Which modern current tv shows do you still buy on dvd? (1 Viewer)

[jcroy]

(A tangential rant).

One thing I've found extremely annoying is when I'm buying the bluray (or dvd) season sets of a current show I like watching a lot, and then the show suddenly turns into garbage and/or I find the show becoming lackluster or outright boring.

For example, this happened with The Blacklist for me. I purchased the season 1 and 2 bluray sets, and then season 3 turned to crap. I also found the subsequent seasons somewhat lackluster too. Since then, I haven't bothered purchasing any further bluray season sets of The Blacklist.

(The only reason I still watch The Blacklist, is mainly because I'm at home on Friday evenings).

A more recent case was Designated Survivor. I liked the 24-style conspiracy plot in season 1, where I purchased the season 1 dvd set. By the time it was season 2, it turned into a completely different show resembling a WestWing-lite or HouseOfCards-lite which was executed in a rather bland boring manner.

Since then, I've been very reluctant to purchase any dvd/bluray sets of the first few seasons of any newer shows I've been watching.

 

[jcroy]

For example, this ^ is the primary reason why I haven't bother purchasing any dvd (or bluray) sets of recent/current shows I've been watching, such as: Blindspot, the MacGyver reboot, Taken, Supergirl, The Flash, Mr Robot, etc ...

 

[jcroy]

These days I won't buy any show on DVD that originally aired in HD. I can't see paying premium pricing for a subpar presentation.

These days to me, "premium pricing" is anything which is not dump bin prices.

This is what makes dvd-mod and bluray-mod releases really unappetizing, since they rarely ever dip into dump bin territory. As a recent example, one show I've been watching a lot is Blindspot where the season 3 bluray was released by WarnerArchive. (The seasons 1 and 2 blurays had wide releases through Warner).

As much as I like watching Blindspot, I find it really difficult to justify buying it if seasons 3, 4 and 5 all end up being released as bluray-mod via WarnerAchive. During seasons 1 and 2, I was watching each then-new episodes as many as a dozen times during the week(s) between new first-run episodes. Though by the time it was seasons 3 and 4, I was only watching the episodes once or twice. At this point the only reason I'm still watching Blindspot, is because I'm usually at home on Friday evenings and watching it and The Blacklist live (or semi-live).

Though with that being said, if Warner ever releases a general wide market Blindspot complete series bluray set through Warner (and not WarnerArchive), I may pick it up if season 5 isn't a total disappointment.

 

[jcroy]

Going back further in time, another show which I watched a lot in its first-run and also re-runs is "Without A Trace". (I eventually burned out on watching Without A Trace).

Only seasons 1 and 2 were released by Warner, albeit very staggered in 2004 and 2007 respectively. Eventually the remaining seasons 3-7 were released by WarnerArchive over 2012-2014.

I only started buying a lot of dvds/blurays in 2011, where before 2011 I had very little to no interest in dvd/bluray at all. Even back in 2012-2014 which was the "peak" years of my dvd/bluray buying binges, I wasn't willing to buy anything as dvd-mod.

 

[jcroy]

Around that same time period, another show I was watching which became dvd-mod very quickly was Bob's Burgers.

I picked up the season 1 dvd set at the time, and never purchased any of the subsequent seasons which were all dvd-mod.

As much as I like the show in its first-run episodes, I found the season 1 set had very little rewatch value for me. With the premium pricing for the subsequent dvd-mod seasons sets and the low rewatch value for me, I couldn't justify paying premium prices for the later seasons of Bob's Burgers released as dvd-mod.

 

[jcroy]

Though with that being said, if Warner ever releases a general wide market Blindspot complete series bluray set through Warner (and not WarnerArchive), I may pick it up if season 5 isn't a total disappointment.

(Some historical context).

I've always found that when some tv shows' later seasons turn into crap, frequently it "retroactively" affects how I feel about the better earlier seasons. It is as if the crappier later seasons completely "contaminate" the show's entire run.

What really hit this home for me, were tv on bluray shows like Arrow, The Blacklist, Continuum, etc ...


I liked the first three seasons of Arrow a lot, where I was watching the then-new first-run episodes many times during the week(s) between new episodes. The season 1 and 2 blurays also had some replay value for me.

Though by the time season 4 of Arrow was around, I thought the show turned to crap. Eventually I stopped regularly watching and drifted away sometime during season 5.

Eventually I picked up the season 3 bluray. By then I wanted to watch through seasons 1-3 again, just to find out the hard way that they had very little to no rewatch value for me anymore.


Similar story happened with Continuum in season 3, where they did a clumsy time/dimension jump which was basically a mid-series reboot which turned the show to crap. Before season 3, I really liked watching the season 1 bluray at the time. Though by the time seasons 3 and 4 came and gone, I eventually picked up the season 2 bluray just to find out the hard way that seasons 1 and 2 had very little to no rewatch value for me.

