shows that surprised you when they failed on DVD?

Mad About You came out way too early into the TV Shows on DVD craze. It would have done much better if they had waited on it.

I think the biggest problem right now is that the companies putting out these releases are no longer getting these sets in the Sunday circulars so most people who don't frequent online sites have no idea when things are coming out.

Paul

Mad About You and Murphy Brown. I'll explain more later.

I'm stunned that Happy Days didn't do better. I would have predicted this to be one of the top 5 sellers of the 1970s shows.

Jeffo

But that was Helen Hunt and Leila Kenzle appearing on an episode of Friends only. Unless you're counting the one night where a blackout started in Mad About You affected the storylines of Friends and the random fourth comedy on Must See TV Thursdays that season (Seinfeld chose not to participate).

I think Mad About You is a classic case study of timeslot success that worked to secure ratings on broadcast TV but don't carry over into TV on DVD.

It was an OK show sandwiched between two better shows, and not up against great competition. So in the broadcast world it got very good ratings because it was inoffensive and it wasn't really worth clicking away from NBC for 30 minutes while it aired. Made nice background noise while people got a sandwich. The plots weren't so dense of the dialogue so sparkling that you had to pay really close attention for fear of missing something.

But when people have to spend money to own it, and it doesn't have a great lead in or follow up on disc, a lot fewer people were interested. TV on DVD defies the law of intertia as it applies to couch potatoes.

I think Night Court clearly suffered from the fact that the first releases were of the early seasons when hardly anyone had discovered the show and the ratings were lukewarm. The glory days of the series, the Night Court most people fondly remember, were roughly seasons three through seven or eight - basically the Markie Post years. I'm not surprised that the first couple of seasons underperformed or that the studio misread this as a lack of interest in the show.

Regards,

Joe

I think Joe makes a good point. There are shows that people want to watch, and there are shows that people are willing to watch. The latter aren't likely to do too well on DVD, though they often did very respectably when they were initially broadcast. And there are a few shows that never did much in the ratings, but have rabid fans. And these can do just fine on DVD. Thus, a show like "Caroline in the City" had ratings many times that of "Arrested Development," but would likely sell fewer copies than "Arrested" if it were released on DVD.

(And to all you "Caroline" fans, I'm not picking on that show. I really never saw it. It was just an example that came to mind.)

7th Heaven why did they fail on DVD?

Diff'rent Strokes- I know they got season two out and I have been meaning to buy it, but i know this show was and still is pretty popular.

Well Buffy, X-Files, Angel, Smallville and etc. all have dedicated horror and Sci-fi fan followings; drama is a harder thing to sell I guess. 7th Heaven has never had the dedicated fan following that other dramas enjoy. 7th Heaven was more like the show your parents made you watch lol.

To succeed on dvd, the fans have to want to watch a show more than once. Some shows seem disposable in retrospect. Unfortunately, I believe that MAY and 7th are in that category; something you watch once, enjoy, but aren't dying to see again.

And this kind of thing does kill me, because I love the primetime dramas. I'm pretty sure that Everwood didn't sell because of the above theory...you just watch it once and forget it.

I agree. As good as these types of shows may be on a single viewing, they need to have a higher PFRV (Potential-For-Repeated-Viewing) factor in order to become collectible. That's why most dramas and mysteries (both TV and movies) do not sell as well as the as comedy, action and sci-fi genres.

Hell, I could come up with a longer list of shows for a thread titled Shows that surprised you when they became big sellers on DVD?

The quality of Gilmore Girls is why it's a success on DVD. Just like other fairly low rated but relatively succesful TV DVDs (like Arrested Development or really anything on HBO). They may not have huge ratings but among people who buy TV DVDs, they're known to be quality TV and quality will always be popular for TV on DVD fans.

There's no set formula as to why something is a success but a show that is known to be quality (or nearly anything cult/sci-fi ) will always sell.

Laverne & Shirley.

