Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 2 coming in July (CONSOLIDATED DISCUSSION) (4 Viewers)

[Ben Phillips]

Mr. Staddon said that MTM Season 2 was a possibility, but not certain at this stage. That may not be news to make us stand up and cheer, but it certainly isn't "absolutely no hope," either. Also keep in mind that of all the shows David Lambert asked about, Mr. Staddon chose MTM as one of the shows he addressed.

 

[GlennH]

I think the Season 1 release got caught up in a numbers game. There was and continues to be so much TV product being released that I think many casual fans passed for the time being and sales were disappointing. But now it may become a self-fulfilling thing in that people won't bother to go back and buy Season 1 if there's no indication of a Season 2 and beyond being released.

Still, although nothing may be imminent I'd bet that these will eventually come out. As every year passes it becomes more and more economically feasible and necessary for studios to dig deeper into the catalog. So it may take awhile, but should happen.

By the way, although I liked the MTM show, I'm not a serious enough fan to have bought Season 1. These are just my guesses on the situation.

 

[Nick Eden]

I have yet to read the transcript, but while there is a chance let's hope for the remaining seasons.
As Cathy says there is so much material that although worthy in its own right, does not compare with MTM show.
From the amount of people upset about this series not progressing from season 1 on DVD,I wander what percentage actually bought the show back in 2002 when it came out?
The bottom line with all releases (whether it is an ongoing series or individual films), unless people buy them in sufficient numbers, we cannot expect studios to release more of the same.

 

[Ric Easton]

Great! I guess my season 1 set will have to suffice for now. This will make more room for Felicity, Dawson's Creek, Mr. Ed, and the rest of the crap that should be forgotten.

Ric

 

[Cathy Suzan]

You said it Ric!

 

[David Von Pein]

It's beyond me why in the world anyone would think Mr. Staddon's MTM-2 comment (which, in my view, was actually on the "somewhat optimistic" side of the MTM equation) means that all future plans are "dead", with absolutely "no hope" for DVD release.


I read Peter's comment as somewhat hopeful. ....

Mr. Staddon -- "MTM2 is a possibility but no[t] certain at this stage."

 

[Cathy Suzan]

When MTM season 7 hits the stores, i will be the first to say "I WAS WRONG"! But in the meantime, i will stand by my gut instinct that "a possibility, but not certain at this stage" actually means "forget it, it's not going to happen".

 

[Claude North]

I wonder if the reason for MTM not doing well is that the show's particular brand of humor seems out of style. The edgy, aggressive humor of the Norman Lear comedies feels closer to the mood of the nation, what with the PC and anti-PC forces battling it out, and the politically charged atmosphere brought on by 9/11 and the war in Iraq. A show like MTM, which is literate, sophisticated, and rather gentle, could seem outdated to a lot of people.

I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, when things (hopefully) calm down, people begin to seek out MTM and the demand for the DVDs increases.

 

[Randy A Salas]

This is nothing different than what Fox (Peter Staddon) has been saying for several months. Just check the archives.

 

[Ric Easton]

Still, its depressing. All seven seasons of this classic should be out by now. This is one of the best sitcoms of all time and deserves better treatment.

Ric

 

[David Lambert]

Ben Phillips and David VP are right on-the-mark, in that Peter chose to mention MTM specifically out of 10 shows I brought up. There was no reason for that one to catch his eye in particular, unless it was on his mind to some degree.

But Randy Salas has it right, too, in that this IS reflective of what Peter has said for quite some time. So perhaps it was on Peter's mind that MTM would indeed come up in this chat, and he was using the opportunity to "get it out of the way". I dunno. That's reading more into it than I know.

But Cathy, I must say that I don't think that it helps to go around misquoting Peter and stating that it's "Dead". I understand that you're fustrated, and you (and Ric) are certainly within your rights to feel like it may be hopeless. But that is YOUR OPINION. I don't see it that way; Peter's been awfully up-front with us in the past when something is unquestionably "dead". He has NOT said that about Mary Tyler Moore Show. Hope survives.


Sometimes it is the unfortunate job of someone in Peter's position to "stall" the public while trying to make arrangements that will result in a profitable release that will make everyone happy. Since, as Randy points out, Peter has repeated the same thing for a while, I interpret it as one of those occassions. Peter has to make choices not everyone will find popular, but I do believe he's one of the good guys. I vote for patience and support. Going the upset route won't bring on a release, that's for sure.


I'm sorry to have been so blunt, but I really felt the need to present an opposing point of view. I hope an HTF Admin decides to change the title of this thread, since what you've posted is not a fact at this time, and could mislead others who don't know the situation yet.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

And perhaps waiting for the cost of producing these DVDs to come down some more will accomplish just that - allow it the treatment it deserves, and still be able to make sense financially. I read Peter's comments optimistically - he never said the remaining seasons were being mothballed forever. Just because something isn't on the schedule right now doesn't mean it is dead. Be patient.

