Dvd Boxset missing footage + music replacement

If this is true, then I have mixed emotions about it.


1.) It is simply WRONG to release a classic or recent television show in incomplete form. Consumers/collector/fans such as ourselves spend our hard earned money for these precious items and memories of our youth and we deserve complete un edited programming. I realize that Paul Williams MAY have attempted to negotiate for more financial compensation from 20th Century Fox and/or Mr. Lee Majors and when all parties involved did not agree on terms, then his scenes and songs had to be excised. This is a shame IF TRUE since his appearance in the 2 hour pilot film is not only memorable, but extremely funny and entertaining.

2.) On the other hand, I can live with this on a selfish level since I am the proud owner of TWO different prints of the pilot film WITH the Paul Williams footage and performance of the Patsy Cline song "Crazy." One film print that I own is a rare UNARIED VERSION of the pilot with screen legend JANET LEIGH playing the bail bonswoman "Soapy" that Colt Seavers works for instead of Samantha "Big" Jack(played by Jo Ann Pflugg) who ultimately was cast in season one...all of Janet Leigh's scenes were re-shot. ALSO in the unaired version the OPENING TITLE SONG "The Unknown Stuntman" is NOT SUNG MY LEE MAJORS and the tune has slightly different and more sexually suggestive lyrics. ALSO, this verison has ALTERNATE/DELETED/EXTRA scenes that are IMPORTANT in terms of the fleshing out of the main characters. Now if it is true that the Paul Williams scens are indeed missing then this print which is already valuable has gone up in value overnight. I have been careful not to relese this on DVD since I want ot keep this rare.

3.) I also have another film print of the AIRED VERSION of the two-hour pilot with the Paul Williams scenes intact which also will certainly be more desirable to collectors since it is complete.

I hope that more scenes are not cut from other episodes!!!! I have a feeling that down the road in future season DVD sets "Elvira(Casandra Peterson)" will take issue with the release of the episodes she was in.

I'm glad I own most of the series UNCUT on film for my projectors.

"Regarding the Fall guy season one boxset there is music replacement, but it goes a bit deeper than that, one special guest star from the pilot movie has had all his scenes removed, the actor Paul Williams better known as Little Enos Burdette in smokey and the bandit movies had guest role in the pilot movie but all his scenes have been removed and his name from the opening credits has also gone, and in one remaining scene in the dvd his image has been blurred so as not to recognise him in the back ground, and several songs have been replaced including paul williams himself singing Crazy by patsy cline, other songs gone include coward of the county a cover version in its self but no longer there, so not only does the set have music replacement but the pilot alone has 1min 17 of footage cut out. and title replacement in the credits. and that is just the pilot. "


You were right! I am horrified and outraged. How did you get an advance copy? You must be a critic. No matter...I agree that this is a crime. Thank GOD for my collection of uncut and unaltered mint fujicolor LPP film prints of 96 of the 110 episodes of "The Fall Guy" including the RARE unaired pilot movie with Janet Leigh as "Soapy."

I would suspect this is all due to music licensing issues. Mainly, they couldn't get them at a reasonable price for the DVD release. Music was handled differently with TV back then and no one back then forsaw the demand for personal libraries so contracts were handled much differently than movies. The blurring of his face may just be creative editing since his other scenes were removed.

If you want to see a horrible example of music licensing gone horribly bad, check out the WKRP DVD release.