I can think of alot more. Most are release by Paramount/CBS home Video.
RAWHIDE.
THE FUGITIVE.
CANON.
JAKE AND THE FAT MAN.
GUNSMOKE: SEASON 2 is split in two.
PERRY MASON.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing a LOT of this for the shows of the 2008 TV season, with the writers strike breaking up a lot of shows into smaller seasons...

-jason

I really don't mind the split season sets. Sure, I'd like the full season in one set, but as long as they keep releasing them until the show has had all its episodes released, I don't care.

Paramount/CBS Home Video is really the only studio releasing shows in split seasons on DVD. They are making a bigger profit off of one season by splitting them into two releases, but I'm sure they aren't making as much money off them in the long run compared to the full season releases of Mission: Impossible or Hawaii Five-O. I'm a little surprised that The Fugitive got the split season treatment, but I guess the reason for splitting the seasons is either because the fan base is still their but not quite as large as Mission: Impossible or Five-O or the fan base is really large and the studios want to make an even bigger profit. I can see why shows like The Untouchables and The Streets of San Francisco are split up into half season sets, though. They're making money off the releases, but the fan base isn't as large as some of their other titles.

Hate "The Best of", "Fan Favorites", "Season _, Volume _", etc. Just do the job and come out with "Complete Series" instead of hurting consumers' pockets with individual seasons. Stop making us "double dip" on TV series too.

That's way too extreme. You're in a small minority with that opinion. I think most people don't want to shell out over a hundred dollars each time and wind up with 50 or 60 or 100 or more episodes of a series to watch.

Also, many shows change quality/actors/writers/direction/networks between seasons, and lots of people only want the piece of the show that they liked.

Wonder Woman changed direction after it switched networks
The Adventures of Superman was significantly different in the color episodes
Bewitched had a different feel in the final seasons with an actor replacement
Sliders was different in S4 and S5 with different actors
early seasons of MASH are much different from the final ones
Cheers had many cast changes over the years
Space 1999's S2 was radically different from S1

Those are just off the top of my head. There's a reason why "jumped the shark" is now used as a general term instead of just in discussions of "Happy Days."

Sorry, but I think your suggestion is bad. As an alternative, approach it from the other side. Demand that studios stop screwing over the biggest fans and supporters of the shows. Complete Series "bonus discs" or other extras (t-shirts, props, etc.) should ALWAYS be made available separately, and "exclusives" should be stopped altogether. If I (and other fans) loved a show and bought each season as it came out for an exorbitantly high price, and as a result the studio made enough money and determined to release all the seasons, then if anything (and I'm not saying I deserve anything), I should be rewarded in some way, not ignored and excluded from a new "bonus" that's available only in a complete series set that forces me to try to sell of my used seasons to other unsuspecting or less-obsessive fans (for a loss) and double-dip, or just go without (the latter is what I currently do--I will never double-dip on a TV series, and I only double-dip on movies if there's a new cut of the movie that I think looks interesting and I can get it for less than $10). Let me send in proofs of purchase and a reasonable amount of money if I want the bonus disc. Limit the bonus disc to one per household. I mean, really, is it that difficult to come up with a system that doesn't say FU to your most loyal customers?

Yeah, "Complete Series" sets are a little overwhelming/expensive, unless the series is only 1 or 2 seasons. That said, I have bought a few of the complete series megasets, either because I never bought every season, or the seasons themselves were too expensive. But I have been on the other end as well, irked because they released the complete set for half what I paid for the individual seasons. If you wait long enough, it'll be cheaper, that's the marketplace, but they should at least make new content available standalone, or offer some upgrade option.

Nicholas Colasanto (Coach) died during season 3, which led to Woody joining in season 4. Shelly Long was written out after season 5 making way for Kirstie Alley in season 6. Two cast members departing hardly constitutes "many cast changes."

I'm so glad you took the time to editorialize on one example I provided instead of actually discussing the matter at hand. Bravo! That's time well spent.

I don't even care about Cheers--I don't have the DVDs, and probably won't in the future. I considered buying them once, but decided there are many other shows I'd rather own and watch.

The point was that season 1 has a much different feel than season 4, and both of them are very different from season 9. Different character focuses, different relationships, and yes, some different cast members. Personally I find "Diane" extremely annoying, so I could imagine just buying later seasons, and only picking up the first few if they were dirt-cheap. My apology for trying to simplify my original post and for not doing thorough research first. Next time I'll consult you before posting.


And just to try to bring this back on-topic:

Other examples:
Star Trek: TNG--personally, I think season 1 was completely lame; there's no way I'd spend even $15 for it (yes, it had plot points that are connected to other episodes (and series), but I think the acting is horrible and many of the stories are really weak)
NYPD Blue (many--yes, many--cast changes over the years)
MASH (many--yes, many--cast changes over the years)


And another reason against releasing only complete series sets:

I have bought a few different season 1 or season 2 sets as blind buys just to check out a series that I never watched but thought might be good because it was popular or whatever. Some were good (to me), and I bought other seasons of the show (and await releases of the remaining ones) and some weren't, and I sold the season sets I bought. But it's a much bigger investment to buy an entire series just to see if I like it (although I did that with "Homicide" through a deal at A&E.com, even though I had never seen even one episode of the show before.

