Universal shipping replacement discs March 31

For fans who have been following the misframing issue on the DVD releases of Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, your wait for replacement discs is almost over.

As many of you already know, the 2002 widescreen release of Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy on DVD contained several misframed scenes on the discs for the sequels, causing outraged fans & consumers to bombard Universal with emails & phone calls.  Coupled with pressure from series writer/producer Bob Gale, the result came in a formal statement from Universal offering an exchange for discs already sold (Video Business pg. 47, Jan. 6 '03), and replacements on all new pressings of the set.  The replacements were originally expected in late February, but wanting to make sure they got everything right, Universal took great care in getting the framing issues resolved.

Gale, who received his check discs for the sequels a few weeks ago, reports his findings on the new transfers to finally be satisfactory.

"Personally I think they're fine — the 1.85 format on DVD is a tad wider than the laserdisc version, so it's not a perfect match. On 2, the width is the same with slightly less on the top and bottom. On 3, sometimes the top and bottom are the same with a bit more on the sides; other times it's the other way around.  Nevertheless, all the essential image info is there (unlike the previous versions), and there was nothing that would have made me run to the projection booth to complain."

I concur.  A few days afterwards, Universal sent BTTF.com a copy of the new transfers for our review.  Given only 24 hours to report any anomalies before they had to go into production with the new discs, the pressure was certainly on!  But I'm happy to report that all of the previously misframed scenes from both films now look splendid.  They now appear to be presented in the actual aspect originally intended by the filmmakers and expected by fans.  Even two small sound distortion problems in Part II have also now been fixed.

Evan Fong, Executive Director of Publicity for Universal Studios Home Video, tells me that the replacement discs will be shipping out on Monday, March 31 to their customer service location.  He confirms earlier reports that the distinction between the old & new discs will be the inclusion of a small "V2" (Version Two) stamped on a barcode sticker placed on the back of the new packages, as well as being stamped on the discs themselves.

U.S. consumers who have not yet contacted Universal for directions to receive an exchange on the discs may still call 1-888-703-0010.  While no mention has been made regarding the replacement schedule for territories outside the U.S., we assume an April exchange is still on track as previously reported.

First look at upcoming diecast DeLoreans from Welly

Our friends at Welly USA have just sent us their actual prototypes for review of their upcoming 1:24 scale diecast DeLoreans, which will be hitting stores soon.  The upcoming release of the cars will cap off a year-long development of this highly anticipated project, with which BTTF.com consulted on.

While the actual final finishing touches haven't been applied to them — such as proper paint colors, the prototypes give a very intriguing preview of what's fans can expect when the cars finally hit stores in a few months — expected in late May or mid June.

Each car sports opening gull-wing doors, and are quite detailed inside & out.  The Back to the Future DeLorean also includes a removable plastic lightning rod.

Unfortunately the Back to the Future Part III DeLorean — which I was most excited about — sadly no longer sports the ability to interchange wheels for railroad travel.  "We made two sets of wheels, but just did not want to have them both on — it is hard to package this way," states Sherman Lin, Welly USA, Inc. representative. "If they fall loose, they will damage the model during shipment. We may offer the rail track wheel version later as an alternative."

Nevertheless, fans will be quite eager to add these beauties to their collections.  Available in brilliant packaging, (photography of exterior packaging was impossible due to the extreme handling at recent industry shows Welly displayed them at prior to sending to us), the cars are certainly priced right.  Suggested retail price is expected to be $18.95 each or less.

A fourth version of the car — the standard 1981 street DeLorean — will also be released at the same time, however, photos & prototypes were not disclosed to us at this time.  Preorders for all four cars will soon be taken in the BTTF.com Mail Order Store as soon as a firm release date has been disclosed to us.  Stay tuned...

One decade later, “Future” toons return to Saturdays

Back to the Future - The Animated Series began reairing last weekend on Fox Box, introducing itself to legions of new fans while reconnecting with old fans simultaneously.

The series hasn't been seen on broadcast television since it originally aired on CBS from 1991-1993.  It did have a brief resurgence in the mid '90s when the Sci-Fi Channel aired it daily for several months, but it hasn't been aired in the U.S. since October 1996.

Eighteen of the original 26 episodes were issued onto home video between 1993-1994, but have all since been deleted from Universal's active catalog in the U.S.  They were, however, recently reissued in Australia and the U.K. on video last year in conjunction with the DVD release of the films.  While there's been no word from Universal regarding a DVD release of the series, the recent resurgence of the series almost indicates an inevitable DVD set down the road.

Bob Gale, who served as Executive Producer on the series as well as Director on the second season, seemed quite pleased of the news that the show was being dusted off for broadcast once again.  "Great news about the BTTF toon coming back," states Gale.  "Dare I say...It's about time."

The successful relaunch of the series is no doubt a welcomed sight for Gale, who's feature-length directorial debut Interstate 60 seems to keep hitting road blocks along the way.  The planned April 25th theatrical release is now on hold once again after IDP pulled out as the distributor for the film.  The search for a new distributor is underway.  "It's very exasperating," says Gale.

Check your local listings for Back to the Future on Fox, which is currently airing in most areas at 8:30 EST every Saturday morning.

“Freaky” future ahead for Marc McClure

Marc McClure takes a trip back in time of sorts in this summer's latest Disney redo, Freaky Friday.  McClure, who's feature film debut was in the 1977 original with Jodie Foster, experiences a bout of deja vu as he makes an appearance 25 years later in the Disney remake.

In scenes filmed the middle of November last year, Marc makes a cameo appearance in the film reprising the role of "Boris Harris" — the allergic boy-next-door with whom Annabel was secretly in love with in the original far-out farce — now a grown up messenger serviceman in the 2003 redux.

Marc McClure and Barbara Harris	Jamie Lee Curtis and Marc McClure

Freaky Friday hits theaters this summer on August 1.  Fans wanting to see Marc McClure before then can meet him in person next month at Chiller Theatre in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where he'll be appearing the weekend of April 25-27.

— Stephen Clark

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