Veronica Mars Gets A Clue On DVD!!! (2 Viewers)

[Citizen87645]

I have mixed feelings about the delay (if true). September is already looking rather heavy for TV sets alone, so I'm glad for a breather. If it comes out before year's end I'll be happy.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Well, then there should be some extras on it. If they're not going to get it out before SEASON 2 then what's the point of a featurless release? I'd buy it either way though...

 

[Johnny S]

If the show is cheap i'll probaly buy it, extras or not. I have never seen an episode, but it seems like its got potential.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Well, Warner seems to have dropped the ball on MARS...

Latest word from creator Rob Thomas is that the series will make it to DVD in October, just in time to NOT COME OUT BEFORE SEASON 2. The biggest annoyance? ZERO extras.

Warner didn't want it to have to compete with THE OC and Desperate Housewives DVDs coming out in Sept.

If they're not going to get it out before season 2 starts... just release the damn set in January. At least more people will buy it for the extras.

Also, for those of you not sure about this show, I've been slowly catching up. After only 11 episodes I'm absolutely in love with this show. Completely smart and funny. Why can't there be more like this one on TV?

 

[Pete Battista]

Even though disappointing... Zero extras arn't exactly right... from this morning's Ask Ausiello...

Question: Your Rob Thomas interview was great. Spoiler-y and enlightening — just what I like in your columns. Now how about that scoop on the Veronica DVD? — Tracy

Ausiello: OK, which do you want first — the good news, the bad news or the really bad news? The good news? OK. Warner Bros. is putting out Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season. Now for the bad news: It drops Oct. 11 — three weeks after Season 2 debuts. And now for the really bad news: The extras kinda-sorta blow. In addition to the never-before-seen alternate pilot, all you'll get are some deleted scenes and bloopers. So why is a cool show like Mars being so cheap on the bonus features? Allow exec producer Rob Thomas — aka The Coolest TV Producer on the Planet (Next to J.J. Abrams) — to explain:

"This is kind of a sad story. A couple of months ago, Warner Home Video gave us an option. They said, 'If you wanna do it up right with the bells and whistles and the commentaries, we can release it in January '06. If you wanna just get it down and dirty and just get the episodes out and do a few bloopers and some deleted scenes, we can get that out before the season starts.' Well, [exec producer] Joel [Silver] and I talked about it and we felt it was important to get the DVD out before the season started. That way, people who didn't watch it last year can catch up. So we made the decision to go with the early release — without the bells and whistles. We were hoping for the second week of September since we're returning in the third or fourth week of September. Anyway, they just told us [the DVD] is going to be out the second week of October, and it's because The O.C. and Desperate Housewives are coming out in September, and they just didn't want to fight that battle. But now I feel like we didn't get either of the things we wanted: We don't have the bells and whistles and we're not coming out before the season started. I'm not happy about that." Me neither. Sigh...

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Edited: Whoops! Pete beat me to it. You might want to put Ausellio's text in a quote block, though.

 

[seanOhara]

This is disappointing, but the series is strong enough that it's well worth the $40-50 it'll cost.

And now Thomas and Silver know they're Warner's red-headed stepchild, so they won't make the same mistake twice.

 

[BrandonJF]

I'll see if I can squeeze the season two eps onto my DVR until I can get around to watching the DVDs. I was hoping to catch up with reruns this summer, but UPN decided to jump all over the place with the reruns, so I just stopped watching and will just wait 'til October.

 

[Keith I]

Too bad about the release date timing. They should just delay the set until '06 to get the extras on there. Glad to know it'll be anamorphic widescreen.

Personal preference: I hope that the set is released in slimcases in an outer slipcase rather than a cardboard foldout that could tear and take up so much room to open to remove discs from their tray. But with WB's releases of Wonder Woman and The Dukes of Hazzard released this way, I'm not holding my breath.
-

 

[Todd Stout]

Looks like the SRP will be $59.98

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3619

 

[Gord Lacey]

Warner hasn't done anything with slim cases yet, so this is doubtful.

Gord

 

[Kevin Porter]

It'll most likely be the book-type slim trays like West Wing Season 4 and Gilmore Girls Season 3. But that coverart is terribly ugly. KB is far more attractive than the cover would lead you to believe.

