I know this is getting way ahead of things, but in future releases will the shorts that are currently considered banned on TV be included? Any opinion as to what they will do (edit, omit, etc...)?
First off, I'm not quite sure if any shorts have ever been officially banned. That said, there are a handfull of titles which seem to be kept out of rotation by most stations which have aired the Stooges over the years.
The Yoke's On Me and
They Stooge to Conga seem to be two of the most notorious when it comes to the issue of 'banning' and censoring.
Having addressed that issue, I would assume that
ALL the shorts will eventually see the light-of-day on DVD. I can't imagine Sony skipping any titles. When it comes to TV broadcasts, you have the potential for a mixed audience. With DVDs, and other forms of home entertainment, one has to pay for the product. A good analogy might be the music of Frank Zappa. While there's no way the FCC would allow most of his music to be broadcast on radio, fans can easily purchase his albums on CD and enjoy them in the comfort of their own homes. It's the same thing with the issue of language and nudity in films. You aren't going to see nudity in a film that's broadcast on basic cable, or by one of the major TV networks. That said, if you're willing to pay for it, you can see films in their entirety in a theater, on DVD and on pay channels such as HBO and Showtime. By paying for a product (CD, DVDs, etc.) you are essintially stating that you want to see or hear the entire content. It's a different issue with regular broadcast TV and radio. Any person could randomly channel surf and stumble on something they don't want to see and hear. Plus, there is the whole issue of community standards which also plays a part in deciding what's appropriate for broadcast in a certain region. Time of day is yet another factor. Comedy Central, which is a basic cable channel, airs
The Secret Stash late-nights, on the weekends. That's when they air films and comedy concerts in their entirety, unedited and uncensored.
To get back to your original question, I do believe that, if all potential sets are issued at some point, all 190 shorts will get a proper release, with no titles being skipped over.
