Anyone feel a bit letdown by Shout! Select? (1 Viewer)

[The Obsolete Man]

Originally Posted by Joe Tor1






Agreed! And, I might add it is the folks like me, who buy what they want on the day of release (or close to it), who determine in the studios' eyes IF there are any future sets -- not those who swoop in years later and pick at the remains!

Oh, yeah...


The $119.99 per Star Trek set from me and many others made sure that today, people can buy TNG and DS9 for a reasonable price, just as the Buffy and X-Files fans of yesterday dealing with the $149.95 MSRP made sure I could pick up the Buffy and X-Files sets for between 10 and 20 bucks apiece just last year.


Those first week sales are always the most important (from what we've all heard at places like this). The only place that isn't true is (surprise!) Shout Select, who have said that they like to give those specific sets some time to sell before making a final decision on releasing the next season.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Well, first, you do realize that the Golden Girls set you bought for such a cheap price has been out on the market for 4 or 5 years now, right? That means that the studio has already made their money on it, and can let the remainder go cheap because it probably costs them less to let their remaining stock out for a low price than to pay to store all these sets

Actually that was my thinking as well, they have already made their money on these so they are trying to get rid of excess stock by selling them at a much lower price. In any event, I think 10 bucks was a steal for this great show.

And that's the price the real fans paid back then. You get to pay 10 bucks now because they bought it for triple that amount 6 years ago.

I am a 'real' fan too, I did my part back in the hey days of TV on DVD when releases were coming out left, right and centre. I own the first 4 seasons of Newsradio and I paid full retail price for each (over 40 bucks). Of course back then you had no choice but to pay these high prices because future releases depended on good sales of the existing releases. Now, most of the shows that I might be interested in buying are already out so I no longer have to buy them for full price nor can I afford to. I usually buy sets when they are on sale or I buy from used outlets.

 

[Professor Echo]

Well, Nick, in life we all have to choose our battles. On this particular subject, mine are with the glass half-full army, but I wish you luck with yours.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor Echo .



Gary "that's what it all boils down to" O.

 

[Joe Tor1]

Originally Posted by The Obsolete Man




Oh, yeah...


The $119.99 per Star Trek set from me and many others made sure that today, people can buy TNG and DS9 for a reasonable price, just as the Buffy and X-Files fans of yesterday dealing with the $149.95 MSRP made sure I could pick up the Buffy and X-Files sets for between 10 and 20 bucks apiece just last year.


Those first week sales are always the most important (from what we've all heard at places like this). The only place that isn't true is (surprise!) Shout Select, who have said that they like to give those specific sets some time to sell before making a final decision on releasing the next season.

I’m not certain if you’re agreeing with me or not. It’s okay either way, ‘cause that’s what makes the world go round.


But, my point is that if enough of us don’t “buy it early”, there may not BE any later releases.


And, you can’t really hold the studios responsible for not supporting something *WE* did not support!


Remainders and “discount bin sales” is not looked on as support.

 

[TVonDVDJunkie05]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo /forum/thread/312380/anyone-feel-a-bit-letdown-by-shout-select/120#post_3825950

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by Kasey

I've heard the studios who issue their series as split-seasons do so because powerful big-box retailers like Walmart complained about lack of shelf space. Complete seasons of shows like Charlie's Angels and Starsky and Hutch take up three times the space that the current plastic cases used for most releases. The alternative was of course using dual-sided discs like WB did for Dallas. So CBS had to issue hour-long shows like Dynasty and Vega$ as split-seasons, as well as vintage sitcoms with high episode counts per season like My Three Sons. It still doesn't explain why S1 and S2 of Petticoat Junction were released complete.

Not sure about this, because they can now manufacture slim cases that contain up to six discs. Most studio-produced tv collections seem to be released this way at present. Doesn't bother me in the slightest, as I'm running out of room for my home dvd collection as well. Long gone are the days when you'd buy a huge megalithic boxed set like the first seasons of the O.C. or Everwood.


I also think that WB put out Dallas as flippers is because they were doing it on the cheap. And the fact that they did Dallas on the cheap is probably the only reason they got all the way to season 14 in a relatively short time period.


As to topic: I admit I was very exciting about the possibilities and prospects of Shout Select when it began, but since then they've dribbled down to a minor few scattered releases. Apparently either the dvds didn't sell, or the studios all want to go the Warner Archive route and put out their product themselves, bypassing outlets like Shout. In either case, nothing's being done, and we're seeing basically no classic tv releases, until you're into Hanna Barbera cartoons, which I personally could barely tolerate even as a child in the 70s.


