A few weeks ago, Shout! Factory, a respected DVD and music label, announced it had acquired the rights to the “Route 66” television series of the early 1960s, and would re-release it on DVD and broadcast it on varying formats.
Kathy Callahan, senior director of sales at Shout! Factory, provided a few more details about the upcoming DVD re-release:
- It will be a 21-disc collection, featuring all 116 episodes of the show’s run. That includes “Route 66” fourth and final season, which has never been released to DVD.
- Packaging will include “collectible,” newly drawn artwork.
- “Route 66 DVD set will include a bonus disc, “Great Cars — Corvette,” a 2007 documentary about the legendary sports car that was used in the show. That DVD will come with its own collection of extras.
- Special features for the “Route 66” set are “still being fleshed out.”
- Shout! Factory will strive to use the original 4:3 screen ratio for all of “Route 66’s” episodes. Erratic formatting had been an issue with previous DVD releases.
- Callahan wouldn’t give a release date of the DVDs, only that it would be “in time to promote for Father’s Day.”
As previously reported, Shout! also will provide episodes of “Route 66” for North American broadcasts and video-on-demand.
Roxbury Entertainment, which issued the previous one-season DVD sets of “Route 66,” retained trademark, television remake, and film rights. Roxbury also is developing a “Route 66” TV series remake with Shout!.
“Route 66,” an Emmy-nominated drama, co-starred Martin Milner, George Maharis and a Corvette convertible. My story about an interview with Maharis in 2007 can be read here. Maharis left the show after the third season, and was replaced by Glenn Corbett for the rest of its run.
UPDATE: You can can order all four seasons of “Route 66” on DVD from Shout! Factory:
I’m always for anything that raises awareness of Route 66 and so glad to see a spiffed up re-issue of the TV show, especially with added features. My question is, Ron, do you know how many of the 116 episodes were set on Route 66? I was a faithful viewer of the show as a kid (half a century ago!!!) but did not remember much about the settings of the stories when I checked out the first season from Blockbuster Online a few years ago to watch again. I was shocked that episode after episode (of that first season anyway) was set in Wyoming or South Dakota or some other state far from Route 66. I get it that Route 66 as a title for the show expressed the call of the road, but have to say I was disappointed that Route 66 itself wasn’t featured or mentioned–at least not in the episodes of that first season I watched on DVD. If you know, please, tell me how many of the Route 66 states made it onto the show.
Fewer than 10. The producers always considered the title of “Route 66” not literally, but as a metaphor for wandering America.
Thanks for the information, Ron. As I said, I get it that the title referred to the call of the road (any road). That call is certainly one that Route 66 fanciers are known to heed.
Hi Ron,
What is the status of the El Garces Hotel opening in Needles, CA?
Thank you.
Jonny Graff
Las Vegas
I don’t know. I’ve emailed Alan Affeldt. We’ll see what he says.
Any mention from Shout of an approximate price for the 116 episode set?
No, not yet. More details will come later.
I wonder how much it costs to purchase rights to Route 66 and how they actually do it. Do they buy the entire program or just seasons? Is the price based on residuals + fee, etc? I know Route 66 is on the local (DC) RTV at 4p EST and it seems to be shown by season. I read recently where programs from this period were dirt cheap and only recently reached a point where DVD’s could turn a profit.
A friend of mine said that in regards to all the shows filmed in the 60’s, they were done in color but were printed on black and white stock film.
If you’re going to re-release the set, why not release it in its original color format, not the cheap black and white print stock?
That is incorrect. The show was shot in black-and-white, and preparations for the cinematography were always for that format.
Ron: any information about obtaining copies of The Aquanauts/Malibu Run?