The funny story about Blackstone is that he wanted the position of Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, but was passed over in favor of someone no one has ever heard of; instead, they decided to give him the brand-spanking new position of Vinerian Professor of English Law. Blackstone's Commentaries were the result of the…

Eh, not even require the payment; just the affirmative action of renewal would resolve a lot of problems with orphaned and abandoned works.

On a more controversial note, I do think we should consider whether we shouldn't be talking about Sex and the City instead of The Sopranos, since it has had at least as big a cultural influence and came out first.  But whether because of Sopranos' more immediate success, because S&TC is a comedy while Sopranos is a…

I think a lot of why Sopranos is always named is because of the symbolism.  At a time when the networks were giving a big middle finger to scripted content in favor of reality shows, HBO started putting out a series of amazing scripted shows, seemingly all of which had big budgets, solid writing, and fantastic acting.…

For better or for worse, that's not going to happen for a whole host of reasons (least of which are international agreements guaranteeing at least life of author plus 50 years).  But, there's no reason why we can't adopt a policy designed to liberate orphaned and abandoned works.

That comic book sounds awesome.  I totally want to read that now.  And then write a long article about it.

That comic book sounds awesome.  I totally want to read that now.  And then write a long article about it.

One problem I see is that the content hasn't even been digitized, and there is a certain cost there, which I suspect is at least in the tens of thousands if we're talking about direct film-to-digital (though would probably be a lot less if the episodes were on tape instead).  Plus, you might have to do a certain…

One problem I see is that the content hasn't even been digitized, and there is a certain cost there, which I suspect is at least in the tens of thousands if we're talking about direct film-to-digital (though would probably be a lot less if the episodes were on tape instead).  Plus, you might have to do a certain…

No, since the copyright hasn't expired.  They'd have to negotiate with whomever owns the rights, if said person/corporation/etc. can even be found.

No, since the copyright hasn't expired.  They'd have to negotiate with whomever owns the rights, if said person/corporation/etc. can even be found.

It's shows like this that fall through the cracks that make me think we've gone to far on copyright protection.  The market for this show, a 1960s legal procedural that is mostly forgotten, is so tiny that it can't possibly be lucrative for the rightsholders to commercially release it.  But, that just means that an…

It's shows like this that fall through the cracks that make me think we've gone to far on copyright protection.  The market for this show, a 1960s legal procedural that is mostly forgotten, is so tiny that it can't possibly be lucrative for the rightsholders to commercially release it.  But, that just means that an…

To this day, I still refer to all Pomeranians as Queequeg.

To this day, I still refer to all Pomeranians as Queequeg.

Agree—Jose Chung's is probably my favorite episode, but it depends so much on all the others.  Now, if you were watching ten episodes, you'd probably be able to appreciate it.  But I can see how it's left off (while being included in the 10 more).

Agree—Jose Chung's is probably my favorite episode, but it depends so much on all the others.  Now, if you were watching ten episodes, you'd probably be able to appreciate it.  But I can see how it's left off (while being included in the 10 more).

My favorite is the special effects shot from Fallen Angel, that's just this guy dressed in an orange (?) blob suit hopping around the woods.

My favorite is the special effects shot from Fallen Angel, that's just this guy dressed in an orange (?) blob suit hopping around the woods.

The original release of the X-Files was even more expensive than that.  It was, if I remember correctly, one of the first (if not actually the first) tv shows on DVD (it was definitely the first full season set), and Fox had absolutely nothing to go on for pricing, so the seasons listed for like $99 or maybe even…