I don't know if there'll ever be a second wave of prolific classic tv releases. Seems to me that saturation, downloading and a bad economy has stalled the genre. My prediction is that it will remain moribund for about the next 3 to 5 years and then the studios will suddenly see the wisdom of re-releasing some classic titles as blu-rays, and probably Complete Series sets at that. Look for this kind of stuff to pop up for Christmastime, circa 2014.

 

[vnisanian2001]

As I've mentioned, Mr. Belvedere is the one Shout Select title I'm interested in the most. I don't want Fox (the owners of that show) to release the final two seasons themselves, because they'll just butcher them beyond belief if they do.


All three Shout sets released so far were all wonderfully put together.

 

[MatthewA]

Originally Posted by vnisanian2001

As I've mentioned, Mr. Belvedere is the one Shout Select title I'm interested in the most. I don't want Fox (the owners of that show) to release the final two seasons themselves, because they'll just butcher them beyond belief if they do.


All three Shout sets released so far were all wonderfully put together.

If Fox had wanted to release Belvedere, or any of their pre-Simpsons, non-M*A*S*H library shows, they would have done so already. With their cutoff of classic movies on DVD they haven't even released the three Clifton Webb movies it was based on (in addition to the rest of the series, I'd like to see those, and the three prior unsold pilots from the 1950s and 1960s as well). Have Shout! and Fox parted ways entirely? I'm not entirely clear on that.


What I don't understand is the licensing-one-season-at-a-time deal. Is it a question of money or what the studio is willing to license out to begin with? On the other hand, if a complete series set of, say, Rhoda, had been done at the time, we would have gotten all the episodes with crappy transfers and three minutes missing. Hopefully those days, my only serious reservation about Shout!, are over.

Originally Posted by Ethan Riley


I don't know if there'll ever be a second wave of prolific classic tv releases. Seems to me that saturation, downloading and a bad economy has stalled the genre. My prediction is that it will remain moribund for about the next 3 to 5 years and then the studios will suddenly see the wisdom of re-releasing some classic titles as blu-rays, and probably Complete Series sets at that. Look for this kind of stuff to pop up for Christmastime, circa 2014.

I have a feeling I'll be getting them from my grandchildren as presents. And I'm 28.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewA

I have a feeling I'll be getting them from my grandchildren as presents. And I'm 28.

Agreed. I'll believe Classic TV will be rescued by Blu-ray when I start seeing material other than shows with cult followings (Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and The Prisoner). If I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, and Rawhide start getting Blu-ray releases then I'll begin to think there's a chance for other classics that haven't had any releases yet. But I'm not holding my breath for that development.



Gary "things are way too unsteady right now to predict anything, imho" O.

 

[Steve...O]

Originally Posted by Gary OS

Quote:



Agreed. I'll believe Classic TV will be rescued by Blu-ray when I start seeing material other than shows with cult followings (Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and The Prisoner). If I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, and Rawhide start getting Blu-ray releases then I'll begin to think there's a chance for other classics that haven't had any releases yet. But I'm not holding my breath for that development.



Gary "things are way too unsteady right now to predict anything, imho" O.

I agree with this. The market for classic TV on BD has got to be extremely limited beyond the cult series. I can see The Honeymooners making the cut because it would be a single season and because fans of the show want a higher quality release than what was already out there. The only other one that has a realistic shot anytime soon is probably I Love Lucy, but that's a lot of episodes to put to market. CBS/P apparently has slowed down their HD transfers in any event which doesn't bode well for a DVD release much less a BD release.


As for Shout - they had some unfortunate bumps on the road at first (cut episodes for various S1 releases) but they've developed very nicely and now are among the elites in releasing classic TV on DVD. My personal favorite of their series would be Ironside, but if that stalls due to poor sales, I will completely understand. I never expected it to be released to DVD in the first place because it hasn't been a viable presence in syndication in many markets for quite a few years.

 

[Jack P]

More than ever, this is the time to take inventory of what we have and what we've accumulated over the last five years or so, and then as we contemplate what there is to watch that we have right now, any frustration we have over what isn't released or may not get released I think will disappear quickly. It's been a good run and there's still some more stuff we know is getting out (next Tuesday will be me last big day until September with Mannix and McMillan And Wife). A year from now, we can take heart that our collections will certainly be bigger than they are now!

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve...O

I agree with this. The market for classic TV on BD has got to be extremely limited beyond the cult series. I can see The Honeymooners making the cut because it would be a single season and because fans of the show want a higher quality release than what was already out there. The only other one that has a realistic shot anytime soon is probably I Love Lucy, but that's a lot of episodes to put to market. CBS/P apparently has slowed down their HD transfers in any event which doesn't bode well for a DVD release much less a BD release.


