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54-412: Mighty Orbots was developed from an idea pitched by Fred Silverman , possibly in response to the popularity of other robot-related properties. The original six-minute "pilot" featured a slightly different version of Mighty Orbots called Broots (pronounced "Brutes"). Rob and Ohno looked similar to their 'finished' selves, though definitively more late 70s-like. The Orbots, while having the same names as in

108-596: A 10-year multinational joint-venture. In North America, their physical distribution operations were merged into a company named Studio Distribution Services, LLC. Internationally, Universal will distribute Warner Bros.' titles in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan; while Warner will distribute Universal's titles in the United Kingdom, Italy (until 2024) and Benelux. On April 7, 2020, the European Commission approved

162-558: A Break! . Silverman also pioneered entertainment reality programming with the 1979 launch of Real People . His contributions to the network's game show output included Goodson and Todman's Card Sharks and Password Plus , both of which enjoyed great success in the morning schedule, although he also canceled several other relatively popular series, including The Hollywood Squares and High Rollers , to make way for The David Letterman Show (those cancellations also threatened Wheel of Fortune , whose host, Chuck Woolery , departed

216-535: A division of Warner Communications, Inc. ). The company launched in the United States with twenty films on Betamax and VHS videocassettes in late 1979. The company later expanded its line to include additional titles throughout 1979 and 1980. It is responsible for distributing the film and television library of Warner Bros. Discovery and other companies on various home media formats, such as DVD, Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, Digital, and streaming platforms. Some of

270-406: A holding deal after the morning show which kept the unemployed Letterman from going to another network (NBC gave Letterman a $ 20,000 per week [$ 1,000,000 for a year] to sit out a year). However, Silverman nearly lost his then-current late night host, market leader Johnny Carson , after Carson sued NBC in a contract dispute; the case was settled out of court and Carson remained with NBC in exchange for

324-499: A joint venture between WBDHE and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment . The company was founded in 1978 and launched in the United States with twenty films on Betamax and VHS videocassettes in late 1979. The company later expanded its line to include additional titles throughout 1979 and 1980. Warner Bros. began to branch out into the videodisc market, licensing titles to MCA DiscoVision and RCA's SelectaVision videodisc formats, allowing both companies to market and distribute

378-400: A launch title for the region there. Warner Bros. executive Warren Lieberfarb is often seen as "the father of DVD". Lieberfarb's successor, Warner Bros. executive James F. Cardwell was recognized in paving the way for WHV's strategic positioning in next generation technologies such as High Definition DVD ( HD DVD ), electronic sell-through and portable video. In 2003, Warner Home Video became

432-544: A master's degree from Ohio State University . His 406-page masters thesis analyzed ten years worth of ABC programming and led to his hiring at WGN-TV in Chicago. At WGN, Silverman pioneered the concept of airing family-friendly feature films in prime time with Family Classics , which later inspired the major networks to do the same. This was followed by positions at WPIX in New York, and then at CBS . His first job at CBS

486-515: A method also used by 20th Century Fox for their first release of Star Wars in 1982. Two known films released in this manner were Superman II and Excalibur . Other films released for rental use include Dirty Harry , The Enforcer , Prince of the City , and Sharky's Machine . In 1990, Warner Home Video acquired the worldwide home video rights to the MGM/UA catalog. The $ 125 million purchase

540-428: A new FM Radio Division, with competitive full-service stations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington. During his NBC tenure, Silverman also brought in an entirely new divisional and corporate management, a team that stayed in place long after Silverman's departure. (Among this group was a new Entertainment President, Brandon Tartikoff , who would help get NBC back on top by 1985.) Silverman also reintroduced

594-449: A pre-existing licensing deal with MGM, was originally expected to expire in 2001. On December 20, 1996, Warner Home Video was one of the first major American distributors for the then-new DVD format, by releasing the films Assassins , Blade Runner: Director's Cut , Eraser , and The Fugitive on DVD in Japan and on March 24, 1997, in the United States with Blade Runner also being

