Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

If Hill St. is indeed abandoned, there's no way St. Elsewhere makes it past season 3.

Denzel wont save it .... he was one of the weaker links in St. Elsewhere. His character was a major stiff ....

What a dissapointment. HSB was my favorite show as a kid, and it holds up very well.

This geniuses at Fox should have known that it would be a cult type of show release with mostly diehards buying it ...

Cmon Fox ... Sell it at $19.95 and people will come!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

as was explained, why would a studio want to be in business with a product that barely delivers a profit?

You can't blame a company for wanting to maximize profits - we all would do it - Hell, have you ever seen people drive an extra distance because gas was a penny cheaper?

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

yes, but Anchor Bay or Image or Lions Gate or something along that line would see the profit Fox makes on HSB and would be satisfied with the same thing that Fox is "ugh, why do we bother pressing this stuff, it doesn't sell like the fifth repackaging of Buffy's first season does"

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

If Fox can't make money selling a show that won two dozen Emmys, their business model is the problem.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

You don't think oversaturation is the problem?

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

right, if a company like MPI can commit to The Doris Day Show, a series that has been practically forgotten over time, is not really regarded as a classic or anything like that, why would they pass on Hill Street Blues if given the opportunity? I am sure HSB has sold far better than Doris Day, but Fox has far higher expectations while MPI is "well, 10,000 Doris Day fans is still 10,000 copies sold". Companies get too spoiled with shows like Lost, Simpsons, Seinfeld, Friends and the sort, not every show is going to sell like those, and they shouldn't be penalized for that reason.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Oversaturation is one factor, yes, and the fact that reality TV is even under consideration for DVD releases is another. Call me in 20 years and see if anyone wants Fat Actress on holo-disk.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Maybe Gord can chime in... but I'm pretty sure they stopped releasing NYPD Blue the first time around when it didn't pull in huge numbers. I mean, Universal thinks there's enough of a market for "Simon & Simon," which I have--but it has nowhere near the market something like HSB has.

Hill Street probably should have had a S1+S2 primary release, since the seasons were so short.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Speak for yourself!!!!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I agree that Fox doesn't seem to understand the market for product like HSB. It's a bit of a 'cart before the horse' situation. They think there's a limited market for HSB (based on sales numbers for titles like NYPD Blue), so they figure the best solution is to spend as little as possible on the product (double-sided discs), the packaging (uncompelling artwork) and the promotion (dump it on retail outlets without any fanfare). That way, when it doesn't sell, they haven't lost much money.

But if consumers aren't made aware of the product, can't find the product in stores if they ARE aware of it, or when they DO find the product it doesn't exactly get them motivated to buy it because it looks really cheap ... then Fox suddenly has a self-fulfilling prophecy on its hands.

Of COURSE it won't sell!

Has Fox never heard of the adage "it takes money to make money"?

(As an aside, speaking of bad packaging, the St. Elsewhere package is a piece of crap, with Photoshop work that looks like it was done by a first-year graphics student ... it makes it look like St. Elsewhere is on the same quality level as all those direct-to-video 'erotic' and slasher movies ... and I know what I'm talking about, since I run an agency that has developed packaging and trade advertising for hundreds of VHS and DVD releases.)

If they truly understood (and were committed to) marketing in the 21st century, they would give HSB a higher quality package (consumers love the bells and whistles, and it gives retailers something to promote), and do some targeted marketing to the millions of baby boomers who watched this show the first time around.

I'm amazed at how little the studios do in the way of direct marketing, either in its traditional form (direct mail) or e-marketing. If HSB is a niche product, then Fox needs to reach out and communicate directly with that niche. Develop a customer database, do some demographic and psychographic breakdowns, and talk to them! A few print ads in TV Guide just doesn't cut it these days.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Andrew, you are so right about this . . .

I just googled "Hill Street Blues" and found two fan sites among the first 10 listings for the series . . .

http://www.hillstreetblues.net/

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Lot/4907/

If the major studios aren't having a dialog with the folks that run these sites, they sure ought to . . . they represent a ready made audience for their product.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

For those who haven't seen it...here is what Andrew is talking about. It ain't much...but it IS the show that's important...and I hope they bring it all!



