Star Trek: The Animated Series on 3/15? (1 Viewer)

[michael_ks]

This is so pathetically true. I won't purchase until I see it for under $30 at Sam's Club or the like, which is the price I paid there for a still better animated series with more episodes ("Jonny Quest").

So let's see what we have here:

Star Trek - The Animated series - $34.95
Sales tax - $2.79
Paramount 'Trekkie' tax - $24.95

Your total - $62.69

 

[Tony J Case]

I don't see why comparing Trek to He-Man is unfair. Both were done by the same studio (Filmation), both are in the same medium (animation) and both ran in the same time slot (Well, not quite true for He-Man - but after school certainly wasn't prime time adult viewing hours.) By any reasonable assessment, Trek is a kids show. So I think the comparison to other kid shows is very fair.

Sides - if we go by who buys the shows, Transformers is a show designed for middle aged men riding the nostalgia wave and NOT kids.

But for the sake of argument, lets look at some other half hour prime time adult TV shows. Mash season 1 is 40 bucks for 24 episodes, Gilligan's Island is 39 for 30 episodes (I think - I don't recall how many were in first season). All in the family is getting closer to that price point at 40 bucks for 13 episodes - but the ONLY show I can think of in the Animated Trek range is Doctor Who, where - depending on the story - could be looking at 6 half hour episodes for around 25 bucks. (But then when Paramount loving restores Trek the way that the RT does to Who before tacking on a bevy of extras, then I'll gladly pony up my money.)

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I think the more Equal comparision would be the recent Flash Gordon Set. From Filmation. Got it for $20 bucks same amount of show, but hey its Flash Gordon and not Trek. Anyhow I'm a Trek Geek I'll plop down My $40

 

[Jay Pennington]

Star Trek ran on the network on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

He-Man was syndicated and ran whenever each station decided it would run. Over ten years later.

 

[RickER]

Thats exactly what i say too!

 

[Tony J Case]

While I cant cite programming for the show other than what I saw myself on TV when I was a youngin, it's a safe bet that He-Man either ran weekday afternoons or mornings before the tikes went off to school. But neither show ran prime time in the adult programming slots, so the comparison is still valid.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Or you could compare it to anime, where it doesn't come off looking quite so bad - I regularly pay $15-20 for four half-hour episodes without batting an eye, and I figure that appeals to a similar set as the Star Trek animated series.

Not that I'm defending this pricing - I'd love for it to be lower. But I'm pretty sure that Paramount has crunched the numbers to estimate that $50 x (people willing to pay $50) > $25 x (people willing to pay $25).

 

[Tony J Case]

Oh lord, dont get me started on Anime - for this way lies madness.

It's been a couple of years since I bought anime so this may have changed, but at least after a series is completed there would be a box set of the series on the shelves - ADV was excptionaly good about doing that. So yeah, the tightwads had to wait a year after a series was out, but you could take the sting out of the wallet that way if nessassary.

 

[Katherine_K]

The Anime comparison is the best I've heard so far, but when it comes down to it Star Trek is Star Trek. It's not easily comparable to any other show. It is a genre to itself.

People will by TAS who wont by other cartoons. The comparison to say MASH doesn't work either, Scifi both sells better and at a higher price point than drama almost universally. Different audiences, different economics.

As I said, I don't like the pricing either, but at least I'm being honest and not making false comparisons. We are not dealing with another cartoon or another work by filmation.

As I said up the thread, the episodes are not worth it to you at that price. That's fine, don't buy it, but don't presume that there aren't a lot of people who will buy it at that price because that is what it is worth to them. I may have issues with Paramount about the way they have handled Star Trek, but I don't pretend they are stupid. They have made this decision in order to make X dollars at Y price point which they believe is greater than they would make at Z price point.

 

[Tony J Case]

the episodes are not worth it to you at that price. That's fine, don't buy it,

Like I said, I'm not intending too. Pity, I was kind of looking forward to the set too - but there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

but don't presume that there aren't a lot of people who will buy it at that price because that is what it is worth to them.

Never said otherwise. If you (Not the you Katherine you, but the consumer "You") don't have a problem with that price point, then please go right ahead with the purchase. 'taint my money, after all.

I do feel bad for the trekkies tho, getting constantly fleeced by the studio time and again like this. (or, if I were more cynical in nature, I'd feel ashamed at the trekkies who gladly whore themselves out to their overlords for whatever morsels they deem fit to throw at their feet - but then, glass houses and throwing stones and all that *clutches hideously overpriced Doctor Who discs* "They'll never take you from me, my pretty")

I may have issues with Paramount about the way they have handled Star Trek, but I don't pretend they are stupid.

No, just greedy.

They have made this decision in order to make X dollars at Y price point which they believe is greater than they would make at Z price point.

Clearly the market can bear these overpriced discs - doesn't make it right tho. While I'm not a touchy-feely tree hugger communist that thinks Profit=EVIL!, to shamelessly pimp your product like this makes me sad.

At the end of the day, Star Trek on DVD is not a cure for cancer (despite what Paramount may think), so I just shrug my shoulders and move on - but I'm not going to be the only one doing so, either.

 

[RickER]

OK, i am a Trek fan. When i say Trek i mean original and Next Gen. But thats besides the point. Or maybe not? I buy what i want to. Sure if it was cheaper i MIGHT buy more, but one is holding a gun to my head and making me buy more Trek. The gas pump is fleecing me, but not Paramount. I own the first 3 seasons of Next Gen (bought when they went $50), about 30 of the 40 original series volumes that came out a few years back, and the last season of Enterprise. I have bought Trek over and over so many times on so many formats i dont remember them all. Rest assured in my case i was never fleeced, and i never let my bills go unpaid for my Trek/ home theater hobby (ala Trekkies).

