shows that surprised you when they failed on DVD? - Page 2

David Rain · 02-21-2006, 10:26 PM

I think if you're a devoted fan of a show you might want to own every episode. I certainly do. The fact that so many shows do well in rerun syndication proves that people do want to see their favorite shows over and over again. Although I'm sure some people avoid buying box sets because they assume what they're seeing on TV is the same thing, except with commercials. I don't think the general public knows about the editing that goes on.

JonathanBB · 02-21-2006, 10:49 PM

Night Court - I have no idea.

Dallas (Seasons 1 & 2) - What was the big wait for Season Three?

Murphy Brown - I have no idea.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Releases - Let's face it, these shows probably did sell well, Sony is just too lazy to release them.

Boy Meets World - We waited almost a year for the thid season.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - The price was just too high. Thank you 20th Century Fox for giving this show a second chance.

Happy Days - I'm very, very suprised this show didn't sell well. Well, I think it did sell well, they just don't want to release Season Two because of music rights.

Laverne & Shirley - I have no idea.

Mork & Mindy - I have no idea.

Dynasty - I have no idea.

John*P · 02-22-2006, 01:26 AM

But, like Shawn I was surprised Diff'rent Strokes hasn't done better. At least until I watched the episodes again. They are still ok one time, but they really don't have any replay value for me anymore. At least the two seasons out so far. Plus they haven't even gotten into the memorable seasons yet. I think this is the problem. All the memorable episodes (Kimberly's Green hair, Blair from Facts of Life showing up with her makeup bag, the cheesy music group with Kimberly, Willis, & Janet Jackson, etc.) haven't happened yet.

I totally agree with you there. I'm currently buying and enjoying the early seasons of Diff'rent Strokes, but I'm really looking forward to the middle/later years of the show. I'm interested in the controversial "very special" episodes more than anything. (and I know when I visit certain DS boards online, those are sometimes the most talked-about episodes that people want to see again.) There could be people out there waiting for the more memorable seasons of DS to be released before they start buying DVDs...who knows?

Jay_B! · 02-22-2006, 02:58 AM

I am curious to see how Facts Of Life will perform as opposed to Diff'rent Strokes. While DS was a bigger hit in its initial run and was the parent, I think FOL has more of what you'd consider a "cult" following. FOL has a pretty rabid and devoted cult following for a 1980's series, people who absolutely must have the show on DVD. I like DS and have both seasons out so far, but it seems like a different type of fandom between DS and FOL fans. FOL's fans regard it in the same league alongside Golden Girls fans, DS fans usually are more nostalgic type people who grew up with the show and like it because it takes them back. Plus, I have noticed younger generations being embracive of Facts, when it aired on Nick At Nite several years ago, it won over the adoration of another generation who don't remember it being on NBC (just go to Sitcoms Online or various Facts message boards and look at the number of 14-19 year olds who post there, who got into the show from Nick or Hallmark), whereas a lot of younger viewers are afraid of giving Strokes a chance because of the stigma attached to the careers of the three young stars.

Does anyone else think Facts will be more successful than Strokes on DVD? I like both shows, but just stating the observation I've made between fans of the two shows.

Stephen Lilley · 02-22-2006, 07:45 AM

Is Kids in the Hall not doing well? Is that why the distance is so great between releases? Or am I completely off base, here?

I mean, I know that it is very much a show with a cult following, but it seemed to me like the kind of show that would thrive on DVD.

Dan*T · 02-22-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Night Court - it ran nine seasons and was part of the groundbreaking NBC Thursday schedule in the 1980's and has done fairly well on TV Land. I never expected it to sell as well as Cheers (which ran roughly the same seasons) but you'd think if Cheers was already up to season 8 on DVD, that Night Court would at least be moving up as well, instead of being grounded with season 1.

Quote:

Charlie's Angels - Wonder Woman (which started around the same time and never got the ratings CA got) got its entire run out in a year, it's been 3 years and we're still waiting for season 3, and CA was a top 10 smash in it's prime and spawned two $100+ million grossing movies, yet season 3 is still being dangled like "it might come, it might not" carrot

Very interesting thread!!

Add to that:
Mary Tyler Moore
The Incredible Hulk
Mad About You

Those are my top two dissapointments. Like it has been
mentioned, I'm in a big rush to get out my favorites, becasue eventually this market will slow down. When it does, the studios will be more cautious as to what gets released, and eventually lead to less releases.

ElijahS · 02-22-2006, 12:06 PM

I'd take out Mary Tyler Moore, since it's now speeding up (with the fourth season likely going for a July release).

Bill>Moore · 02-22-2006, 12:31 PM

I would have said Mary Tyler Moore before it's return recently.

Otherwise, I'd mention Night Court and Dallas. Though neither holds much interest for me.

Erik_H · 02-22-2006, 01:14 PM

About "Murphy Brown." Although I was a fan of the series (the early seasons anyway), the disappointing DVD sales did not come as a surprise.

"Murphy Brown" never performed well outside of its initial run on CBS. When the series launched in syndication in the early/mid 1990s, many stations paid premium prices to air the series, only to quickly move it to undesirable time slots once the ratings came in---quite a few stations lost money on "Murphy" reruns. Few high profile sitcoms performed as poorly as "Murphy" did in syndication.

A classy series in many respects, but the series' reliance on topical humor has made it a difficult sell in ancillary markets. Jokes about Iran contra, Dan Quayle, etc., don't have the same resonance as they did when the episodes first aired on CBS.

Ollie · 02-22-2006, 01:35 PM

It was mentioned above that July is a likely release date for Mary Tyler Moore S4. This is thrilling for me if true, as I despearately want to continue collecting this series. Has Fox announced plans to go forward with future seasons?

Also, in regards to Mary Tyler Moore, does anyone know why Fox decided to give the series a second chance after almost 3 years? I'm VERY glad they did, but am just curious as to why this series in particular was chosen to get a second chance when so many other series have seemingly been dumped (not by Fox in particular).

Doug^Ch · 02-22-2006, 02:48 PM

I would have to say that I have had pretty good luck getting most of what I want on DVD. There are many shows that I wish would come out faster (La Femme Nikita for example), but of shows that I thought would do better on DVD, I would have to say Everwood is my biggest Surprise. Many Critics love the show; it has decent ratings - at least for a WB show, but failed to capture the sales on DVD. I can't fathom it. Also, I guess that I failed to catch the news that 7th Heaven did not do well on DVD. Where did that information come from. If that is true, I would have to say that I am very surprised by that as well.