Some Ant-TV Hazel Observances

[Hazel Anyday]

Well, I've been recording the Hazel's (starting with Season 2) off ANT TV since they started showing them. But I haven't started watching them till 3 weeks ago (I watch Hazel every Saturday and I happen to be watching the Season 1 commercial DVD's shows when ANT TV started up, they didn't end till 4 weeks ago, then I started the ANT-TV shows).

Some differences I've noticed from the many years of watching the WOR & Fam. Channel versions. First the video quality is much better, clearer and more precise than the old shows. Even I noticed the b/w episodes don't seem grainy the way the Sony commercial discs looked. The ANT b/w's seem much smoother looking, maybe they've just blurred out the grain, but they look a little better than the Sony discs. I still prefer my Sony's because they're uncut. As for the color shows, for some episodes the video quality is a vast improvement, looks like they've been fully restored, great color, bright picture and clear sound. But for some (and a good deal of them) the quality is still the same, faded, greenish, purplish and hardly the work of a show that's been restored. Even more interesting is the fact that the ANT TV versions have been even more SLIGHTLY edited than the old WOR shows. And I do mean slight but still quite noticable edits. For instance in a recent show when Hazel & Baxters were looking for Barney the missing Mailman, in the scene where they're all waiting for Boo Boo Badoo (I know that spelling is wrong, but I ain't French) on the step in her apartment, suddenly the scene changes to Boo Boo already at the door and talking with everyone. In the original version they go to the apartment and wait for Boo Boo and she is then seen walking up the stairs and down the short hallway to where Hazel and the Baxters are waiting on the step. THey then try to establish her identity and start asking her questions. Well, that whole walking and introducing each other scene was cut out in the ANT TV version. Granted it may have only been 45 seconds, but it was still a very abrupt and seemingly needless cut. I have not noticed little cuts like that in all the shows, but I have seen it happen more than once so far.

Of course the ANT-TV treat is when they accidentally show an uncut episode. Those are real treats for me, for I haven't seen them like that since I originally watched Hazel as a little kid sitting on my Dad's back as he layed on the floor watching too. Recently saw the show where Deidra's daughter and Hazel's nephew want to get married uncut, and there were so many little scenes that I have never seen before it was fantastic. One in particular I remember, was when they were all eating outside at the Bar-B-Q and the daughter and nephew both walk off to talk their future over, Deidra then sinks down in her chair with her head down in defeat. In the edited versions, the scene ends there. In the uncut episode, Harold walks over and starts asking lots of questions, "Why is everybody acting so funny? Why is Aunt Deidra acting sad?" Dorothy then tells him to run along and go play with Mavis next door." (Mavis was the small girl introduced in Season 1 who was part of the single father with the 4 kids who moved in next door.) Well that scene was cut out and it was important because at the very end of the episode they do a joke that if you didn't see that cut scene doesn't make much sense. At the end of the show Harold whispers to Hazel that he's now engaged to Mavis, everyone laughs. With that previous scene edited out I never got the joke watching the WOR shows, now I see why it was funny.

I have also noticed, on the negative side, all ANT-TV shows seem to be either very slightly blurred or very obviously blurred. All In The Family's in particular are like watching with a stocking over the lens. The Hazel's seem to be very slightly blurred, compared to the WOR & Fam channel versions. It's not real obvious, but it is a slight blur nevertheless.

Well, I've got a lot more ANT-TV Hazels left to watch, so I'm sure to see a lot more surprises. I have to say, watching the Hazels now is a lot more fun than just recording them and monitoring them to edit out commercials. I look forward to more differences and hopefully less little edit jobs.

[retroTVfan4ever]

I also recorded the Hazel shows from Antenna TV, I haven't noticed any differences in edits from the old WOR airings. The Barney Hatfield episode from Antenna TV does indeed have that scene intact where Boo Boo Bedoux walks up the stairs and down the short hallway and meets the Baxters waiting for her by the door to her apartment. However, the prior scene has an edit where the Baxters are at the diner talking to Jamie Farr about Boo Boo, and he tells them where she lives and says "no telling WHEN she'll get home". Then he snatches the money from Mr. B's hand and right after that is a quick cut to the Baxters sitting on the steps waiting for Boo Boo outside the door to her apartment. That is where something got edited out.