As for Shout - they had some unfortunate bumps on the road at first (cut episodes for various S1 releases) but they've developed very nicely and now are among the elites in releasing classic TV on DVD. My personal favorite of their series would be Ironside, but if that stalls due to poor sales, I will completely understand. I never expected it to be released to DVD in the first place because it hasn't been a viable presence in syndication in many markets for quite a few years.

As always, when Steve posts its great quality stuff. He's right on the money with all those comments, IMHO. In fact but for a few of those cut 1st season releases, I'd give Shout a grade of A when it comes to their Vintage TV releases. If you go back to the early days when they were releasing things like McHale's Navy and That Girl, they've done a solid job and I'd have to give them a solid B+. If only we could have gotten the first season of Father Knows Best uncut I'd personally slide them up to an A-. That one hurt the most for me because it's a holy grail. But still, when I look at their overall work I'm very pleased and thankful for them.

Originally Posted by Jack P

More than ever, this is the time to take inventory of what we have and what we've accumulated over the last five years or so, and then as we contemplate what there is to watch that we have right now, any frustration we have over what isn't released or may not get released I think will disappear quickly.

True. I can only speak for myself, but those that know me well will, I believe, say I've definitely moved from a glass half-empty to glass half-full type of guy. A few years ago when the market was still strong but it was obvious a slowdown was on the horizon I was a bit more anxious to see more series get released. At that time it was more a matter of "making hay while it's still daylight" in my mind. But now that we are clearly on the other side of the mountain and the slowdown is in full force, I'm more prone to look at what I do own and be happy, rather than what I don't have and be frustrated or sad. The truth is there are only a couple of shows left on my holy grail and I've known for years they aren't coming. Music rights (Wonder Years) or poor management leading to cut masters and/or lost episodes (Ozzie & Harriet) have been a reality for a long time with the few holy grail shows I have left. Now that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other shows I'd still be delighted to buy should they be released, but at this point I'm done lamenting what could have been.



Gary "and Shout has been a huge contributor with some of my holy grail shows being completed, so they get nothing but props from me at this point" O.

 

[Malcolm R]

My "target" price for TV on DVD is $1 per episode of content. I'll sometimes go a little higher for a favorite show or if it's a higher quality production like some of the cable series or a BBC series. I have not yet purchased Mr. Belvedere S4 because I'm not going to pay $35 + shipping. I don't believe I paid over $25 for either of the first two sets.

 

[Statskeeper]

My biggest problem with Shout! Select is that most of the titles released are not available for streaming via Amazon Prime or Netflix. Sometimes you just don't have the money or space for a release, or you just want to sample before you buy (to see if you like it or a title is using syndicated cuts). I'm getting a lot more choosy in what I buy. I'm fortunate that most of the shows I want are out, and they're complete or on the way to being complete. Shout continued the MST3K releases when Rhino dropped them so I can't complain about them too much.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malcolm R

My "target" price for TV on DVD is $1 per episode of content.

Needless to say I'm guessing you won't be looking at too many Warner Archive TV titles with that type of threshold. Correct? Not that I think $1 an episode is a bad target price. It's not realistic for all the older shows I'm interested in (especially the split season sets from CBS/P), but if one waits it's definitely possible for a majority of releases.



Gary "I like the sentiment, but with some programs/companies it's just not going to happen" O.

 

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Jack P /forum/thread/312380/anyone-feel-a-bit-letdown-by-shout-select/120#post_3827224

 

[Regulus]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. The only change I would make is of the word "accumulated," which should, of course, be. COLLECTED.  At least that's what I always tell my gf when she says I need to stop  "accumulating crap" It's not crap when you are COLLECTING it.

 

SECONDED!

 

[Jeff Willis]

Agree with all of the posts recently here, Gary, Steve, Jack, Glen, William. Considering what a lot of us have seen released, it's mostly all good for me too. We all have our lists out there, stalled shows, unreleased, but the TV/DVD boom lasted a while and, just my take on this, there were a lot of shows that made the cut while the market was flowing at a good rate of releases, that I'd not predicted ever seeing available on DVD.

 

[Gary OS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor Echo /forum/thread/312380/anyone-feel-a-bit-letdown-by-shout-select/120#post_3827560

Considering what a lot of us have seen released, it's mostly all good for me too. We all have our lists out there, stalled shows, unreleased, but the TV/DVD boom lasted a while and, just my take on this, there were a lot of shows that made the cut while the market was flowing at a good rate of releases, that I'd not predicted ever seeing available on DVD.[/quote]

Yep. Who here really thought we were ever going to see Mr. Peepers or Whispering Smith when TV on DVD first started up? Not me, that's for sure!



Gary "great stuff in this thread" O.