Craving a Rerun Fix? Old Series Appearing on Video

Don’t worry if you don’t remember “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” “Racket Squad” or “The Lone Ranger.”

These TV series probably don’t mean a lot to the younger generation, but they were staples back in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

And there are enough zealous fans of these old series to keep a small home-video market flourishing. “In this market, you do well to have sales of 15,000-25,000 per cassette,” said Arny Schorr of Rhino Video, which markets “The Lone Ranger,” “Sgt. Preston” and “Death Valley Days.”

That’s not much, considering companies routinely ship 300,000-400,000 copies of a hit movie. But, noted Blockbuster Video chain executive Ron Castell, “it’s still a strong, steady market--a cult market actually. It’s small, but it’s consistent.”

Some of the biggest titles include Paramount’s “Star Trek” series and MPI’s “Honeymooners” and “The Prisoner.” Among the new releases: “Gomer Pyle” (Forum, $14.98 each), “Navy Log” (Forum, $19.98 each) and Kodak’s three-cassette, $19.95-each series featuring highlights from Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theater,” one of TV’s early hits.

According to Schorr, the biggest audience for TV series on video is the over-35 crowd who watched these shows when they were kids. “Watching these shows make them feel comfortable,” he said. “It takes them back to a more innocent time, when things were less stressful and more fun.”

Generally video companies market one-hour cassettes, featuring a one-hour show or two half-hour shows. Some sell for $19.95, but most go for $10-$15. A few, like Concord’s “Racket Squad”--the early ‘50s cop series starring Reed Hadley--sell for $8.

While not pointing the finger at any company, Schorr indicated that some of the under-$10 tapes may have been recorded at the slowest speed, which saves tape and cuts costs. At that speed, though, the picture usually isn’t very sharp.

“On the very inexpensive tapes, the profit margin is so small that companies have to take shortcuts to make a profit,” Schorr said, adding that Rhino’s $10 tapes are all duplicated at the fastest speed.

There’s been a lot of talk in the industry lately about TV programs on video--generated mostly by two series, one that’s suddenly available and one that’s not yet available.

The one just released, by CBS-Fox, is four cassettes--each containing two episodes--of “I Love Lucy” at $14.98. CBS-Fox hadn’t planned to market these videos yet--they were previously available only by mail order--but they were rush-released because of the interest created by Ball’s death in late April.

The talked-about TV series not in home-video release is “Batman.” With the country in the throes of Batmania, tapes of these ’60 shows would be an instant smash. Also, their success might motivate some retailers to stock tapes of other TV series.

Marketing tapes of TV series isn’t easy. Video retailers, who mostly stock rental copies of hit movies, stock few--if any--TV series.

Explaining the importance of getting the titles in the stores, CBS-Fox marketing vice president Bruce Pfander said: “When people buy tapes, research shows that half the purchasing decisions are made in the store. If the tapes aren’t on the shelves, how can people make a decision to buy them? It’s that simple.”

In the last two years, TV series videos have enjoyed a new outlet: mass merchandisers such as K mart and Target.

Pfander estimated that 60%-70% of his company’s TV series tapes were shipped to mass merchants.

“They weren’t as open to videos a few years ago. They want cassettes they can sell at $15 or less. The old TV series fit that price category. Video companies can get shelf space for their product that they can’t get at video retail outlets.”

If you can’t find a TV series at a video retailer or at a large store, you might check some of the major mail-order catalogues, traditionally a major outlet for these videos. MPI vice president Jaffer Ali said 40% of his company’s TV series’ business is mail order.

Some series are in the public domain--meaning any video company is free to market them without purchasing the rights. But often a company interested in marketing a series has to track down the owner of the rights and negotiate a deal. The rights of some TV series are owned by major video companies that just haven’t bothered to put the shows on the market.

Series due out in the next year: “Peter Gunn,” the ‘50s detective series starring Craig Stevens and featuring the music of Henry Mancini (Rhino); “Twilight Zone” and “MASH” (CBS-Fox); “Dark Shadows,” the campy horror soap (from MPI this fall).

Now available on home video: “Amos ‘n’ Andy” (Earl Blair, Concord or Showcase Productions, $9.99-$29.95); “Dragnet” (Concord and Horizon Entertainment Group, $7.99 and $9.95); “The Avengers” (Concord and Horizon Entertainment Group, $9.99); “The Outer Limits,” the ‘60s sci-fi anthology (MGM/UA, $14.95); “Secret Agent” (MPI, $19.95); “Medic,” the ‘50s series starring Richard Boone (Concord and Horizon Entertainment Group, $7.99 and $9.95).