Law And Order: SVU Skipped Seasons?? (1 Viewer)

[Cathy Suzan]

Hi all! Don't worry, this is not yet another rant on the non-release of future MARY TYLER MOORE DVDS. I'm just curious. Does anyone know the reason for skipping of LAW AND ORDER:SVU seasons. I love SVU. I have the season 1 DVDS, and I look foward to buying the recent season DVD. But, what happened to those seasons in between? To me, the episodes after season one are the strongest, but they decided to skip those and go straight for the most recent. Does anyone have any idea why? And most importantly, does anyone know if those seasons in between 1 and the most recent will be released?

 

[Jason Seaver]

Universal isn't "skipping" anything; they're just following two parallel release tracks: Releasing the older "catalog" seasons in order, and releasing the new ones while they're still fresh in the public's mind, just before the new season begins. Think of them as two seperate product lines with the same trade dress.

 

[Cathy Suzan]

OK, interesting take. Although going from a season 1 release to a season 5 release does seem to me as a "skip" of seasons 2 through 5. As a fan of the show I would buy all episodes regardless of the order of release. However, it would have been nice if the releases were in order. It doesn't really matter whether season 5 is fresh in my mind or not. SVU is a powerful show and i do plan to watch season 6 regardless of which season was released. I just hope that it doesn't end there. I would hate to have a collection of only seasons 1 and 5.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Always remember - you are not a representative sample. For every completist like you or me, there may be two casual fans more interested in buying something that made a recent impression.

 

[Cathy Suzan]

I'm not quite the completist that people think I am. My DVD collection of M*A*S*H consist of seasons 1 through 3. To me it is a complete set because I didn't much care for the rest of the seasons. So far, I like seasons 1 through 5 of SVU. Is it really a fact that Paramount is releasing season 5 because it is fresh on our minds, or is it just a rumor?

 

[Elizabeth S]

I love this show, and the "skipping" annoys me also. I also think fans who may have been introduced to the show through the Season 1 boxset should have the opportunity to see the shows in order.

 

[MattGunn]

i haven't seen the show, but i bought season 1. I won't be buying season 5, because i want to watch seasons 2-4 first, in order. Then I will purchase Season 5.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

They do have the opportunity to see the shows in order. Universal isn't making anyone buy and watch season 5 now.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Well, (A) it's Universal, and (B) I wouldn't call it a rumor so much as a possible explanation.

 

[Cathy Suzan]

OOPS! You got me on the Universal thing. However, possible explanation is not an actual fact. So the "fresh in our minds" thing is just a theory . A rumor of sorts. But I would really want to here from Universal as to their reasoning. Have they said anything? I would like to know. And I hope that this is not a trend.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Well, to split hairs, it'd be a rumor if I were presenting it as fact, or as coming from anything but my own mind.

Why? It's probably not actually displacing other L&O releases, so what's the harm?

Universal has done some strange things with their product, but I kind of think "they're not releasing them in the same order as my planned purchases" qualifies as whining.

 

[MishaLauenstein]

Well if releasing the latest season of Frasier or SVU gives them a reason to keep releasing the earlier seasons I am all for it.

If the sales of a DVD line are dipping, then I can see them thinking: we might as well stop Frasier after Season 3 or 4 is out when all the momentum is gone.

If they can get Season 11 (or 10, whatever it is) out now, then they are getting one extra season of a show out that may be cancelled after season 3 or 4.

On the other hand, if they can get enough people to get the first few and last few seasons of something by using this method, the audience might be more likely to keep buying the middle seasons in future years just to fill their unbalanced sets.

 

[David Lambert]

Not a rumor, not a "possible" explanation.

What Jason said in the 2nd post of this thread is DEFINITELY the explanation. Read our story about it here!

 

[HowardPaul]

Yeah. I don't get it. In CI, SVU and the original, they have released 2003/4 before releasing most of the earlier series. It's all too bizarre.
On another note, I recently saw the Complete Season 1 for the first time and just LOVED George Dzundza as the lead!
Cop with heart.
What a shame he chose to leave the series!!!
Best
Howard