Same story with The Blacklist for me, where I thought season 3 turned to shit. Subsequently I found the seasons 1 and 2 blurays difficult to watch.


I don't know if anybody else feels this same way. I have noticed this mentality is prominent for scifi/fantasy/superhero tv shows, where I seem to expect very high standards for such genre shows. Less so for generic police procedural shows, but still prominent nevertheless.

 

[jcroy]

I hate to say this, but these ^ bad experiences with scifi genre shows turning to crap and "retroactively contaminating" the entire show's run into something which has very little to no rewatch value for me, has largely led to me exiting the tv on bluray market.

The "straw that broke the camel's back" for me was the scifi show The Killjoys, where I really liked season 1.

Just before season 2 started, at the time I thought about picking up the season 1 bluray. Unfortunately due to my previous bad experiences with Continuum, I was somewhat gunshy about buying any further season 1 bluray sets.

By the time season 2 of The Killjoys came and went, in hindsight I was glad that I didn't purchase the season 1 bluray. It turned out season 2 was garbage which was barely even watchable in its first-run.

 

[TJPC]

Around that same time period, another show I was watching which became dvd-mod very quickly was Bob's Burgers.

I picked up the season 1 dvd set at the time, and never purchased any of the subsequent seasons which were all dvd-mod.

As much as I like the show in its first-run episodes, I found the season 1 set had very little rewatch value for me. With the premium pricing for the subsequent dvd-mod seasons sets and the low rewatch value for me, I couldn't justify paying premium prices for the later seasons of Bob's Burgers released as dvd-mod.

Ahh! The strange irrational prejudice against DVD-mod surfaces again!

 

[jcroy]

Ahh! The strange irrational prejudice against DVD-mod surfaces again!

Of course.

 

[jcroy]

I will plead guilty outright to the fact that I am completely "brain damaged" beyond any redemption, when it comes to my extreme prejudice to dvd-mod and bluray-mod.

 

[BobO'Link]

(Some historical context).

I've always found that when some tv shows' later seasons turn into crap, frequently it "retroactively" affects how I feel about the better earlier seasons. It is as if the crappier later seasons completely "contaminate" the show's entire run.

What really hit this home for me, were tv on bluray shows like Arrow, The Blacklist, Continuum, etc ...


I liked the first three seasons of Arrow a lot, where I was watching the then-new first-run episodes many times during the week(s) between new episodes. The season 1 and 2 blurays also had some replay value for me.

Though by the time season 4 of Arrow was around, I thought the show turned to crap. Eventually I stopped regularly watching and drifted away sometime during season 5.

Eventually I picked up the season 3 bluray. By then I wanted to watch through seasons 1-3 again, just to find out the hard way that they had very little to no rewatch value for me anymore.


Similar story happened with Continuum in season 3, where they did a clumsy time/dimension jump which was basically a mid-series reboot which turned the show to crap. Before season 3, I really liked watching the season 1 bluray at the time. Though by the time seasons 3 and 4 came and gone, I eventually picked up the season 2 bluray just to find out the hard way that seasons 1 and 2 had very little to no rewatch value for me.

Same story with The Blacklist for me, where I thought season 3 turned to shit. Subsequently I found the seasons 1 and 2 blurays difficult to watch.


I don't know if anybody else feels this same way. I have noticed this mentality is prominent for scifi/fantasy/superhero tv shows, where I seem to expect very high standards for such genre shows. Less so for generic police procedural shows, but still prominent nevertheless.

A coworker feels exactly this way after the crapfest that was of S8 of Game of Thrones. While I'm not fond of that season (or the last half of S6 and all of S7, both of which were a bit better than 8 - OK you can really make it season 5.5 on) I'm OK with how it actually "ends" and won't let that very poorly done last season affect my enjoyment of the first 5.5 seasons (before the showrunners, having run out of source material, were forced to rely upon their own poor writing skills to finish the series). He purchased the Steelbook Atmos versions of all seasons to date (and upgraded his home theater setup for Atmos to take advantage of that) but said he'll not purchase S8, will never rewatch the series because of that season, and will likely dump the others.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Ahh! The strange irrational prejudice against DVD-mod surfaces again!

My prejudice against it isn't irrational, it's price.

If they'd lop 10 bucks off the price and bring them in line with regular releases, I'd buy 'em. But $30 bucks for one MoD set? No thanks. That's a tough sell even when the discs are pressed.