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648-412: A primetime show, Silverman and MGM/UA successfully sold We Got It Made to NBC in 1983. It didn't catch on and was gone after one season, although it did see a one-year revival in syndication for the 1987 season. In 1984, Silverman secured a deal with Walt Disney Pictures to produce theatrical motion pictures, with the first release slated by late 1985, but it never happened. Silverman also produced

702-428: A revival of Match Game . On Saturday mornings, Silverman commissioned Hanna-Barbera to produce the series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! , and the character Fred Jones is named after Silverman. The success of Scooby-Doo led to several other Hanna-Barbera series airing on CBS in the early 1970s. Silverman was named president of ABC Entertainment in 1975, putting him in the ironic position of saving Happy Days ,

756-631: A sequence in which the SHADOW homeworld is destroyed and the arch-villain Umbra defeated "once and for all." This differs from most other animated series, where the villain always escaped to fight another day. Earth, the 23rd Century. A time of robots and aliens, and of destruction and terror. Can the Galactic Patrol, defender of the United Planets stop the evil computer, Umbra? You bet they can, meet Rob Simmons

810-475: A trial week in January 1987, but was cancelled after DEG went bankrupt just before production was set to resume. Silverman and Farr also produced the sitcom California Girls , with DEG and Viacom as distributor, but it failed to sell. It was around that time that InterMedia was renamed The Fred Silverman Company. Also later that year, NBC had reached a deal with syndicator MGM Television to revive We Got it Made for

864-404: A way that Silverman took very personally. ) Even in daytime, the network struggled as the expansion of Another World from 60 to 90 minutes drove away not only viewers, but longtime head writer Harding Lemay , while Regis Philbin 's talk show proved to be nowhere near as popular as his later syndicated talk show would prove to be. Compounding this was the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott costing

918-652: The Big Three television networks , and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (the original incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise, 1969–1970), All in the Family (1971–1979), The Waltons (1972–1981), and Charlie's Angels (1976–1981), as well as the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Roots (1977), and Shōgun (1980). For his success in programming such successful shows, Time magazine declared him "The Man with

972-501: The peacock as NBC's corporate logo in the form of the proud 'N' (which combined the peacock with the 1975 trapezoid 'N' logo) in 1979; the logo was used until 1986. In 1981, Silverman left NBC and formed The Fred Silverman Company (formerly Intermedia Entertainment) to produce shows to sell to television. The company would generate several hits including the Perry Mason TV movie series (1985–1994), Matlock (1986–1995), Jake and

1026-418: The wiping of video-taped programs under Silverman's tenure in 1978, as CBS had done while he was at that network. Although Silverman's tenure at ABC was very successful, he left to become president and CEO of NBC in 1978. In stark contrast with his tenures at CBS and ABC, his three-year tenure at NBC proved to be a difficult period, marked by several high-profile failures such as the sitcom Hello, Larry ,

1080-609: The " rural purge " of 1971, which eventually eliminated many popular country-oriented shows, such as Green Acres , Mayberry R.F.D. , Hee Haw , and The Beverly Hillbillies from the CBS schedule. In their place, however, came a new wave of classics aimed at the upscale baby boomer generation, such as All in the Family , The Mary Tyler Moore Show , M*A*S*H , The Waltons , Cannon , Barnaby Jones , Kojak , and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour . Silverman had an uncanny ability to spot burgeoning hit material, especially in

1134-530: The 1987–88 season in syndication. Silverman also produced One of the Boys for NBC, in association with Stefan Phillips, Blake Hunter, Martin Cohan and Columbia Pictures Television. During the game-show revival that followed the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , Silverman resurrected the 1950s game show Twenty One for NBC in 2000. A few years later, he returned to ABC in an advisory capacity. In 1995, he

