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

[David Lambert]

Paulie Waln said:

IMHO: Other studios should do what was done for :
'Mad About You' Season 1.
2 dvds. 24 episodes. Can find it for $20 on some sites.
Maybe the picture quality isnt as good as it should be, but if it keep costs low, & allows future seasons to be produced, then I'm all for it!

At the back of my mind, I was frightened that someone would say this.
My reply is: NO WAY.
Without offending any Columbia reps who might be lurking here, let me say that Mad About You looks pretty bad in places (I cannot believe that people complain so bitterly about the video quality of the two releases of The Wonder Years, yet find Mad About You any more acceptable).
On the other hand, The Jeffersons looked leaps and bounds better, and sells for the same price. Whatever Columbia did different between the two, Jeffersons should be the standard they go by.
On the third hand, even The Jeffersons - to me the best-looking of Columbia's season set releases so far - IMHO pales in comparison to the worst of Fox's transfers for DVD season sets. And I can't even think of an example to name for something like that, because all of Fox's TV-on-DVD efforts look so uniformly great!
I would hate for anyone to suggest to Peter that Fox ought to lower their standards to save a buck or two. They may indeed have to in the long run, but how do they plan for that? Which series would they predict should suffer low bit rates, high compression, non-cleanup of specks or dropouts or whatever?
There was no way they could have or should have predicted that a serious classic like The Mary Tyler Moore Show would under-sell. MTM? Sell bad? Pwah! Folks LOVE that show!
And, come the post-holiday season, Peter may realize that he has to re-evaluate what he said: perhaps folks were waiting to get these as gifts, or see what holiday bargains came along.
I also have to go back to one of those rambling thoughts I had before and agree that perhaps it was undermarketed. I admit I was a bit taken aback when I heard it was coming out; I felt like there was no forewarning to it, except for a 1-line sentence in a May USA Today article focusing on the reunion special that aired on TV back then. And then, after some HTF chatter back and forth along the lines of "we hope this is good", it was suddenly on shelves in Sept.
And this is ME we're talking about. David Lambert. TV-on-DVD and Weekly Roundup guy all rolled into one. Throwing modesty to the winds here: if *I* don't know something is about to hit, then what does the average customer know about it? By comparison, Malcolm in the Middle was shouted from the rooftops! HTFers weren't just talking about it; people at work approached me to ask questions about the upcoming set! I'm getting questions right now about Angel S1. OTOH, noone's mentioned NYPD Blue to me yet. Same pattern as MTM? I hope not.
I'll shut up now, before I accidently put my foot in my mouth. I've been doing that a bunch lately, and I really don't mean to offend, sound arrogant, or do stupid things. Let's just say I'm passionate, and must govern my passions or they get the better of me. I get it from my mom. If you think I'm bad, you should see the rest of my family: they are a real mess! Thanks, however, to everyone who takes the time to sift through my thoughts and take my input seriously. I mean well, even if I put it the wrong way AND use too many words to say it.

 

[Jeff_HR]

I just hope there are enough passionate people like you David to help champion the cause for "Hill Street Blues" & "St Elsewhere". I for one will be getting "NYPD Blue". Just to add an odd thought here, who owns the rights to "Gunsmoke"? That would be an awesome complete set to own. 20 years worth!!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

MTM was never one of my favorite shows, but armed with the coupon for it in the Fox Demo DVD #2 I will be picking it up this week. Just so the surely-lurking Mr. Staddon knows that these promotions work!!!
Now, about Bob Newhart.....
Completely OT: I expect many of you played the Bob drinking game. Once my college friends and I were doing it with shots of brandy. Everything went fine until Emily in exasperation said, "Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob!" I remember nothing after that...

 

[David Von Pein]

MTM? Sell bad? Pwah! Folks LOVE that show!

Damn straight!
Tons of Emmy Awards.
Massive saturation in syndication (maybe THIS hurt its sales).
This set should be flying out the doors, IMO.
It'll tick people off even more if a 2nd season does not follow....considering that FOX put that announcement card in EVERY set of MTM-S1, stating: MTM 2 Coming March 2003.
We "Chuckles" lovers better hope to heck that FOX sells a bunch more....for it's gonna take till Season 6 (of 7) to get that Chuckles classic on Versatile Disc.
"You know how hard it is to stop after just one peanut!!"

 

[David Von Pein]

Never saw an answer to my earlier inquiry.....

Somebody name ANY major TV series that has had one (or more) seasonal DVD releases and had them cut off after "XX" season(s).

 

[Jefferson]

OK...

I still stand by my book/tvshow comparison, although perhaps the
words I chose did not please everyone.

Let me choose different words:

My own opinion...not trying to make it anyone else's:
If I love a series,
it is similar to my loving an author
and wanting to collect that author's works.
I would enjoy having
a complete set.
I would not be AS satisfied having
only a few of those stories.

People with passion for a particular show know
that the characters do evolve...as does
the writing, and the story line...
So, again, I say that having a few
episodes, for those who want the "whole story"
is not the same.

This IS a collector's thing.
I want to see
Lucy become a mother,
Mike and Gloria move into the Jefferson house, and see Ted and Georgette get married.

I'm not saying all do.
But many of us do.

 

[David Von Pein]

What we TV Collectors REALLY need are more releases like the upcoming Dick Van Dyke Show mega-set (hopefully coming before Hades freezes up).
They're putting out (supposedly) EVERY one of its 158 episodes all at once. So, the true completists can get 'em all in one fell-swoop. So, even if it sells like a lead balloon, who cares? We'll still have the complete series on DVD. Every chapter of the DVD book, including epilogues!
I wish FOX had done MTM like this. Release them all at once, with various buying options (Buy 1 disc; Buy 1 single season; or Buy The Whole Nine-and-three-quarters yards.)

