🎄 Holidays! EXCLUSIVE! Merry Christmas, Darling: Carpenters Public TV Special and DVD

`Me too!! Looks like I'll be paying a fortune for this one too on eBay same as the CD set unless someone wants to help us 'foreigners' out :wink:`

I`d love these too nick!
I wanted the complete singles cd that's now floating about on ebay, but the prices are crazy at nearly £200. I love Karen, but that's plain robbery :eek:
 
According to this PBS site it says the special will be 2 hrs and it looks like most of it might be from the original PBS video Close To The Carpenters because then it says that a new segment features the Christmas music. So is it possible they are grouping this with the original PBS video and then 30 mins will be devoted to the Christmas clips. Then packaging this as a set to purchase/pledge. The PBS docu DVD, Christmas Portrait CD and then the bonus Christmas DVD. Just guessing here.

Carpenters: Close to You & Christmas Memories (My Music Presents) | KQED »
 
The broadcast will be 30 min for the Christmas segment. The DVD will be much longer, according to Randy Schmidt....
 
Did anyone else see this link at the bottom of the KLCS site that Rick-An Ordinary Fool posted? It is the November Viewer Guide for the station and Carpenters are on the cover.

http://klcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nov2016_mag.pdf

I guess people who get KLCS will be able to have an enjoyable Thanksgiving, as I see in the booklet one of the times is 9:30 on the American Thanksgiving Day. And if you look further into the book (on page 15), you can see in the Prime Time Listings, under the 18th that "Close To You" is scheduled for 7-8:30, and then "Carpenters: Christmas Memories" is scheduled for 8:30-9, followed by Austin City Limits at 9. So that confirms that the broadcast special is only half-an-hour.
 
I'm confused how they can show Christmas Alphabet if Kristy McNichol isn't featured.

Hmm..you're right. I was just going on the theory of Richard's past statements of not releasing the specials due to having to go through the trouble of getting the rights (such as the rumors, I think, about John Davidson in MMM wanting too much money, which caused Richard to dub himself in the KC/Davidson duet). Maybe Kristy McNichol was OK with it? She did appear in two specials with the Carpenters and they seemed to like her (but then the same could be said for JD!).

This does lead to the question about the release of more bits (even if just a clip from one and another clip from another) from all the specials in a DVD edition. Clearly, if this PBS Christmas release is any sign (as well as Richard previously mining the first special for stuff like the "Top of the World" video), then that avenue is not as closed as it seems to have been.
 
Since old VHS tapes and YouTube videos show their generational age it is awesome to have this product available in even better quality than the first broadcast. I am very excited and most grateful to all involved who bring this product available to us! And, the decision to market them to television in this manner in the mid 70's proves to be some of the most sought after material to us! Did I mention my excitement!
 
According to this PBS site it says the special will be 2 hrs and it looks like most of it might be from the original PBS video Close To The Carpenters because then it says that a new segment features the Christmas music. So is it possible they are grouping this with the original PBS video and then 30 mins will be devoted to the Christmas clips. Then packaging this as a set to purchase/pledge. The PBS docu DVD, Christmas Portrait CD and then the bonus Christmas DVD. Just guessing here.

Carpenters: Close to You & Christmas Memories (My Music Presents) | KQED »

So just a rehash of the last release but asking people to pledge again?
 
While this looks really nice, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed that it's not the entire 2 specials as I first thought. But, hey, it's better than nothing! I just might have to splurge :wink:
 
I do not believe it. I do not believe it. I do not believe it!

Wow. Two amazing releases in two years. After about ten years of nothing we've really been in for a few treats. Must be due to last year's success.
I cannot believe this! Has hell officially frozen over?
 
I have made it no secret in this forum how I feel about Richard's refusal to release the wonderful TV specials to a home viewing media. It's been nearly 40 years of complete agony and frustration. The Christmas specials in particular are what I consider to be the best programs ever produced in the history of television. The edited version of "Merry Christmas Darling" on the Close To You DVD was so cruel, but the complete video for "Ave Maria" in the bonus section of DVD had me in tears and begging for everything to be released that way.

So here we are in 2016 and I am reading this thread for the first time this evening. Perhaps I should sleep on it instead of sharing my initial raw emotions. But I have always been upfront with all of you, so why change now. Until I actually see this release with my own eyes, I refuse to believe the songs from the specials have not been edited. In other words, I am not getting my hopes up after being tortured for 40 years. I couldn't take the pain of getting excited one more time just to be crushed again.

While this release may not be my ultimate dream of the complete specials being available, you can bet I will be the first one in line to give Richard a cyber hug if it turns out the songs from the specials are not edited on this DVD. I will let go of my anger and disappointment towards Richard because he made an effort to satisfy the public demands for the TV specials instead of satisfying himself for a change.
 
So just a rehash of the last release but asking people to pledge again?

That's what I'm wondering...if the premiums for donating will be bundled, so that you can't get the new Christmas DVD alone but have to donate X amount for it plus the previous DVD and/or the "Christmas Portrait" CD too. Sure, they make great gifts, but I've kind of exhausted that angle too.
 
