Tales From Avonlea: Season One DVD Fact Sheet

[FanForLife]

I was wondering if Disney plans to release all of the seasons on DVD. I received Season 1 yesterday and was glad it finally arrived. The Sullivan collection does not include subtitles/closed captions. I am hearing impaired and Disney is the only company to include these features in all of their titles. I just hope they dont just put out Season 1 and not give us the rest. If anyone knows what their plans are it would really be helpful information.

[riri625]

I really Hope Disney releases all the seasons...It would be a big bummer if they didn't. I have been trying to find info on it for a while but it all seems pretty elusive. I havn't yet got the first season of avonlea in the disney release, but have the first 4 from sullivan and am very dissapointed in their quality. On one of my season 4 episodes the sound is terrible, you can hear an echo of what is getting ready to be said about 2 seconds before it is said it sounds like someone is having a conversation behind the camera its very annoying. As for the captions, they really should have put them on the sullivan sets. Also the double sided disks are a pain. They scratch much easier than normal ones do. I hope your sake (fanforlike) especially that they release all the seasons...Its a great show and I would hate for you to not get to see the whole thing again. Good Luck to all of us I guess.

[Luke]

Its a great show and I would hate for you to not get to see the whole thing again.

Even if Disney releases all the sets the way they did Season 1, you won't be getting to see the <i>whole</i> thing again.

[riri625]

Why would it not be like getting the whole thing again...Doesn't it include all 13 episodes...

[Luke]

Why would it not be like getting the whole thing again...Doesn't it include all 13 episodes...

All 13 episodes, yes, but not the entirety of the episodes. Renata's forthcoming review will explain better, but each episode runs only about 44 minutes as opposed to the longer cuts on the Sullivan DVDs.

[riri625]

Oh...Well I thought each episode was only about 45 min anyway. But if you are deaf getting to see them with captions is much better than not getting to hear them at. So in a sence...you would be seeing much more that you would if you only had the sullivan sets. If the quality is better than that of sullivan I will be happy.

[Luke]

Full review has now been posted here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/avonlea-season1.html

[Marianne81]

The review has confirmed my suspicions after watching the first few episodes. On the first episode there were some very awkward jumps and now I know why. What I don't understand is why the episodes have been cut. Where can I complain about this and insist that this not happen to the rest of the Season sets. This is very disappointing and I must say that the heading on the box is a complete misrepresentation when it says it's the "Complete First Season"

[ChristyMiller]

I knew there were some scenes missing while watching the first couple of episodes, but I didn't realize that nearly 40 min. worth was excluded! I don't understand why that would happen either. I was wondering if anyone knows, what are the chances that all six of the rest of the seasons will be released, and soon?

[I am the Doctor]

I bought Tales From Avonlea as a blind-buy a couple of weeks ago, (a used book store had a copy of the box set for $20) and was hooked by the show. So much so, that I went out and picked up the Sullivan releases of seasons 1-5. Having now watched the Disney and the Sullivan releases of the first season, here are some thoughts.

Video quality on the Sullivan set is just as bad as on the Disney release. Indeed, the Avonlea DVDs have the worst video quality I've ever seen. The reason for this is rather simple - no restoration was done on the original master tapes. Check out the link:

http://www.avonleaguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=98

The extras on the Sullivan set are slim: a short Behind the Scenes video, which was obviously shot as a teaser for the program back in the first season and a screen test featuring several of the kids. A credits listing is also included. Obviously, there are no extras on the Disney set.

The big advantage of the Sullivan set is the inclusion of the extra 40-50 minutes (overall) cut from the Disney release. The annoying fade-outs are gone, and in many cases the episodes make more sense (especially The Journey Begins - which had over 10 minutes cut).

So, if you're interested in Avonlea, which version should you pick up? I'd probably recommend the Sullivan release, just due to the fact of the Disney release being edited so badly. Video quality is shameful on both releases, the tapes definitely need to be re-mastered. However, if you do like the show, I'm not sure I would hold my breath for a re-mastered version. I do think both Sullivan and Disney should be ashamed for not attempting a re-master of the original tapes before releasing the show on DVD.

I realize that price is somewhat a consideration, and Disney's price is attractive. However, there are other dealers out there who sell the Sullivan releases for much less:

http://www.avonleaguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=128

Vdowarehouse.com is where I picked up my Avonlea DVDs. An advantage for US residents is that they're based in the US (as opposed to Canada). For those who are interested - Sullivan is supposed to be releasing season six sometime this winter (either late January or February).

[I am the Doctor]

An update: Sullivan Movies has just announced the release date for Season 6 of Road to Avonlea (aka Avonlea and Tales from Avonlea):

http://www.sullivanboutique.com/Anne/st ... gory_ID=32

The release date is May 2, 2006 and the price is $79.99 US.

[macphoen]

The review has confirmed my suspicions after watching the first few episodes. On the first episode there were some very awkward jumps and now I know why. What I don't understand is why the episodes have been cut. Where can I complain about this and insist that this not happen to the rest of the Season sets. This is very disappointing and I must say that the heading on the box is a complete misrepresentation when it says it's the "Complete First Season"

Here's Buena Vista's e-mail address and phone number:

disneyinfo@disneyhelp.com

1-800-723-4763

If you find out why they edited out the original Disney Channel broadcasts let me know. I would love to know why.