I pick and choose my Dr. Who too.

 

[Nelson Au]

It's so unfortunate that Star Trek fans continue to this day to be labeled as having no lives and willing to spend all their money for what Paramount offers. I chose to focus on collecting Star Trek myself and very very few other TV shows.

But as Katherine has nicely said, Paramount knows their customer base for Star Trek. I have a sense that a great number are original series fans who are older and established in careers, and have plenty of disposable income. Like so many other hobbies out there, the attraction is reliving their youth. Many spend thousands on restoring or restomoding the car's of their youth they could not own. I think for a number of Trek fans, this is the car. Sure there are the obsessive fans who get all the media attention and then there is the casual fans, like many here it sounds like.

Star Trek is sort of like the Mercedes of TV show product, they have a cliente that can afford to own and enjoy it. The more popular shows get more interest by those who can afford their shows, sort of like Honda. A lot of people like Honda for value, a lot of bang for the buck. Sort of like "Friends"?

Perhaps a better comparison is Disney(?) I seem to recall all the threads about their pricing some time ago. They know they have a captive audience and charge accordingly. And parents pay it for their kids.

Oh well, just a few more cents, as long as there's a new Star Trek video product released, these kinds of discussions will continue to arise. When the HD or BD of one of the shows comes out, here we go again!

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Well ... This new price point for TAS is disappointing to be sure. But I've never owned the animated series in any format and do fondly recall "Yesteryear", "More Tribbles, More Troubles", and "One of our Planets is Missing". Many of the these half-hour shows were sequels to some of the better eps from TOS and a few were even written by the original authors.

The set, even considering the new Okuda Trivia Tracks, shouldn't really MSRP for more than $44.95 in today's market (and even that's stretching it) . BUT, I have to admit that after waiting 9 years into the DVD format for these eps, I'm more than willing to pay the extra 10 dollars or so to finally complete my "Classic" Trek DVD collection.

It's just in time, too, since I'm sure that by this time next year CBS/Paramount will be in the middle of releasing TOS to HD!

 

[Jason Seaver]

We're not getting fleeced, though - we know exactly what we're buying and what the price is for it. We're not writing a check for $10 only to find Paramount added an extra zero to it while we weren't looking or giving us less than was advertised. We spend $X on something because it is worth $X to us, and to feel sorry for us or say we're being ripped off is patronizing at best.

 

[Katherine_K]

Exactly the point I was trying to make all of yesterday.

 

[Tony J Case]

We're not getting fleeced, though - we know exactly what we're buying and what the price is for it. We're not writing a check for $10 only to find Paramount added an extra zero to it while we weren't looking or giving us less than was advertised. We spend $X on something because it is worth $X to us, and to feel sorry for us or say we're being ripped off is patronizing at best.

If you think I was patronizing, then you have a terribly thin skin because none was intended. I just saying that I think that it sucks that Paramount sees the consumer as nothing more that a big fat (bottomless) wallet before lubing them up, bending them over and having a bit o the ol' ultra-violence with them. There is no reason that this set should cost twice as much as every other cartoon out there.

But hey - if it works for you, knock yourself out!

 

[Jason Seaver]

(1) No, if I was hurt by it, that would be thin-skinned. I'm just annoyed, because it is patronizing - your comments suggest that the folks who pay for Star Trek are somehow being foolish or unwillingly exploited, which is not the case. We look at the product, we look at the price, and come to a decision as to whether or not the product is, in fact, worth the price. It's a simple, rational decision and acting like we're all weak-willed compulsive collectors is insulting.

Now, that you're beign patronizing doesn't bother me, but don't pretend that equating my purchasing decisions with anal rape is treating me with respect.

(2) And all studios see the customer as open wallets. They re-issue movies in "special editions", create tie-in products, and do whatever they can to maximize the amount of profit they make on their production costs. Paramount's high SRP on Trek DVDs is just the one that sticks in your craw today.

(3) Of course there's a reason for ST:TAS to cost this much - people are willing to pay it! If Paramount hadn't made good money off $100 TNG box sets, then DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise would have cost less. But the uncomfortable truth is, there's enough people for whom the price Paramount charges is fair that said price is economically feasible.

I strongly suspect that if Fox had thought they could make the same money charging $100/season of Buffy as they could charging $50, Buffy would have cost $100/season. But that's not what the research said As much as it would benefit ME if the economics stated that every season would be optimally priced at $20, they don't, and I think it's silly to act like that's the case.

 

[FrancisP]

I'm a fan of the original series and I say it is a rip-off as well. As much as I would like to own the original series and the animated series, I refuse to get fleeced. I already have the uncut episodes that ran on sci-fi channel on tape and can transfer them to dvd. I can get the animated episodes from other outlets. It is a shame that there are so many people that are willing to part with their hard earned money so easily.

 

[Gary Seven]

I have the LD set, so I'm on the fence with this. I like the fact they are in 5.1 surround, remastered, audio commentaries and other extras make this interesting. $62.99 MSRP is pretty high but Costco will probably sell this for around 40... 45 bucks. Their TV sets are usually sigificantly cheaper. If the reviews are favorable, I'll spring for it. The Flintstones were about 35 bucks which I find more comparable than the cartoons that were specifically created to sell toys, so I won't quibble over an extra 10 bucks.

 

[Jonathan Peterson]

$43.75 pre-order price at DVD Empire. That is not a bad price. I am sure even lower prices will be easy enough to find.