buck rogers in the 25th century dvd release

Yeah I believe this is the 3rd release of this title. I have the 1st release and its all I need.

Well, there are a few reasons to be intrigued by this. First of all and most importantly, the original set used double-sided discs, and many had errors, so single-sided discs are always welcome. There are still some episodes from the series I have not been able to see all the way through. Second, the original set included the theatrical version of the pilot, but not the episodic TV version! I want to know which this set will have or whether it will have both. 

 

I also remember there was a re-release of the original set a few years ago, but as I recall it was exactly the same set re-issued.

 

 

yes, would love to jump on that as well, wonder if they will release the second season as a standalone as well?

 

I'm sorry, but this is outrageous. Universal could make this an exciting sought after release...instead of a mediocre 3 time wash out. WHY ISN"T THIS BEING RELEASED BLU-RAY????

at that point is it universal or Larson, 2014 would be the  35th anniversary, are we talking a remastered version like trek, going back to the original negatives

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I might get this one as well, for for the same reasons.  Hopefully we'll get some additional from Dave or Gord at TSoD as the release date gets closer.

I too was wondering if this release will contain the TV version of the pilot instead of the theatrical movie version. Probably not, but one can hope.

Probably because of all the costs associated with remastering for HD. I doubt Universal feels the expense would be worth the expected sales (let's face it, Buck Rogers would never sell as many units as Star Trek, especially at the higher prices said Trek sets sell for.

Heck, I've seen the complete set of Buck going for less than $20 on Amazon in recent years (think it might've even been around the $15 level). I'm sure Universal executives hardly expect that many people would be lining up for this in excess of $50 for the first season.


I'm sure Universal will be using the exact same data files for this release that they've used for the previous one(s), so if it's anything other than the theatrical version, I'll be surprised.

I really wish they'd have given this series the same treatment (with regards to archive bonus footage) that they did with classic Galactica. I know there's at least a bit of excised footage from the pilot that's remained unseen to this day (not least of which, Draco's appearance at the celebration on Earth, before Ardalla comes out in her funky bikini and hat combination). Also, they could've included the first episode's epilogue scene as an extra (I think there was originally a commentary on the pilot planned with Erin Gray and/or Gerard, before they nixed it and went bare bones).

No extras, no sale.

I have 2 of the other release. I broke my case on the original and picked up a back up for $10 at Walmart. That's all I need. I haven't even finished the 2nd season since buying 4+ years ago.

I know it couldn't compete with Star Trek, but Space 1999 sold really well on Blu-Ray. I think that is a good sign that vintage tv(especially sci-fi) is an untapped market on Blu.

Arguably, though, the Gerry Anderson shows have a much bigger fanbase (especially in the UK) compared to Buck Rogers. Also, there was an HD remaster being done for television anyway (in both cases), so perhaps there was some cost-sharing going on. I'd love Buck on Blu, but I really don't think it has a snowball's chance of being done.

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While I'd like to believe this, I'm personally going to wait until we see something released that's a little more...  how shall I say it...  mainstream.  By that I mean something other than sci-fi shows with huge cult followings.  If we see some series like I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, 77 Sunset Strip, Route 66, or The Dick Van Dyke Show, then I'll start thinking we might really have a shot at seeing classic TV represented well on Blu-ray.  Until then, I'm guessing the studios will only be tapping very specific shows with very specific demos.  Hope I'm wrong, because I'd go Blu in a heartbeat if some studio put out a cleaned up, properly done Route 66 set.

 

 

Gary "right now I'm still happy with my upconverting dvd player - but if the right material were released on Blu I'd be open to it" O.

I would love to have classic series on BD, but many sci-fi shows have cult followings(Including Buck) and I thing these would push many more units than I love Lucy or Route 66. Yes, Space 1999 already had an HD master so the first season was a no-brainer....but just a few short months after the release it was announced a second season was being worked on. Starting from scratch, and from a smaller company make that a pretty bold choice for the expense to cover a Blu release. Let's face it sci-fi usually has intelligent, rabid fans. Let's say a show has 8,000 fans, of those 8,000 you can almost be certain 6,000 of them will buy a Blu-Ray release. Just to see it in HD.
Not to mention most sci-fi series lasted 1, or 2 seasons at most. Making them conveniently easy to wrap up. I'm thinking the original Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes(1974) Buck Rogers, and V would all push enough sales to warrant a Blu release.

That's highly questionable, especially for such fringe-interest titles as V: the Original. Don't forget all the expensive restoration that would have to be done (perhaps including re-compositing the optical effects). V was released as a "budget" title on DVD in the first place, and although the two mini-series probably sold respectably, I really wonder what kind of numbers the 1-hour series did on DVD, considering how much I've seen them marked down to in the past year or so (about $10 on Amazon, as I recall).

I think it highly unlikely that WB would think they could earn back the remastering costs by selling this at a premium, Star Trek-like price, as they'd never sell enough units if they priced it as cheaply as they did the DVD version. There's certainly not enough mass-market crossover interest like there is for Star Trek and Twilight Zone. Shows like The Outer Limits are probably just barely on the "potentially profitable" side of the HD remaster or not equation from a studio perspective.

I'm sure past DVD and/or VHS sales are probably at least part of the equation on whether or not a studio think the public would buy a Blu-Ray version. Just look at how many times Trek and TZ were released on VHS, Beta, Laser, DVD and the like before the Blu-Rays were announced. They got released on all those platforms (and multiple times on most of those formats). Now, look at a show like V. In the US, I don't think any of it came out on VHS/laser until the late '90s, and that was just the two minis. The one-hour series was on VHS only by subscription (through Columbia House), again, a decade or so after it was on TV. Then, a single DVD release of all of these several years later (with a three-year gap between the minis and the weekly series).

Especially in this economy, I just don't think it's gonna happen for any of the shows you mentioned, though I'd love to be proven wrong.

The sales rank on Amazon is currently 27,461, and it is getting released tomorrow. While Amazon isn't the only outlet for selling units, it is usually a good indicator of how this will be received. Translation: it will probably be a cold day in hell before we see a single-sided season 2 of Buck.

Unfortunately, Amazon sales rankings are incredibly misleading. Rankings are based on not just overall sales of that title, but also the sales of all the other titles over the course of that day AND its lifetime.

i purchased Buck Rogers many years ago as it was like $19.99 for the set. I love the first season, especially with the lovely Pamela Hensley (Matt Houston). Erin Gray was also something special during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The 2nd Season when Buck and Wilma went on the searcher did not really excite me other than when hawk was introduced.