The Fall Guy: HD Preservation Project

The Fall Guy, a classic action-comedy series, has a complicated history with DVD and broadcast releases. Early DVD releases of seasons 1 and 2 suffered from copyright issues, resulting in altered music and scenes. While ITV4 in the UK aired seasons 1-3 with the original soundtrack, only season 3 was widely preserved. Seasons 4 and 5 remained elusive for years, available only in poor quality from letterboxed US broadcasts or low-quality UK airings.

Renewed interest in the series followed the “The Fall Guy” film starring Ryan Gosling. The US channel Heroes & Icons (H&I) began broadcasting the show, but used the flawed DVD masters for seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 matched existing ITV4 captures, though ITV’s versions were superior due to H&I’s 16:9 formatting and inconsistent frame rates causing a jumpy SD picture. H&I also omitted episodes from seasons 4 and 5, likely due to music rights issues; two episodes were missing from season 4 and three from season 5.

Fortunately, the aired episodes from seasons 4 and 5 included the original music, a first in years. The discovery of German HD broadcasts on Nitro and Sky 1 in 1080p and a 4:3 aspect ratio offered a new preservation opportunity. While seasons 1 and 2 were HD masters of the flawed DVD releases, they were a significant upgrade. These German broadcasts included both German and English audio, allowing for HD captures of seasons 1 and 2 with the original English audio.

Season 3’s HD broadcasts were only in German. A dedicated re-dubbing project using the UK ITV4 copies as a sound source has restored approximately 80% of the season to English, meticulously syncing the English audio with the German video. The flawed H&I broadcasts proved useful; using the H&I audio, the German HD broadcasts of Season 4 were re-dubbed into English. Alternate English audio sources were found for the two missing episodes, completing a full HD English Season 4.

Work continues on re-dubbing Season 5 into English using the German HD broadcasts. While alternate audio exists for two of the three episodes H&I omitted, “Trail by Fire” remains missing. A complete HD version of this episode is currently unavailable. This project represents a significant effort to preserve a beloved series. The Fall Guy, now owned by Disney, may never see an official release in its original broadcast format. This fan-driven restoration aims to ensure future generations can enjoy the series as intended.