I think things like Night Court failed because there was just too much TV product out there, and people moved past the novelty and started to wonder if they really wanted to own that much TV. Sure, Night Court was good, but how many people really want to own every episode? How many times can the average person watch an episode of a comedy?

I know that I've scaled way back in my TV DVD buys.

Good point above about getting things in the flyers though. I'm sure that's a factor in sales.

Still hard for me to believe that BARNEY MILLER never got past season 1 . . . it's one of the great comedies of the 1970s. I really wish that Sony would license this series to an independent.

Having too much TV on DVD is a valid point, Movies are a two hour commitment, TV Box Sets are a 20 hour commitment. I own too much and I even lament the time I spend watching them , I really should be out getting some more exercise and not plopped in front of the TV. Now the one thing that has energized TV on DVD for me is the Video Ipod. But of course just fill in your favorite Media Player or PDA. These devices have opened up TV On DVD and allowed me to watch in places I otherwise could'nt. In Dentist Waiting rooms, Service Centers, and on my lunch Break. If it was'nt for the Ipod I would be much more behind than where I am now.

That being said I tend to skew more for classic series from the 50's and 60's then i do for anything from 70's forward. I'd love to have 6 million dollar Man thou !

NYPD Blue.

Maybe it's not a total failure but Fox has been taking its time releasing the seasons. I also understand they are taking a more cost-conscious approach to the series, using double-sided discs for future seasons.

I heard that, Bob I'm wanting S2 bad.



Dave, I knew there were more 6M$M fans out there somewhere I'm also far more of an older-series TV/DVD collector but my favorite "era" of series is roughly between the late 50's and mid-late 80's. I have a couple of '90's series, but nothing past '96 in my collection.

I often think it's not necessarily the show that is the failure, but the disc of the show.

I never watched Mad About You, but I read the reviews which stated they put 11 episodes onto a disc, and the quality was inferior to the original broadcasts.

I have been pretty lucky when it comes to ths.

Shows I tend to want (I Love Lucy, Angel, 24, Alias, Three's Company, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls (quiet now), All in the Family, Batman: The Animated Series, Ninja Turtles (80's/90's), etc.) all seem to have high enough fan bases to continue. Some are even completed.

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.

Mary Tyler Moore was given new life with a price reduction and a time out. So, it being out of the loop for a couple years was probably a good thing in the long run.

Shows I would like to see on DVD? Batman (60's) as do many others. Also The Addams Family (60's).

I am pretty well ranged when it comes to decades. If you throw me any decade from the 50's to the 2000's, I can name a hand full of shows I like.

I despise sitcom comedy nowadays (sans maybe Arrested Development), but drama/action has a lot to offer.

It really just depends. Even older shows are hit or miss with me. "Sanford and Son" for example. I used to love this show. Now I can't even get through one episode fully. Yet, I Love Lucy & All in the Family hold the same good appeal for me and I can watch whole seasons. So, I really don't get it myself.

I was just thinking about picking this show up on DVD yesterday and was shocked when I found out that only two seasons and a "Best Of" were available on DVD. I used to love this show back in the day - I believe I caught it regularly when it aired during the later half of its run, as well as the reruns on... whatever cable channel aired them in the afternoons, I believe it was Lifetime or something.

I am also surprised Happy Days didn't do as well too. Kind of interesting how Three's Company which ran Tuesdays on ABC as well and was also a huge hit is a few weeks away from a season 6 and should be all finished by year's end. I suppose with Happy Days having all the billboard music in its early years and Thre's Company had parctically none, altjough some people think season 3 through 6 or so of Happy Days was better. At this point I'd be willing to take a season two without the music if all episodes were complete and possibly I'd even settle for a best of as it is looking to be the show with the lowest percentage of episodes released at 13 of 255 not including shows that have aero percent out.

There are some shows that I would not mind watching again, but I would only rent them, not buy them. Plus, I've bought movies before, and would stop watching them after a while.