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34-495: Previously, there were three attempts by MCA TV/Universal Television to launch some sort of organized independent programming. First, MCA TV launched the ad hoc movie Universal Pictures Debut Network in 1985. With Premier Program Service , MCA TV teamed up with Paramount for this planned network by October 1989, which was abandoned in February 1990. The last was a two night three-series Hollywood Premiere Network in 1990–91. In 1994,

68-533: A "What happened last night" recap and second credit roll. Lynch disavowed this version and had his name removed from the credits, Alan Smithee being credited instead. This version (without recap and second credit roll) has occasionally been released on DVD as Dune: Extended Edition . Several longer versions have been spliced together. Although Universal has approached Lynch for a possible director's cut , Lynch has declined every offer and prefers not to discuss Dune in interviews. In 1992 , KTVU , pieced together

102-634: A 10.9 rating. This placed it at fourth place among the top barter series for the first 16 weeks of the 1988–89 United States television season . In June 1990, the Debut Network was ranked in fifth place among the ten highest-rated syndicated programs according to Nielsen. Velton Ray Bunch Velton Ray Bunch (born January 22, 1948 in Goldsboro, North Carolina ) is a film and television composer. Sometimes credited as Ray Bunch . Bunch has been nominated for an Emmy three times for his work, and won

136-424: A bandaged head wound from his slip) in the ambulance with Laurie Strode. They hold hands and Laurie says, "We made it." The rough cut of Dune , without post-production effects, ran over four hours long but director David Lynch 's intended cut of the film (as reflected in the seventh and final draft of the script) was almost three hours long. Universal and the film's financiers expected a standard, two-hour cut of

170-482: A box set of Brazil that included Gilliam's preferred 142-minute version of the film as well as the "Love Conquers All" cut of the movie. WNUV 54 By October 1988, the Debut Network was affiliated with at least 132 stations. For the week ending on October 16, 1988, the Debut Network's movie earned a 14.1 rating on just 132 stations. From September 4, 1988 through January 1, 1989, the Premiere Network earned

204-526: A dozen stations showed TekWar , the premiere TV movie of the programming block. The stations' ratings increased greatly with a 350% increase in KOFY in San Francisco. MCA cut Rob Cohen's Midnight Run to three films, so that star Christopher McDonald could star in a feature film. Cohen produced Knight Rider 2010 as a replacement. The block aired its first season until January 1995 and lost $ 30 million. TekWar

238-465: A hybrid edit of the two previous versions for broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area . It is essentially the television version with all the violence of the theatrical version reincorporated into the film, along with many of the "fabricated" shots objected to by Lynch removed. In 1985, a much-publicized war emerged between director Terry Gilliam and Universal's then-COO Sid Sheinberg over

272-402: A possible outgrowth of this sales joint venture, MCA and Paramount began plans for a new network, Premier Program Service . When Premier Program Service halted, MCA teamed up with Chris-Craft TV for a syndicated programming block , Hollywood Premiere Network , that only lasted for the 1990–1991 season. The Universal Family Network syndicated programming block was launched by the company in

306-402: A standalone DVD accompanying the "Complete Collection" Deluxe Edition Blu-ray set, which features entire series. The television cut runs approximately 92 minutes, roughly one minute less than the theatrical version. There are many edits such as the murder of Dr. Mixter is presumed to still happen, but remains off camera, as does Janet's, although dialogue indicates she might have gone home at

340-421: Is less graphic, and a moan from the ground implies she might have survived it. Also added are scenes of Michael cutting the power (this explains the dark setting throughout the latter half of the film) and a power generator kicking in. There is also extra dialogue between Laurie and Jimmy, Laurie and Mrs. Alves, Janet and Karen, Karen and Mr. Garrett, Bud and Karen, Jill and Jimmy, etc. Another notable difference

374-516: Is the killing of the Marshall. In the theatrical version his throat is slit, while in the TV version it is softened, with Michael grabbing him and stabbing him from behind (with no detail shown). While the theatrical version ends with the deaths of Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis and leaves the audience in a gray area as to whether Jimmy survives, the television cut features an extended ending showing Jimmy alive (with