I think MTM season one's biggest problem was its high pricing, which I know stopped me from picking it up. If Fox can deliver a product of similar quality at a much lower pricepoint, I think they'd have a winner, but the cost to produce it has to be lower - which happens with time.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

That's really sad that it may not see the light of day. I grew up with this show. I love it and perhaps if they relaunched it at a cheaper price and more advertising (maybe on TVland) there might be better results.

Where can I find transcripts to this FOX chat?

 

[David Von Pein]

Gosh, that was a good post, David L.

I totally concur. (And hope you're correct. My "hopes" have not been totally dashed as yet. I truly believe we'll probably see additional seasons of MTM. Some day.)

As I've spouted before on the matter .... I really don't care at all if MTM-2 (and further seasons) are "bare" DVDs or not. Just so long FOX repeats the same GREAT PQ treatment they've applied to that stellar MTM-1 boxed set!

In fact, what with a very comprehensive feature-length 87-minute documentary on MTM-1 (plus various other features), I cannot really see that there would be a great deal of "extras" to incorporate on further MTM sets. Of course, there *could* be commentaries, Emmy clips, Galleries, and the like, plus TV Promo spots. All of which I would gladly forego in favor of just the episodes themselves, if that's the only was to lower the production costs and get these added seasons to pop up on store shelves.

But I was referring to what I'd call "big ticket" extra bonuses, such as the long documentary on MTM-1. In my view, there's not even a *need* for additional documentaries because the one on Set #1 was so complete (IMO). It was entitled "The Making Of Season One", but it really encompassed a lot more than just S.1 material....as evidenced by the Betty White interview and various post-S.1 clips being included (and Betty wasn't even a cast member until Season 3, if memory serves correctly).

I'll never stop "hoping" and wishing for further MTM season sets (in whatever large or small form FOX deems is necessary to enhance "the bottom line").

For, I truly believe that Mary Tyler Moore now has the ultimate distinction of being a main star in BOTH of the Top Two TV-on-DVD sets to hit the market to date -- her own fabulous color series, and The Dick Van Dyke Show in Glorious Black-and-White.

 

[Cathy Suzan]

Well David, I must say you are right about being a little optimistic about future releases. After all, the FOX home video website does have a "season 2 coming soon" announced for MTM. However. it's been there for a while though. On second thought, i will be more optimistic when i see season 2 through 7 in the stores. But, for now, we should all assume that the project is DEAD, unless noted otherwise.

 

[Malcolm R]

I agree. I don't see where anyone can read "no hope" from what PS said. He's perfectly upfront about telling us what they are and are not working on. If MTM was dead, I think he'd say so outright (just to stop the continuing questions, if nothing else).

I'm with Dave. Since that was one of the titles he elected to mention by name, I think that keeps hope alive. And, as he mentioned in another response, the TV-on-DVD market has grown in the 2 years since the set was released. So if they can make a more economical set and release it to a larger potential market, I'm sure we'll at least see Season 2.

Now if the sales for S2 are no better than S1, then S3 is likely way back on the furthest burner for the foreseeable future.

 

[David Von Pein]

Why? Mr. Staddon never said any such thing. I'd much prefer to keep MTM's "status" as "a possibility", just like Mr. Staddon told the HTF membership on January 12th.

Of course, if you want to consider the issue "Dead", that's up to you.

 

[Cathy Suzan]

Coming soon is still on that site. There is always a possibility David. Keep Dreaming though. The issue is dead until complete seasons 2-7 magically appear in stores. This seems to be NEVER. But I do hope I'm wrong.

 

[David Von Pein]

I shall, Cath .... I shall. (MTM is in most of my dreams anyway.)

 

[Randy A Salas]

Not necessarily. S2 sales are unlikely to be any different than S1.

Don't forget Fox's notion (from the TV on DVD Conference) that subsequent releases of a TV series on DVD tend to sell quantities that are in the same ballpark as the first release. Check Video Business' list of the top-selling TV DVDs of 2003, which I linked to in another thread, and you can see that that generally is true.

So Fox has no reason to believe that MTM S2 will sell substantially more copies than S1. In fact, its business model says that it probably won't. That's why subsequent seasons have been held up. S1 was not a big seller, so there's no expectations that other seasons will be.

But what Fox can do is to reconfigure the series so that future releases don't cost as much to produce (fewer discs, no extras, etc.). That way, when future releases sell the same amount, it can actually make money off of them. That is what I feel is causing the hold-up--figuring out where the production costs need to fall to make them viable and how realistic that would be given what Fox knows about its audience.

Now, the quick retort might be: "If Fox would simply lower the MSRP, it would sell more DVDs."

That might be true. But it probably wouldn't translate to more revenue. More people might buy the DVDs, but at a lower price--so the revenue would probably be about the same. Again, the general potential audience has already been set.