I have made it no secret in this forum how I feel about Richard's refusal to release the wonderful TV specials to a home viewing media. It's been nearly 40 years of complete agony and frustration. The Christmas specials in particular are what I consider to be the best programs ever produced in the history of television. The edited version of "Merry Christmas Darling" on the Close To You DVD was so cruel, but the complete video for "Ave Maria" in the bonus section of DVD had me in tears and begging for everything to be released that way.

So here we are in 2016 and I am reading this thread for the first time this evening. Perhaps I should sleep on it instead of sharing my initial raw emotions. But I have always been upfront with all of you, so why change now. Until I actually see this release with my own eyes, I refuse to believe the songs from the specials have not been edited. In other words, I am not getting my hopes up after being tortured for 40 years. I couldn't take the pain of getting excited one more time just to be crushed again.

While this release may not be my ultimate dream of the complete specials being available, you can bet I will be the first one in line to give Richard a cyber hug if it turns out the songs from the specials are not edited on this DVD. I will let go of my anger and disappointment towards Richard because he made an effort to satisfy the public demands for the TV specials instead of satisfying himself for a change.

Well we know that the specials will be edited in one way---the audio department, as the announcements does say that the audio is going to be in digitally remastered stereo, whereas the original 70's broadcasts were in mono, so don't expect these to be like the Perry Como DVD where it's 2-channel mono. The audio will probably feature the 1996 remixes of songs that appeared on "Christmas Portrait" and the 1984 stereo versions of any material (like The Nutcracker Suite) that was in the specials but then appeared on "An Old-Fashioned Christmas".

But since the DVD is being reported as being longer, and containing more stuff than the broadcast, we will probably see the entire specials, so it'll be really exciting to hear Richard's version of "Toyland" in STEREO as that's one song that has not made any album.

But with the pledge material, I wonder if Richard might've finished up his solo Christmas album and that might be something that hasn't been announced yet?
 
Well we know that the specials will be edited in one way---the audio department, as the announcements does say that the audio is going to be in digitally remastered stereo, whereas the original 70's broadcasts were in mono, so don't expect these to be like the Perry Como DVD where it's 2-channel mono. The audio will probably feature the 1996 remixes of songs that appeared on "Christmas Portrait" and the 1984 stereo versions of any material (like The Nutcracker Suite) that was in the specials but then appeared on "An Old-Fashioned Christmas".

But since the DVD is being reported as being longer, and containing more stuff than the broadcast, we will probably see the entire specials, so it'll be really exciting to hear Richard's version of "Toyland" in STEREO as that's one song that has not made any album.

But with the pledge material, I wonder if Richard might've finished up his solo Christmas album and that might be something that hasn't been announced yet?

Oh heavens, I'm not that much of a purist that I would expect to hear the original mono audio. I was referring to video edits. I would love to hear Richard's sweetening of the audio. He always does an amazing job.

I so hope you are correct about seeing the entire specials. I am even more skeptical about that possibility, but if he was in the giving mood this Christmas, just maybe we are in for the treat of our lifetimes.
 
I wanna see "Angels in the Christmas Play" in 480p. :santawave:

I was bummed when I read that they will not guarantee delivery of this Carpenters Christmas DVD before Dec 25th. I mean wouldn't most of the public want this before the holidays are over?
 
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To help clear up any confusion, the Christmas portion is not a documentary and will feature full songs in their entirety. This is made up of all of the best segments - songs only, no skits.
 
To help clear up any confusion, the Christmas portion is not a documentary and will feature full songs in their entirety. This is made up of all of the best segments - songs only, no skits.

The key words here are "best segments". That's another way of saying that only the segments Richard tolerates will be included. But I will temper my normal hostile response towards Richard's unreasonable censorship because at least the songs included will not be edited. That's a reason for mass celebration after we have been horribly neglected up until now.
 
To help clear up any confusion, the Christmas portion is not a documentary and will feature full songs in their entirety. This is made up of all of the best segments - songs only, no skits.
I was figuring that for the half-hour broadcast, since it'll probably be more like a commercial than anything else, plus I wouldn't be surprised if at about the 10-12 minute mark the My Music crew popped up to promote the DVD and whatever other material was in the package.

And Rick-An Ordinary Fool, unless it's been mentioned elsewhere, I don't think any of the Carpenters specials were shot on film. From what I've read they were all shot on videotape, so there is no better version than 480i for the specials. The only way to get a 480p version would be to de-interlace the video, which is what all Progressive Scan DVD-players and Blu-Ray players do when you have them play everything back at 480p, 720p and 1080p (of course for 720p and 1080p, as well as 1080i they upscale the video as well).
 
I feel having Merry Christmas Darling finally in a full version in 480 will be icing on the cake. I've been waiting for that one forever. I guess that means we won't get the Christmas Play oh well I always thought that was so cute and always made me smile.

I really hope Toyland is one of the full videos that would be the hidden gem. Make Me Laugh seems like the odd ball if that one appears, the snow and sleigh footage would be nice to see in 480 but for me there are much better video from their Christmas Specials than that one.

I wonder if they will start off the video with Karen and Richard next to the fireplace from Christmas Portrait saying something like it's that time of year when spirits are high and all your dreams come true, love that opening.
 
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