 

[Wendy_L]

Yeah, I thought they were gonna show them in order. I guess they changed their mind. It would definitely be worth it for you to record the episodes for Season 2 when they start, get Season 1 when it is released, watch them and then start watching Season 2. You will probably only have to record 3-4 weeks at the most...maybe 5-6 if you don't watch the entire Season 1 right away but I don't know why you wouldn't when it's such a great show!!!

I've done this for a few shows. I just finished watching Season 1 of "Rescue Me" and I have the first two episodes recorded and ready to watch. I also did it with "The L Word". Watched Season 1 about 3 weeks into Season 2 and recorded them and went back and got caught up. I'm in the process of recording all of Season 5 of "Six Feet Under" so I can watch it after I watch Season 4 on DVD.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Terrible cover art... very misrepresentative of the show. It makes it look like a teen soap... It's a very unflattering picture of Kristen Bell as well. She looks stunning on that show.

It also looks like Lilly's touching Duncan on the cover like he's her boyfriend. The fact that they play brother and sister on the show makes this just gross. And why is she looking at Veronica like that? They're supposed to be best friends... not prom queen rivals... Did the designer even know what the show was about?

FIX THE COVER ART!!!


The director's cut of the pilot will be nice.

Also, for those still interested in catching up, the episodes UPN appears to be airing the rest of this summer are from 11+, in what appears to be the correct order. The show is largely stand-alone, so if you started now, you'd definitely understand what was going on when season 2 starts up in the fall.

 

[CherylJ]

I agree that the cover art is horrible. I truly hope that is not the cover art they go with on the final product. If we have to wait until October 11 for the DVD set, then at least give us some good cover art.



I just want to reiterate what was said above -- UPN is not "jumping around" with the summer reruns, and *is* airing the episodes in order. The problem is that they have 14 weeks to air 22 episodes, so they skipped the least important eps: 2-5 and 7-9. They "doubled up" with eps 1 and 6 in the first week, and then eps 10-22 are airing IN ORDER.

I'm not aware of any network series that repeats every single episode over the summer b/c there just isn't enough time, and most of the early episodes have already aired twice. (The VM Pilot has aired at least three times now.) UPN is doing the best they can by airing the 15 most important eps in order, and the final 13 without skipping any.

If you like the show, please give the VM reruns a try, because episode 12 airing this week (Wed July 6, 9pm on UPN) is one of the best. I started watching VM midway through the regular season and I missed a few eps and saw some out of order, but I never felt all that confused b/c they do a good job of recapping the important info in the "previously on Veronica Mars" at the beginning of each ep. And if you want to know what you missed in eps 2-5 and 7-9, I put a summary in the VM thread on the TV forum, in spoiler tags.

It sucks that the DVDs will not be released until October 11, after the season two premiere, but I would not let that put me off from watching the summer reruns. The first few eps are mostly standalones and Veronica doesn't start actively investigating until episode 12, which airs this week. Every episode after that gets better and better until the final two episodes, which are about as good as anything I've seen on network TV in a while. This show is amazing.

 

[Tony Kwong]

That is a horrible cover. I think even the crappy fan made DVHS version looks better. Oh wait that's mine!
[url=http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1843/veronicamarsdvhs2se.th.jpg] [/url]

 

[David Bixenspan]

Gord, any chance you could find out if all of the music's been cleared for the set?

 

[Gord Lacey]

Yup, I can ask around (and mention that fans hate the artwork).

Gord

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Here's a quick throw-together to give you an idea of how hot she can look on a DVD cover... Definitely a better idea of what the show is like. Get away from the teen soap idea. This is a show about a girl who is largely on her own when it comes to cracking the case. It's called VERONICA MARS not "Neptune High." Keep it about her, and the fact that she's a PI. You're not going to get the OC audience to buy this... be realistic Warner...

Keep it simple.


Obviously someone with photoshop and some actual production stills to work with could do something much better. This is just a general idea...

 

[Pete Lee]

Got an email from creator Rob Thomas who said the show will NOT be widescreen. He said Warner Home Video "dictated" the choice.