Blind Buys - how have you done? (1 Viewer)

[Sammy-G]

I blind-bought the one and only TV show currently in my DVD collection: Quantum Leap S1. It wasn't a complete blind buy as I had seen a handful of episodes from later seasons; I bought S1 because I wanted to see it from the beginning. I've loved it so far, and I plan to buy the other sets.

 

[Firebee]

I blind bought: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. and Jack of All Trades...love all three of them, tho I've got so many shows on DVD that I've not had time to watch all of them, nor will I probably ever.

 

[Jeff#]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best TV series ever produced in terms of writing, directing, acting, and the chemistry. There's a versitility of the actors and their abilities to each switch from drama to comedy and back again at just the right times is incredible. Even in the first season that was evident. Any chemistry and the writing were completely missing from Firefly, and that's where Joss Whedon stumbled. If I don't care about the characters or the storyline, then I can't get into a show.

You said you've only seen the first season of Buffy, but starting in the second year with the introductions of the badass vampire couple Spike and Drusilla plus Angel himself actually becoming evil at one point (when he again loses his soul), the series really starts to evolve. And that evolution goes to higher levels in the seasons that follow, as Buffy was able to reinvent itself each year but maintain (and in many seasons improve) on the quality of the scripts, and at the same time stay focused on who the characters are and where they came from. The continuity holds up!

 

[Sean D.]

the blind buys I have gotten are


In Living Color- enjoyed this show and it is good to own the whole series on dvd.

Mork and Mindy- a pretty good show if they were ever to release season two I would get it.

3rd rock from the sun- an above average sitcom and I will soon be finishing this series up on dvd.

 

[Phyll]

I have two blind buys and I just love them. Jag and Without a Trace. Now, you must understand I really don't watch much modern tv. I am mostly old school so that is why I was truly surprised that I liked these shows. I must admit though I do like Stargate and Gilmore Girls. No sex and the city or raymond for this girl. Those shows are on too many channels in my area. To the person that wants to blind buy Taxi-buy seasons 2 and 3. Those are the very best of the show. So I guess I must say I am very happy with my blind buys. I bought both shows when they were on sale. Awesome deals. Has anyone bought online by blind buy? Now that would take guts eh?

 

[Pete Battista]

99% of what I buy I get online... so I blind buy online all the time.

 

[Wezzo]

Ditto here; I always buy online and thus I always blind-buy online. Can't really see why it's any more of a risk than blind-buying in a brick-and-mortar shop..

 

[MarkBirds]

I recently bought Prison Break because I'd heard a lot about it and a local retailer had a great deal on season one the week it was released. I have to say this show, though far fetched, is enormously entertaining and lots of fun.

Best Buy has Veronica Mars season one for 20 bucks this week and I may take a chance on that, having never seen it.

 

[Helena]

Most of my blind buys are purchased online because I live in Australia and most of the TV-DVD shows are only released in the States. The biggest risk for me is that if I do not like the show I am stuck with it. Although places like Amazon will allow you to return the set, the cost of the return postage is too prohibitive. As a result most of my blind buys are only made on "sale" items so that the $$$ risk is minimised.

The reality however is that I have been happy with most of my blind buys (see my previous post), so I keep on buying them, if somewhat cautiously. While $$$ is an issue so is shelf space!

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> I don't do Netflix because I don't want to pay the monthly fee and feel obligated to have to rent something every month just because I've already paid for it.

That (under) $20 a month has saved me thousands by avoiding buying stuff I shouldn't.

 

[PatW]

Well I turned in some of my older dvds that I didn't care for anymore and blind bought Prison Break. I've heard alot of good things about this series.
Normally I just buy TV Sci-fi on dvd but I was looking around in the store yesterday and Prison Break caught my eye. I hope I won't be disappointed.

 

[Mary_P]

I'm kinda hoping it works out that way for me. I just joined at their lowest level ($5.99 for two titles in a month) so I could sample some things without having to shell out $$$ to buy the entire season. Also it was a big incentive that they were offering the pilot for Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" more than a month before its September premiere.

Re: blind-buying, like some others here, I watch and buy a lot of shows in a lot of genres. I have an "A" list for gotta-have-it-now titles, a "B" list for things I'd like to get someday; there isn't a lot of disposable income left over for blind buys, which I'd consider my "C" list. If I see something dirt cheap that I've heard good buzz about, I may pick it up, but that's rare. I did get season 1 of "Murder One" when Sam's Club had it for $17.88 and have been enjoying that. I have to be careful about not watching it when I'm tired or distracted, though, or I find I miss major plot points.

Jeff, I do believe that's the first time I've heard the words "Fox," "Firefly" and any form of "wise" in the same sentence! (But then "Fox" and "wise" probably don't appear in proximity to each other often either....) Seriously, if all you've seen of the show is some episodes as broadcast by Fox, you may want to give it another whirl on DVD -- in the correct order and presented widescreen, as it was intended to be shown. A lot of folks, myself included, just felt puzzled at the episodes as shown on Fox; having the proper introduction to the characters and the world they live in makes a big diffference.

