Plötzliche Reichtum der armen Leute von Kombach, Der (1971)

What a Disappointment!!!!!

This is by far one of my favorite shows of all time! I taped every episode during it's original run, and eagerly awaited it's release on DVD. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! Music and scenes are cut, episodes are out of order and entire story arcs are missing! To make matters worse, I made the mistake of tossing out my VHS versions when I bought these, before I had watched them. If I could run to the dump and get my home made tapes back I would! I can only hope that these will one day be rereleased intact and complete, as they should be. If you love this show, STAY AWAY FROM EVERY VOLUME OF THESE DVD'S!

Please don't waste your money on this set
Foolishly, I trusted that the term "complete" when applied to arcs and/or seasons meant just that. It doesn't--at least not to Cannell and company. Those who loved this ahead-of-its-time series will be disappointed to find that the pivotal moment of the Sonny Steelgrave arc--the confrontation between Sonny and Vinnie with the classic "Nights in White Satin" playing over the scene--is gone. What's left is an edited version of the scene with canned music. The production company claims that it would cost too much to include the song. But pinching pennies didn't stop them from charging more for this set of the Steelgrave arc than most production companies charge for an entire season of an hour-long drama. To give the illusion that you're getting your money's worth, the producers of this and the Mel Profitt boxed set sometimes include only one or two episodes on a disk just to bulk up the set. Episodes are also out of sequence. Both sets include stand-alone episodes from later in the series that have nothing to do with these arcs and omit stand-alone episodes that continue these story lines. From the reviews I've read, it seems that later sets in the series are even lower in quality.

I recently watched a biography of Stephen Cannell in which he talked about his love of writing, etc., and dedication to his work. That's hard to believe. "Wiseguy" was the series that gave him the critical acclaim he supposedly craved, and the "Nights in White Satin" scene was one of its most creative moments. But when it came time to issue the series with the class it deserved, the decisionmakers for this release opted to slash that beautiful scene and throw in a hodgepodge of unrelated episodes just to save a little $$ here and make a few extra $$ there. How sad for them--and for the fans.

Do not waste your money (as I did) on this mess. Maybe if enough people hold on to their wallets, these clowns will re-issue the series as it originally aired--episodes in order with ALL the music restored.

Whoa
Episode 3 of CD 1 is horribly mastered, like a 12-for-24 frame transfer rate. Like watching Russian television. Or watching it ater a bad bad bender.

Great series, and this is the first problem I've had with the DVD releases.