What happened with Different World-S2? (1 Viewer)

Does anyone know why A Different World Season 2 was not available on it's 7/11 release date? I pre-ordered it from DDD and called to inquire when it was still not shipped on 7/11. I was told that it was backordered. I thought it was a problem unique to DDD. But I checked Amazon.Com, and Buy.Com all of which show the 7/11 release date, but say it will take 2-4 weeks to ship. DDD gave me an estimated ship date of 9/12!

In my two years of following TV on DVD releases, I've seen release dates delayed or moved forward, but I've never encountered a show not being available on a confirmed studio release date. I also thought it was odd when it was not available for sale on 7/11 at any of the brick and mortar stores. I was S1 at Target, Walmart & Best Buy. Now I suppose I know why.

I know it was originally moved from a 5/30 release date to the 7/11 one, but I've not been able to find news anywhere on the net as to why it wasn't available on 7/11 and is on back order with the major e-tailers.

Any insights as to what transpired would be appreciated.

Thank you, I thought I was going crazy. I've been searching for this, and frankly I'm pissed off. I don't know if this is Urbanworks fault but if it is they need to get their act together.

I followed up with a phone call to Deep Discount DVD and they said the units were not received from the issuer. I checked two more e-tailers, and it is across the board UNAVAILABLE which leads me to think it probably is Urbanworks fault. I concur that they need to get their act together, or at least issue a press release regarding the delay, but there's been total silence on the issue.

I hope this doesn't signal impending problems with future Cosby Show releases. I liked Different World, but I LOVED the Cosby Show, and have been anxiously awaiting word on the release of Season 3 given that it's been almost 5 months since S2 came out.

Could there be a production delay for this set because of the fit the fans threw over the first season being edited ? Perhaps everything fell behind schedule so that the 2nd season could be released uncut.

Fans pitched a fit over Cosby Show S1 being cut as well, but this didn't delay the release. This is weird because it was already moved from 5/30 to 7/11. But now, it's nowhere to be found with no explanation. Usually there's at least a press release of some sort to explain the delay or offer a revised date.

Not sure if it's the same problem, but a few of my DVDs from DDD lately have been arriving later. I was supposed to get Ultraman on 7/7 and so far nothing. Same with the Casa Negra Mexi-horror releases.

As previously stated, this isn't a DDD problem, I've checked just about every DVD e-tailing website I know of, and without exception they all have this DVD set backordered.

Well, that's good. Plus my Ultraman DVDs just shipped. I'll shut up now.

You know this is so ridiculous. Urbanworks has done a horrible job with these DVD's as far as promotion and availability. With Nick at Nite airing a Different World marathon it would be nice if the dang season 2 DVD's were available, not at stores, not at Amazon, dates pushed back and the Urbanworks website down...........not a good sign

Something tells me Urbanworks has folded. Have they even released anything besides Cosby and ADW? They are some amateurs, let me tell you. I don't understand why Anchor Bay couldn't release these like the rest of the Carsey/Werner shows.

WOW, I didn't realize that in addition to everything else that Urbanworks' website was down. I called Deep Discount DVD yesterday to officially CANCEL my pre-order of Different World-S2. They showed in their system that the release date had been moved to 9/12. We all know that release dates change on sets all the time. But I've never heard of a release date changing with no formal announcment whatsoever.

If Urbanworks is that unprofessional, my biggest concern is that this does NOT bode well for the release of future seasons of the Cosby Show. And it may well explain why we've heard not a peep, about the release of Cosby Show-S3.

If a company is that unprofessional, it may be best for the shows to remain in limbo until somebody comes along to do the right job.

I remember reading somewhere a while back that UrbanWorks had obtained the right to release all the season of both the Cosby Show and Different World. If that is true, do any of you who understand more about how these licensing deals work, know if an option even exists to license it to a different company in light of Urbanworks shoddy job?

I have reviewed some films from Urbanworks. I want to say they also had some stage plays on DVD but as far as I know Cosby and Different World where their only TV on DVD releases.

Cosby and A Different World were shows that transcended color lines. Those shows wouldn't have stayed in the Neilson top 10 for the majority of their runs if they were only watched by African-Americans.

I hope Carsey/Werner didn't go with Urbanworks (an unproven TV on DVD production company rather than Anchor Bay as they did with Roseane) because they felt Urbanworks could really have an impact with the urban market, these are shows that many people loved and i have been pretty pleased with sets I received from Anchor Bay,

Production wise I didn't have any problem with the Urban Works releases I was just surprised at how the releases basically went under the radar promotion wise..

I received A Different World Season One as a review copy and I contacted the PR company that serviced me with the release a few months ago and they said they would be handling A Different World Season 2, but last week they said they weren't going to be working on it.

Who knows, there are a lot of seasons of Cosby and A Different World to go so I hope the situation works out.

The latest sitcomsonline news blog references the second delay of Different World-S2:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/20...ent-world.html

Here's an excerpt:

"Various sources have mentioned that A Different World Season 2 DVD which was supposed to come out July 11 has been pushed back two months to September 12. We don't have any further details, but many have asked what happened to this set. I'm not sure why UrbanWorks moved it. They originally planned the set for May 30, but quickly changed it to July 11...and now that isn't happening. Fans could watch the show every Wednesday night now on Nick@Nite from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and weekends at 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. ET/PT."

I have an explanation finally. I will post it on the SitcomsOnline blog tomorrow. I think you might want to check in. It is quite big.

Here it is:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/20...ros-shows.html

What does everyone think?

I think that we won't be seeing Different World Season 2 OR Cosby Show Season 3 anytime soon. I hope and pray that they just turn it over to Anchor Bay, they seem to be releasing the Season Sets of RoseAnne at a pretty good clip.

I'm really more disappointed about the future of the Cosby Show than I am A Different World, given that it was my all time favorite show.

Did your sources have an estimated time frame for resolution?

Thanks for posting the news. It's good to FINALLY have some definitive answers.

Thank you Pavan for following up this thread with your blog post. I agree, I doubt this will be hammered out by Sept 12. Honestly, I doubt the show will even be released 4th quarter. Here's to 2007..........fingers crossed.

They are negotiating they said. They don't know how long it will take.