Where is "Hill Street Blues" & "St Elsewhere"???!!! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_HR]

We are being flooded with TV DVD sets, yet my absolute 2 favorite shows are MIA! Where is "Hill Street Blues" & "St Elsewhere"? What is going on with these two shows? Why are they being withheld from release? IMHO a lot of shows that are not as good as these two are being released. I'd appreciate some informed info from a source that really knows something about the status of these two shows. Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[Dane Marvin]

There aren't too many shows in the back catalogue (shows no longer running) that Fox has treated to season releases on DVD yet. There's M*A*S*H (still going strong), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (discontinued after poor season 1 sales), and Lost In Space is coming soon. Am I forgetting any? Probably not.

I believe Fox will eventually get around to shows like the two you mentioned, but probably only after they finish releasing series they currently have going. The fact that those two shows didn't appear on Fox's TV on DVD Poll can be taken a few ways:

1. They already have future plans for these

2. They aren't even really considering them at this point

3. There's a legal stumbling block somewhere that won't be overcome soon

 

[David Lambert]

Last Peter Staddon chat:

 

[Jeff_HR]

If that works we will be more inclined to move forward with deeper TV shows. As I

mentioned before MTM was a disappointment to us so we are looking at older TV shows with a

bit more caution than we were before.

Perhaps there has been some change of heart considering the upcoming "Mary & Rhoda" TV Film that will be released by 20th Century Fox on April 20th. I'll take any break I can get to get these 2 shows released.

 

[Jon.M]

St. Elsewhere is probably my favorite series and I eagerly look forward to the day it's released. Got to visit the Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere sets back in the mid-80's at MTM Studios. Still have my autographed photo of Jennifer Savidge too. :b

 

[TonyD]

well i wont be buying blues, i never liked the show.

i would buy st elsewere if it ever came out.

i have every ep that columbia house released but that was only about 2 or 3 seasons.

i still think when peter calls MTM a dissapointment he disregards that it is somewhat priced too high.

and is still showing at about $40 most places.

too bad they go buy how well 1 show sells before deciding on another.

i realize these shows (MTM & ST E)are from MTM studios but whet the heck does that have to do with anything.

they each have a different audience.

those who would buy st. e might not want to buy blues.

 

[Jeff_HR]

I'm a fan of both so I want both.

too bad they go buy how well 1 show sells before deciding on another.i realize these shows (MTM & ST E)are from MTM studios but whet the heck does that have to do with anything

I agree, but how do the fans of these 2 shows get Fox to see things from that point of view?

 

[Jeff_HR]

In the same vein as my post above, what is up with the sales of "NYPD Blue"? Has this been selling enough to make "Hill Street Blues" more viable? And what about "St. Elsewhere"? Too bad that another Studio does not own these, they would possibly be released already. :frowning:

 

[Scott_F_S]

In the same vein as my post above, what is up with the sales of "NYPD Blue"? Has this been selling enough to make "Hill Street Blues" more viable?

From what I understand, sales of NYPD Blue haven't even justified another season of NYPD Blue.

 

[Craig S]

"NYPD Blue" did not do well for Fox. Gord Lacey of TVShowsOnDVD.com has implied that there will be no more seasons coming.

 

[Mike Williams]

I am very disappointed with the sales of NYPD Blue, especially since I bought both of the first two seasons when they came out. I also believe this seriously jeopardizes the chances of ever seeing "Hill Street Blues" on DVD.

I think the studios may be setting a dangerous precedent by discontinuing series after only a couple of seasons, because now, not only are they being more cautious, but now the consumer will be more cautious about purchasing season sets they may or may not have an opportunity to complete. If we all wait until the fourth or fifth seasons come out on DVD in order to justify our purchases, obviously sales of seasons one through three will be too poor to ever allow seasons four or five to be released. It's a real Catch-22, and we're the ones who lose.

 

[Bleddyn Williams]

I find it a bit disconcerting that the fate of one show may control another.

I personally couldn't give a damn about NYPD Blue, but would be on Hill Street in a second. Hill St. is vintage TV that has a fanbase of older viewers, while NYPD is what, 25 years later?

Apart from the fact that they're both cop shows, why should poor sales for the Blue mean that Hill Street will fail? Did The Shield sell? If it did, does that mean they should greenlight Hill St?

Seems like dodgy logic to me.

 

[Deb Walsh]

I agree. I watched Hill Street Blues religiously, but I've never watched an episode of NYPD Blue. I would definitely buy HSB in season sets, but I doubt Blue would end up on my shelves unless it was a present, since I've never gotten into the show.

HSB was a product of the '80s, and it would make more sense to compare its potential sales to other shows from the same era rather than a show with a completely different dynamic and fanbase.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Quote:

 

[Mike Williams]

NYPD Blue 25 years after Hill Street Blues?

Uh, no. Hill Street Blues premiered in January 1981 and ended in May 1987. NYPD Blue premiered September 1993 and is still currently running, though the last several years have had abbreviated seasons and sometimes difficult to find on a weekly basis.

1981 premiere to 1993 premiere equals 12 2/3 years.

End of Hill Street versus Premiere of NYPD Blue equals 6 1/2 years.

 

[TonyD]

well not that it makes any difference but the first season of HSB to the first season of NYPDB is 12 years.

but really, it is confusing that peter or whoever is in charge of deciding what comes to dvd is decided by how well many different shows sell.

they seem to be going by how well shows belonging to the same studios sell too.

like the sales of the mary tyler moore show.

apples and oranges, isnt it?

if my supermarket decided how many apples to purchase going by the sales of oranges, wouldnt that be somewhat odd.

 

[oscar_merkx]

I always watched Hill St where as I have never watched NYPD Blue.

very strange logic indeed

 

[Randy_Cre]

I really like both shows... Bought the first two seasons of NYPD, would love to buy more, as well as Hill Street Blues.

But I guess besides both being Bochco shows, enough people in decision-making positions feel there are enough similiarities between the shows that less than hoped for sales numbers for one show warrants not releasing the other. It's a shame because I'd really enjoy being able to own both series.

But I'm also resigned to the fact that a lot of the shows I'd like won't make it to DVD, or if they do, may end up being limited to just a first or second season. There are some Sci-Fi series I'm interested in getting but I feel no rush to buy those because I have no doubt they'll sell well enough that there's no rush to buy them.

It's not so much about whether a company can make some profit off of a TV show getting released on DVD, its about which ones they can make huge profits off of... then maybe after the ones that younger audiences will eat up, and the ones with 'cult' followings where almost every single fan of the show will buy the DVD... then maybe down the road some shows like Hill Street Blues will be released. But for now most of the releases will be dictated by which offer the greatest potential profits.

 

[Jeff Harris]

Remember too that Brooklyn South, another Bochco show, didn't exactly light up the world in sales as well (i just got it off eBay, so I'm looking forward to watching this).

I'm very disappointed about not getting another season of NYPD Blue. When each of the first two seasons came out, I watched them over a two day period (when S1 came out, I watched it for 9 hours straight). Hopefully, Fox can find a cheaper way to produce the discs and still make a nice profit on them.

I'd love to see HSB make it on to DVD as well.

Jeff

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Maybe NYPD blue airing so much in syndication has hurt it's DVD Sales I know I would've bought a few more years. And Actually the last few Years have been excellent as well after Schroader left. Law And Order did not sell well if I remember either and that's airing about 500 time a day