dozier narration that originally opened the pilot episode, Hi Diddle Riddle; and an assembly of villain tags from the end of assorted episodes.
“The restoration process of this footage – spanning 48 years and two major studios – has been a super heroic task, and we deeply regret even the smallest of glitches occurring in that process,” said Rosemary Markson, Senior Vice President, TV Brand Management & Retail Marketing, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. “We recognize our obligation to the fans of this landmark series, and we have worked diligently to identify all issues and provide resolutions as quickly as possible.”
To resolve these issues for consumers purchasing Batman: The Complete Television Series, WBHE will make available complete replacement discs for the discs that originally included the episodes Marsha’s Scheme of Diamonds and Hi Diddle Riddle. The villain tags will be re-issued as an assembled string on one of the aforementioned discs and, as an added bonus, WBHE has acquired rights and legal clearances to both a Bat-vehicle teaser that originally aired as part of the second season-opening Shoot a Crooked Arrow episode, and one of the original promotional tags that aired on the original showing of the The Duo Defy episode. Additionally, all fixes will be made to all Digital HD versions of Batman: The Complete Television Series.
To obtain the replacement discs, consumers who have purchased Batman: The Complete Television Series are directed to www.warnerbros.com/help/customer-service.
Worldwide demand for the Limited Edition box set of Batman: The Complete Television Series has been tremendous, resulting in widespread retailer sellouts and rapidly dwindling inventories heading into the holiday season. To fulfill consumer interest, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced a new streamlined Blu-ray™ box set that includes all 120 episodes and matching enhanced content from the limited edition set, but without the added premium items or Digital HD copy. Purchasers of this set will also need to utilize the customer service website to obtain replacement discs.”
So there you go. Hats off to Warner for addressing this issue as quickly as possible (and in a comprehensive and thorough manner) for fans.
Back tomorrow. Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt