Sports Night re-release rumored to be coming in September (Shout! Factory?) (1 Viewer)

LCD22 · Apr 27, 2008

Sports Night DVD news: Rumors about Sports Night - The 10th Anniversary Edition | TVShowsOnDVD.com
Well, this is a nice surprise. I asked Shout to revisit "Sports Night" on their community board a few months ago. So it could very well be them.
Shout! Factory Community - Sports Night re-release

ZacharyTait · Apr 28, 2008

If the rumor is true and Shout Factory is the studio behind it, I'll be paying my hard earned money on Day 1, making it the first (and hopefully last) TV series I'll have double dipped on.
Dances to My Boogie Shoes.....

Mary_P · Apr 28, 2008

I've never double-dipped on a TV show before, but if the rumors are true about extras, I am so there....
... and boogie with you....

Scott_J · Apr 28, 2008

I'll also gladly double-dip on this one, if the rerelease happens. I didn't even realize this was OOP until I read TSoD's article.

LCD22 · May 17, 2008

TVShowsOnDVD.com has got a further update on this release, and it's indeed Shout! Factory. They have linked to a great article by Home Media Magazine. I can't wait!
Sports Night DVD news: Announcement for Sports Night - The 10th Anniversary Edition | TVShowsOnDVD.com

DavidJ · May 17, 2008

This is great news and the article from Home Media Magazine is interesting. I will definitely be picking it up.

Elena S · May 17, 2008

Good news for those of you who like this show.

But what's with a re-release of a show that did poorly in the ratings and was basically a failure? I don't understand how they could release this over so many great shows that have been passed over.

Jason Seaver · May 17, 2008

This show has fans that are willing to put their money where their heart is. Many of those "great" shows don't.

MatthewLouwrens · May 17, 2008

But what's with a re-release of a show that did poorly in the ratings and was basically a failure? I don't understand how they could release this over so many great shows that have been passed over.

Not every show's life begins and ends on its initial screening. It's more noticable with movies - films like The Princess Bride or The Shawshank Redemption flopped in cinema, but developed a following on home video and today when these films get a rerelease, noone quesitons it.

Same thing with TV shows, just less noticable. Sports Night may not have been a huge hit (although it did get two seasons, so it can't have rated that badly), but it definitely benefits from having been made by Aaron Sorkin. In my case, I was a fan of The West Wing, so when a friend mentioned he had Sorkin's previous series, I was interested, and became a fan after watching the show. The I discovered it was out of print, so couldn't buy a copy for myself. Now I can.

And I think the other thing is that this is a Shout Factory release. And Shout Factory seem to have a strong focus on these smaller releases with passionate fanbase - I know they released Freaks And Geeks, for example. So they are experienced about these titles and know how to make the economics of the release work for them.

Click to expand...

Scott_J · May 18, 2008

I hope they're able to get the extras they're planning, but I'll buy it even if they don't. I am disappointed, though, that, according to the article linked earlier in the thread, they weren't able to redo the audio tracks sans the laugh track.

Joseph DeMartino · May 18, 2008

Elena S said:
But what's with a re-release of a show that did poorly in the ratings and was basically a failure? I don't understand how they could release this over so many great shows that have been passed over.

Apparently it wasn't a failure on DVD, or nobody would be looking at a re-release. As for why this show and not others - as Matt noted, there is not a one-to-one relationship between original success and home video success or other secondary market success. The original Star Trek was a marginal network series that became a monster hit in syndication. Many films have done poorly in theaters only to become cult hits and even financial successes on home video. A lot of reality shows that are suspenseful as "live" events and earn huge ratings don't do nearly as well in reruns or on DVD.
That's without even considering rights issues, other series releases at a given studio that are competing for space on the release schedule and the million and one other things that go into these decisions. Each show is a unique situation and it is absolutely pointless to ask why show "a" is being released while show "b" isn't, because even if someone could explain all the reasons for each decision, people who are emotionally invested in getting show "b" released wouldn't listen anyway.
Regards,
Joe

Derek Miner · May 19, 2008

Press release is out:
Sports Night DVD news: Press Release for Sports Night - The 10th Anniversary Edition | TVShowsOnDVD.com
They are officially stating new interviews, deleted scenes and gag reels among other things. And they have alotted two discs just for bonus features, which is impressive! I already own this series, but it is one of my all-time favorites, so it will certainly be worth it for me to re-buy for bonus features.
As for expending effort on releasing a show that could be considered a "failure," keep in mind that even a low rated show was seen by a couple million viewers, and only a fraction of them would have to buy a DVD for the release to be successful. Of course, the fraction of those millions who care enough to buy is probably very small, but when you have a cult favorite, or a show with a devoted fan base, the chances go up. And you can't discount that some of the stars of this show have a higher profile now than when originally aired, so it wouldn't be the first time a video release capitalized on the increased popularity of a star.
Also, it's interesting to note in the Home Media Magazine article that Shout! Factory's reissue of "My So-Called Life" outsold the original issue from several years ago. I know I double-dipped, but how many others did?

Aryn Leroux · May 19, 2008

I love this show and own the initial release. The artwork is much better on the original release i must say. But that really does not matter much. I am not sure i am willing to rebuy unless of course there is improvement in the a/v. But my guess is this will be basically the same. Is there word on new transfers for this perhaps? The extras are temping but i am probably good with what i have. But this show is outstanding and everyone should own it. So i am glad it is being re-released for those that were unfortunately left out when it went oop.

Derek Miner · May 19, 2008

Aryn Leroux said:
I am not sure i am willing to rebuy unless of course there is improvement in the a/v. But my guess is this will be basically the same. Is there word on new transfers for this perhaps?

They're all mastered on video, and it's likely the same masters will be utilized. The only improvement I can imagine will be based on advances in compression technology.

Aryn Leroux · May 19, 2008

Derek Miner said:
They're all mastered on video, and it's likely the same masters will be utilized. The only improvement I can imagine will be based on advances in compression technology.

Yeah, that is what i figured.. thanks!

Bonedwarf · May 20, 2008

Oh man... I also never EVER double dip but may have to make a big exception for this if the extras are worth it. The original set is one of the crown jewels of my collection.
Heard rumours for years that the episodes are the syndicated versions (something which seems to borne out on a "previously on Sports Night" segment that has a scene that isn't in the prior episode) but the timing of the episodes and the overall running time of the box seems to indicate it ISN'T. (Since the average episode length is 23 minutes, whereas I believe syndied stuff is closer to 22, correct?)
Regardless, I hope this is a decent price. I paid $80 for the show originally.
Edit: Just read one of the articles linked from the TV on DVD website, and a potential deal breaker for me: They have not been able to remaster season 1 and remove that bloody laugh track.
If that had gone, that alone would have been enough for me to buy the set, but with it still there... Lot less tempting.

Jason_V · May 20, 2008

Any upgrade is worth it for me. The original Buena Vista release is just...bad? Ugly? Shoddy? Someone help me with the right word...

Derek Miner · May 20, 2008

Bonedwarf said:
Heard rumours for years that the episodes are the syndicated versions (something which seems to borne out on a "previously on Sports Night" segment that has a scene that isn't in the prior episode) but the timing of the episodes and the overall running time of the box seems to indicate it ISN'T.

I can't guarantee anything, but since this show never went into official syndication, I doubt they prepared alternate, shortened masters for the show. When it got picked up by Comedy Central, I'd bet Buena Vista shipped them full length episodes for them to alter to the format and length they required.

Joseph DeMartino · May 20, 2008

(something which seems to borne out on a "previously on Sports Night" segment that has a scene that isn't in the prior episode)

I'm not sure that proves anything, since many "previously on", top-of-show recaps will contain clips from several episodes, even from prior seasons, in order to properly set-up the events of the current one.
Joe

Click to expand...

Yee-Ming · May 21, 2008

Derek Miner said:
They are officially stating new interviews, deleted scenes and gag reels among other things. And they have alotted two discs just for bonus features, which is impressive! I already own this series, but it is one of my all-time favorites, so it will certainly be worth it for me to re-buy for bonus features.

Sucker that I am for extras, if it's not too pricey I just might double-dip.
The silly thing is that my existing set has been out of my hands for a really long time now (maybe nearly 2 years), loaned out to a friend, who is now supposed to pass it to another friend. So actually buying another set probably isn't a bad idea anyway...

Not sure how you guys feel about this: the original set had the annoying (to me) coding such that if you selected one episode to play, at its conclusion it would automatically just continue with the next episode, rather than default back to the episode index. Of course, that really just meant that in practice instead of watching just one ep, I'd wind up watching 2 or 3, or more...

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