A better future for TV shows on DVD? :) (1 Viewer)

[Craig: Mclaren]

I'm looking forward to 2004. This should be the year when most companies really get the finger out and exploit the TV on DVD market. We have heard some great news from Paramount regarding potential releases (Happy Days, Taxi, Mission impossible, Mork and Mindy etc) Warner are doing some decent work and i imagine Fox will kick butt next year with more TV releases including hopefully at least three seasons of The Simpsons!

However it ain't all peaches and cream. The release schedule for many classic shows is piss poor (Law and Order, Charlies Angels, SWAT etc) so many big name shows still haven't made there DVD debut and aren't we all fed up with "Music issues"? Its still a new market so hopefully these problems can get ironed out within the next year or so.

The release schedule for classic shows must be addressed. Cheers Season 2 is making its debut a full 7 months after the 1st season. For a show that ran 11 seasons this is not good enough. Many buyers want to see a release plan that shows good potential for an entire collection. Companies must be a bit more adventurous and consider working on 2 or 3 seasons of the same show at a time. This will allow a healthy release schedule and most likely boost sales.

Example-
Cheers Season 1 - May 2003
Cheers Season 2 - August 2003
Cheers Season 3 - November 2003
Cheers Season 4 - February 2004
Cheers Season 5 - May 2004
Cheers Season 6 - August 2004
Cheers Season 7 - November 2004
Cheers Season 8 - February 2005
Cheers Season 9 - May 2005
Cheers Season 10 - August 2005
Cheers Season 11 - November 2005

All 11 Seasons released within 2 and a half years. Surely a release every 3/4 months is do-able? Waiting around for sales figures before working on the next release ain't gonna cut it with most shows. Long running sitcoms like Cheers,Mash,Frasier etc need a minimum three seasons a year. Four if possible. The same for drama shows like Law and Order, E.R etc. I hope the companies understand this.

As for music issues I shall discuss them later, my fingers are tired from typing!

 

[Estevan Lapena]

What about TOUR OF DUTY!
This NEEDS to be released on DVD or else I fear it will just disappear into the archives of CBS. I fear music rights may interfere with my DVD dream though. :frowning:, much like Wonderyears.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Before long, there are going to be so many shows I collect on DVD (it's already 20+ different shows) that I won't even concern myself with the next release of show I'm collecting -- so long as I know for sure that it IS coming (for instance, the Simpsons ARE coming, it's just a matter of when).

Now I know there are a lot of you who collect very few TV shows on DVD who are itching to get the next release in your favorite series, but I think while the market's being flooded, I'll be able to wait for stuff. It looks like, beginning in 2004, I will be having to buy 2 or 3 multi-disc box sets a WEEK just to keep up. So my wallet will need a breather when it can get one.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I’ve got a few comments on this subject. This is a list of stuff I know I’ll be buying in the first month plus of 2004. This could get rather lengthy so I warn/apologize in advance.

1/06/2004: Frasier and Cheers season 2
1/13/2004: Green Acres season 1
1/27/2004: The Critic, the Entire Series/Dilbert the Entire Series/Friends season 6
2/03/2004: In Living Color Season 1, Good Times Season 2, News Radio seasons 1 and 2 and maybe What’s happening season 1

Then this is what I expect I’ll buy more of because 1 or more seasons of these shows are already available
The Simpsons, Futurama, King of the Hill, M*A*S*H, Friends, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Adult Swim volumes, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Married with Children, South Park, Cheers, Frasier, King of Queens, Spongebob Squarepants, Saved by the Bell, Sex and the City and probably stuff I’m forgetting. This is just my list, yours will be different.
That doesn’t include first season releases of stuff I don’t know about yet but will buy where I’d put Happy Days, Taxi and Mork and Mindy in to this category I suspect they’ll come out but I don’t know when.
My point from a list like this, is that absolutely 2004 is going to be the biggest year so far for TVShowsOnDVD, and I’m hoping to finish up some of these shows this year to make room for others.

Now to the release patterns of classic TV shows.

We know from what was posted in the TV conference thread, that Fox has found that sales for season sets are fairly consistent. Example: M*A*S*H season 2 sold in the same ballpark as M*A*S*H season 1.

I can also tell you that we got an increase in release schedule for M*A*S*H this year.
Season 1, Jan 8, 2002 (my birthday)
Season 2, July 2002
Season 3, Feb. 2003
Season 4, July 15, 2003
Season 5, December 9, 2003
We got 2 seasons last year, and 3 this year the gap between releases is shrinking even if it is just slightly.

