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Lost In Space Season II RUMOR (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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I have the opportunity to speak with a few
people involved with the Lost In Space
fan clubs.

Rumor has it that Fox is considering releasing
the second season as a 2-part set. In another
words, dividing up the season in two separate
releases.

The reason? To lower the price of each set so
that more stores will carry them.

Personally, if this is true, I hope Fox does not
go this route. Breaking up the set into two parts
is not an attractive purchase option for the fans
who want an all-inclusive purchase.

It also *seems* that releasing 2 separate packages
can't be as cost-effective as releasing one. Therefor,
people will most likely pay MORE when they buy two
packages rather than one.

Of course, just speculation.

It's sad that studios generally don't cater to fans
these days and if they feel they can sell more copies
in some other form, that will be their priority. I
wouldn't call it being rude -- just good business.

Take all of this as rumor.
 

Carlos Garcia

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I too heard this rumor yesterday on a Lost In Space fan site. I agree with you Ron, this is a travesty and not a fan friendly move. This move is done with more $$$ in mind for 20th Century Fox. How can anyone say that splitting a season set into 2 will make the price cheaper on consumers? The first season set is listed on amazon.com for $65.58, what does this mean as far as their thinking goes? Do they expect us to pay perhaps $24.99 for each half season set of season 2? I doubt it. Anything above that price doesn't sound reasonable to me because after shipping or taxes on both half sets, the price would either be the same or more than a full season set. I just hope this is only a rumor, because if they actually decide to go this route, it may start a very ugly trend that caters more to DVD releasing companies, than it does to the consumers. I'm sure the fans all want a complete season set, not this half season travesty, but I guess we're living in times where the customer is no longer right. :frowning:
 

Peter Staddon

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We are indeed looking at this option.

In an ideal world I would like to produce a complete Season 2 package. The sad reality is that although Season 1 sold ok, it did not sell well enough for many accounts that carried it to carry Season 2. Dividing it into two volumes and lowering the shelf price is a way of getting the series into distribution. We are not trying to gouge the fan base here we are trying to get the product on the shelf!

The combined pricepoints of volumes 1 and 2 should be pretty close to the pricepoint of Season 1, we are not trying to make 1 + 1 = 3 here.

Thanks for your interest,

Peter Staddon
 

WillG

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As much as it seems kind of lame for fans, I can see where Mr. Staddon is coming from. All the time, I have troubles finding TV product at many B&Ms that are not guaranteed huge sellers. For instance, last week, I wanted to buy Season 2 of "Three's Company." Out of Costco, Circuit City, Wal*Mart and Best Buy, Best Buy was the only one to have it. And that still stands a week later. On top of that, the Best Buy I was able to get it at only opened recently, so if not for that, I would have to resort to an online purchase, which is not so bad, by why should I have to? A couple of months ago it was "Married With Children" S2 and the only place that had that was Wal*Mart. And the odd thing is that the price points on these shows aren't even that high. If volumes will result in more stores carrying product and increasing sales which helps insure further season sets, then it may be necessary. If the price points are indeed 1+1=2 and the volumes are not released far apart, I could live. But, I just hope this will be more the exception rather than the rule.
 

Chas_Michael

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Hi Peter,
I'll take Lost In Space in 2 parts! as 2 is better than none:) I see your point, Do you have a ballpark release date? This is one of my all time favorite shows and I've been waiting for this to show up on DVD for years! Thanks for your effort.
 

David_Blackwell

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That is interesting to know, Peter.

Peter, is Roswell Season 2 slated for release in August or is it being considered for release in the fourth Quarter (as I have been hearing from some Roswell fans)?
 

Jim Beaver

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Wow....

I was under the impression that Lost in Space sold extremly well. That was a surprise to me. Well I guess you gotta do what you got to do if you want to put more seasons out.
 

Bert Greene

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Well, I rather hate hearing this. Mainly because if a vintage show (of hour-long status) like "Lost in Space" is borderline, a lot of my dvd pipe-dreams will remain just that (Route 66? Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? The Untouchables? etc., etc).

As for LIS v.2, I'm really on the fence with that one to begin with. I enjoyed the 1st-season a great deal, far more than I expected. It was great fun. I recall, however, 2nd-season being awash in the type of episodes that sometimes tried my patience. Yet, I'm weirdly anxious to see the 3rd-season again, which somehow elicits some pleasant memories. Generally haven't viewed these in over twenty years. I thought it would be my 'collectors' sensibilities that would eventually sway me to go ahead and get v.2, despite my qualms. A change in size/format really puts a damper on that completist urge in me.
 

david_slater

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i want the complete Season 2 set.
i hate waiting!!!

and it looks weird with two Season 2 box sets on the shelf.
im vary picky about that.

and here i was thinking things where looking up... :frowning:
oh well.. leave it to fox to mess things up.

Peter... tell fox that there is mix feelings on that ideal. i for one hate it. heavy buyers like me will never like that ideal. also why is it takeing so long releaseing them? there are only 3 Seasons.
look at star trek, there are 7 Seasons and they still get them all released in one year.
 

Craig S

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This is uncalled for. Fox is doing their best to get the stuff we want out. But they can't afford to release product if they're going to lose money. If they have to split it into two boxes, so be it.
 

Ronald Epstein

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You know, I am perhaps one of the biggest LIS
fans out there.

I too was disappointed to hear that Fox was
considering releasing this set in two parts.

However...

