Dynasty S3 - two families to two volumes.. Bah Humbug Paramount! (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

By releasing the sets in split volumes, you can account for BOTH the diehard fan as well as the casual fan. For example, I took a blind chance on buying Volume 1 of THE FUGITIVE, LOVE AMERICAN STYLE and THE MOD SQUAD -- simply because the sets were split and I was able to sample half of the show to see if I liked it enough to warrant my continuing with it for Volume 2. I wouldn't have wanted to pay even MORE for a "full season" of a show that I might not like. And in the meantime, diehard fans of those shows are going to buy them no matter how they're released. Or at least they should.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

It still sounds senseless to me. I'm getting the impression you're just being finicky about wanting everything contained in "single seasons", and this goes even beyond your desire to actually own and watch every episode. So do you think it's honestly better that many older shows never come out at all from Paramount, if it means the seasons would be split? Makes no sense.

 

[Ben King]

I already have all of Dynasty on DVD. I was quite happy to support the official release and replace my DVD-Rs with the "real thing" as they were released. This bit of blatant profiteering has cooled my enthusiasm.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

That's it.

 

[Ben King]

But you ARE paying MORE for combined volumes than you would be for one season set.

 

[Ben King]

Try looking at Amazon. The split volumes are NOT selling at a $20 price point.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I understand that, but usually just not in one shot, as may appeal more to the casual impulse buyer.

But I must admit you do have a point about the prices being more than $20 a lot of the time. The price for a half volume set should really be no more than $20 - $25.... true...

 

[TravisR]

Of course, you pay more when they split the seasons up and Paramount loves that. Like Joe said, splitting the season accounts for the die hard who is willing pay anything in reason and casual fan whjo wants a cheaper product. And, of course, it also generates more money for Paramount in the end (which they no doubt love).

But they haven't decided to split the seasons with more popular shows (Hawaii Five-O or Mission: Impossible) where they sell more copies? And do you seriously think there is that big of an audience for BUYING Dynasty on DVD? Yes, it was a very popular show when it aired but only a fraction of those viewers are interested in owning it twenty years later.

It sucks and I understand your frsutration but like I said at the beginning of the thread, I'd just be glad that it's coming out at all.

 

[David Levine]

I've seen the numbers. It didn't sell well. Not at all. About 1/3rd of S1.

 

[David Levine]

You are comparing apples and oranges. Shows that have always been in volumes vs shows that have always been full seasons.

There is no way that Paramount said "Hey, S2 did horribly, lets try selling half the episodes for the same amount". I'd bet that once the pricing comes out, the Dynasty sets will be quite a bit cheaper. They HAVE to or else Paramount isn't going to sell any.

This is clearly an effort by Paramount to find a way to sell this show. That's a GOOD thing. It means someone there is championing the show and really pushing for it. Most studios would've looked at S2 sales and just stopped the series.

 

[brett tolino]

Then it's also not your place to say whether a product sold profitably or not.

If you can't back up your statement with factual sales data to support your claim, you really shouldn't be speaking on behalf of that studio in terms of what did or did not sell.

Because if we all took your logic, people could very well counter what you said by stating Dynasty DID sell. Who is to say who is right or wrong? So don't make claims that you can't back up by fact.

*************

That said, I like the show Dynasty. It was priced well and packaged as a complete season for One and Two, thus I bought them.

I have no interest in volume sets, they cost more in the long run so I don't buy them.

Dynasty Season One and Two cost me under thirty dollars each on the day of release. If I buy into Paramounts new MO, I'll end up spending 2x that for Season 3: 30.00 for S3 V1 then another 30.00 for S3 V2. That's 60.00 for what should be costing under 30.00 like all the other studios charge per season for a vintage show (MOONLIGHTING, JEFFERSONS, EVEN LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE). Again, I like Dynasty but I'm not stupid and a fool and his money are soon parted.

I don't care whether the series sells enough to warrant future volumes anymore. It's not my responsibility to buy it even if I don't like the way its released, packaged or priced just to ensure future product can come out.

Hey, I supported Dynasty Season One and Two, where did that get me?

No where because now, they're splitting the seasons into volumes. I also supported Party of Five, Once and Again, Knots Landing and tons of other shows which the studio cancelled despite my support.

I also supported many shows during seasonal releases which studios then released as a complete series with bonus features not included for the people who helped make a complete series possible. Nice job studios, thanks to us for our support.

Obviously the studios are going to do what they want, irregardless of the support, the consumers wants or needs. So, at this point, I look out for ME! I buy what I like if it is priced right and released in a format that interests me.

If not, I'll survive without it.

 

[Ben King]

Then let's hope that "Season 3, Volume 1" comes out at a price point below $38.99 then. If not, then that's the end for Dynasty on DVD.

And given that Dynasty was a nine-season show, then the likelihood of Paramount releasing the complete series looks pretty slim already.

 

[brett tolino]

Hi Joe!

My distaste for Volume sets is simple as I stated in the post above this one.

a) Mostly it's the price as Ben noted. What should be costing me anywhere from 30.00 - 35.00 for one complete season (as most studios charge for vintage shows released seasonally), is now costing double that.

I might even support a complete seasonal release at 35.00 to 40.00, which is still a lot (what Warners did for Knots Landing) but anything more than that is waaaay too much.

b) They take up too much space as I experienced with I Love Lucy that I supported through Volumes. Then, they released them complete as seasons. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, Shame on me.

c) Lastly, there is no guarantee they will release further volumes. And if they don't, I'm stuck with a 1/2 season of shows. Which some may say is better than nothing but I disagree. It's like getting a book with only the 1st half of the chapters.

