"Monk" has ignited my O.C.D. (Obsessive Collector Disorder) (1 Viewer)

[MattHR]

After watching the entire season one DVD of “Monk”, I have realized that I suffer from OCD (Obsessive Collector Disorder). After browsing through my sizeable collection of TV-on-DVD, something started to annoy me that I hadn’t been concerned with before: Inconsistent packaging within a series.

Here are a few examples that bug me:

“Charlie’s Angels” S1: plain ThinPaks w/ slipcover (flimsy); right-side opening.
“Charlie’s Angels” S2: DigiPak w/ slipcover (sturdy); left-side opening.

“All in the Family” S1: DigiPak w/ NO slipcase
“All in the Family” S2: DigiPak w/ slipcase (flimsy) & thumb-notch; right-side opening
“All in the Family” S3: DigiPak w/ slipcase (sturdy); left-side opening

“The Dead Zone” S1: DigiPak w/ NO slipcase
“The Dead Zone” S2: DigiPak w/ slipcase

“Starsky & Hutch” S1 & S2: While both are DigiPaks w/ slipcase (sturdy), they open on
opposite sides.

“Saturday Night Live”: various releases. Change in design within releases.

“Three’s Company” S1: standard Amary
“Three’s Company” S2: die-cut DigiPak

“Sex & The City” S1, S3-S6: clear/tinted title spines
“Sex & The City” S2: solid blue title spine (this one really bugs me)

“Sanford & Son” S1-S3: DigiPaks w/ slipcase (flimsy). Right-side opening.
“Sanford & Son” S4: DigiPak w/ slipcase (sturdy). Left-side opening.

“Six Feet Under” S1: over-sized “cigar” box
“Six Feet Under" S2: compact-sized “cigar box” (preferred)


Some slipcases are flimsy cardboard, while others are the sturdier “double-walled” version. Columbia has started using the “double-walled” version recently. It’s much more attractive and should hold up better. Look at “All in the Family” and “Sanford & Son” for examples of the change. These new slipcases are usually used for left-side opening sets.


Here are a few examples of series that have very attractive and consistent (so far, anyway) packaging with two or more sets, and look quite nice when lined up as a collection:

“The Sopranos”, “The X-Files” (although the case is a bit flimsy, Fox continued its use for consistency), “C.S.I”, “Friends”, “The Simpsons”, “Star Trek” (various series), “Cheers”, “Frasier”, "Queer As Folk", “Oz”, “Smallville”, “Futurama”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, The Hanna-Barbera Golden Collection (“Jetsons”, “Flintstones”, “Scooby-Doo”), “South Park” (thanks for continuing with Warner’s packaging, Paramount!)


While not multi-set releases, the packaging for the following series falls under the category of “what were they thinking?” (Is it a coincidence these are all Universal titles?)

“Battlestar Galactica” over-sized “Cylon” helmet box
“Sliders” S1 & S2: 6 discs in foam holder
“The Incredible Hulk” Ultimate Collection: 6-disc DigiPak w/ No slipcase


Overall, I'd have to say Fox and HBO have offered the most consistent, creative and attractive packaging for their TV-on-DVD releases, while Columbia and Universal come up short.

 

[Linda Thompson]

Hercules, Xena, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda (season sets), The Monkees, Mad About You, 24, and La Femme Nikita are all pretty consistent. (Although Andromeda went from thick cases to thin from 1st season to 2nd, and used a different format for labeling each "volume" within the two sets).

The 2 LFN season sets are practically identical, as far as the style and design of the packages.

But, IMO, the Stargate SG-1 sets are, by far, the best. They're sturdy, and they're convenient. You don't have to open up several panels to get to the disc you want (like with Starsky and Hutch, Hercules, and Xena sets), you don't have to even open a box flap. Excellent packaging for an excellent show...I wish all shows were packaged this way.

 

[Scott Kimball]

Ooh... BIG thumbs down on this...
Yes, they are sturdy, convenient and consistent... but they take up so darn much room! They should be in thin packs.

-Scott

 

[Linda Thompson]

But, for my own personal preference, I'd rather make the storage-space sacrifice and have the individual disc cases. I've never had a floater in any of my SG-1 sets, there are no flimsy plastic "spokes" to break off, and I don't feel like I'm damaging either my discs (pulling on them or bending them) or the cases (risking breaking spokes) everytime I try to take a disc out of its case.

Plus, the sets are blocky enough to stand alone, or to be stacked either vertically or horizontally (with no worries about damage to the discs inside), or they fit perfectly in any of my media racks or bookcases.

Clearly a case of personal preferences, but I like 'em.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I would agree with Scott that thinpaks would be best for Stargate. The concept would be the same, but it would take up roughly half the space. I don't know if you've seen the thinpaks, but I don't think the hubs could break off. They're actually a molded part of the plastic. But, the keepcases that we did get are great for convenience. So, I'm not complaining, just saying that thinpaks are nice, too.

 

[MattHR]

While I don't own "Stargate SG-1", I do like the classy packaging. Season 1 was released prior to the advent of the ThinPak. It's nice that MGM has remained with the original design for consistency, rather than switch to the space-saving ThinPaks.

I always thought that "X-Files" had cheap packaging for a $150 set. If it were released today, I'm sure Fox would opt for ThinPaks. Being the first season-set released, the packaging options were limited at the time.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Xena bugs me because the first season does not have "season One" written on the side and all the other seasons do have the season number there.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Most annoying to me would be the region 4 releases of 24. On the season 2 release, they place the name "24" a good couple of centimetres lower than on the season 1 box - the top of the "24" on season 2 is lower than the bottom of the "24" on season 1.

Drives me crazy everytime I look at it. How do you make a mistake like that?

 

[Jon_Gu]

The M*A*S*H seasons line up fine.

The 3 Wiseguy sets have the same silver foil on black.

NYPD Blue has a few minor differences like the DVD logo but works pretty well.

Starsky & Hutch also change White lettering and Black lettering, don't remember which is which.

So little of what I collect actually has more than one or two seasons released.

 

[george kaplan]

I'm much more compulsive about content than packaging. The cut music from Wiseguy is why I wouldn't have the faintest idea how the packaging lines up, since I never bought the censored dvds in the first place. :frowning:

 

[Frank@N]

It gets worse, I propped mine up in a position of honor only to have it fall when the 'head' became unglued and detached.

Now, I've got a giant silver box and a Cylon Halloween mask.

 

[MattHR]

Mine is also coming loose...and I haven't even handled it since it was purchased. The plastic trays in my new PREDATOR DigiPak also fell off after opening. It's this kind of sloppiness that is unacceptable. I'm still hoping Universal will make available replacement slipcases for the "Battlestar Galactica" set. It now appears there's a valid need for it, since the "Cylon" packaging is starting to fall apart. (And while they're at it, a slipcase for their "Ultimate HULK Collection" would be nice, since it never included one.)