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Post #1446667

Author
SpacemanDoug
Parent topic
Idea: 'In the Heat of the Night' (tv series) - original aspect ratio preservation
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1446667/action/topic#1446667
Date created
31-Aug-2021, 10:15 AM

In the Heat of the Night (based off of the 1967 movie of the same name) was a TV series that aired on CBS and then NBC from 1988-1995. It’s since become a staple in syndication. However one thing has affected its legacy, like many other shows it’s been cropped to widescreen from the original 4x3 aspect ratio so composition is hugely messed up as a result.

The show was released on DVD by TGG Direct but these releases are notorious for excluding episodes (due to rights issues) and how some of the disks don’t even work on several different players. I’m honestly not sure if these DVD sets are in the original aspect ratio (though it’s likely they are) but if one could get a rip of those that’d be good (especially for the feature length episodes, not sure if they’re presented that way or in two parts on those sets either).

I know a batch of episodes from recordings off of WGN America exist too but it’s highly likely the episodes are trimmed by 2-3 minutes for time. If they aren’t then they’d be especially worthy for the episodes excluded on the DVD releases.

If anyone could send me anything that has the show in its original 4x3 aspect ratio please let me know, this show remains highly popular so I think it’s fitting to preserve how it was meant to be seen.