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1188-817: The Fatman (1987–1992), In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995), Father Dowling Mysteries (1987–1991), and Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001). Most of these continue to run in syndication . Most of these series were co-produced with Dean Hargrove and Viacom Productions . After he quit NBC, Silverman formed his own production company in order to sign a deal with MGM and United Artists , who had specialized in film and television production, with George Reeves as Silverman's partner. Shortly afterwards, he named his production company InterMedia Entertainment Co. In 1982, Silverman had sixteen development projects, but none of them got to series. It

1242-595: The Golden Gut" in 1977. Silverman was born in New York City , the son of Mildred, a homemaker, and William Silverman, a radio and television service repairman. His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic . He grew up in Rego Park, Queens , and attended Forest Hills High School . He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University , where he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and then earned

1296-482: The award-winning miniseries, Roots . These moves brought ABC's long-dormant ratings from third place to first place. However, Silverman was criticized during this period for relying heavily on escapist fare (it was Silverman who conceived the infamous The Brady Bunch Hour with Sid and Marty Krofft in late 1976) and for bringing T&A or " jiggle TV " to the small screen with numerous ABC shows featuring buxom, attractive, and often scantily-clad young women (such as

1350-632: The companies that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment distributes include Max , Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema , Warner Bros. Television , Warner Bros. Animation , Warner Bros. Pictures Animation , DC Entertainment , DC Studios , Viz Media , HBO , CNN , Cartoon Network , Adult Swim , TBS , TNT , TruTV , Turner Classic Movies , Rooster Teeth (until its closure in May 2024), Discovery Channel , Animal Planet , TLC , HGTV , Food Network , Amazon MGM Studios and among others. Their releases are currently distributed by Studio Distribution Services ,

1404-466: The development of an animated series based on The Smurfs ; the animated series The Smurfs ran from 1981 to 1990, well after Silverman's departure, making it one of his longest-lasting contributions to the network. In other areas of NBC, Silverman revitalized the news division , which resulted in Today and NBC Nightly News achieving parity with their competition for the first time in years. He created

1458-406: The films under their labels. By 1985, Warner was releasing material under their own label in both formats. Titles from Warner Home Video were and continue to be distributed and manufactured by Roadshow Home Video worldwide except for Australia and New Zealand because of its film counterpart's films released by Village Roadshow . Warner also experimented with the "rental-only" market for videos,

1512-500: The finished product, are subtly different, and obviously unfinished. Even their combined form aka "Super-Broots" would go through some more developmental evolution before becoming Mighty Orbots. It was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Intermedia Entertainment in association with MGM/UA Television for both the United States for the television broadcast and Japan via home video . Unlike many other shows of its kind, Mighty Orbots

1566-579: The first Perry Mason telemovie, which came out in 1985, and marked the first writing-producing collaboration partnership between Silverman, writer Dean Hargrove and production company Viacom Productions . Silverman also produced, with Earl Hamner , the drama Morningstar/Eveningstar , which was produced by Lorimar Productions and debuted on CBS in 1986. Later that year, he reunited with We Got It Made producer Gordon Farr and movie studio De Laurentiis Entertainment Group to produce Isabel Sanford's Honeymoon Hotel for access syndication, which aired

1620-690: The first home video releasing company to release movies only on DVD with no VHS equivalent. In 2009, Warner Home Video introduced the Warner Archive Collection , which allows the public to order custom-made DVDs of rarely seen films and TV series from the Warner and Turner libraries. The films are also available as digital downloads. Warner Archive DVDs and downloads can be ordered online on Warner's website, on Amazon.com or one-time Turner Classic Movies -affiliated DVD website MoviesUnlimited.com. In June 30, 2020, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment returned

1674-488: The following fall. In other dayparts, Silverman also reintroduced game shows to the network's daytime lineups in 1972 after a four-year absence; among the shows Silverman introduced was an updated version of the 1950s game show The Price Is Right , which remains on the air over five decades later. After the success of The Price Is Right , Silverman established a working relationship with Mark Goodson and Bill Todman and most of their game shows appeared on CBS, including

