Question: Spaced - R1?

Jeff-Wooten · 05-01-2007, 02:57 PM

Does anyone know which company would be the appropriate one to write to regarding the R1 release of the British comedy SPACED? I just saw Hot Fuzz last night, and I'd love to watch this series without having to buy a region-free player or pay the prices on Amazon for an R2 set. I'm thinking WB since they do a lot of BBC titles, but not sure. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Roger_R · 05-01-2007, 05:33 PM

Well... BBC licenced Black Books in R1, which was shown on the same channel in the UK as Spaced, and released it through WB. I'd guess that WB and/or BBC America would be the ones you need to mail.

There's a lot of music in Spaced so music clearances would definitely become an issue in releasing it in R1. Maybe that's why it hasn't seen a release yet.

Jeff-Wooten · 05-01-2007, 05:45 PM

Thanks, Roger! I hadn't thought about the dreaded music clearance issue (which probably explains how the music-free Nick Frost's Danger! 50,000 Volts! made it to R1 before Spaced).

David Levine · 05-01-2007, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger_R

There's a lot of music in Spaced so music clearances would definitely become an issue in releasing it in R1. Maybe that's why it hasn't seen a release yet.

That's exactly the reason it isn't out in R1. It's one of those "nightmare shows" to clear.

Tory · 05-01-2007, 08:30 PM

Don't contact Warner, they just distribute BBCAmerica's stuff, contact bbcamerica.com but also try A&E, Anchor Bay, Shout Factory, S'more Entertainment and BCI in your quest to get this released in the US through licensing.

It may be possible that the creators of Spaced thought ahead for the DVD release, it may not as well, but one can hope.

**HTF Ads**

AlexF · 05-01-2007, 10:52 PM

speaking of Nick Frost's 50000 Volts... I'm still waiting for the follow-up series release on DVD. *sigh*

Jason Seaver · 05-01-2007, 11:15 PM

There's a "Paramount UK" vanity card at the end of the episodes I've got on the DVR, so I doubt it would hurt to talk to CBS-Paramount.

Jeff-Wooten · 05-03-2007, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Seaver

There's a "Paramount UK" vanity card at the end of the episodes I've got on the DVR, so I doubt it would hurt to talk to CBS-Paramount.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I may even attempt to slide this question by at the WB chat next week, just to make sure WB is not a possibility. Does bbc america still show the series? I may have a friend who has satellite DVR it the next time it airs.

AndyMcKinney · 05-03-2007, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff-Wooten

Thanks for all the suggestions! I may even attempt to slide this question by at the WB chat next week, just to make sure WB is not a possibility.

Don't bother. They'll just tell you they're the distributor and that you'd have to ask the BBC, like they've done in the past on other BBC releases.

Quote:

Does bbc america still show the series? I may have a friend who has satellite DVR it the next time it airs.

I thought I saw it in my Dish listings earlier in the week.

You'll proably be better off just going with a cheap multi-region player (most Philips decks are hackable with a remote control number sequence and the players can be had for $50 or less), then voila, you have a DVD player that will play anything, and you won't have to worry about a). waiting or an R1 or b). possible disappointment if the R1 has music/editing changes for stuff that's hard to get clearances for in the States...

The Definitive Collector's Edition, which contains all the episodes, will only set you back about US$18 plus shipping from AmazonUK. Even if this did get a US release, you could probably only expect the first series (only) to start with, and if it comes through BBC Video, would probably retail for $25-30 for just the one series.

ScottLloyd · 05-05-2007, 11:46 PM

I bought a cheap regionless DVD player just for this show. Got it for $35 and picked up the three-disc set of Spaced for less than $20 at CDWow. It was worth it.

Jeff-Wooten · 05-06-2007, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyMcKinney

Don't bother. They'll just tell you they're the distributor and that you'd have to ask the BBC, like they've done in the past on other BBC releases.

I thought I saw it in my Dish listings earlier in the week.

You'll proably be better off just going with a cheap multi-region player (most Philips decks are hackable with a remote control number sequence and the players can be had for $50 or less), then voila, you have a DVD player that will play anything, and you won't have to worry about a). waiting or an R1 or b). possible disappointment if the R1 has music/editing changes for stuff that's hard to get clearances for in the States...

The Definitive Collector's Edition, which contains all the episodes, will only set you back about US$18 plus shipping from AmazonUK. Even if this did get a US release, you could probably only expect the first series (only) to start with, and if it comes through BBC Video, would probably retail for $25-30 for just the one series.

Cool! Thanks for the advice!

Jeff-Wooten · 05-06-2007, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottLloyd

I bought a cheap regionless DVD player just for this show. Got it for $35 and picked up the three-disc set of Spaced for less than $20 at CDWow. It was worth it.

It's amazing: the price of a regionless DVD player is cheaper than two drinks and two popcorns at a movie theater. Who'da thunk int? I'll probably go this route then. It sounds like it's going to be a nightmare just to find the company that would be in charge of an R1 release, and as others have said, there's that hovering specter of music clearance issues.