Yes, I know there are other options to "check out" a series, but my options are probably more limited than most people's--I don't live in the U.S., and English is not the primary language in the country in which I live, and although I can easily rent movies in English, the selection of American (and British) TV shows is pretty minimal, and basically doesn't include any shows from more than 10 years ago.

Sorry, you're right, there are different types of consumers. I think I have to categorize myself as a collector or completist. When I like a TV show, I buy all seasons regardless without thinking there would be complete series (remember "Friends" or "X Files"). First, I was dissappointed with "Friends", I had to sell individual seasons in order to get the complete series in collectible wood box and it was way cheaper than collecting every season. Same thing with "Twilight Zone" which its complete series box was way cheaper, also "Seinfeld" with its collectible table book or fridge edition from Best Buy. Learning from that kind of mistake, glad that I didn't buy "X Files" individually, instead a collector's box complete series with collectible materials and some.

I bought the X-Files season sets less than 2 weeks before I read the announcement about the series set being released. So I learned my lesson. Now if it's a series I know I'll really want, I wait.

One series I kind of lost out on was Mutant X--first waiting for season sets, and then waiting for the season sets to come down in price. But then they went out of print, so I never got them. Now I'm hoping for a complete set.


As for the split-season sets, I don't mind them if the price is appropriate. I decide the price/value based on the running time. As a consumer, if you set your own limits and stick to them, it doesn't matter how many volumes a series takes to complete a season or an entire series. But the problem is, the prices are not appropriate. And I expect that with the shortened seasons from this past year that studios (for the most part) won't be setting lower prices. And if next year's seasons are back to full length, the studios might use that as an excuse to raise prices again (look, you paid $49.99 for 16 episodes, and THIS season has 22 episodes, so $69.99 is very reasonable!). Or they'll use it as an excuse to start splitting even more commonly.

This is why I stopped buying Family Guy sets...

^Yes, those are outrageously expensive considering there are only 13 episodes on the split "sets" and an insult to the true fan. That smacks of gouging the fans as you will typically pay ~$1.50-$2 per episode when other 30 minute shows are in the ~$.50-$.75 per episode range.

Maybe not if done "right". What needs to happen is the *entire* series should come out at once (for older programs that no longer have "first run" episodes) in a special "box set" but still have the individual seasons for those who don't want or can't afford the box set. Plus make "bonus" stuff available for those who *do* complete the set in individual seasons. This prevents the trend of shows that never see a full release. There are several I'm still waiting for: "Bob Newhart", "Leave it to Beaver", "Night Court", and others. Time-Life sort of did it right with "Get Smart" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." but it's difficult (impossible?) to purchase individual seasons from them. AFAIK you can only purchase the first season of each as "stand alone" and must purchase the "set" to get all seasons.

Again, using Time-Life and "Get Smart" to prove your statement. I really only wanted S1, S2, and S3 but had to purchase the entire set to get them. I did not really want the last 2 where Max and 99 got married and had children. While I *did* somewhat enjoy watching S4, and S5 and found them to not be as bad as I had remembered, they still are not as good as the first three and I would not have purchased them if available separately.


Excellent examples. And "Space 1999" is in the "Get Smart" club in that you can only purchase this in the Megaset, so if you only want S1 or just S2 you are pretty much out of luck with domestic releases.

Absolutely. The studios treat fans of TV shows like outcasts in this regard. They tell you that the only way future seasons of a show can/will be released is if people purchase the season sets and when you do so, because you're too big of a fan to wait, you get penalized! As a result you quit purchasing shows when released in order to wait for that Mega Set you "know" will come but never does because all the true fans got tired of getting burned and stopped buying leading to "slow" sales and a discontinuing of the series releases. It goes back to the fact that the studios need to make a commitment to a program to release *all* seasons of a TV program once releases start.

Now that that's all said, I really do *not* like "split" seasons of programs. I have stopped purchasing some series because of that practice if the "sets" do not go on sale cheap enough. BUT if that's the only way a studio will release it and I'm a big enough fan then I'll most likely make the purchase anyway. Especially if there is a *true* reason for this type release (writers' strike, exorbitant cost of seasons, etc.). I feel the studios do this because the average consumer really doesn't pay attention to how much per season a show is when it is done this way. For example, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" is ~~$40-$60/season total. Lots of people will not pay that and will wait for a sale. However, they'll pay the ~$20-$25 per 1/2 season and not even blink. It's a game and we have to convince the studios that we're tired of playing.

So, for example, say I want to buy The Simpsons on DVD. I can't, because the show is still running, so I have to wait until it ends and then buy a 20+ season set?

Or say I only like the first 2 seasons of The X-Files. If I want to own them, I have to buy the entire series?

