Expensive TV Box sets: Are they worth it?
 

Hey Guys
I happened to see 12 boxes of the La Femme Nikita season 2 box set still sitting on the shelf at Best Buy (I guess they haven't caught on about the recall yet)

I saw the price and it's 83.99!! Although I enjoyed the few episodes that I saw in Season 1, does anyone think this or any TV series box set is worth shelling out that kind of money?? I mean 22 episodes, 2 audio commentaries and some deleted scenes doesn't really seem to cut it for me.

Other really expensive sets I've seen are Profiler, Brooklyn South and the X-Files.

Is it the music that is making the price so freaking high?

IMO, if the studios want people to buy these sets, they should set a 30-40 dollar range tops.

Personally, there's very few TV series I really want to have on DVD. Band of Brothers, Sports Night, and Family Guy come to mind. BOB was the only one that was close to $100, but worth every penny.

If there's a TV series on DVD I want to watch, more often than not I'll Netflix it. I just can't justify forking out too much money for it.

But the studios would get more money from me if the prices were lower.

I agree. I'm much more likely to buy a set if it's in the $30-$40 range. I have no idea why Fox can put out a series like 24 with (obviously) 24 1-hr episodes for a MSRP of $49.99, yet HBO will put out a 13-episode season of The Sopranos or 6FU for $99.99. I guess the market will bare what it will, and as long as there are suckers like me to buy them, the price isn't moving.

My advice, keep your eyes out for cheaper used (R1!!!) sets on ebay and if you're going to buy a set, wait for a sale with the next season release at Best Buy.

As you might know "Nikita: S2 was pullled, so if you want it, grab it now. "Xfiles" dropped it's MSRP and can be found for around $60 at Costco or maybe from Canadian retailers...

Yeah, wait for a sale, that's a pretty steep price. Only get it if you think you appreciate the show enough, and you know you'll watch it again. Luckily, my tastes aren't that expensive. The only big purchases I went through were Band Of Brothers, and Freaks & Geeks LE, and they were both worth it.

And even with BOB, I found it for 50 on eBay. So wait a little bit... it'll be worth it.

It depends on you.

Personally, I ADORE TV on DVD, and have spent quite a bit on the genre, with no regrets.

The higher dollar ones have been X Files and C.S.I. and Homicide. Still haven't watched Homicide or X Files, but will be shortly (I purchased several TV Season sets during the DDD sale, so I am still catching up).

Regarding cost, I think it is worth is if you will actually watch them more then once. I know I have watched and rewatched CSI and Cheers several times, amongst others. Hold out for the bargains, and with patience, it doesn't have to break the bank. By purchasing all the X Files seasons at the same time (as well as Friends), I was able to "save" quite a bit, and feel better about it later.

It just depends on your tastes. Good luck!

Thanks for all the input. I think I will stick to shows that I am interested in and can afford. Personally, I try to stay in the 30-40 dollar range which I consider reasonable. Most recently I got Nip Tuck for 31.49, Dawson's Creek for 34.99 and Boomtown for 34.99. All were on sale and all are good shows that I enjoy. I guess if it's something I can't afford, just stay away from it.

Please post these threads in the main DVD Talk Forum. This forum is for specific DVD reviews.

Moving thread.

- David Stein

It's up to you.

Most series aren't worth that to much me, Femme Nikita definitely isn't, but something like Star Trek - TOS is.

I have a rule of thumb that I won't buy any half around sitcome season over $49.99 MSRP, or hour-long 22 episode season over $59.99 (although I broke the rule for Alias)

I don't think so, I would rather get like 6 or 7 good movies than some of the more expensive box sets that go for $60-80. I mean how often are you going to watch them, buy tv sets you want, and rent the rest on netflix.

Personally I think HBO's motives for keeping their prices absurdly high is to keep people subscribing to HBO. For a little over the price of a season set you can subscribe for a year. Any sales they get are probably bonus for them both in terms of money and advertising.

Would the majority of people still subscribe if it wasn't for their original programming given everything they show can not compare to dvd's in terms of aspect ratio, short of 1.85:1 movies on their HD channels, and features? Many would prefer to rent via Netflix or the like or purchase.

