I Love Lucy Season 2 Delay (1 Viewer)

[Chris:L]

All I have to say about the delay is. OMG Those IDIOTS!!!!!

 

[David Lambert]

Chris, you might want to explain what you're talking about first!

"Where did Chris hear about a delay?" Well, he might have read about it at TVShowsOnDVD this morning, or he might have heard it from the not-too-old thread here on the HTF called "May's Mystery".

Either way, the bottom line is that I Love Lucy - Season 2, which was previously expected this month (this week, in fact), was delayed some time back. And it was just in the past few days that a new date was unofficially discussed: August 31st.

That date is in no way official, because Paramount hasn't announced it.

But calling the fine people at that studio "idiots" is a little below the belt, isn't it? After all, you have no idea what the reason for the delay is! It could be contractual, it could be to compensate for a production error, or it could simply be the availability to schedule a production run in sufficient quantity to prevent shortages. In the end, most delays are beneficial to the consumer, believe it or not.

Even when the delay is for the studio to be more profitable - and noone is saying that's the case with Lucy S2 - then that's still good for the consumer, after a fashion. After all, when a S2 release sells better, and the studio makes more profit from it, then it bodes well for the rest of the seasons, eh?

It's okay to be upset because something you want is pushed back. There's no need to get insulting over it, though.

 

[Chris:L]

Is it beneficial to the consumer's eagerness to buy it and the impatience one painfully experiences when it keeps getting delayed?

 

[Scott Kimball]

???

I have to agree with David... we, the consumers, have NO IDEA why this has been delayed. Maybe they royally screwed up the transfer (I'm not saying they did, because I don't know). Would you rather them release a substandard product and have to recall it (or ignore the problem all together)? Justifiably, Universal has been bashed for releasing defective transfers. It seems the studios are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

If there is a contract / rights issue, and the studio was sued and forced to recall the product, how does that serve anyone?

Perhaps Paramount feels that the market is less saturated with like programming later in the year, increasing the liklihood of good sales figures - and by extension, increasing the liklihood of continued season releases.

Name-calling without knowing the facts is just not fair.

-Scott

 

[Chris:L]

Well, I had too... becuase they never explained why they did it. Why can't they release a public statement explaining why they're delaying it?

 

[Gord Lacey]

Companies VERY rarely issue a press release explaining a delay. Speaking of a press release, there wasn't one issued for I Love Lucy Season 2. We got the information from Paramount before a press release was issued, so technically there wasn't a delay. No one was selling the product with a May release date.

That's the bummer with advanced information we get; sometimes it's wrong.

Gord

 

[Chris:L]

Then, Gord, I'd suggest, don't post the news even if it's from a direct resource. The only reason I say this is because the release date is subject to change.

 

[David Von Pein]

I couldn't disagree more.

There is NO reason for Gord/David L. to alter what they've been doing at www.tvshowsondvd.com. None.

Because......

Nearly all release dates initially posted by the studios are "subject to change". That's a given. It usually doesn't change; but there's always that chance, since the companies normally announce these things many months in advance.

Gord's TV Shows website ALWAYS, invariably, puts the proverbial "This News Is Subject To Change" disclaimer on ALL material they post that doesn't have a firm confirmation by the studio involved. Sometimes, Gord & David L. even say it more than once during their TV-Show announcement blurbs on their site.

So there's no need to implement your requested "Don't post it till it's official" policy. Because they always tell us that the info might change.

I, for one, like to read about far-in-advance-of-official-announcement "rumors" at Gord's site. Most, btw, seem to bear sweet fruit it seems.

One reason I like reading Gord's and Dave's announcements is because they're always well-written, informative, fun to read, and forthright. With those ever-present "This Might Change" disclaimers, so that people shouldn't get too disappointed if the rumor turns out to be inaccurate.

I would dislike it if Gord's site just stopped posting any "rumors" or very early semi-confirmed items. Many useful tidbits are also attainable there.

 

[Scott Kimball]

Hmmm... a site that reports news on TV-on-DVD not reporting news about TV-on-DVD...

There's a novel approach.

I always assume that any announcement more than two months in advance is subject to change. Release dates are always pushed around... since before the days of DVD.

I can think of two recent Paramount releases that were pushed earlier in the schedule at a late date, after the official press release... Indiana Jones and Timeline.

... and think of how frequently Microsoft pushes back release dates for Windows versions...

-Scott

 

[David Von Pein]

And also All In The Family 3, from CTHE. Pushed up considerably I believe.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Is this some kind of a stupid joke? They are just reporting everything they possibly know about a title, so we have no surprises and know when to expect an *approximate* release date. Any avid DVD purchaser knows that the dates get pushed back or in some cases moved forward all the time. It's the nature of the business. I personally applaud Dave and Gord for everything they're doing! I wouldn't know about half the product being if it wasn't for them! Thanks guys and keep up the great work!

Andy

 

[Chris:L]

Why do production companies change dates? I mean, let me give a hypothetical quesiton. If the production company has a plan and it's already well thought out, and if there is no bugs in the process of getting it released by the date they give what stops them or, even worse, what gives them the gumption to push a release date back?

Gord, Dave, I don't want to sound like the villain of the board!

 

[Gord Lacey]

Well, most sets are announced a long time before they are complete. Ever wonder why you can't find artwork for a title that ships in a month? Chances are they haven't finished it yet! Sometimes there are problems with the pressing, maybe a major error is discovered after discs have been replicated and a whole batch has to be scrapped. Other times they are moved because another more popular title is announced around the same time and one studio doesn't want to have their sales hurt by the release of another title, so they move it. Other times it could be music licensing that takes longer than they thought. The studios have good reasons to make the move, either further ahead or back. It seems like we've had a few changes lately, even for sets that were previously announced (those would really be considered a delay). We've also had some sets pushed ahead (All in the Family, Smallville).

Gord
P.S. Chris, you don't want to read about the latest move I just posted to the site.

 

[David Von Pein]

Or about this one either.

 

[Chris:L]

I'm surprised that All in the Family has been pushed ahead. Why? The sales aren't doing well!

Everybody Tolerates Raymond.

 

[David Von Pein]

Looks like a bunch of confusion re. the "Raymond" release. DVD-Times is now saying it's not being delayed. But they also claim it's a WB release. Box shows "HBO". Does HBO = WB?

........

Via DVD-Times:
>> "It seems there was a mix-up at Warner earlier as "Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete First Season" has not been delayed, and will go ahead for its July 13th release. The artwork change was correct however!"

 

[Gord Lacey]

Warner Bros distributes all HBO releases. I don't know where they got their information from, but the Warner Bros press site mentions a delay and I received this email from the person in charge of publicity for HBO:


Like I said, I don't know what has lead them to believe the delay isn't correct.

Gord

 

[Ryan Belfast]

What is I Love Lucy all about anyway? It must be pretty good for you folks to get wound up over.

 

[EricSchulz]

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or if you really aren't familiar with the show...I see that you are from Ireland and may not be aware of the show. (I thought I had read somewhere that I Love Lucy is playing somewhere in the world at any given moment, it's that popular.)

In a nutshell, it was one of the best and most influential situation comedies ever. It was produced in the 1950's and set the standard for how sit-coms are filmed and produced.

 

[Chris:L]

I couldn't have said it better myself.