Mill Creek rereleasing Universal shows... some on Blu (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

Another thing I dislike and which I strongly advise people be aware of before looking at purchasing any releases from Mill Creek is their weird practice of releasing 1 or 2 seasons of a show then abruptly stopping and moving on to a complete series set release. Initially I thought this might have to do with poor sales but apparently this is their normal business practice- the following statement on TVShowsonDVD.com (taken from the news article on the upcoming Friday Night Lights release) pretty much confirms it...

I was almost burned by that practice a couple of times. In both instances I'd waited for the season purchases just long enough that they announced the full series releases before I'd opened the individual seasons and was able to return them for full refunds. After those two times I've stopped purchasing individual seasons of any MC release for which I'd like to own the full run. It's paid off every time.

 

[Astairefan]

The Munsters is not part of this deal at present, if Universal & Mill Creek continue their partnership then perhaps it might be part of a future deal?! These are the shows they have acquired the rights to release:

Airwolf
Coach
Knight Rider
Miami Vice
Quantum Leap
The RockFord Files
Friday Night Lights
Necessary Roughness
Sliders

It seems like a mishmash of old and new, not sure what the process was in determing what shows to aqcuire the rights to?!

Regarding The Munsters, not the news you are looking for but according to this Amazon listing Universal will be re-releasing the complete series on DVD in September: https://www.amazon.com/Munsters-Complete-Fred-Gwynne/dp/B01HDORSFK/

I figured that was the case with the Munsters, and since I already have the DVDs, I was just expressing a wish for it to come to Blu-ray, since at this point, it seems like the main studios are giving up on releasing classic TV shows on Blu, and the only hope seems to be Mill Creek (or Shout Factory, but they seem to be even more of a long shot than Mill Creek at this point).

 

[LeoA]

Thanks for reminding me, since I don't own Coach and was going to pick up the season 1 & 2 rerelease.

This one might be different like Highway to Heaven though since so much of the run originally never was released. But I may as well wait and see how it pans out.

 

[bmasters9]

These latest batch of releases of Universal shows, they have taken things a step further and are releasing them with 6 episodes crammed into each disc- that is way too much IMO.

So did Image Entertainment's releases of I Spy-- 6 episodes of an hour series is, to me, far too much to handle. Fortunately, Shout! and Timeless cut it down to 5 per disc for the full-series release of that 1965-68 NBC adventure series w/Robert Culp and Bill Cosby.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I figured that was the case with the Munsters, and since I already have the DVDs, I was just expressing a wish for it to come to Blu-ray, since at this point, it seems like the main studios are giving up on releasing classic TV shows on Blu, and the only hope seems to be Mill Creek (or Shout Factory, but they seem to be even more of a long shot than Mill Creek at this point).

I'd really like that also, especially since Universal has restored the original songs on the 3 "Munsters" episodes that previously had song replacements on all of the DVD releases (I have the latest 2013 DVD season sets of THE MUNSTERS!), and made them available on Amazon U.S. as digital downloads. It's so frustrating that I can't access these just because I don't reside within the U.S. (@#$% territorial copyright laws!), and hopefully a future Blu-ray release would at least provide we Canucks an opportunity to acquire these!

CHEERS!

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Thanks for reminding me, since I don't own Coach and was going to pick up the season 1 & 2 rerelease.

This one might be different like Highway to Heaven though since so much of the run originally never was released. But I may as well wait and see how it pans out.

It depends on what they have acquired the rights to- the 4 seasons that were previously released or the entire run?! Hopefully for the fans of the series, they have acquired the rights to all 9 seasons and are not just re-releasing the seasons Universal previously released as that's just a waste IMO. Having said that, I would be shocked if they actually released a complete series set, aside from the recent Mad About You release, Mill Creek is all about re-releases.

It would be nice to see them finish off some of the Sony series that are stalled like Benson, Diff'rent Strokes, Fantasy Island, TJ Hooker and The Flying Nun where they should have released a complete series set instead of re-releasing the first two seasons considering the show only has 3 seasons!