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1728-470: The form of spin-offs , new television series developed with characters that appeared on an existing series. For example, he spun off Maude and The Jeffersons from All in the Family , and Rhoda from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (as well as The Bob Newhart Show from MTM's writers). In early 1974, Silverman ordered a Maude spin-off titled Good Times ; that series' success led Silverman to schedule it against ABC's new hit, Happy Days ,

1782-449: The galaxy, forming the United Planets. As part of the United Planets, the Galactic Patrol — a body of law-enforcers — works to maintain order, under the leadership of Commander Rondu. However, a powerful criminal organization called SHADOW is out to destroy both the Galactic Patrol and the U.P. Led by Lord Umbra, a massive cyborg - computer , SHADOW employs sinister agents and incredible schemes to attack and someday rule over all corners of

1836-518: The home video rights to the MGM calalog after 21 years. Starting in 2022, due to the finalization of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, WBHE started distributing the television libraries of Discovery-owned networks including the flagship Discovery Channel and Animal Planet . On January 14, 2020, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced that they would partner on

1890-408: The known-galaxy. There is one thing that helps to fight against SHADOW: ingenious inventor Rob Simmons — secretly a member of the Galactic Patrol — creates six special robots who can use their unique powers to battle against the forces of Umbra. Together, these robots can unite to form a giant robot called Mighty Orbots, to fight for truth, justice and peace for all. Victor Entertainment released

1944-515: The merger. Since June 1, 2021, SDS' logo took the WBHE logo's place on the back covers of the home releases; while there have been several exceptions that had the WBHE logo in place, mainly manufactured on demand titles, including 4K (including steelbooks) and Blu-ray releases. It is unknown whenever SDS uses an on-screen logo; as where Warner releases by SDS use the 2017–present Warner Bros. Home Entertainment logo. On June 24, 2024, it

1998-520: The network millions in lost ad revenue, and multiple industry strikes pushing back the premieres of new shows . Despite these failures, there were high points in Silverman's tenure at NBC, including the launch of the critically lauded Hill Street Blues (1981), the epic mini-series Shōgun , and The David Letterman Show (daytime, 1980), which would lead to Letterman's successful Late Night with David Letterman in 1982. Silverman had Letterman in

2052-514: The network. During Silverman's time at ABC, he overhauled the network's Saturday-morning cartoon output, dumping Filmation (which had produced the failed Uncle Croc's Block ) and replacing it with content from Hanna-Barbera, including a continuation of Scooby-Doo . He also oversaw the creation of Ruby-Spears Productions , poaching two of Hanna-Barbera's lead writers, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears , to produce their own content in hopes of keeping Hanna-Barbera from becoming complacent. ABC abandoned

2106-576: The popular Battle of the Network Stars ). ABC Daytime had mediocre ratings, so in order to increase them, Silverman hired Gloria Monty to produce the ailing General Hospital . He gave Monty thirteen weeks to increase the serial's ratings or it would be cancelled. He later expanded General Hospital , All My Children , and One Life to Live to a full hour, and created a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour afternoon serial block. Among game shows, Silverman introduced Goodson and Todman's Family Feud to

2160-413: The previous executive in that position, Michael Dann ; Dann's philosophy was to draw as many viewers as possible without regard to key demographics , which the network found to be unacceptable, as advertisers were becoming more specific about what kind of audience they were aiming for. To boost viewership in demographics that were believed to be more willing to respond to commercials, Silverman orchestrated

2214-446: The rights to his show and a reduction in time on air, along with a deal with Carson Entertainment Group that eventually resulted in the hit TV sitcom Amen as well as the TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes series and specials along with a handful of shows that proved short-lived. Silverman also developed successful comedies such as Diff'rent Strokes , The Facts of Life , and Gimme

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2268-471: The secret inventor of fiesty Ohno, mighty Tor, versatile Bort, elusive Boo, Bo, the master of the elements, and Crunch, the metal muncher, super robots forging together at Rob's command to form Mighty Orbots, champion of the Universe. The 23rd Century, the future is a time of robots and aliens . The people of Earth have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace throughout

