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Q: Why does the "Christy" DVD boxed set with Kellie Martin leave off the last episode when she marries the doctor and Fairlight dies? The episode was in the VHS boxed set.

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

The boxed set of the "Christy" TV series doesn't feature her marriage or the death of her beloved friend Fairlight because those things didn't happen in the series.

"Christy," the fan-favorite melodrama set in 1912 Tennessee, unfortunately had its original TV run cut short. The series itself ended on a cliffhanger, as the writers were expecting a renewal for a third season.

They didn't get one, but the show was revived a few years later for three made-for-TV movies that did, finally, wrap up the storylines.

I can't say for certain, but my guess is that rights issues prevented DVD publisher 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment from including the telefilms in the boxed set.

Your confusion is understandable, since they marketed the DVD set as "the complete series." That is technically true, though -- hence me being so picky about the wording at the outset.

As for why the VHS set did include the telefilms, again I can only guess, but it's possible that, since they were released earlier, closer to the original air date, it seemed worth Fox's while to make a deal for the telefilms. Or, on the other hand, given that the market for DVD sets was bigger than that for VHS sets, it's possible that Lionsgate, which released the telefilms on disc, figured it could make more money releasing them separately than selling the rights to Fox.

That leads me to the good news: The telefilms are indeed sold separately on DVD, so you can get them if you want them.

There's another reason the "Christy" publishers might have wanted to keep the series and telefilms separate: They feature a different Christy. Original series lead Kellie Martin didn't return for the movies, which featured Lauren Lee Smith in the title role.

 

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