TV Questions: Why do music rights keep shows off streaming?

You have questions. I have some answers.

Can you explain why some TV shows can’t be replayed because of problems with music rights? There doesn’t seem to be the same problems with other talent (actors, writers, etc.). Wouldn’t these issues with music rights have been ironed out when the music was first used?

While there can be many reasons for a show not being available, the biggest one involves the music. If you made a show in the technological past, you might never have imagined tying up music rights for a DVD, or streaming, or any other system for showing your program. And if you did not have the rights then, you could easily face paying a premium to secure those rights later — if they were available at all.

When new media came along, the program distributors basically had two choices if they wanted to rescue their show from viewing limbo. They could pay as much as necessary for the available rights, knowing that they might not make enough back on the sale of the production to justify the purchase costs, or substitute other music which is cheaper but not what the show’s makers originally intended.

Each solution has been tried with various shows. Consider these examples. “China Beach,” set during the Vietnam War, took a long time getting to DVD so it could have the right music from its period. In contrast, the war drama “Tour of Duty,” which aired around the same time as “China Beach,” came to DVD quickly — but with generic music instead of the original telecasts’ songs, taking away from its context.

The problems remain in the streaming era.

As I mentioned not long ago, “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993-99 with a 2000 movie), is one of the best TV series of all time and has long been on DVD in its original form. But it did not reach streaming until Peacock began showing it recently. While I welcome the new availability of the show, some fans will be disheartened to hear substituted music in the Peacock telecasts. While “Homicide” still has greatness, it would be greater still if an investment had been made in the intended music.

Many years ago, I enjoyed a wonderful movie, “Same Time, Next Year,” starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn. I’ve attempted to locate it without success.

Based on the play by Bernard Slade (who also wrote the screenplay), the 1978 movie about two people who have a rendezvous once a year, has many admirers. It received four Oscar nominations — for Burstyn as best actress and for cinematography, adapted screenplay and original song (“The Last Time I Felt Like This”) — but did not win any. As for finding it, the Internet Archive has the movie. And while it is not on Prime Video, it is on Amazon’s retail service as a modestly priced DVD. (You may be able to find that through your local library system.)