Any word on a "24" DVD Release? (1 Viewer)

[Jim Tudor]

My wife and I are totally hooked on "24", even though it has gone a bit downhill lately. But only a little bit - it's still a great, watchable show. It may be a bit contrived due to the promise of heart-racing action every week, but the action does deliver, and the plot is pretty darn solid.
Would I buy it on DVD? I'd love to, if the price were right. I don't buy this business it not working upon a repeat viewing. We buy suspenceful action movies that we've seen before and love on DVD all the time. The issue here isn't so much knowing ahead of time what will happen, and which side everyone's really on, but rather it's an issue of running time. "24" basically adds up to one heck of an action/suspence movie with a running time of 18 hours.
The art and business of filmmaking have conditioned us to the standard 90-120 minute running time. But an 18 hour running time should be just as valid, if the final product is worth the viewer investing that kind of time. So far, I'd say "24" definitely is - it's kept up the kind of adrenaline-rush suspence that most lame theatrical action movies of on tenth it's running total time can't pull off.
So yeah, count me in for a "24" DVD set!
JiM T

 

[Gary Cliff]

I've been taping the episodes, and I've found that they are not 45 minutes each. They've only been around 40-41 minutes each. So the total will be closer to 16 hours, rather than 18 hours. And that will probably mean a more reasonable price for the DVD set!

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Re: "24", I compared Fox's 4:3 analog/NTSC broadcast vs. their 16:9 digital/480p broadcast, and I see more picture info on the sides in the 16:9 broadcast. So, the show appears to be filmed in 16:9, but with 4:3 also in mind (so most viewers don't miss out on any crucial picture info.).

"Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS is framed the same way -- you get more picture info on the sides (16:9 HD broadcast), but nothing important. Picture quality, however, is another matter. "24" looks good in 480p, but it doesn't even approach the amazing quality of CBS' 1080i shows. Also, "24" looks a bit too grainy for my taste, but maybe that's on purpose. I'm being picky -- the "24" 480p broadcast is near DVD quality.

 

[Chad R]

Getting the whole season on a DVD set is unlikely until the show's ultimate fate for next season and beyond is determined. What is usually the case with TV shows is that they must go 5 seasons to be sold into syndication.

Make no mistake of it; shows earn much more in syndication than they do on DVD. Not just for the studios, but the actors and producers as well. Like all of the TV shows on DVD so far, they have been through Syndication at least once before their DVD debut. This is what held Buffy up.

However, if 24 doesn't make it 5 seasons, than I would think that a DVD release would be the next good bet on gaining additional revenue for the show. It still amazes me 'Millenium' hasn't gone the DVD route since it doesn't have enough shows to sell into syndication.

 

[Cynthia]

I don't even think syndication is an option for 24. The format of the show just not ideal for syndicating.

 

[Jason Seaver]

"Millenium" hasn't gone into syndication per se, but FX did pick up its third-run rights. It probably will get a DVD release, but perhaps not until Fox has released all 9 "X-Files" seasons - that and "The Lone Gunmen" will let them milk the franchise for another two years on DVD.

"24" is sort of an oddball case. Fox doesn't really think its repeat value is high - and, really, they may have a point where five-day-a-week "stripping" is concerned - so they might want to get the set out while there's still a lot of buzz on it.

 

[John Simon]

I had been unsure since I posted this topic whether or not buying 24 would be worth it. The responses here really made me wonder how much replay value this series contained. But tonight's episode made me POSITIVE that this series should be released on DVD. This is, IMO, the best drama I've ever seen on television. It is better than most motion pictures, and I can not wait until I can watch this series in its entirety.
Just my heavily-opinionated $0.02...