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408-556: The Smokey and the Bandit films): Vanishing Son films: Starting as a series of four made-for-television movies in 1994 , the series debuted on January 16, 1995. Vanishing Son I , Vanishing Son II , Vanishing Son III , and Vanishing Son IV , were aired on February 28, July 18, July 25, and October 10, 1994, respectively. The series was groundbreaking for the casting of an Asian male in an attractive leading-man role. An additional movie

442-607: The Action Pack initially ran as a wheel series of television movies, which were all effectively pilots; if successful, they would become TV series the following season. The initial plan was for four films created from six franchises for the block, including TekWar , Smokey and the Bandit , Midnight Run , Hercules: The Legendary Journeys , Vanishing Son and the working title Fastlane when offered at programming executive conference in January 1994. On January 17 and 18, 1994,

476-576: The Universal Action Pack launched the Back2Back Action Hour consisting of two thirty-minute series: Jack of All Trades and Cleopatra 2525 to air alongside Xena . The lineup lasted until second quarter 2001. Jack of All Trades and Xena were canceled and Cleopatra 2525 was increased to an hour-long show in January 2001. After Xena , the most successful series on the Action Pack , completed airing its final season's reruns in

510-512: The 1980s, it distributed both off-network reruns of shows like Kate & Allie and Gimme a Break! , as well as original syndication product like the animated action series Bionic Six (co-produced with TMS Entertainment ), The Morton Downey Jr. Show (taped at then-MCA owned WWOR-TV in Secaucus, NJ ), The Munsters Today (a revival of the Universal sitcom), and Pictionary , based on

544-553: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarding the film Best Picture and Best Director, Sheinberg backed down and Universal released a "compromised" cut running 131 minutes and featuring a few of the changes suggested by Sheinberg while remaining faithful to Gilliam's vision. In January 1989, Universal released a cut of Brazil for airing on the Debut Network. Running 93 minutes, it was a heavily modified version that remained true to Sheinberg's preferred cut of

578-420: The TV cut and also criticized advertisements for the Debut Network premiere of Brazil which used the same critical praise that was given to his version. In an interview with Jack Matthews in an updated version of his book The Battle of Brazil , Sheinberg claimed he had no idea how his cut leaked out, and said that he wasn't the one who ordered that cut to be released. In 1996, The Criterion Collection released

612-405: The end of her shift instead of being killed. The scene where Michael stalks Alice is recut to imply that he attacks and kills her neighbor Mrs. Elrod instead. Jimmy's discovery of Mrs. Alves dead and his subsequent slipping in the pool of blood has been significantly shortened (or removed altogether in some prints) and moved just prior to the explosion which kills Myers and Loomis . Jill's stabbing

646-512: The fall of 1993 with a single weekly half hour show, Exosquad , as a counter to The Disney Afternoon . Beginning in September 1985, affiliated Debut Network stations could program 24 features from the Universal Pictures library on an advertiser supported basis. One feature would debut each month over the course of at least two years, and each month, the stations would be allowed to air

680-425: The film's original release. An alternate version of Halloween II (sometimes referred to as 'The Television Cut') has aired on network television since the early 1980s, with most of the graphic violence and blood edited out and many minor additional scenes added, while others are removed. This cut of the film was released in 2012 by Scream Factory on their Collector's Edition Blu-ray disc, and again in 2014 as

714-489: The film, and was subsequently given the nickname "The Love Conquers All Cut." How this version managed to get released remains a mystery; Gilliam said that Universal asked him to make an edited-for-television cut of the film and he refused. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times , Gilliam sarcastically complimented Sheinberg for "[getting] a chance to break into TV," but was angry that Universal didn't take his name off

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748-420: The film. Dino De Laurentiis , his daughter Raffaella and Lynch excised numerous scenes, filmed new scenes that simplified or concentrated plot elements and added voice-over narrations, plus a new introduction by Virginia Madsen . Contrary to rumor, Lynch made no other version besides the theatrical cut. As previously mentioned, a television version was aired in 1988 in two parts totaling 186 minutes including

782-444: The films were resent to the affiliated stations for their cash runs, in most instances, the original theatrical versions were provided instead of the Debut Network recuts, in 16mm prints or on 1 inch videotape, and the stations would edit the films as they chose for the individual standards of their markets. In 1988 , the movie network broadcast a special edition of Dune as a two-night event, with additional footage not included in