Personally, I'm a little surprised Cynthia Sikes made the cover.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I bought and enjoyed both seasons of Hill Street Blues (also the first four seasons of NYPD Blue) and am wondering, if there's anyone that knows if there's any value in lobbying Fox directly, with requests for HSB S3+ and at least the final Milch years of NYPD Blue.

Very frustrating to invest in the first few years but then to see the show abandoned. But you all know that already!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I'm a firm believer in letting the company know how you feel. Otherwise, how are they suppose to know? I'm sure someone will pop in with a name and address.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Can I see the accounting books on HSB.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

It nevers hurts to email the studios and let them know how you feel. I used to have a person I emailed at Fox but she must be gone because I get no response from her-just an automated email that says it will be forwarded. But here is the email address I have:
FoxDrop@4icc.com

If anyone gets a different response please let the rest of us know. I just got the Addams Family dvd set today and in the flyer it states that more seasons of the Bob Newhart Show, the Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hill Street Blues are coming soon. I don't know how old the flyer is or if it means anything but we can keep our fingers crossed. I don't understand how they could not make money on a show as great as HSB.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

or maybe you sent one too many emails to her. Sales figures

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I guess it can't hurt to send an email.. I will send something.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I wonder how the the abandoning in the past of low-selling series (like Happy Days) and decision to ultimately release complete sets of shows (like M*A*S*H) in often more attractive and feature-rich packages (again, like M*A*S*H) have made some consumers wary of buying shows like Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue right away (probably not the main reason they're not selling well, but possibly a contributing factor).

I realize there is a vast majority of consumers who are not aware of these issues and just buy what appeals to them on the shelf, but for me, with the two examples I've cited, Happy Days I've held off buying because Paramount abandoned it, and M*A*S*H seasons I regret buying because Fox is putting out a complete set with extras (and cheaper). Both situations have changed the way I consider purchases.

Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, however, I've been buying upon release. I'd really hate to see them abandoned and I hope Fox is just regrouping.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Especially since the later seasons they can hype Dennis Franz

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Two problems have affected the DVD sales of HSB and NYPD Blue: they have been off the air for a while and one show (NYPD Blue) has been shown in reruns for a long time (or not currently airing in reruns anymore). HSB might have had DVD sales helped if it was actually being shown on some cable channel now.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

NYPD only ended last year, not really a long time

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I thought the St Elsewhere cover was a half-arsed attempt to emulate the cover art of Gray's Anatomy (the emphasis on little squares). Which in itself says "we have no confidence in this show on its own merits, but if you like Gray's maybe you'll like this too."

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I hadn't noticed the similarities. That's funny.

Even more likely is that Fox told their creative agency (or their in-house designers) that this was a low budget release and that they didn't want to spend more than $1000 on the packaging design. (Believe me, this is not far fetched.)

When faced with severe budget restraints (which translate to severe time restraints, since agencies bill by the hour), then square cropping photos is a quick, simple solution. Much easier and faster than trying to do a more intricate design solution.

No time was spent on the typography. It's very clumsy, which makes me think it was either done in a big hurry, or it was done by a junior designer with no skills.

The Photoshop airbrushing on Denzel is incredibly amateurish. He looks like he's had one too many rounds of plastic surgery.

I could go on, but it pains me too much!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I bet you they had to take screen grabs from old video sources for the composite. Knowing how crappy that usually is, it's extremely difficult to get a decent print out of that, so I can't blame the artist.

If this is the case, I would say the artist is more professional than what any amateur would do.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I was thinking more along the lines of the graduating high school senior with a bad case of acne who had his yearbook photo "fixed" by the portrait company!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

But the reruns of the episodes several times over the years on cable networks might be a factor in poor DVD sales.

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

LOL! You're absolutely right. Nice one!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

Any news regarding season 3?? I am so angry that they have abandoned plans to release it... It's just typical any 70's-80's show released on DVD is virtually known not to make the complete set on DVD apart from say MacGyver or Columbo etc... WE WANT HSB S3+!

Re: Hill Street Blues abandoned?

I really think classic series like HSB should be released the way TimeLife is releasing Get Smart.

They're releasing the whole series as a box set first, at the same time they're releasing the first season as an individual set. That way, if the individual sets fail to sell, they don't have to keep making them, but at least the entire series is out there for those willing to make the investment.

ALL shows no longer running new episodes should be released this way.