 

[LeoA]

Even if that sadly happens, it still works out for me since I never bought any seasons of Coach. The video masters aren't all that great (I've borrowed the first three seasons once) and likely won't suffer too badly from their usual over compression and I'll likely save some money going the Mill Creek route.

And Mill Creek does more than just rereleases. I'm sure that they'd of loved to have done more with their Sony licenses, but I don't think that Sony was willing to play ball. Hopefully the Universal deal is more to our liking this time and they'll be allowed to bring something like Coach to completion like they've done before elsewhere like with Highway to Heaven.

 

[phenri]

I don't own any seasons of Coach, but I would like to purchase a complete set, since I find the show extremely funny. I'm not planning to purchase the re-releases of the first few seasons, with the hope that a complete series will be coming.

 

[MattHR]

Speaking of Mill Creek... I noticed a bunch of their recent Sony complete series sets at Costco today. I can't remember them all, but included were Soap, Larry Sanders, Mad About You, News Radio, and Married With Children. All were in that newer "Must See Television" packaging, (which I like to think of as "Must Avoid Purchasing"). I'm not exaggerating when I say that literally every copy of every show had its packaging crushed at the top end. In case anyone hasn't seen this type of packaging, it has to be the cheapest ever designed. The box is made of cardboard that is no thicker than that used for greeting cards. It's almost impossible to handle the package without crushing it, which I assume is why every copy I saw had visible damage. It doesn't help that every show was packaged in a box much larger than necessary, leaving lots of empty space inside just waiting to be accidentally "squeezed" by the next unsuspecting shopper. The discs themselves are placed into generic slotted cards within, so there is literally no plastic used for the packaging (except for the shrinkwrap). Who does Mill Creek think is going to buy this crap, even at their low prices (which I find ridiculously high, given the extreme video compression utilized to reduce the number of discs per set)? There were a couple of other people browsing the selection, so I couldn't help but warn them about Mill Creek's quality (or lack of). They said they had bought a few before that had obvious quality issues, so were thankful for the tip, but also realized that at those low prices for complete series sets, "buyer beware." I couldn't help but just shake my head at what has happened to the industry...and one of my former favorite hobbies.

 

[bmasters9]

All were in that newer "Must See Television" packaging, (which I like to think of as "Must Avoid Purchasing"). I'm not exaggerating when I say that literally every copy of every show had its packaging crushed at the top end.

That's the way I saw them at the Wal-Mart in Simpsonville as well-- crushed beyond belief.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I'll recommend Mill Creek's Blu-ray releases, but to steer clear of their DVD sets, especially from the past few years when they got really compression happy with those! In terms of not being over-compressed, their pre 2010 releases are probably OK.

CHEERS!

 

[jcroy]

I'll recommend Mill Creek's Blu-ray releases, but to steer clear of their DVD sets, especially from the past few years when they got really compression happy with those! In terms of not being over-compressed, their pre 2010 releases are probably OK.

These compression-happy habits were long embedded in Mill Creek's ethos since they started releasing dvds, more than a decade ago. Before mid-2009, Mill Creek's dvd releases were mostly compilations of movies. (ie. 10+ movies, etc ... type sets). Some might be from public domain type sources already available.

For other movies on these MC compilations, the quality varies from really horrible to barely passable. If I had to guess, some of them look like they might have been old syndication transfers for those after-midnight or Sunday afternoon type movies that hardly anybody watched back in the day.

Cramming 3 or 4 of these mediocre movies per dvd disc, probably wouldn't make much of a difference.

 

[jcroy]

IIRC, Mill Creek started going "upward" in the market in 2009 when they got the licenses for stuff like:

- previous BCI Eclipse catalog titles (ie. He-Man, etc ...)
- "best of" dvd sets of tv shows released by Shout Factory (ie. Simon & Simon, Punky Brewster, etc ...)
- Stephen J. Cannell catalog (ie. Wiseguy, Hunter, 21 Jump Street, etc ...)
- etc ...

IIRC, BCI Eclipse went out of business in late 2008.

http://www.g33k-e.com/movies-2/the-history-of-bcieclipse-and-mill-creek-entertainment/

 

[MattHR]

That's the way I saw them at the Wal-Mart in Simpsonville as well-- crushed beyond belief.

