Warner Home Video- We want B5 in SEASON SETS (1 Viewer)

[Paul P]

With the recent digital bits rumor mill info that B5 should be released this year, but Columbia house announcing 2 episodes per disc at $25 per disc, the time is now to raise the voice of support for season sets. Television shows are selling well right now on dvd, and that's because they're sold in season sets at reasonable prices. C'mon Warner, we've been waiting so long for Babylon 5, do it right! Give it to us in season sets, not individually sold discs!

 

[John Berggren]

I won't buy B5 any other way.

Season sets or no sale.

 

[Andrew Walsh]

Season sets only, please.

 

[Frank Anderson]

I have no hope that Warner even cares what we want but just in case anyone there might wake up and smell the coffee

PLEASE RELEASE BABYLON 5 IN SEASON BOX SETS!

 

[Eric F]

Season box only here too. Reasonably priced that is.

 

[Brian E]

Another request for season sets.

 

[todd s]

I will purchase season box sets only. No individual discs and especially no "Best of's"!!!

 

[David Forbes]

Season sets or no sale, as much as it pains me to say it.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Exactly, make season box sets of B5 and I'm there. Individual DVD's with 2 or even 4 episodes, forget it. It's not just the cost, which of course is a factor, but storage and functionality. I'd much rather have the whole season in one box than have 5 or more individual DVD cases per season. B5 had 22 Eps per season. If they could fit 5 per disk, the last could have 2 eps and extras. Of course, it'd be really cool if they integrated the movies into the places where they belong.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

The Columbia House listing almost certainly means nothing. 2 episodes per disc works for their every-six-weeks subscription business model - it has nothing to do with the realities of sales in the retail channel.
Doug Wadleigh, the new head of Marketing and Special Features at Warner Home Video has been quoted as saying that he understands the preference for full-season sets of TV shows. That South Park is continuing with "theme packs" may be the result of some other entity's preference (WHV has said in the past that they are following instructions from Comedy Central), the fact that the latest set was too far along in production to scrap before switching to full-seasons, or a feeling that too much of the show has already been released to change things now. The studio's sudden about-face on the Friends release, however, suggests that they are finally "getting it."
Nor is it the case that "Warner Bros. never listens", as both the Friends S1 boxed set and other recent decisions (like the Wonka widescreen SE indicate.) It is widely known that WHV cancelled a planned release of B5 on DVD back in late 1999 or early 2000. According to contemporary reports from people with good sources at the studio, they did this because they knew the 4:3-only, no extras, 2-episode per single disc release they had in mind would not fly with the core audience. So they scrapped the idea until they figured out how to pay for a widescreen version (Warner Bros. television and Sci-Fi solved that problem for them) and saw how Fox did with The X-Files Season One. (They had already seen Paramount get relatively disappointing sales with ST:TOS on DVD, surprising considering that anything with a Trek logo on it usually sells well.)
Unfortunately word of these plans were let slip, with the result that the VHS sales of the show went into the toilet and WHV went back into its "TV shows don't sell on home video" shell.
But it seems to be the case that the first movie disc did well enough to convince even the dimmer bulbs at WHV that there is potential here. Given the nature of the series, and the general industry trend towards boxed sets, I seriously doubt that they're going to reject their own conclusions (from 1999) about how best to present the series. I'm confident that when the episodes are finally released they'll resemble and X-Files or TNG boxed set more than they do the original Trek discs.
P.S.
Since I rather doubt that anyone who counts at WHV reads this forum (they'd be making better decisions if they did), here's the snail mail address in case any of you would like to put your wishes in writing. I'm highly skeptical of things like internet petitions and e-mail campaigns, myself. I think most studios are either unaware of them or totally ignore them. Letters, on the other hand, are something they take seriously. (I do think the "B5 Widescreen Anamorphic" petition site did have something of an impact - at least in convincing WHV that there was a market for a widescreen version - but even that site probably got its message across better through the snail-mail to WHV that it generated than the petition itself.)
Mr. Douglas Wadleigh
Vice-President, Marketing & Special Features
Warner Home Video
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
(Edited to add post-script)
Regards,
Joe

 

[Rob T]

No season box sets=no sale

 

[GregC]

Reasonably priced (less than $100 street) 16X9 yearly box sets or no sale.