 

[David Von Pein]

This is akin to only being offered the first chapter of a book.

I agree with you.
While having JUST Season One of a series is OK, esp. since almost always the FIRST season is about the best; with many series going downhill considerably in waning years, such as AITF (IMO).
But with these new-fangled DVD "Season Sets", it justs makes your mouth water, and you want more.
It's similar to being offered just a teeny-tiny bite of your favorite delicious chocolate bar .... and then having somebody toss the rest of the bar in the trash can! You just KNOW that there's so much more delicious television there that you can't get to. And knowing this fact, and what you're missing, owning JUST one season is almost as bad as having zero. :frowning:

 

[Jefferson]

Thanks...

WHEW!

I agree with what was said about the one
bite of the candy bar...
I can't have season one dangled in front
of me, and not want to continue...

 

[David Von Pein]

I'm on the same page as you, Jefferson.

 

[David Von Pein]

I'd be interested to know this........

To those that are buying the M*A*S*H season sets.....Hypothetically, if you knew for a FACT that ONLY Season 1 of M*A*S*H was going to get released....would you have bought Season 1? (Knowing full well that all those other fine seasons would never make it to your DVD Library?)

 

[Paul McElligott]

I think it might be better if the studio would at least announce the season 2 DVDs of a series when they release a season 1 set. If the consumer has confidence there will be a season 2, they will be more apt to buy season 1 and the sales figures will be more reflective of the true demand.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I didn't mean to make this an argument, just an exchange of contrasting viewpoints. So I hope my previous posts haven't offended anybody.

I do have an issue with this "hypothetical", however:

I think it might be better if the studio would at least announce the season 2 DVDs of a series when they release a season 1 set.

And I wish that the networks would annouce that they were going to do at least 2 seasons of every new series, before I invest any time in watching them. But once again, I'm limited by the fact that I live on the planet Earth, where financial considerations count for something. And why would announcing two seasons of a series that ran eight years be any better than announcing one?

Hypothetical for Dave: If you knew there were going to be at least two seasons of a show, an possibly more, but no assurances beyond two, would you be any more likely to buy it?

Besides, does anyone seriously think that if a studio "announced" that they would do two seasons of something, and the first one didn't sell well enough to break even, that they'd really go ahead and release that second season? They'd be idiots if they did, and if I were a stockholder in such a studio I'd be calling for the head of whoever made that decision.

It seems to me that folks have an emotional need for some kind of guarantees when it comes to TV shows on DVD. Fair enough. But I don't think it is realistic to expect them. It isn't like anything else in life comes with that kind of warranty. The networks don't promise to keep shows I like on the air, the car companies to keep producing models I like or the cereal companies to keep churning out my favorite breakfast food in the face of lousy sales. Why should the studios be the only entities that we require this of - and then only in relation to TV shows? (There are plenty of movie series out there, and I doubt every original that sold badly was followed by all of its sequels.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[LarryDavenport]

I hadn't planned on buying MTM but based on word of mouth here in the HTF I bought it and loved it and will pick up any future seasons available. I'm sorry that it hasn't done well. I was really hoping that FOX would also do the old Bob Newhart show.

So far I have been buying Friends, Buffy, Mr. Show, The Avengers, The Prisoner, South Park, Monty Python, The Powerpuff Girls, Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, Fawlty Towers, MTM, and The Simpsons, plus I plan on getting Sports Night, I've preordered Angel, and am ordering Due South from Canada.

There are many more TV series I would love to buy (including Futurama, Andy Richter, and Ben Stiller which were all mentioned in the chat).

I actually think at some point TV shows will out number movies in my DVD collection as I think many episodes of TV shows are more rewatchable than films, if only because they are shorter (sometimes throwing in a disc of Friends and playing the whole disc is like turning on the radio or throwing a log in the fireplace). It kind of makes things cozier.

 

[Stacie]

I haven't bought MTM season one yet, though I have always planned to pick it up eventually...it's just been a lower priority than a lot of other things, and the budget only stretches so far...

It's on my Christmas list. Maybe I'll be seeing a copy of it soon.

 

[Jeff_HR]

They're putting out (supposedly) EVERY one of its 158 episodes all at once

Even though it is an expensive way of selling a series, I think it may be the best way. No one has to worry about the sales of each individual season.

 

[Paul McElligott]

And why would announcing two seasons of a series that ran eight years be any better than announcing one?

It creates the impression, at least, that the studio is committed to releasing the whole series (whether true or not), making it more likely that people will buy season 1. I know my decision to buy Star Trek: TNG sets was made easier by the fact that I already knew that subsequent seasons were on the way.
Some people are going to buy season 1, regardless. Announcing season 2 simultaneously with the the release of season 1 may coax some fence sitters into sticking the proverbial crowbar in their wall, thus boosting the sale of season 1 and enhancing the chances of seeing the whole series.
Of course, if season 1 still tanks, the studio can always "unannounce" season 2.

 

[Marty M]

I am a huge MTM Show fan. I consider this series to be the best ever. I purchased Season 1 and will continue to purchase future seasons as they are made available. I too am hoping for at least a continuation to the season with Chuckles Bites The Dust episode.

 

[David Von Pein]

Hypothetical for Dave: If you knew there were going to be at least two seasons of a show, and possibly more, but no assurances beyond two, would you be any more likely to buy it?

Yes....I would.

 

[MatthewA]

I have clarified with Jack Briggs that Peter said nothing about discontinuing MTM. However, Peter's comments do leave me shaken. That said, I'm glad Futurama and King of the Hill are coming.

Of course, when brick and mortar stores don't have them, online stores almost always do. In the past two years I have bought most of my DVDs from Amazon.

I do not want to create any hostility between us and the studios. I still think Peter should be running that home video division.

A little more advertising would help.