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No more Mary Tyler Moore Show sets? (1 Viewer)

MatthewA

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Fox said the first season set sold poorly.
I guess this means no future seasons. I feel like killing myself. :angry:
 

Jeff_HR

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I guess you can "thank" those consumers who "must" have only the latest TV shows. Out of sight, out of mind I guess.
 

Malcolm R

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Supposedly "Sanford & Son" sold very well, and "The Jefferson" and "All in the Family" did OK. They're all older shows.
I think part of it is just the sheer number of sets that are coming out. We can't buy them all, even if we do want them!
 

Randy A Salas

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What is the source for the Fox report? I don't find anything in the news archives available to me.

For what it's worth, work on the second-season set has already been completed.
 

David Von Pein

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For what it's worth, work on the second-season set has already been completed.
Yeah, that's what I thought as well.

Plus the fact that FOX put in a separate "Coming Soon" card inside every Season 1 set saying .... "Season 2 Coming March 2003"*

* = Yes, there was the proverbial asterisk, with the "date subject to change" notation.
 

Jeff Ulmer

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TV sets are a catch 22 situation for me. For starters, their cost isn't exactly enticing, especially with a significantly smaller DVD budget available these days. Even if I could afford these sets, I would want to be sure that the remaining seasons were going to be released, and not get stuck with a single season. However, if I don't buy that first season, the rest may not follow.

As alluded to in the chat, I think that studios are going to have to figure out how to cut the cost of production on these significantly in order to make them work at retail. People may be willing to pay $80 for Twin Peaks (going rate in Canada), but not $40 for MTM. I also wonder if the market has too many titles available to support some of these releases. While everyone screams for what isn't available, it doesn't work if they don't buy what does get released.
 

David Von Pein

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Has there ever been a TV DVD series completely cancelled after delivering ONLY a Season 1 set?

I haven't heard of such a situation.

Hasn't EVERY Season 1 been followed-up by an (eventual) Season 2 release?

I can't imagine a studio stopping after just 1 season.
 

David Von Pein

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...but not $40 for MTM.
BITE YOUR TONGUE (HARD!), YOUNG MAN!!
MTM is worth twice the asking price! (IMO) :D
(Plus: It's one of the best dang transfers of TV-to-DVD you're likely to encounter! Remarkable color transfer!)
(Gosh....Now I REALLY want MTM-2! Hope it'll see the light of Minneapolis.)
 

Jeff Ulmer

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My So Called Life was dropped after one three episode disc (only 19 episodes in total) due to disappointing sales. It was only after a major initiative that BMG agreed to release the rest of it. Rhino has released a number of intro episodes to shows and dropped the rest.
 

David Von Pein

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By-the-by....MTM Season 1 can now be had for just over $31(USD) @ DVD Soon.
So, everybody that doesn't already have this great set.....Go Buy It Now! (To ensure Seasons 2 thru 7!) :)
 

Randy A Salas

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Last night's chat with Peter Staddon of Fox Home Entertainment. He stated several times that the MTM sales were quite disappointing. See transcript.
Ah, thanks, Malcolm.

That's too bad, because the MTM set really is a great product. I wouldn't be surprised to see Fox scale back to lower-priced, bare-bones MTM sets--similar to M*A*S*H--rather than cancel it altogether.

The bummer is that this really dashes my hopes for The Bob Newhart Show.
 

MatthewA

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Not that I know of.

I think the mass saturation of TV-on-DVD sets has proven too much of a good thing. People have limited incomes and must pick and choose. But those who want the set will eventually get it.

Jeff_HR, I agree with you completely.

This does not bode well for other MTM Productions series being released. Perhaps a lower price would help.
 

Jeff_HR

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I'm not a real big watcher of TV shows in the last 30 years network or syndication. There is only a limited number that I feel a need to own. The only exception being Star Trek. So, consequently, I will not be one to be spending $$$$ on every show that comes along.
 

Jeff Ulmer

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I think it's too early to say definitively what release patterns will be as far as continuing releases, as most older shows only have a single season available. I was a bit surprised that Law and Order would be one of the first Universal titles due to the number of seasons it ran. I would have thought shows with fewer episodes would have made more sense.
 

Paul_Scott

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Everything about the MTM set- from the art direction of the packaging, to the transfers, to the quality of the show itself- made this set one of the best dvd buys this year as far as i was concerned.

i would speculate that having the show so available in syndication might hurt, but so are all the others (notably MASH & Buffy)...so why aren't those posting lackluster sales?

another head scratcher...
 

John Simon

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MTM has always been one of my favorite shows, and I consider it to be one of the 3 greatest sitcoms ever on television.

But with that said, I've found myself to be very uninterested in the DVD set. I bought the first season, but it just doesn't have the same appeal to me on DVD as shows like Friends and The X-Files have had. And to be honest, I find it very unlikely that I'll spend the money to buy another season of the show. I'm already looking to sell my copy of the first season (which is still available, if anyone's interested :b ).

Still, I hope they keep releasing them for those of you who have enjoyed the boxsets. There's no question the transfers are amazing!
 

MatthewA

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I think I'll make an exception to my political beliefs and advocate government intervention to see the complete series released on DVD. :D
 

Rob Ray

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I blame Fox's marketing. For some strange reason, The Mary Tyler Moore box was just thrown on shelves with no fanfare. Apparently, there were no review copies sent out and most DVD sites didn't bother reviewing it, so the release went unnoticed.

For what it's worth, my friends and I started scouring all the video stores in the area the weekend before the street date because we couldn't wait to buy it. There is a sizable demand for quality sitcoms like this, but you have to make them into an event, like Disney is doing with today's releases of its classic cartoons. (There's a big article in today's LA Times about them. Too bad Mary didn't get the same publicity. She might have sold better.)
 

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