If I didn't buy TV shows blind, it would be a boring collection. There are somethings I HAVE to buy blind. I don't have HBO or Showtime (or expanded basic cable at this point) so what options do I have if I want to watch Six Feet Under or Bullshit or Flight of the Concords? And having a region free DVD player allows me to pick up British programming, most of which I've never seen.

Why would you just want to buy stuff you already seen. Isn't that like watching repeats all the time?

I'd be more inclined to buy a sampler DVD including the pilot and possibly a few other episodes rather than a whole season. Not only are season sets expensive, but if you don't like the show, whammo, four or more discs full of stuff you don't like.

My only TV blind buys have been stuff like "Buddies", but it was cheap because there were only a few episodes, and given the age of the show and that Dave Chappelle was the only reason I bought it, not bad. I own "The Best of Baretta" because I grew up when the show was on but I was never allowed to watch it. Still haven't bothered, and the whole O.J. factor taints it for me, anyway. I've also bought a Mythbusters DVD blind, but again it was cheap, and I knew enough about the show to think it might be something I'd like... and boy, was I right!

Obviously I'd buy a TV release not having seen the specific episodes if it was a show I liked, and even though I'm sure that's not what you're asking, it's still possible to get burned that way (i.e., if you buy a season that's after the show had "jumped the shark"). I just don't think I could justify buying a whole season set of a show I'd never seen, even if I liked the cast. It's so easy to just rent it from Netflix first, and even though not everyone has that option, it's a lot cheaper in the long run.

I've blond bought:

Wonderfalls: The Complete Viewer Collection
Firefly: The Complete Series

I loved both. Wonderfalls was an unexpected surprise.

I've also blond bought theses TV Mini-series:
Band of Brothers
From the Earth to the Moon: The Signature Edition

I saw probably about half an episode of each in one of the middle episodes on HBO and liked it enough to want to watch them from the beginning, just haven't got around to them yet.

I blinded Arrested Development, Family Guy, X-Files, Kitchen Confidential, Frasier, Extras, The Office (UK), and loved em all.

would be way too expensive for me to do. i blind rent tv shows though.

That’s sig worthy and, oh, so true.

I just picked up The Rookies first season, without ever watching an episode before. I bought it based on the reviews this site (among others) gave it, and also, I'm a fan of 60s - 70s era cop shows.

I have not watched an episode yet, but hopefully I'll enjoy it.

The only show I've ever blind bought is Rome. I have watched half of the first season and I loved it enough to blind buy the second. I didn't want to rent and I don't have netflix or BB so this was the only way I could watch it at my own pace. Thank goodness there are only 2 seasons, lol.

Funny, yesterday I was about to post that I have always seen at least part of an episode before buying a TV show - that makes my purchases leaps of faith rather than blind buys, I guess.

Last night I noticed that the Hardy Boys seasons 1 and 2 were on sale for $15 each and bought them blindly. Fingers crossed.

If the first season is under $20, I will blind buy shows that have a premise I like. My blinds buys: Buffy, Profiler, Tru Calling, Forever Knight, Dead Like Me, The Shield and Pretender. So far, I haven't been disappointed.

Like most of the other posters, I'll blind buy if I hear good buzz about the show and if it's on sale ($20 or less).

I've blind bought Dexter, Entourage, How I Met Your Mother and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Enjoyed each of them.

Blind buys for me included Firefly, Wonderfalls, Invader Zim, and the Canadian shows Corner Gas and Robson Arms.

Supernatural
The Wire
Tru Calling
Freaks and Geeks
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

were all blind buys. I'm glad I bought them.

I blind buy all the time. Found some great shows that way- Coupling, The Office (UK), Six Feet Under, Rome, Freaks & Geeks, Undeclared...

Currently watching wonderfalls another blind buy.