[Hazel Anyday]

Your ANT TV must be different from mine. I have indeed noticed little bitty slight edits in the show and the scene with Boo Boo was like I describe, the part of her walking up the steps and down the hall was cut out of my ANT version, but it was in the WOR version. That's the way I sees it. Now that you mention it, the Jamie Farr scene also seemed cut. I forget the detail of that. I've also noticed other itty bitty cuts (30 - 40 seconds out from where WOR had them intact). I still have 3/4's more of Season 2's to watch and all the rest of the seasons from ANT too, so I have not, by far, watched all of them, but from the few I've seen, I have noticed what I wrote. It's these little bitty extra edited cuts that I don't like, it makes my WOR versions more preferable. But for video quality, ANT is an improvement, at least on many of the episodes. I am now even re-recording them starting with Season 2's beginning that starts tonight at 2:30 am, this time though I'm doing it in LP speed and recording in hour long segments and not re-recording them later into 1/2 hour segments.

I have heard that Season 2 is coming out on October 4th, so these Season 2 recordings may be unnecessary.

[retroTVfan4ever]

I don't know if my Antenna TV is different from yours, but I suppose it's possible. Maybe the Antenna TV in your area calls for more commercial time than the affiliate in my area, so the Hazel airings in your area are edited more. It could also be that Antenna TV in all areas has more commercial time now. My recordings of Hazel from Antenna TV are airings from the first time around earlier this year, the episodes all run about 22:30 except for the few that aired uncut. Perhaps now additional commercial time has been added and more cuts have been made to the episodes. Check your recording of the Barney Hatfield episode and see what the running time is. Instead of the usual syndicated 22:30, the running time might be shorter, 21:30 or thereabouts. When the 2nd season DVD comes out from Shout Factory, I imagine the episodes will be the complete uncut versions.

As far as the video and audio quality of Hazel from Antenna TV, I'm real pleased with the audio it's excellent. Video wise I'm mostly pleased. One episode in particular, Bonnie Boy from season 4, has very washed out color and needs to be restored. Other than that, the picture quality is pretty good. Sometimes the image looks a little soft and could be sharper.

[Hazel Anyday]

It's the little bitty cuts that I've noticed that most bother me. They are very short and needless. I will try to keep special note of the specific cuts I see from now on in my future Hazel viewings. I don't see these tiny edits in every show I've seen so far (which isn't many) but I have noticed them in at least 2 shows I've watched. From now on I may have to watch with pad and pen next to me to keep a more accurate accounting. But truthfully, I watch Hazel for the sheer joy of it, I really do love this show. I must, I've been watching it over and over again steadily since I first made videotapes of it back in 1987. (I watched Dennis The Menace steadily too in this same way.) I started off watching a Hazel episode every night, then I went to Sat. & Sunday watchings, now I'm down to Saturday and anytime I take off from work breakfast time viewings. I've been using Hazel as my breakfast TV show for 20 years now. In fact so many Hazel's involve the whole family or Hazel and her friends eating breakfast, it almost seems like a perfect time to watch Hazel. Many episodes take place at breakfast time, usually the show starts out with a breakfast scene.

Anyway, I enjoy the show and will try to keep a more exact memory account of the slight edits I see in the future.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

....when SONY "restored" the series' original negatives, they used some "incomplete" masters. In one second season episode, the laugh track is missing. I could "hear" the pauses where the laughter was supposed to be added...

[Hazel Anyday]

Funny thing about laugh tracks, with Hazel it's never been something I noticed, or was distracted by. I suppose because it's kept so low you can barely hear it. But, I like laugh tracks except when they're used too often and you hear laughter where nothing funny has happened. The laugh tracks only bother me esp. on shows I don't find funny to begin with, yet the laugh tracks roar with laughter like Henny Youngman was on stage. Bachelor Father, comes immediately to mind, that show is not funny, or even to be generous was moderately funny, yet the laugh track is loud and roars with each and every other sentence people speak. Now this is when the laugh track is truly annoying. I never even notice it on Hazel.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Originally Posted by TV Knowledge Fan

In one second season episode, the laugh track is missing. I could "hear" the pauses where the laughter was supposed to be added...

One?? I've watched at least a portion of at least a half-dozen episodes in the last couple weeks and the laugh track was missing in all but one.