 

[David Levine]

That's exactly what I'm saying. And I have to believe that people at Paramount are well aware of that fact.

Like I said, I think this is a very good thing, and if it works, hopefully more studios will consider making configuration changes before abandoning under performing series.

 

[andyEckles]

I'm perfectly happy with anything the studio releases for Dynasty. I love the show and would love to have the series in my collection, regardless of what format it is in. I'll buy season sets, volume sets, or what have you, and will hope they continue to release them. I'm just glad that we're getting anything at all!

 

[brett tolino]

Let me say I'm glad for anyone and everyone who is buying the show in volume sets. Anyone who enjoys the show that much and is willing to pay whatever it costs to get it out there should be happy.

For the rest of the people getting all defensive in favor of the studios telling people we should just be happy we're getting it at all, well that's just being irrational.

1) Why have so many of you (Travis -- who posts everywhere, David, Joe) hired yourselves as the offical studio spokesmen ? Offering helpful explanations is one thing but many of you become agitated towards any consumer who isn't going ga-ga over a studios release plans.

2) Do you have a personal stake in whether or not these things sell? Because many of you are real pissy about something that has no bearing on you whatsoever. The studios don't come out to defend their actions, they don't issue press releases to explain them either. They do what they want, consumers accept it or they don't.

In fact, many of you come here on a high horse to post about dvd releases you don't even have any interest in. Why bother? Just to put your 2 cents in about something you don't even like? Go to another thread.

Newsflash guys: We're the consumers, we're the ones spending our hard earned money on their product. If we don't agree with a studio's release plans, it's our right to a) Choose not to buy it and b) speak our mind.

How about this, you like it, you buy it.
If we like it and the price is right, we'll buy it.
If we don't like the price, we won't.

Many people won't just buy something simply because its out there.

Yes, getting tv on dvd is fun. But it stops being fun when it is no longer affordable. I like a BMW too, it would be great fun to own but if its not priced within my range, I can't buy it.

And yes, it's great Paramount is continuing to put Dynasty out on dvd. But sorry, but as much as I like the show, I'm not and will not pay 2x as much for a complete season. It's just that simple.

 

[Jeff*H]

I will probably get flamed by Brett, especially since I'm not a Dynasty fan, but here goes.

I don't think anyone here is telling you how you should spend your hard-earned money. Several people were simply trying to provide insight into the decision-making process that goes into these releases based on their professional knowledge and experience to counter some of the inaccurate suppositions floating around. I don't think anyone was passing judgement on you.

You are a Dynasty fan, but feel that the studio is robbing you blind with such a high price, so you choose not to feed the company piggy bank, which is fine. Hopefully the DVD will be available during a sale or on the secondary market for you to purchase and enjoy down the road.

TV on DVD is a fun hobby, not a lifestyle, as you correctly point out. Personally, there are some shows I love that I will buy no matter what the cost or format (full season, split season), and there are other shows that I am a more casual fan of that I will not purchase if the price is not right.

 

[David Levine]

You keep bringing this up. Nowhere has the price been stated yet. You can't keep comparing shows that have always been volumes with one that is switching from seasons to volumes. You can't just assume that they are going to give you half the episodes for the same price.

Now, if S3 V1 comes out at the same price as S2, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong and take back the goodwill I'm giving Paramount for trying a new approach to keep a series alive.

 

[brett tolino]

I guess you missed my point Jeff, and I'm not here to flame you.

a) I'm not a 'hardcore' Dynasty fan.

b) I'm not even a 'hardcore' tv on dvd fan anymore.

c) I don't believe the studios 'owe' me or anyone else anything.

What I find particularly odd is not the people who come here to offer simple explanations as the gentleman did on the other thread. I didn't need to post there because he said it all perfect.

That's great and people appreciate it. It's the bitterness and anger others spit in their postings to people who are not happy about the way something is released or priced.

Some become so offensive, you'd think they were actually receiving royalties from every unit sold. They get on their high horse and say, 'Be glad you're getting it at all' or 'If you don't buy it, no more will come out, you only spite yourself.' and many other things.

More, many of them aren't even fans of the release topic their posting in.

These people are more irrational than the people they claim are 'whiners' because they're complaining about 'whiners' in a thread featuring dvds they're not even interested in.

All I am saying is, which I've said over and over again: Yes, it's great they're releasing Dynasty. I would buy it if it was priced more reasonably but if I can't afford paying twice the amount for a single season, I won't buy it.

If that means no more releases, so be it. I've supported many shows when I was a hard core buyer and my support didn't get me anywhere. It didn't get me subsequent seasons, it didn't get me an offer to buy the additional bonus materials when studios released them as full series.

I get it. Studios have to look out for themselves and their pockets but now, as a consumer, so do I.

 

[Aryn Leroux]

David: are you hinting S3-V1 will be cheaper than S2 the complete set? I see you say the price has not come out yet, so you will wait and see. But i get the idea you might know something we do not? Also if you know how well S2 did or did not sell and have numbers thats great and i am not saying you are wrong and are not in the know. But leave that out of any argument, unless your willing to back it up and show the numbers. Otherwise it holds no weight.

We shall see what happens but S2 is MSRP $38.99, i would imagine S3-V1 is going to be right there with it, the lowest it will go is $34.99msrp.