I purchased the following TV shows as blind buys:

24
Band of Brothers
Corner Gas
Crime Story
CSI
Harsh Realm
The Lone Gunmen
Miami Vice
Oz
Prison Break
The Saint
Secret Agent AKA Danger Man
The Simpsons
Smallville
The Sopranos
Stargate SG-1
Traders
Trailer Park Boys
The Untouchables
The West Wing
Will & Grace
The X-Files

I ordered the following as blind buys from the DD 20% sale:

CSI S4-S6
The Closer S1-S2
Las Vegas S1-S3
Married with Children S5-S6
Miami Vice S3-S6
NCIS S1-S4
Smallville S6

I admit I have blind bought a couple shows like Reba and The Anna Nicole Show but dont do that very often though because shows are expensive so I mainly just buy what I know I love and will watch alot like The Simpsons, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, etc.

I'm glad not to have heeded your advice, since some of the best shows started as blind buys for me.

Only when it's a good price, but I blind bought
Dead Like Me (Great)
Dark Angel (Good)
24 (Sometimes Great, and much better on DVD than TV)
Lost (Good, better on DVD than TV)
Firefly (Good)
Horatio Hornblower (Great)
The Office UK (Great)

I'd only seen 1 of:
Angel (Great--saw the pilot didn't like it so never watched it, turned out to be a great show)
Arrested Development (Great--saw one episode from the last season; always meant to watch it but never did)
Dexter (Great--saw 1 episode in a hotel)

Only bad one was Jack of all Trades but I didn't expect much from it and only bought it because it was cheap and Bruce Campbell made it worth a shot.

I rent them from the library. Saw "24" 1-4 this way (and borrowed #5 from brother-in-law after giving it to him as a b-day present ). Saw the complete Alias this way. I'm about to finish Season 2 of The X-Files (and plan to go all the way through the end). Saw Scrubs 1-3. Got Bones Season 1 and couldn't get into it after a few eps. Helped me out with some missing Buffy seasons (finished that). Grey's Anatomy Season 3. I'm probably forgetting a few. The library is the way to go I request it and I walk in and pick it up. We get 3 weeks for boxsets.

Heroes was the first tv show that I had ever purchased where I'd never seen a single episode of the show beforehand.

Angel-The Complete Series was the next.

I don't see it as a trend, but rather just making up for my stupidity in not watching these shows when they were on, from the beginning, like I had plannned to.

Coupling is the only tv show that I purchased as a blind buy. Dont watch tv much and dont own many show on DVD besides Family Guy, Futurama, and some BBC series.

Wow, I only own a few TV/Cable shows .... Band of Brothers, Æon Flux, Blue Planet: The Seas of Life, M*A*S*H, Battlestar Galactica and a few others, but the only sets that I blindly purchased was City of Men (since it was derived from the City of God film - which was amazing) and Spaced - which is really the only one that I risked chalk on due to others' feedback. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to waste money on something that I heard nothing about for a blind buy. TV series are usually just too much of an expensive proposition.

I'm more compelled to risk a couple of bucks spent on a random film than I would have an entire series which most likely would cost more just for the initial purchase ...

I’m glad that you blind bought Corner Gas, probably one of the only shows produced in Canada that is actually good and constantly hilarious.

Anyways, I take it you’ve only bought the first season of Robson Arms and I’d recommend you stay away from the second season. They aired it way too long after the first season and only the premiere episode with Leslie Nielsen making a special guest appearance was good. The rest of the season was pure awful and was nothing like the first IMO.

I've bought Maude, Make Room For Daddy, and Chico and the Man and haven't been disappointed with any of them.

I would dare say that there isn't a TV show I bought blind that I haven't liked. If I am buying them blind, it's usually a reason...I like the actors/creator/genre or some aspect of it from another show that's a favorite of mine. Like British sitcoms...I can usually read reviews on amazon.co.uk to determine if they are worth a blind buy or not.

Yes I do. If I didn't I would've never discovered several of my favorite shows like: Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me, Arrested Development, 24, Buffy & Angel.