816-425: The final cut of Brazil for the film's North American release . Against Gilliam's wishes, Sheinberg wanted to cut the film from Gilliam's preferred 142 minute cut to 93 minutes and modify the dark sci-fi satire into an uplifting romance, complete with a happy ending. After Gilliam created an ambitious campaign to wrestle the film away from Sheinberg, including clandestine screenings of his preferred cut, which led to

850-720: The fourth time for his score to the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " Similitude ". Bunch has worked on dozens of television series and TV movies, as well as occasional film composition (including additional, uncredited, scoring on the film version of Lost in Space ). He studied and worked under famous television composer Mike Post ( Magnum, PI , The Rockford Files , Quantum Leap , Hill Street Blues , much more) in various capacities, including ghostwriting for many popular series Post worked on, and taking over as main composer for Post on various series. Bunch's credits include

884-530: The full version of the theme used in promos for the TV movies. The theme was composed by Velton Ray Bunch . Universal Pictures Debut Network The Universal Pictures Debut Network, or simply the Debut Network, was a syndicated movie package that MCA Television sold to independent stations . The service reached agreements with ten stations in larger American markets such as New York City , Los Angeles and Chicago by late 1984. The Debut Network

918-537: The movie twice; usually once in prime time and a rerun in late night hours. At the end of their barter run , these features would revert to the Debut Network stations for additional cash runs with no interim pay cable window. Frequently, the versions prepared for broadcast would contain alternate takes and scenes originally cut from the theatrical edits, usually to replace footage deemed unsuitable for television. These new edits were prepared on standard definition video, and sent to TV stations via satellite. However, when

952-474: The popular board game. MCA Television attempted several branded TV packages in 1985 to 2001 including an ad hoc film network, a broadcast network and a few syndicated programming blocks . The company launched the Universal Pictures Debut Network , an ad hoc film network with plans to launch in two stages beginning in September 1985. MCA's motivation for launching the Debut Network

986-404: The summer of 2001, Cleopatra 2525 also stopped production and the Action Pack block was discontinued. The television movies aired during the Action Pack's first year included: Hercules series: TekWar (Based on the books by William Shatner ): The Midnight Run Action Pack , Midnight Run films (spin-offs of the 1988 Robert De Niro film): Bandit films (Spin-offs of

1020-443: Was a part of the initial lineup; titled Fastlane , it was set to be directed by John Landis and would concern two friends finding a spaceship/car hybrid vehicle. However, for unknown reasons the project never actually made it to air. The "shell" prop for the spaceship/car (which was designed to fit over a Pontiac Fiero ) was auctioned off in 2007. The theme song is used in the Action Pack opening sequence, sponsorships, as well as

1054-404: Was a precursor of sorts to the Action Pack , which was also a syndicated package created by Universal Television. MCA TV (also known as MCA Television Enterprises) was founded in 1951, several years before parent MCA 's purchase of American Decca (in 1959) and Universal Pictures (in 1962). For more than four decades, it was one of the most active syndicators of television programming. During

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1088-482: Was given a 2.5 hour block instead of the normal 2 hour block.) Of the 22 minutes for commercials, MCA received 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 , with the local outlets keeping 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 minutes. The remaining three minutes would be devoted to promotion spots for one thing or another. MCA TV and Paramount Domestic Television had formed Premier Advertiser Sales, a joint venture created for the sale of advertising for their existing syndicated programs in September 1989. As

1122-553: Was picked up as a regular TV series for the USA Network instead of Action Pack, starting in January 1995. From January to June 1995, the block included Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Vanishing Son . The Hercules series became a surprise hit as the third most-watched first-run syndicated action hour. From September 1995 through January 2000, Action Pack included Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess . A year after Hercules ended its run,

1156-437: Was to attempt to make up for lost revenue from the "big three networks" , who were at the time, preferring cheaper made for TV movies . Independent stations were specifically targeted since they needed many more hours to fill. MCA set up a barter agreement, wherein each movie featured on the Debut Network would be edited down to 95 minutes, including the credits. (A notable exception was Rear Window , which, with commercials,

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