2322-478: The series has a dedicated fan base today. The series' narration was done by voice-actor Gary Owens , who was the voice of Hanna-Barbera 's Space Ghost in the 1960s and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder ' s human straight man Blue Falcon in the late 1970s. Mighty Orbots is one of only a small number of Saturday morning cartoons to have a definite series finale: the final episode, "Invasion of the Shadow Star," ends with

2376-537: The series in Japan via home video . On April 17, 2018, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection label (via Turner Entertainment Co. , the owner of the pre-May 1986 MGM library) in North America . Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of

2430-401: The show in a payment dispute during Silverman's tenure, although the show survived). Silverman also oversaw the hiring of Pat Sajak as the new host of Wheel of Fortune in 1981, a position that Sajak would hold for 43 years, although Silverman himself objected to Sajak's hiring. On Saturday mornings, in a time when most of the cartoon output of the three networks was similar, Silverman oversaw

2484-471: The variety shows The Big Show and Pink Lady , the drama Supertrain (which also was, at the time, the most expensive TV series produced; its high production costs and poor ratings nearly bankrupted NBC), and the Jean Doumanian era of Saturday Night Live . (Silverman hired Doumanian after Al Franken , the planned successor for outgoing Lorne Michaels , castigated Silverman's failures on-air in

2538-716: The very show that Good Times had brought to the brink of cancellation. Silverman succeeded in bringing Happy Days to the top of the ratings and generating a hit spin-off from that show, Laverne & Shirley (another spin-off, Mork & Mindy , was also a ratings winner initially ending its first season at number three but the ratings quickly free fell). At ABC, Silverman also greenlit other popular series such as The Bionic Woman (a Six Million Dollar Man spin-off), Family , Charlie's Angels , Donny & Marie , Three's Company , Eight Is Enough , The Love Boat , Soap , Fantasy Island , Good Morning America , long-form pioneer Rich Man, Poor Man , and

2592-454: Was 82. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. ( doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment ; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment ) is the American home video distribution division of Warner Bros. Discovery . It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video (as

2646-615: Was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. In 1999, Silverman was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame . Silverman died from cancer on January 30, 2020, at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He

2700-416: Was composed by Yuji Ohno . The series lasted only a single season of thirteen episodes, mostly due to a lawsuit between the show's creators and toymaker Tonka , who accused them of causing brand confusion with their GoBots franchise's "Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles" advertising campaign. The episodes aired on ABC and some episodes were later released on VHS by MGM/UA Home Video . Despite its short run,

2754-418: Was not simply a translated Japanese import. The series was directed by anime industry veteran Osamu Dezaki with storyboard work by Dezaki's brother Satoshi Dezaki , character designs by Akio Sugino , and animation by Shingo Araki . The main theme song used in the show introduction and throughout the series was created by Steve Rucker and Thomas Chase, with lead vocals provided by Warren Stanyer. The music

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2808-475: Was reported that the company was working on The World of Entertainment with Gene Kelly . In 1982, his InterMedia Entertainment Company had partnered with Marvel Productions to create a joint venture. In 1983, he partnered with Alan Thicke , along with Metromedia Producers Corporation for a syndicated late night show Thicke of the Night , which was designed to compete against The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . After several failed attempts to sell

2862-414: Was to oversee the network's daytime programming. Silverman married his assistant, Cathy Kihn, and they had a daughter, Melissa, and son, William. In 1970, Silverman was promoted from vice-president of program planning and development to vice president, Programs, heading the entire program department at CBS. Silverman was promoted to bring a change in perspective for the network, as it had just forced out

2916-559: Was used to finance MGM/UA's acquisition by the Pathé Communications Corporation . The intended 12½-year-long deal was cut short in February 2000, with MGM paying Warner Home Video $ 225 million to regain video rights to a number of its films. In exchange, Warner Home Video gained full control over the video rights to MGM's pre-May 1986 library, an asset the studio had acquired outright from Turner Entertainment Co. , but due to

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