Shed a tear...for WKRP in Cincinnati

OK, so I'm a little late on this one. It's kind of been in the back of my mind for the last month-and-a-half, but I've been busy, okay?

Anyway, I waited and waited for classic superhero television program The Greatest American Hero to come out on DVD. People were selling home-made sets on Ebay for upwards of $100 per season; I ended up downloading the episodes of the first season myself and making my own DVDs, which worked out pretty well, but the quality wasn't great.

So it finally comes out on DVD, and I shell out my $35 or whatever. The set seems great -- really good video quality, nice packaging, skimpy but present features...

But then you watch the actual show, and oh my god, the music. It still has the famous opening theme song, but much of the other music has been replaced. Specifically, what used to be covers of moderately popular hits of that era (like a folky rendition of Elton John's Rocket Man in the pilot) got replaced by what can only be described as a late-90s attempt at watered-down rock. Kind of like the Friends theme, but more rockin'!

Anyway it doesn't mesh particularly well with the otherwise very late-70s early-80s show (the main character is a white dude with a 'fro -- Friends music is simply inappropriate). And the packaging doesn't so much as hint at the change.

It turns out that securing the rights to the original music is a problem specific to TV shows on DVD, and is the reason why you'll never be able to buy the box set of WKRP in Cincinnati that you've been asking for every Christmas will never come to be. Well, it also means shows like Freaks and Geeks that get the music right end up costing tons more. That show didn't even finish its first season...imagine how much the first season of Moonlighting will set you back. And I know you're planning to buy it. Because you love Bruce Willis.

Anyway, better high prices for these sets than the schlocky music they settle for to bring down the price. You need to see the Greatest American Hero DVDs to fully comprehend what I'm talking about. You can't borrow mine though; I just sold them to some sucker on Ebay. Take that, loser!