Now, let me address the main point. That classic shows should be coming out quicker. I’m not a head at Paramount so I don’t know but this is what I suspect took place. We’ll use Cheers since it was the original example given.

1.Paramount puts Cheers season 1 out on the market in May 2003.
2.Paramount studies sales figures and decides it is worth putting out season 2.
3.Paramount releases Cheers season 2, seven months later in January 2004.

4.Paramount not needing to see sales figures from sales of season 2 as badly plans another release for Cheers season 3, in lets say June 2004.
5.They also make plans to release season 4 in say November or December 2004.

Why this makes sense.
What good would it due Paramount to plan to release these seasons so quickly. What if Cheers season 1 would have bombed? Then Paramount would’ve looked foolish to flood the market so soon with another season of a show nobody bought the first season of? Sur everyone points to the quick releases for Star Trek, but that is a different animal. Trek fans will buy anything with a Trek logo on it, including TV boxes, so Paramount wasn’t exactly taking a big gamble with that one. With classic TV shows, the gamble is, will people buy this show or prefer to watch it at home on Nick at Nite?
But now that Paramount has first season sales figures, they have a general idea of how well future seasons will do. Of course, I don’t know of a TV show that ran for 11 years as Cheers did that has made it all the way through on DVD, so maybe after season 7 or so people will say, “I’ve got the seasons I like,” I’m done. How many people that thought M*A*S*H went downhill after Radar left are going to buy season sets that don’t include him? Don’t know, time will tell.

I’ve got 1 other thought, but I’ll save it for a different post this volume of war and peace is long enough.

 

[Bill Williams]

While we're on the subject of TV releases, there's still some great classic TV series that have yet to see the light of day on DVD, and we're talking series from the 1950's and 1960's. For me, personally, one series stands out as deserving of a TV-on-DVD release, and that's The Adventures of Superman. It was 50 years ago that this classic series premiered on television, so it's only fitting that Warner Home Video see fit to release it on DVD.

 

[DaveyM]

I agree that we need more of the classics from the 50's and 60's on dvd. Releasing these more recent shows on Dvd is fine but personally i would love to see a show like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on Dvd.
Ozzie and Harriet was on for 14 seasons (1952-1966)thats 435 episodes and they are very much deserving of a Dvd release.I'm not talking about the Platinum Corp.Dvd set i found at Wal-Mart for $5.88 last week which looks like it was made from third or fourth generation Vhs tapes.
This show and others like The Andy Griffith Show deserve much better treatment on Dvd.

Davey M.

 

[Kenny Goldin]

Tour of Duty would be simply awesome.

 

[David Von Pein]

Just take a gander at all these great shows that were on TV in the
early 1960s.

From *just* the 1963-1964 TV season ALONE (which was a sensational year for broadcast television, IMO ), I'd be more than delighted to have the following released on our favorite Digital format:

The Andy Griffith Show
The Fugitive
The Jack Benny Program
The Danny Thomas Show
The Red Skelton Show
I've Got A Secret (game show)
What's My Line? (game show)
The Price Is Right (game show; original Bill Cullen version)
To Tell The Truth (game show)
Password (game show)
The Jackie Gleason Show
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Flintstones
Hazel
Perry Mason
Route 66
The Donna Reed Show
Petticoat Junction
My Three Sons
Alfred Hitchcock Hour
77 Sunset Strip
Ozzie & Harriet
Ben Casey
Kraft Theatre
Candid Camera


Plus, there are these 1963-1964 entries that are already out on DVD:

The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Judy Garland Show
The Twilight Zone
The Outer Limits
Ed Sullivan (partial)

Man! What a great season for couch potatoes!
Not to mention these others that many here probably love (but I really never grew ultra-fond of) ......

Bonanza
The Phil Silvers Show
The Jerry Lewis Show
The Lucy Show
Gunsmoke
Jack Paar
Bob Hope
Rawhide
Sing Along With Mitch
Dr. Kildare
The Defenders
Mister Ed (Best-Of Volume coming to DVD 01/13/2004)
McHale's Navy
The Virginian (90-minute program!)
Wagon Train (also 90 minutes! Man! That's a lot of Wagon Train! )
Lassie
My Favorite Martian (In COLOR! A very early color series.)


Just look at the untapped wealth of excellent Classic TV material that could potentially be placed onto DVD (from just this ONE season).

Some day...one day...we'll probably see the majority of these fine programs transferred to DVD. Hope so anyway. It'd be a crime to let all these shows rot away.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I want Bosum Buddies on DVD. Ive seen repeats not too long ago and they still are very funny.
When watching old shows like Happy Days or Three's Company, you wonder sometimes what you saw in it but this one still holds up.
I really wish China Beach would come out too.
One of the all time Best Dramas.
I want Knot's Landing too. One of the better Nightime soaps.
Looking forward to SCTV too.