 

[jcroy]

A coworker feels exactly this way after the crapfest that was of S8 of Game of Thrones. While I'm not fond of that season (or the last half of S6 and all of S7, both of which were a bit better than 8 - OK you can really make it season 5.5 on) I'm OK with how it actually "ends" and won't let that very poorly done last season affect my enjoyment of the first 5.5 seasons (before the showrunners, having run out of source material, were forced to rely upon their own poor writing skills to finish the series). He purchased the Steelbook Atmos versions of all seasons to date (and upgraded his home theater setup for Atmos to take advantage of that) but said he'll not purchase S8, will never rewatch the series because of that season, and will likely dump the others.

I'll admit outright that this "all or nothng" mentality for me, is completely irrational.

In practice, I find it is extremely difficult to overcome. No matter how hard I try.

 

[BobO'Link]

I will plead guilty outright to the fact that I am completely "brain damaged" beyond any redemption, when it comes to my extreme prejudice to dvd-mod and bluray-mod.

I'm prejudiced to DVD/BR BOD (Burned on Demand) but have no issue with MOD specifically - just as long as it's pressed. Warner Archive BR MOD are all pressed (so far) and if they run out of stock they press more (not revert to BOD as they do with a MOD DVD release). I've yet to be disappointed with a WA BR "MOD" release.

Even then, my primary prejudice against BOD is the price. These are priced at Pressed MSRP rates and rarely drop in price. When they *do* drop for a short sale the prices are generally what I'd expect non-sale prices to be. Essentially - the product is overpriced considering much of the DVD output is whatever transfer they have laying around. There are some that get restoration but that seems to be slowing.

 

[jcroy]

Since then, nowadays I just wait for a scifi/superhero/fantasy show's entire run to be finished before I make any dvd/bluray purchasing decisons.

Basically a particular show is automatically deleted from my hypothetical candidate purchasing list, when something drastic happens such as:

- bluray version is discontinued for subsequent seasons (such as The Strain, etc ...)
- dvd/bluray of later seasons are never released at all (such as Taken season 2, etc ...)
- it goes dvd-mod (or bluray-mod) after season 1 (such as Bob's Burgers, 12 Monkeys, Blindspot, etc ...)
- crappy season(s) (too many to mention)
- abruptly cancelled without a satisfactory ending (ie. cliffhangers, etc....)
- etc ....

 

[TJPC]

My prejudice against it isn't irrational, it's price.

If they'd lop 10 bucks off the price and bring them in line with regular releases, I'd buy 'em. But $30 bucks for one MoD set? No thanks. That's a tough sell even when the discs are pressed.

Well, that certainly makes good sense. I withdraw my snarky comment.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Well, that certainly makes good sense. I withdraw my snarky comment.

I get where you were coming from, though. There's definitely a "Burned MoD"? but it'll be dead in 6 months!!!" feeling from a lot of people.

However, I've seen first hand evidence that Burned MoDs last well enough. I'm currently re-watching Night Court. Seasons 4-9 came from the Archives, and 4 and 5 were released before they started pressing a batch of them. My burned MoD discs are 8 years old. They play just fine.

So, I'm okay with the format. It's the 10 bucks extra I balk at, since at some point over the years, $20 was unofficially set as the baseline for new pressed sets. And with the MoDs, I'd assume there's not as many costs involved for the studios, so... what's up with the extra charge, guys?

 

[jcroy]

And with the MoDs, I'd assume there's not as many costs involved for the studios, so... what's up with the extra charge, guys?

Because they know they can get away with it?

I'm sure amazon and the movie companies know very well that it is primarily the hardcore crowd which is mostly buying the MOD stuff.

Whether the hardcore collectors are "holding their noses" while buying MOD titles, is an entirely different matter.

 

[jcroy]

Since then, nowadays I just wait for a scifi/superhero/fantasy show's entire run to be finished before I make any dvd/bluray purchasing decisons.

Basically a particular show is automatically deleted from my hypothetical candidate purchasing list, when something drastic happens such as:

....

- abruptly cancelled without a satisfactory ending (ie. cliffhangers, etc....)

....

One recent show where this ended up indeed being the case for me, is the scifi show Dark Matter.

Dark Matter had three good seasons all released on bluray, which unfortunately was canceled on a cliffhanger at the end of season 3.

As good as the show was and highly desirable the bluray seasons sets were to me during the show's original first-run, in the end it was deleted from my dvd/bluray purchasing list. Due to the cliffhanger and abrupt cancelation, the bluray sets are no longer of interest to me.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I had a little dilemma with my current CSI rewatch. I enjoy the show (the original Vegas series that is) but only owned seasons 1-9 on disc. Seasons 2-8 are DVD only but 1 and 9 are Blu-ray. They went back to DVD only for season 10 onwards. The DVDs include special features but I’ve never watched them.

So I had to decide what to do when I got to season 10. After watching season 9 in HD, I didn’t want to downgrade to standard definition for season ten. So in what may be a first for me, I bought Season 10 on iTunes so I could continue watching the show in HD. In the end, I couldn’t justify buying a DVD when it was available in HD via streaming.