Friday, April 6, 2007

WHAT TO DO

The question keeps popping up, from friends, fans, family and press…”What can I (we) do to help? What can be done to assure our getting the entire series on DVD and not just these first 22?” I have to tell you, it warms this old guy’s heart. Still “old guy” is the operative phrase and I am getting a bit weary of manning the balustrades.

My book is about to come out, I have finally gotten MGM to agree to release at least some of the series, I keep telling Penny at her Marketing Company and the irrepressible Carole R. Smith that I want to stop beating the drums, that I just want to relax and enjoy the “experience” of the Cagney & Lacey 25th anniversary. Of course, there is the fear that if I do just sit back, there won’t be any experience to…well… experience. “Never,” someone once wrote (I think it was me) “trust a studio publicist with unlimited product to release someone else’s stuff.” (It probably was me as, in retrospect, it doesn’t sound all that elegant). Still the point is well taken.

So what can you do? You want to see more of Tyne and Sharon. Maybe you want another generation to know what you already know--and maybe some things you do not--about Cagney & Lacey. And maybe, like me, you would like to have the entire series in collectable form on quality controlled DVD format.

Fox and MGM are putting out 22 episodes of our first year with Sharon Gless as Cagney and Tyne Daly as Lacey. There are 97 more episodes with this dynamic duo, six more from the early/early days with Tyne still as Lacey, but Meg Foster as Cagney. And then, there are the five movies: the quartet of Menopause Years films with Tyne and Sharon and the so-called pilot of long-ago with Loretta Swit playing opposite Ms Daly. What of all this “extra material?” It could all be yours…or not.

What if we give a party and nobody comes? Let’s face it. It all depends on how well this first release does in a competitive and diminishing marketplace. Manufacturing and marketing these items can be expensive. I have spoken to Fox/MGM of sales in the hundreds of thousands of units and they have countered that they would “settle” for sales in the tens of thousands, but either way (my hype being correct or their lower target level being reached) more DVD packages will be on the way and fairly soon…unless, of course, those sales levels are not reached.

So, what can you do besides buy the DVD and tell all your friends? You can help by making more people aware of the Mother’s Day release. No, you don’t have to canvas your neighborhood as you did in the old days when you were trying to get the war in Vietnam ended or (if you are as old as I) get Adlai Stevenson in the White House. What would be much more practical…and so much more hip…would be to contact your favorite retail outlet (Costco, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target or whatever) to tell the manager of that store that you are looking forward to his/her stocking the Cagney & Lacey DVD collection and how you and your friends are all eager buyers. On April 12, Fox is sending out a preview DVD to those buyer/managers to see how many they will order for their shelves. Timing is everything.

Better yet, you could write to your favorite daytime TV show (Oprah, The View, Ellen, Today, Good Morning America, Regis and Kelly) letting them know you would like to see Sharon and Tyne as guests, not only to talk about what they are doing these days, but to celebrate the Cagney & Lacey 25th anniversary, to take a look back at a quarter century of women on television. Face it, many of the bookers of these TV shows were in diapers when Cagney & Lacey was on the air and we have yet to be asked to appear on any of these shows. Perhaps they may need reminding that there is a fan base out there, not only looking for new stuff on the two women, but to exposure of the new DVD package in such a way as to make folks aware of the release of the series and thus generate the rest of the series on DVD.

Or, you can do what I say I want to do. Sit back, watch what happens and hope for the best. Maybe not.


Barney Rosenzweig
April 6, 2007

9 comments:

Debbie said...

Barney,
I would LOVE for all of the shows to come out on DVD and I am gonna write and talk to everyone about Sharon and Tyne being on talk shows to promote this.

I was just thinking about my all time favorite t.v. program and remembering back when Christine's neice came to visit and stayed with her for a while. I can't get enough of this show and want to see them all released.

I have already preordered the first season and I can't wait for it to get here. I also can't wait for your book. I would love for you to autograph it for me. I don't know how you would though.

You can count on this fan to be there always for these amazing actors and this incredible show that I fell in love with when I growing up. I am 37 now and I have never forgotten how wonderful Cagney & Lacey was to me. My whole family watched too. The show covered so many important issues.