I also read that they may release "90210," Dallas will be coming in "04"and even the recent "The O.C."

I was reading on tvshowsondvd.com that putting shows on to DVD is the Big thing but that they anticipate that the market for these will burn out in a year of two.

 

[James L White]

I could almost build a nice collection on TV shows alone

 

[David Von Pein]

I'm sorry (and don't mean to offend lovers of "H.R. Puf-n-Stuf" and its ilk), but I just cannot abide the fact that these TV series are coming to DVD, while others considered far more as "Classics" are still languishing in DVD-less status. Just hard to believe (IMO, that is).

"What's Happening"????? Something's out of whack in the state of Denmark here.
If "The Gong Show" gets released before Andy Griffith, I'm gonna use Barney's lone bullet on myself! :frowning: .........

 

[ChadP2k]

I'm in the same boat, TV discs are dominating for me right now. I need to catch up 1 set of Simpsons, I really want the King of the Hill sets and now Green Acres & Gilligan's Island are here The Flintstones Season 1 hits this year too, along with Seinfeld.

Plus I have to keep current The Simpsons, Sanford, and I Love Lucy. I'm still debating Dick Van Dyke, I want to make SURE all seasons are released before I fork out that much $$.

I'm hoping some releases will pick up too. I'd love to see all of Gilligan (there's just 3 seasons after all) out before the end of the year and for me Andy Griffith would be a dream come true . I'm worried about "Green Acres" though, from what I've heard of the quality I'm not sure it can sustain the sales necessary to see all the seasons released. Guess I've gotta hold onto those old tapes longer...

I've also resigned myself to the fact that many shows aren't coming & am doing some recording myself with my DVD recorder. I'm hoping to record Mama's Family this way and I've already got several other series in trades.

 

[David Lambert]

I was reading on tvshowsondvd.com that putting shows on to DVD is the Big thing but that they anticipate that the market for these will burn out in a year of two.

Mikel, please tell me where we said this. I think you are mis-representing us.

 

[Craig: Mclaren]

Its THE growth market for the DVD industry all over the world baby!

 

[todd s]

I've also resigned myself to the fact that many shows aren't coming & am doing some recording myself with my DVD recorder. I'm hoping to record Mama's Family this way and I've already got several other series in trades

Chad, I feel the same way. The problem is most of the shows I want don't air. And it seems most of the shows in syndication are shows that are available on dvd.

 

[Marty M]

I would love to see China Beach on DVD. If nothing else the 2-part pilot episode and the 2-part end of series episode. I have a feeling clearing music rights might be an issue for this TV show. This was one of my favorite TV shows in the late 80s.

 

[chris*b]

To me it is a good thing if the TV seasons are spread out a bit. I can only buy so many DVDs in a given time period. Byannual releases for shows I like allow me to buy more series while not going into the poorhouse.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

The thing that puzzles me is why these three classic series haven't gotten at least a 1st season set released on R1 DVD already:

1. THE FUGITIVE (1963-67) Paramount/Viacom
2. THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1964-66) Paramount/Viacom
3. MAVERICK (1957-62) Warner

--All three are true icons of American TV.

--All three inspired feature film versions in the 1990s, which all were huge hits (and THE FUGITIVE and THE ADDAMS FAMILY inspired movie sequels).

--All three spawned TV sequel or remake series in the intervening years (a good portion of James Garner's career has been made of variations on his popular "Bret Maverick" persona).

--THE FUGITIVE and THE ADDAMS FAMILY even got some (limited) release on LD.

--None have been seen on American cable/satellite networks in several years (FUGITIVE was last seen on A&E a full decade ago; ADDAMS FAMILY was part of TV LAND's schedule when it started in the mid-1990s, and disappeared not long afterward; MAVERICK aired sporadically (at odd times, with no fanfare) on TV LAND, but also disappeared a few years ago). Fans and interested newcomers can't see them.

--A single MAVERICK episode has turned up on DVD, as an extra on the 2nd disc of Warner's UNFORGIVEN:SE, but that's it.

Weird.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I'm still debating Dick Van Dyke, I want to make SURE all seasons are released before
I fork out that much $$.

You'll have all 5 seasons by the end of June from Image.

 

[ChadP2k]

Well when they finish all 5 seasons I hope they cut the prices to a reasonable level. I like Dick Van Dyke but it falls in my list of not really necessary shows, if I have them I'll watch it eventually but right now they're not worth the price to me..