My first exposure to Hazel was via WSNS, Chicago in the late 70s. Didn't like it then, don't like it now. I would watch ten hours of Bachelor Father with a great deal more pleasure than another ten minutes of Hazel.

[Hazel Anyday]

Life in Hell, what would it be like? Well, watching 10 episodes of Bachelor Father would be a good start. That has to be one of the worst, boring, totally unfunny, "comedy" shows ever shown. It was written by people who didn't have a clue as to what is funny, all they knew were old groan-inducing bad jokes and puns, one bad "joke" after another does not a comedy classic make and certainly is not an example of a well written situation comedy. Now I have always liked John Forsythe, but that show was terrible. I'm sure he did it only for the money. If it were only funny for 5 seconds out of 100 shows I might give it a pass, but every episode is just painful to watch, especially if you recognize good comedy writing. Hazel was not only a mix of great classic funny comedy situations but also included something Bachelor Father could never dream of, pathos, drama, sympathy for characters, character development, and just plain good comedy and situations on which to play off of. Also Hazel contained something Bachelor Father never did, great charactor actors who were populated thru-out each and every episode. The character actors who played Mr. Griffin, Mr. & Mrs. Johnson, Deidra, Harry, next door neighbor Harry, the mailman, the egg man, Hazel's maid friends, every one and so many more were just all comedy veterans and great characters. Bachelor Father? Well, I won't torture myself by talking about it. Let's just say it was written by people who didn't have a clue what is and is not funny. Uncle Ralph and his never ending string of bad jokes does not make a good situation comedy writer.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Hazel is a one-panel cartoon almost brought to life...almost. As far as recognizing good comedy writing, the whole affair is so painfully stagy, the awareness that the living cardboard cutouts who populate the show are only reciting dialog never fades.

[Hazel Anyday]

The TV show Hazel and the panel comic actually didn't resembe each other, other than the name of the maid was Hazel. The TV show actually involved real stories and interesting situations and old pro comedy actors and character actors. The Hazel "comic" was another of those at the most slight smile inducing comics you read in the paper, but never once produced even a moderate guffaw.

Sounds like you just don't appreciate vintage TV, you're entitled, the world is full of such people, witness the state TV is in today. Jerry Springer and reality TV are waiting just for you on every single channel, you should be happy, enjoy.

The rest of us need to work to find shows of quality, and today that means either only viewing DVDs or the newly sprung up digital broadcast free over the air channels like Antenna, ME, & RTV. It's been a sad history of these such vintage TV channels though that after 2 or 3 years they all rapidly turn into nothing but crap TV fests, witness today's TV Land, Nick At Nite, Hallmark, & the former Family Channel. All of these pay cable channels went from truly classic vintage TV channels and after only a couple years turned into typical new crap TV fare. From the greatest of old TV show channels to the current state of crap TV that cable has now become is truly sad.

At least, SO FAR, the FREE over the air TV channels devoted to vintage TV are still showing great classic TV. (Don't look too hard though at RTV, they're already showing more and more new crap TV shows, the rapid decline has already begun on RTV. At least I don't have to pay to witness the sad decline.)

Enjoy Jerry Springer and leave the quality viewing to us.

[TV_on_the_Porch]

Private Secretary, Topper, Petticoat Junction...that's just a taste of what's sitting in my DVD drawer. Hazel used to be on CBN...as did Bachelor Father. I also fondly remember that network's overnight comedy lineup with You Bet Your Life, Jack Benny, Bob Cummings, Life of Riley and other classics.

To dismiss me as a reality/Jerry Springer fan just because I asserted that one lame and unfunny sitcom was lame and unfunny is really weird. I can honestly say I never would have imagined anyone ever saying that to dislike Hazel is to dislike classic TV--period. Thank God there's no truth whatsoever in that argument!

[storrs19]

Private Secretary (aka Susie) is a great show. I also have that on a "grey area" dvd set.

[Hazel Anyday]

Oh, well, you've established your propers. Sorry, it sounded like you just didn't appreciate good classic comedy. I guess it's just bad taste. To each his own.

[MRPITT]

I love this thread Hazel Anyday and when I saw a new post I was hoping for some more observances!

On a side not I love Bachelor Father lol

And I agree everyone has there own opinion I enjoy Bachelor Father alot but dont think less of you for saying it sucks.