I know that all the fans will make some noise and be heard! You can count on that :o)

Kristy said...

Yeah ... what Debbie said!

Barney, C&L fans have never been the sit and wait type. Why should this time around be any different? I'll be typing and dialing this afternoon.

Here's to all the episodes (in every incarnation) being released on DVD!

Kristy

Zandra LaPoI said...

I have just emailed the BBC and asked them for a special one off-show to celebrate!

Come on Brits, if we all email them, they can't ignore us!

Zandra LaPoI
UK

Anonymous said...

please...please...PLEASE try to have the entire series on dvd! :)

I already preordered the season 1 set. And I can't wait for the others to come out as well.


thank you!

Anne said...

Write to daytime television talk show hosts, you say? Funny you should say that-- although it's not a daytime show and is on a different network (C&L was CBS, right?), I sent a letter to ABC's Primetime just the other day suggesting they interview Sharon, complete with bullet list of why's. I was also seriously considering writing another to Ellen, so your suggestion may just be the kick I needed. If you want a cc, feel free to email me through my Blogger profile link and I'll be glad to do it.

I, too, am hoping to see all of the C&L episodes released on DVD, because, though year #1 is cool (I have it on pre-order on Amazon), I adore some of the later character developments and plot complications, especially the third and fifth seasons. So hey, thanks for everything, Mr. R!

Anne N.
Eugene, Oregon

Jude said...

We must see all episodes on DVD -and soon! Fans in the UK love the show too and I will do my best to spread the word on this side of the pond!

I actually have a VHS tape which is way too old to dare put it in the video player now - but it has my favourite shows on, that I taped as a young girl. I will never throw it out through fear of never getting the chance to see them again. I pray one day I will have them all safe and secure on DVD. Supporting the drive always!

Joanne said...

I have wondered for many years why on earth why the Cagney & Lacey series have never been released on dvd. Over here in the UK the BBC often show the same few episodes again and again, but nothing more. So it is with great delight I learn that there are hopefully plans to publish all of the episodes.

Ironically enough, a UK channel (ITV2) has recently started showing ALL of the episodes, so I am currently in Cagney & Lacey tv heaven, watching 5 episodes a week! Although the technology has somewhat changed (its strange to see Cagney & Lacey using public telephones to make calls etc and typing on that old battered typewriter!) the issues and themes have not and are still as important 25 years later.

I will definitely be buying the dvd and the book, and look forward to more being published. Thanks so much for creating this site, it gives me the opportunity to thank you for making such an amazing and unforgettable tv series and also introducing me to two of the most talented actors I have ever watched - Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly.

For me, a sign of an excellent programme is one that stands the test of time, and this one breaks all the boundaries. Happy 25th Anniversary!

loriedovbish said...

Hi Barney,

I thought trying to get an agent
was the pitts - without an entertainment resume' or someone
to network in your industry =
NADA = NO AGENT == to pitch
I believe pretty terrific material
for a TV series. To my knowledge
there's never been a series
like THE TERRACE --- yet it lanquishes.

Now I realize that even if you're
in the industry - like yourself -
with great name credentials and
experience - getting a series on
the air is like winning the Lottery

Still I'm hopeful- I know if after
quickly pitching what I have
to offer - YOU WOULD BE TEMPTED
TO GET BACK TO PRODUCING --

SINCE ALL I EVER HEAR - IS GET AN
AGENT - I FEEL AS IF I'M BETWEEN
A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -

BUT MAYBE YOU'LL GIVE ME -- THE
ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE -- BY
REFERRING ME TO YOUR AGENT -
WHO IF HE SAW POTENTIAL WOULD
THEN CONTACT YOU.

I PROMISE YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED

Most Sincerely,
loriedovbish@yahoo.com
mom of three (all grown) thank God





a TV series but I now realize that
even with an agent - getting a
series produced and ready to go -
doesn't guarantee - it will air -

You'd love what I have to offer -
if you're still willing to

ChrisCagneyFan said...

I just finished watching all of my episodes on DVD and am hooked once again! I even pulled out my old VCR tapes to watch the other seasons. I'm getting my hubby into C and L too. I really hope all the seasons come out on DVD!!