"The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A. (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

It's a new low alright. I'm shocked, but not half as shocked as the studio will be when that disc doesn't sell. Oh well, it's their money. WB is a big studio, I suppose they can waste good money any way they please.

 

[MatthewA]

And you know they're going to blame the show if it tanks and not this BS.

Somehow half-season sets don't seem so bad anymore. How ironic. We complain about one insult, then we see what is inarguably a bigger insult that leaves us grateful for what we had before.

 

[Bryan^H]

Of course. Almost positive it will be abandoned after that.
More toward the release of this single disc travesty, I'll start a thread to boycott this garbage.

This a slap to the face of the fans who plunked down hard earned cash for the first two volumes. It's just not logical from any standpoint to release a series this way. Given the next release, or none at all, I'll take nothing.

 

[David Levine]

I think the problem is that fans didn't plunk down hard earned cash for the second volume.

I'd guess the scramble to a different format is due to the unexpected drop after the first set far exceed expectations.

This isn't a case of milking the fans, it's trying to salvage the series for as long as possible.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

The Smurfs lasted 9 seasons and almost 300 episodes. At 5 episodes a release, it'll take literally years to release the whole thing, and the point at which Warner gives up and decides to terminate the series will just come much sooner.

Here's an idea: Exactly HOW is unloading 13 or so episodes onto a double-sided disc not a viable option?

 

[chadHobbick]

I'm going to hope WHV gives some answers as to their reasoning for this. From what I heard/read the two previous sets sold extremely well, so them pulling this makes no sense. I guess we, the fans, are in the proverbial catch-22 here. If we buy the set it might make WHV think that it's a new viable way for them to release season sets to make a better profit. If we don't buy the set then they would say it didn't sell well b/c of what it is or whatever other crap they would put out other than thinking of themselves to blame. Sigh....

Is there still time to complain to WHV about this where it might actually make a difference?

 

[Bryan^H]

The inevitable drop in sales from the first release to the second should have been anticipated by the studio. Couldn't they cut the costs elsewhere? Double sided discs with no extras, and minimal promotion would save them a bunch of money. They could also give season one volume two some time to breathe. I realize most sales happen early after the release date, but if they released half of season 2 late next year I'm sure it wouldn't sell poorly.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is this: Diamond Select Toys bases practically everything they make(mostly comic book figures, and statues) on pre-sells and order books from comic book shops. If it doesn't do well in those aspects the figure never goes into production. If there were a way studios could do this with tv releases, it might help the gauge the interest of a series.

I don't hate WB for doing this, but they can't possibly expect it to do well.

 

[David Levine]

Not a drop like this. I'm pleasantly surprised they're even continuing the series after V2. Studios are quick to kill series when they hit certain numbers these days.

I don't personally like cutting down the amount of content, but I applaud WB for trying a different approach instead of killing the series. If it was me, I would've given it one more "full size" release and if it continued to badly drop, I would've looked into alternate ideas.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm guessing WB won't waste another nickel on Silverhawks, considering it bombed out of the gate.

David,
Do you think BCI would see Smurfs through the end if they had the rights?

 

[Bryan^H]

You see, that's why you should work for WB's

 

[David Levine]

All the way? Probably not. It's so much content, that we'd likely hit a point where it's more expensive to release than just sit on it.

We've put out a few titles where we knew we'd lose money *cough*...Bravestarr V2...*cough*, but do that too much and you won't be around to keep "taking one for the fans".

 

[David Levine]

That would be bad. My bosses are smart at BCI because they don't put me in charge of spending money. I'd have taken the company down 5 years ago - easy.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

No one's answered my question.

There are other alternative ideas that could have been taken. sticking 5 episodes onto a $15 dollar DVD probably wasn't the only answer, and Warner's bound to be hurtling towards disappointment if they think this will result in a sales spike.

 

[David Levine]

I just wonder if Smurfs is one of those shows that for a lot of people the episodes in S1V1 are enough to scratch their occasional "Smurfs itch"?

I know there are the diehard fans, but I have to think a lot fo the people who bought the first set are thirtysomethings that got it home and either enjoyed it, but didn't need anymore, or watched it and said "I used to like this?"

It's the fate of a lot of 80s cartoons. The memories are better than the actual property. Nostalgia.

 

[Bryan^H]

Yeah I'm so glad you guys released vol. 2 of Bravestarr. It's one of my favorites. But for every title like Bravestarr you guys put out, you have others like the Isis complete series that probably sold through the roof right?

 

[David Levine]

It's all over the board. Isis performed better than expected, but we had others that ranged from "outstanding" to "total tank".

Unfortunately most 80s shows do poorly.

 

[Bryan^H]

Kevin, That's what I don't understand about this release.
Your idea of a double sided disc with ten(or more)episodes for $15 has to be a viable option for WB. I could live with that, and so could other consumers.

But this....? I'm hoping this plan gets scrapped before it hits stores. Your solution is an easy way out of this dilemma.

 

[Bryan^H]

Yes. I'm still hoping for more Fall Guy(Fox) and Growing Pains(WB) but I'm not holding my breath. One last big hooray for Universal. They released 2 more seasons of Airwolf after the first one was practically DOA.

You would think most 80's shows would be great sellers as they mostly appeal to the prime buying demographic. Of course I usually buy way too many sets to focus on. I'm so backlogged now, it would take me years of watching to catch up on my collection.

 

[Andrew Radke]

Well, watching the Macy's parade last Thursday, it was announced that the Smurfs will be hitting the silver screen in 2010, so perhaps there will be a renewed interest in the series then, especially to a new generation of kids who may not have seen the show before. Maybe (and this is really stretching it here) they will go back and re-release season 2, etc in full capacity.........as Paramount did with season 1 of "I Love Lucy". I won't press my luck but I am willing to bet more copies will be sold when tied in with the film.

 

[ChuckWL]

Are we 100% sure this will only be a 1 disc set. Amazon now show this title as
Smurfs 1 (Std Sub) (2009). They show it as a 2 disc set that will be released on February 17th.
I followed the link posted in the original tvshowsondvd.com site.