So do you guys think Shout! Factory will release S4 on DVD??

[MichaelKeith]

Do you really think Shout! will produce season 4 to DVD soon? I definitely hope so, but they haven't even made an announcement of a date yet.......

[Leslie Eckhardt]

I'm not sure what is in store as far as future releases of Hazel. The third season was announced 10 days before the second season hit the shelves. The fourth season has not been announced yet. When the second season came out, it got generally good reviews from the professionals (film quality wise), but if you read the Shout! Factory community page, there were some ridiculous rants about the quality from several in particular. These were nasty, personal assaults against Shout! that in my opinion were uncalled for. No, the quality may not have been perfect, but I considerd it to be very watchable and enjoyable, as well as being uncut. Now with season three, the rants have started again, this time several episodes have been cut, and there are complaints about the color being off. People need to understand that Shout! is a smaller outfit than Sony, and that full restoration of these shows would be an expensive undertaking, beyond the resources of a smaller company when total sales have to be considered. And let's face it. As much as we love Hazel, it won't sell like Modern Family or Grey's Anatomy. I'm grateful to have the series in any decent format. I really hope Shout! releases seasons four, and yes, even five, but it's all a question of numbers. People will point to the quick releases of the entire Dennis The Menace series, but from what I've read, each show has it's own rights issues even within different seasons of these shows. Dennis and Hazel both originate from Sony, but are owned by diferent entities. Brian Ward of Shout! has said , for example, that they can not release any more of the series Peyton Place, beyond the two volumes they have already issued, because the supplier now wants a larger sum of money to grant rights to release any more shows than Shout! is prepared to pay. There is a similar issue with the final 13-episode season of Mister Ed. These suppliers tend to ignore their archives until a company like Shout! expresses interest, then the dollar signs take the place of their eyeballs, and they try to milk every cent they can. These are just greedy corporations doing what they do best.

[Kasey]

I do think Shout plans to continue and that we as consumers get a little spoiled when another season of our favorite show is announced even before the previous season hits stores. It hasn't even been a month since S3 was out and Shout may be swamped with work, have people going on vacation, etc. so that may account for what some think is a delay.

Sometimes things get put on the backburner. "Designing Women" had a 15-month span between S4 and S5, but then S6 came four months later with S7 three months after that. "Hazel" seems to be selling well on both the US and Canadian Amazon sites, so hopefully that is a good sign (although I realize those numbers can be misleading).

[Hazel Anyday]

I am also one who hopes that Shout did not take to heart the vicious and mean spirited comments made by so-called purists on the Shout boards. They really went over the line. I went on their board and gave Shout their due propers and appreciation that they released uncut versions of Hazel. Uncut versions that I pointed out, I have not seen since the 1960's. For that reason alone Shout's releases are a very valuable resource. Yes, I too would love pristine versions, but if it's a choice between nothing but the edited versions or Uncut versions in less than perfect condition, I'll gladly take the uncut versions. As for whether more Hazels will follow, I think so. It may not be announced till September but the Kojak releases at Shout have the same story. Lots of quick-in-succession releases of Kojak Seasons 2,3, & 4 then no announcement of anything further. Seems Shout is just taking a breather from all their at once releases. Maybe buying Timeless is keeping them occupied right now instead of new releases. Let's all keep our hopes up and positive for further Hazel (& Kojak) releases. And yes, I would love to get uncut Season 5 for Hazel. These shows were very entertaining and enjoyable too.

[retroTVfan4ever]

I don't need to have perfectly restored episodes, it doesn't bother me if minor imperfections are in the video of these older shows. What does bother me however, are the edited versions of episodes that have a habit of appearing on some DVD sets from Shout Factory. Two edited episodes found their way on the 3rd season Hazel set, I think that is inexcusable. If the 4th & 5th seasons of Hazel come out on DVD, I hope Shout Factory will see to it that all the episodes are the complete uncut versions.

[Milkamplifier]

I am also very grateful to have unedited "Hazel" episodes in any acceptable quality on DVD.

And I find the ungrateful and aggressively malicious posters over on those (hopelessly spam-infested) Shout Factory boards beyond contempt.

Having said that, episode #5 on the season 2 set ("Barney Hatfield, Where Are You?) and its pristine crystal-clear restored picture quality worthy of today's shows (let alone a 50-year old sitcom) made me sad, because I could actually see how much more brilliant the whole season would have looked had they restored all 32 episodes.

So, a big thank you to Shout for their effort, along with a note that if anyone comes up with a DVD set of superior quality in the future (though I won't be holding my breath), I'll be glad to spend more money on the same content.