Mary

 

[nickGreenwood]

I wasn't overly happy when Browder came in, but now in the midst of the 10th season he's fitting in quite well and interjects a lot of his own brand of sarcastic humor. The episode where Cam and Sheppard meet this year is quite funny.

As for blind buy's, Poltergeist the Legacy I guess would be my biggest blind buy. It started off great and while it was still good, I never finished off the season.

I made my dad blind buy Veronica Mars Season 1, for himself (I'd already been a fan) as I know he'd like it and sure enough, he loved it and it was the only dvd I've ever seen my dad get pumped about when I told him Season 2 was out. He promptly bought it Friday night.

...

I hated Firefly on TV, I couldn't follow it and it seemed kind of dumb, especially compared to Buffy and Angel which were both so smartly written and felt like mini-movies each week. But I ended up buying the DVD set when it came out on the recommendation of people on here. I loved it, when you see it in order and such, it plays so much better. Joss really did a good job with the show, it had splashes of Buffy and Angel but splashes of old western's and modern space drama's. If you didn't like it because you saw it on TV, you saw it out of context, I would recommend renting it or buying it.

 

[Don Giro]

Veronica Mars, Rescue Me, Lost, Alias, Nip/Tuck, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Roswell, Popular, Dead Like Me, Homicide: Life On the Street, Reno: 911, and Boomtown were all blind buys for me that I'm overjoyed with.

I'm also pretty happy with La Femme Nikita, Prison Break, Wonderfalls, and Firefly.

I wish I had Netflixed Joan of Arcadia, Charmed, and most of Angel, though.

So, my my luck with good blind buys exceeds the not-so-good, therefore I shall probably continue this buying pattern for years to come...

 

[Nick Zbu]

I blind buy a lot and I'm really glad I broke down and got Remington Steele. I remember it vaguely from childhood and honestly...it's better than I expected. Very nice.

I'm thinking about buying the entire run of Buffy but the only episode I've seen is the last parts of Season 6 and....honestly, I'm not a big fan of the postmodern high school/superduper identities/superheroes in leather kind of thing.

 

[MarkHarrison]

Jeff on Firefly:



Jeff, I'd love to see a list of what shows you own. It seems to me that if I pick the exact opposite of what you like, I'll be in good shape.

 

[MichelleB]

I tend to only buy TV shows I love and have seen.
But I'm very intrigued with HOUSE, both seasons 1 & 2. I've seen maybe two episodes max and enjoyed them very much. Does anyone think this would make a good semi-blind buy? They are pretty expensive sets so I'm debating it not having seen much of the show. Maybe with a little help, I can make up my mind.

 

[Mary_P]

I love "House," so of course I'm gonna tell you it's an excellent blind buy, semi- or otherwise. The plots are pretty formulaic, but to me it's all about the characters, or rather House's character. The first-season episode "Three Stories" was the best-written hour of television I saw all last year. I don't always agree with Emmy voters, but I was very happy to see David Shore take one home for writing that episode, and Hugh Laurie for lead actor.

Deep Discount's got a nice sale on some Universal titles, including both seasons of "House," this week -- $32.67 each, and free shipping. Or if you think you need to see more first, there's that $5.99 for two rentals Netflix tier.

 

[Wezzo]

I, too, highly recommend House. S1 was a blind buy for me, and it surpassed my expectations (and they were pretty high). I just got S2 today in the mail, and I've very much looking forward to it.

 

[Elizabeth S]

I blind-buy a LOT of TV shows, many of them pay-cable shows.

Have watched the following: (Plan to view subsequent seasons as applicable as time allows.)

Sports Night - Fabulous show! Had never seen a single minute of it when it aired. Love Peter Krause. The "You're wearing my shirt."
line epitomized the excellent writing, with layers of meaning revealed in a single simple statement.

Nip/Tuck - Bought S1 blind (I'd avoided it on airing because I thought the surgery scenes sounded too explicit for me.) LOVED it, and now watch the show as it airs.

Veronica Mars S1 – Loved it.

The Wire S1 – Very good.

Firefly – I remember the TV ads not looking like my type of thing. However, turned out loving it.

Queer as Folk S1 - 5 – I adore this show. I love Gale Harold. It would be a “desert island” DVD series for me.

The L Word S1 – It was OK, but not compelling enough to make me feel I had to continue with the 2nd season. Mia Kershner’s character was quite annoying.

The 4400 – Loved it – now watch the series as it airs.

OZ S1 - 3 – Good – not quite as must-see as I’d hoped. I have S4 and 5 in my to-watch pile.

Sex and the City S1 - 4 – Very enjoyable.

The Office (UK) It was OK – not really my type of comedy.

Arrested Development – I only made it about 4 episodes into the series and gave up. Just didn’t find it very amusing or the characters very engaging.

The following I have not started (from Season 1) yet:

Gilmour Girls
The Shield
SFU
The Sopranos
Smallville
Carnivale
Deadwood
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Roswell
Huff
Poltergeist: The Legacy
One Tree Hill
Freaks & Geeks
Profit
Footballers’ Wives
This Life
Prime Suspect
Cracker (UK)
The Lakes
Mind of the Married Man