As with anything, it depends.

For example, for ST:TNG, I say no. For Oz, I say yes.

Personally, I bought all 4 Sopranos seasons Asian style from eBay for $80 shipped and couldn't be happier. Exact clones of the legit discs, so no problems here.

I also like TV on DVD, and purchase seasons of The Simpsons, Southpark, Sopranos, and 24 as they release. :)

For now I'd have to say no, they are not worth it for me. I have quite a few box sets that I haven't gotten around to opening yet and I know that most of the contents of the ones I have I will only be watched one time.

What really changed it for me was getting DirecTivo's for all of my TVs. I set up season passes for all of the old shows I thought I might be interested in and now I always have something worth watching. It's surprising to me how many great shows and series I didn't see when they were first run.

Disadvantages: No extras. Commercial breaks (that I can skip though). Some content cut for time. Station bugs.

There are a lot of pluses for TV on DVD, but when I consider the cost per episode of DVD vs TiVo, I'm very happy with my choice for the time being.

If you enjoy them, they're worth it. I get more enjoyment out of an 80 dollar, 13 episode Sopranos set than a $40, 22 episode Knight Rider set.

TV on DVD tends to be very expensive at B&M stores. Look online and used sites. What I like to do is buy a show, watch and then sell used. It usually ends up being cheaper than renting.

The funny thing is that the sets i would pay a large amount for are among the cheapest sets around. Buffy and Angel in particular.

I see the big problem, You are supporting hong kong gangs. the traid's thank you kindly.

Please know that your $80 went into the death of someone who crossed the paths with that specific azn gang that you supported by buying their bootlegs.

Please also sleep comfy knowning that you did not support HBO by buying their product. In doing so the next season of The Sopranos that comes out on dvd could very well be a little more expensive to cover the cost of all those who choose to go through the bootleg scene like yourself.

It really surprises me that people will settle for that sort of shit and yet bitch and whie about companies not using widescreen or other eliteist DVD gripes. How hard is it to support the company that actually produced the dvd? By giving them your cash you are saying "Yes, I do enjoy your fine product, please continue to excel in the methods that I am enjoying" instead of telling them that you do not like what they are doing with their product by not supporting them.

Same goes with anime or anything. If you can not afford it, look elsewhere to buy it at a cheaper price or just don't buy it. Buying crappy bootlegs will not help you in anything. Nor does it help the rest of the community.

Look around, their is deals. You can buy it somewhere else cheaper and still have it be legits.

Bootlegs bad for everyone. If you can't see that, perhaps you should try to look harder.

Also on a side note, Most syndicated shows cut out a few minutes because the commercial break time for syndication is different then prime time or whatever the original broadcast was aired. So you may be missing a few seconds here and there of the simpsons if you stick to watching it in syndication only.

FUNNIEST POST EVER!



By the way, I love my boots of Song Of The South & The ORIGINAL Star Wars Trilogy.

Boots are not bad. They can tell a studio to release a product or lower their prices. If they don't they lose money. Their problem...not mine.

Besides Simpsons and Futurama i've stayed away from TVonDVD. Partly cause of price, partly cause I've never watched a lot of tv so there are few shows i'd be interested in purchasing. (been tempted by Law&Order:CI, and Smallville though)

Also I'm wondering if in a few yrs a lot of these mult-disc sets will be reissued on 1, 2 disc HDDVD sets. Thoughts?

I love TV box sets, but only if the price is reasonable. I would never pay what they are asking for sets like the Xfiles and Star Trek.

The Simpson and South Park price range is my limit.

Is an expensive DVD of a TV show worth the price? It's all a matter of opinion. It's like asking someone if it's worth it to "pimp" their car (check out my fresh/hip lingo!). For me, I don't find it worth the extra cost to "trick" (lights, decals, etc) my ride. It's not something I'd like to spend my $ on. Someone else will tell you of course it's worth it, because that's their thing.

Like others here, my limit is right around the $40 range, with the exception of needing to get my fix of "Oz".

I'm sure they are not exact clones as dual layer dvds are much more expensive then singler layer discs. Either way they are still bootlegs which really should not be talked about here.