Jaime_Weinman
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 786
Every TV series on DVD starts with season 1, it seems. If season 1 sells well, season 2 follows. And so on.
Now, normally this is perfectly sensible. Season 1 is the logical place to begin, because, well, it's the beginning. And for the most part I don't agree with the idea that if a season 1 set doesn't sell well it's because the show hadn't hit its stride yet. (I.e. I just don't think The Mary Tyler Moore Show would have sold all that much better if season 1 had been a stronger season. Maybe a tiny bit better, but not much.) For the most part, if people want the series, they'll want season 1.
But there are some cases where a show's first season is so different from what came later that it might make sense to start the season sets with a later season that is more representative of the series overall. Law and Order strikes me as one example -- the first season cast is so different from what viewers are used to seeing in syndication that it might have been better to start with season 2 or 3 to give the viewers a few more familiar faces. Another example, though I doubt if it'll actually make it to DVD, is the second Newhart show. The first season was shot on videotape and featured a bland character as the maid (Leslie Vanderkellen); it wasn't until season 2 that the show switched to film, added Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen, and thereby acquired the look and style that viewers would expect from that particular show. A season 1 set would probably leave viewers wondering "What is this? This isn't the show I wanted."
Are there any other TV shows where you think it would be better (or would have been better) to start with a later season?
Now, normally this is perfectly sensible. Season 1 is the logical place to begin, because, well, it's the beginning. And for the most part I don't agree with the idea that if a season 1 set doesn't sell well it's because the show hadn't hit its stride yet. (I.e. I just don't think The Mary Tyler Moore Show would have sold all that much better if season 1 had been a stronger season. Maybe a tiny bit better, but not much.) For the most part, if people want the series, they'll want season 1.
But there are some cases where a show's first season is so different from what came later that it might make sense to start the season sets with a later season that is more representative of the series overall. Law and Order strikes me as one example -- the first season cast is so different from what viewers are used to seeing in syndication that it might have been better to start with season 2 or 3 to give the viewers a few more familiar faces. Another example, though I doubt if it'll actually make it to DVD, is the second Newhart show. The first season was shot on videotape and featured a bland character as the maid (Leslie Vanderkellen); it wasn't until season 2 that the show switched to film, added Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen, and thereby acquired the look and style that viewers would expect from that particular show. A season 1 set would probably leave viewers wondering "What is this? This isn't the show I wanted."
Are there any other TV shows where you think it would be better (or would have been better) to start with a later season?