My letter to Cannell

[Maxwell - F.B.I.]

This is what I sent via snail mail to Cannell a few weeks after season one was released on DVD:

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Dear Mr. Cannell,

I am writing to you concerning the recent USA DVD release for The Greatest American Hero. As I have been a fan of the show since it originally aired in 1981, I was thrilled beyond belief to hear that the show was finally being released on DVD. I have so many memories of the terrific dialogue, character interaction, music, comedy, drama, you name it – I was hooked and still am. That made it even all the more disappointing (once the DVDs arrived in the mail) to discover that some of the music that originally aired on the show had been removed and replaced with ‘alternate’ tunes.

I think it’s important to understand that, while fans of the show (and there are many of us out there) are very happy to be able to have the chance to finally purchase this show on DVD, we would have GLADLY paid a greater amount of money to purchase this set (and future sets), had it assured us of being able to see and hear the show the way it was originally produced (the way we so fondly remember). There is literally still a large group of people out there who move to the edge of their seat while watching the (terrific) pilot episode in the place where Joey Scarbury’s cover version of “Rocket Man” is supposed to ‘kick-in’, only to find it’s not there anymore! Same goes for the perfect placement of the cover of “Space Oddity” where Ralph originally loses the instruction booklet for The Suit. These scenes were PERFECTLY presented (in the opinions of most fans, including myself) and now their impact has been diminished.

And let it be known, I have no background knowledge of licensing fees and such, but I can’t imagine it would have increased the cost of the set (a cost most fans gladly would have paid) TOO significantly to include not songs performed by the ORIGINAL artist, but ‘cover versions’ of those songs. And, from my personal standpoint, I always felt Mr. Scarbury did a superb job performing those cover versions, and now fans of the show (both old and new) will never even know those versions existed.

As with any popular or ‘cult favorite’ show, there’s always a handful of people who like to exploit the product for their own personal benefit; selling bootlegs at ridiculous prices, etc. When the release of this show on DVD was announced, the ‘true fans’ of the show had hoped this would signal an end to that sort of practice, as the show would be easily accessible on a popular format in the best possible quality. Now, with so many fans saddened (or angry, in some cases) about the ‘changes’ made to the DVDs, I fear the bootlegging will continue because some diehards will want the EXACT show that they love and remember, and that is a shame considering the excellent job that was done with DVD set and how well the shows look (better now than ever).

At this point, I don’t know what can be done after the fact. But please know the concerns of the fan base of this show and, if there is ever a chance to release a ‘Special Edition’ in the future, restoring the show 100% to the way it was originally aired, I have no doubt it will sell a great amount, as the current ‘modified’ set has.

Thank you for your time concerning this matter and, more importantly, for creating this outstanding show (that has truly stood the test of time) to begin with.

Sincerely,

Frank Miller

[mom2jared]

DITTO!!!;D

Ilana

[Lupin]

And you said on the other thread that you got no reply...
He surely must be aware of our disappointment, after all TGAH was his TV show and he would feel the same way if he didn't (I am supposing he does) have a personal copy of the masters at home. After all these years I think he watches his shows on tape every now and then to refresh his memories like I would do if I were him. Pity he couldn't afford that little extra bugdet (if that was the issue) to maintain the songs intact and to come out with a satisfactory DVD job.
Anyway, Maxwell keep us posted if you get any reply.

[HoudiniDerek]

I wonder if SJC was the type of person to write back?

I know that when I write some authors, they may not write me back directly, but someone does. Be interesting to see if SJC ever wrote people back in his day.

[prometheus74]

Jul 18, 2017 21:14:17 GMT -5 HoudiniDerek said:

I know that when I write some authors, they may not write me back directly, but someone does

Have you sent some actual letters, or was it emails?

[HoudiniDerek]

Aug 1, 2017 11:31:13 GMT -5 prometheus74 said:

Jul 18, 2017 21:14:17 GMT -5 HoudiniDerek said:

I know that when I write some authors, they may not write me back directly, but someone does

Have you sent some actual letters, or was it emails?

Most are emails, but I believe I have written a letter before. So long ago, I don't know anymore.

[prometheus74]

Very cool. So Cannell and/or his assistants replied?

I've sent emails a few times to Kenneth Johnson in the past----including one time that I had asked 10 questions----and he always answered back. And he answered all my questions. A real class act.