Search - Cheers: The Complete Seventh Season on DVD

Excellent Season, Excellent Show, Horrendous Picture Quality

Michael P. Beck | Allentown, PA United States | 12/27/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I won't comment on the contents of this season, or on the show in general. Cheers was one of the greatest shows ever and this season was one of the highlights of the series' run. What I will comment on is the horrendous picture quality evident in two of the episodes that I watched from the first two discs- 'One Happy Chappy in a Snappy Serape' and 'Bar Wars II: The Woodman Strikes Back'. There may be more examples of poor picture quality throughout the rest of this set, but I've only managed to watch a few episodes so far.

In several instances, when the camera angle cuts from one vantage point to another, it appears as if we move from a completely pristine image quality to one that was taken from a 20 year old VHS dubbed copy (of a copy, of a copy). During these scenes, the picture quality is nothing less than pathetic. I'm not knit picking over a slight decrease in quality here. It's so bad that you wonder what kind of engineer could watch this and permit it to be released as a final product. Absurdly darks hues, fuzziness, graininess, etc plague these particular scenes, after which the episode jumps back to another camera angle to show an absolute pristine image. This almost makes it worse than if they were to show the entire episode using the poor quality footage, because it's so inconsistent. You get the idea that you are watching a show from the early 1970s spliced together with something currently on TV. Through the entire sequence however, the audio remains unchanged.

The most angering part of this situation is that I've seen these episodes on TV in syndication countless times and this image quality issue was never present in those airings. So why is this now a problem? It just doesn't make sense that the DVD presentation should be so much worse than the syndicated version on television. After all, we are paying to see it on DVD. I'm surprised that the other reviewers did not make more of a stink about this. Again, I'm not knit picking over some minor picture flaws. The picture quality is nothing short of offensive. Absolutely unacceptable."

Great Series, mediocre picture quality

Arthur F. Lafionatis | 11/16/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"While Cheers is one of my favorite series and I would have bought this season anyway to have the whole series (when it is complete), I have started to notice the picture quality issues one prior reviewer noted. While I have not watched the whole season yet to know how often it happens, the picture quality changes are very noticeable and do take away from the enjoyment of the episodes impacted. I have no idea why this would happen but it looks like they did a poor quality splice to reinsert certain footage. Buyer beware"

Great Fun!

K. Fairbairn | USA | 08/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a Cheers fan, you can't beat having the entire set on DVD. If you've never seen Cheers, it is set in a bar in Boston with a cast of quirky characters that you will soon grow to love. My husband and I pull out the Cheers dvd when we just want to relax and need a good laugh!"

The remarks about poor picture quality are all TRUE

Gary C. Green | Los Angeles BookSeller in L.A. | 01/11/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great series - great season! But there are some REAL inconsistencies in picture quality in several episodes... to the point where it should be pointed out on the cover art as an alert to the buyer! I love this show, and it's only a problem in a few episodes, so I will overlook it, but those interested in buying should know this. It's been about 8 years since I posted an Amazon review, so consider that as well."