Peter Staddon took the time not only to personally
confirm the rumor but also explain that dividing
the set gives a far better opportunity for the
product to even get out (where otherwise it would
not have).

The above comment is unecessary under these
circumstances.

I stand behind Fox's decision.

 

KDHM

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I loved LIS as a child but, with so much out that I want and the high price for Season One (for me) I did not get the DVD, had this come out in two parts at around $30 online, I would have picked it up and few weeks later after watching the first set bought the seconed. I know many here can go out and get just about anything thay want, thats great if you can, but for most of us this is not the case and maybe two sets would have created a price point where more people would have tried the first half and good number would have been hooked and gone back for the seconed. Maybe Fox could come out with a special limited set containing both parts at a higher price for those who want the seconed season package to match the first.
kd
 

david_slater

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hey... i live on $600 a month. if i can do it anybody can.
and im a heavy buyer on top of it.
look at my list.
its just a matter of saveing up for them.
i cant always get them as they are released but could do better if they tell us more ahead of time other then just a few months ahead. i need to know at least a year ahead of time with the kind of money i get.
so i dont want to hear about how high the prices are. i think the prices fair. as long as they release them the right way!
 

Carlos Garcia

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I used to be a FOX fan, but after being left holding a season 1 Mary Tyler Moore Show DVD, with no more seasons to come, I'm no longer sure I am. This is what really scares me about releasing Lost In Space season 2 in 2 parts. I assume if season 2 part 1 doesn't sell well, then we'll never see season 2 part 2 or season 3. As most Lost In Space fans will tell you, season 2 was the weakest season, but season 3 was almost as good as season 1. However, no studio would jump from a season 1 box set to season 3. I wonder just how many people would buy a season 1 box set of any show, if they knew no more seasons were coming out? Some would rather own season 1 than none at all, but I'm sure most people who are fans of a particular show either want the complete set or nothing at all. Like I said, I was very disappointed in the fact that FOX didn't release anymore Mary Tyler Moore Show seasons. Maybe sales of season 1 weren't what was expected from FOX, but there really is no reason a bare bones season 2 set couldn't be released. Look at other shows that are released for $30 or less: Gilligan's Island and Green Acres for example. What's the difference in those shows (which both look incredible on DVD by the way) and a show like Lost In Space or Mary Tyler Moore? I know for a fact that Lost In Space season 1 was not digitally remastered. In fact, FOX used the same old 1 inch masters to transfer to DVD that was used back in the late 80s for the Columbia House VHS set. So where exactly was all the money FOX put into this set? The picture looks dark at times, video scan lines are also apparent, and the extras were minimal at the most. For this they charge $75, and now they claim sales were not spectacular enough to warrant a complete season 2 release. Oh well, since I've also been waiting for the Batman TV show to be released, but know the greed factor between studio giants FOX and Warner won't allow this to ever happen, I suppose I should've expected this Lost In Space news to come as no surprise.
 

Tony Scello

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As a fan and and owner of Season 1, this appears to be dissapointing news. It's good to hear from Mr. Staddon that the price points for season 2 in two parts would be about the same as a full season 2 set. My concern, as expressed by others, is that season 2 part 1 is released this fall and, for whatever reason, we never see season 2 part 2 or season 3 in any configuration:frowning: The rumored release of season 2 this fall will face heavy competition (Star Trek TOS season sets and tons of other classic and recent TV shows) and may struggle to meet sales expectations. At the very least, assuming parts 1 and 2 are not released at the same time, we're going to have to wait a given amount of time to complete season 2(6 months?, 1 year?, longer?, never?).

I just hope we don't get "Mary Tyler Moored" with this series, if you pardon the expression.
 

Randy A Salas

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The difference with Lost in Space is that since it's an hourlong show, it has about twice the content, which raises issues over disc space, number of discs and packaging--and, ultimately, price.
(And Green Acres is highly compressed to cram onto 1 1/2 discs, so I'd take issue with the assertion that it looks incredible--but it looks good enough.)
 

Carlos Garcia

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Take issue if you will, but the fact remains that Green Acres crammed on 2 discs has no compression artifacts at all, and looks alot better than Lost In Space season 1. Obviously the Green Acres material used to master the DVDs were of better original quality than Lost In Space's material was. That brings me to another issue. If it's so much more cheaper to cram these shows onto double-sided discs, then why not release barebone sets this way? Instead of 8 single sided discs, LIS season 1 could've been on 4 double-sided discs. As far as compression goes, they don't compress anymore for a double-sided disc than they do for a single sided disc, they simply cut the amount of discs required for a set in half. A good example of this is The Best Of Abbott and Costello set. We get 8 of their movies on 2 double-sided discs, and the quality looks phenominal with no compression artifacts whatsoever. I think if FOX was really willing to compromise, they could release such similar sets of LIS or Mary Tyler Moore. This is a way to cut corners, reduce their initial cost, and let the consumers have their show. I will never understand the thinking by companies when they claim that a DVD set didn't sell well. I mean, people can order them online, so eventually they will make their money back and actually profit. Also, it wouldn't hurt if they promoted these shows a little more. I never saw even 1 commercial for Mary Tyler Moore Show and didn't even know season 1 was available until a year after its release. I still haven't seen a commercial for Lost In Space.
 

ScottRichard

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Personally, I think Lost In Space Season 1 looks a lot better than Green Acres does (although it does look good). I've read all the arguments, but I still just don't see all the problems people have with Lost In Space. I thought it looked great!
 

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