Every time I browse Walmart, Target and Best Buy I see mangled packaging, usually caused by that package-destroying "spider wire" anti-theft device. Once at Best Buy shortly after Christmas, I was chatting with an employee who was pulling unsold overstock from the shelves and loading them onto a cart. As he was removing the spider wire from some of them, I told him it was the damage from the wire that was most likely the cause of the product going unsold. In particular, there were several copies of the complete Batman set (then $200) that had severe damage. The employee told me that many times customers had asked if they had any undamaged stock in the back room. When this damaged stock gets returned to the studios and distributors, doesn't anyone ever "connect the dots" as to why it went unsold? Another head-shaking moment.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Every time I browse Walmart, Target and Best Buy I see mangled packaging, usually caused by that package-destroying "spider wire" anti-theft device. Once at Best Buy shortly after Christmas, I was chatting with an employee who was pulling unsold overstock from the shelves and loading them onto a cart. As he was removing the spider wire from some of them, I told him it was the damage from the wire that was most likely the cause of the product going unsold. In particular, there were several copies of the complete Batman set (then $200) that had severe damage. The employee told me that many times customers had asked if they had any undamaged stock in the back room. When this damaged stock gets returned to the studios and distributors, doesn't anyone ever "connect the dots" as to why it went unsold? Another head-shaking moment.

The sad thing is I could see store management justifying this dubious measure by citing that more $$ could be lost on account of theft by not taking the spider wire security precaution. What a shameful waste!

 

[bmasters9]

The sad thing is I could see store management justifying this dubious measure by citing that more $$ could be lost on account of theft by not taking the spider wire security precaution. What a shameful waste!

So, in other words, it's a "darned if you don't, danged if you do" type of deal?! No wonder no one wants to get the Mill Creek releases.

 

[Garysb]

I think the only series missing from the Costco list of complete series was "Party of Five" for $30. All these Mill Creek complete series sets are available at Amazon for only a little bit more.
Perhaps Amazon will wrap them so they arrive less damaged.

 

[BobO'Link]

I think the only series missing from the Costco list of complete series was "Party of Five" for $30. All these Mill Creek complete series sets are available at Amazon for only a little bit more.
Perhaps Amazon will wrap them so they arrive less damaged.

Not a chance... they'd likely put them in bubble mailers since they're easily damaged. It's only the rock hard stuff they put in boxes.

 

[MattHR]

I think the only series missing from the Costco list of complete series was "Party of Five" for $30. All these Mill Creek complete series sets are available at Amazon for only a little bit more.
Perhaps Amazon will wrap them so they arrive less damaged.

My guess is that they'd arrive in even worse condition if ordered from Amazon, due to individual handling and then the inevitable rough ride via the USPS. My experience with Amazon has been to return over 50% of what I receive, due to their incompetent packing and shipping procedures.

The selection I saw at Costco appeared to have none sold yet (based on at least six copies of each set in a neatly and fully-stacked display). The damage to the top of every box was immediately visible when looking down at them. As I mentioned before, the cardboard (thick paper actually) used for the box covers is so cheap it appears the pressure of the shrinkwrap alone may actually have crushed the boxes, especially since they all had plenty of hollow space inside.

 

[Tony Bensley]

My guess is that they'd arrive in even worse condition if ordered from Amazon, due to individual handling and then the inevitable rough ride via the USPS. My experience with Amazon has been to return over 50% of what I receive, due to their incompetent packing and shipping procedures.

The selection I saw at Costco appeared to have none sold yet (based on at least six copies of each set in a neatly and fully-stacked display). The damage to the top of every box was immediately visible when looking down at them. As I mentioned before, the cardboard (thick paper actually) used for the box covers is so cheap it appears the pressure of the shrinkwrap alone may actually have crushed the boxes, especially since they all had plenty of hollow space inside.

Over compressed DVDs and over inflated packaging!

I feel the need to "decompress"....with a Mill Creek Blu-ray!

CHEERS!