Info Wanted: AMC DVD_TV - The Terminator, True Lies, etc. (with Animated Anecdotes)

I picked up a Terminator DVD but it’s lacking the animated anecdotes that I recall seeing on TV. These anecdotes are similar to those on the T2 and Back to the Future DVDs, explaining how certain shots were accomplished, etc. I think it aired around 2003 or 2004, on Spike or AMC or a similar station (extended cable channels 25-75ish). It was probably widescreen, and aired UNCUT. The animated anecdotes version aired back-to-back with the no-anecdotes version. I know this is vague and I wish I had taped it. Anyone have/know anything about this version?

Are you talking about the "DVD on TV" things FX does sometimes?

AMC used to do this Sunday nights. It was actually pretty funny. A movie channel dedicated to classics had to use a gimmick to air movies uncut and in widescreen. I believe they also used the "DVD on TV" moniker that FX if using. Kinda fun. But, no, it's not available on DVD nor was it taken from a DVD or anything. Just something the folks at AMC cooked up and wrote themselves.

I talked to a woman at AMC, and they cannot sell/release it due to licensing issues, and they never rerun their DVD_TV segments. I even asked if there was a text document of the commentary, and she said no! So, I can see two possibilities:

1) Somebody taped it and all we need to find him/her. It must be out there somewhere! (I've checked torrent sites and eBay to no avail).

2) Someone has a friend who works for AMC who could scrounge up a copy.

I think this would be a great preservation. I just watched the animated annecdotes from the Terminator 2 DVD, and it's like a film school in a box. I recall the AMC Terminator 1 annecdotes as being very similar. It should be on DVD, but it isn't because it was made by AMC for this one broadcast.

ThrowgnCpr said:

thats a shame this seems so lost.  it would be great to get a copy of this.  even if a really poor quality version could be obtained, it would be possible to reconstruct it using a high quality video source.

Especially since I think the text was in the widescreen bars (and thus could be composited into a DVD-quality source).

ThrowgnCpr said:

well, if thats the case, it could probably just be added as a subtitle track, so you wouldnt actually have to re-render the video.  no loss in quality whatsoever.  Any chance of a screen shot for ANY AMC DVD on TV segment?  it would be good to see how it was done.  I really havent seen any of these, but they should be really interesting.  ESPECIALLY for terminator.

Unfortunately, I don't believe any are airing until December.

I watched the T2 "Enhanced Viewing Mode" on my T2 Extreme DVD yesterday, and it's excellent. It tells you not just how all the effects were done, but also how the narrative was structured to keep the viewer interested, and tips for guerilla filmmakers. It's Film School in a box. Even if AMC's T1 "Enchanced DVD_TV" was only a fraction as good as the T2 DVD, it's worth watching.

I just looked this up, I really hope someone recorded these, they look awesome and I think they are still coming out with other ones.

Anyone have any bootlegs of AMC's DVD_TV? I don't think AMC is doing this anymore, so they're becoming rarities.

I too remember seeing a lot of these. The only one I managed to record was the one for Batman (1989) for my senior project.

Another one I forgot: Back to the Future!

Someone must have taped these?