Not to mention that the "complete season only" plan would put all the studios out of business. It would completely destroy the impulse buy and most likely keep the casual viewer from purchasing the set. Plus studios would be losing a huge annual income stream as they couldn't start selling DVDs until shows were finished. You think Fox would be happy not having 24, The Shield and The Simpsons out there selling MILLIONS of DVD sets?

The only people that would benefit from this would be Blockbuster and Netflix as fewer people would buy and more would rent.

I think there's a market for full seasons and complete series sets. The initial relatively high cost of the season sets should help subsidize the later price drop of the complete series sets, and I'm not necessarily against that--early adopters always pay a premium.
I'd be interested in some sales figures for the complete series sets, for the larger series--Twilight Zone, Buffy, Angel, Seinfeld, etc., and how they compare to the individual season sets. Many "fans" of the show probably already bought all or most of the seasons before the full set, and possibly sold, traded, gave away their seasons to upgrade to the full set, and casual fans might be more apt to buy a couple seasons with their favorite episodes rather than dropping 100-200$ on the megaset.
For most series, I'm a "completist", but there are definitely a few that I either only bought certain seasons, or bought them all then disposed of some (Sliders for one, I got about four eps into S3 and sold that one.)
I think Time Life is a unique situation--they're one of the pioneers of the "buy the first alone, then subscribe to get the rest" sales styles, and I think that's relatively uncommon.
Double dips on TV series are odd--like the new 24 release. Don't think I like that. Megaset doubledips are different, I would expect to get a discount by purchasing the whole set.
Ultimately I guess I like having as many purchasing options as possible to satisfy each consumer; although I still hate "best of" releases (then again, if it's a "best of" for a series that would never see a full release, or that would be inordinately expensive, like the Tonight Show or something like that, I could see myself buying it, depending on the actual content and the pricing.)

Like I mentioned in the previous posting, I am a collector/completist type of consumer, I will wait until they all come out in "Complete Series" because from my experience, they will come up with one collectible edition and definitely way cheaper. If they don't come out with one then I will buy all individual seasons and also cheaper than initial release.

I give you real example, I'm waiting until "Mission Impossible" is done with its individual seasons, because who knows they will do complete series in collectible spy briefcase (hopefully it won't destruct in 5 seconds after it's opened).

Re: Mission Impossible
Based on a lot of the good ideas that turned into bad executions (X-Files complete set packaging), it will probably show up already "destructed." I blind-bought Season 1, and now am in a quandry as to buying the rest of selling it off if a complete series set is released. I watched reruns of this show when I was about 5 years old, but didn't remember anything from the show other than the theme song and the fact that Spock was in it, but enjoyed watching Season 1.

As Bob O'Link said, the studios/manufacturers/whatever are hurting themselves right now because consumers are left in the dark wondering how to spend their money. If you produce something, that's the worst thing you can do to your loyal customers. We're chomping at the bit to give you our money, and you aren't in a position to take it. Honestly, everybody involved in these decisions should be fired. I am not one of those people who go around saying "he/she should be fired" all the time. I basically accept the "you get what you pay for" point of view, and don't complain about customer service at DD(D) or Columbia House or Best Buy or whatever. But we're talking Sales 101 here.

So, to the people behind releasing Mission Impossible (and every other TV series), listen up:

I am willing to buy the complete set right now. I don't trust you to release the rest of the seasons, and I don't want to commit my money to a series that you're not willing to commit yours to. I don't want to wind up with only Seasons 1-5, and then 15 years from now in Green-Ray or whatever format, you decide to start over again. I don't want to buy the rest of the seasons only to have you suddenly announce a complete set that's cheaper, includes extras unavailable separately, and is in cool/unique packaging.

So, you're not getting my money. And I'm not alone.

Chances are, I will buy something else. There are many other series I am interested in (from your competitors), or movies, or I will take a vacation, or do something else with my money. Maybe I'll even lose interest in or change my mind about the Mission Impossible series. Money now is worth more than possible money later. If I knew your plan, I could plan my spending appropriately. But as it stands, I will use my money in other ways and IF you release a complete set on some undetermined future date, and IF I feel like spending the money around that undetermined date, then you will get my money.

But I've ranted like this before (specifically in the thread I made a while back about a list of TV series that have seemingly been abandoned by the studios after only partial releases). I think I'm just preaching to the choir while the sinners aren't paying any attention.

Mission Impossible is a good argument AGAINST buying being required to buy complete sets. Like a lot of shows, it took a while to get its formula down. Many of the first season episodes are more straight espionage with a bit of gadgetery thrown in rather than the high tech hocus pocus con games the show eventually became known for.

The second and third seasons were unquestionably the best. With the addition of Peter Graves instead of the oft absent Steven Hill, the show had its best cast with its best writing.

When Martin Landau and Barbara Bain left after season three, show began its downhill slide, although the fourth and much of the fifth season were on a par with the first. However, the show had clearly run out of gas the last two seasons and was recycling plots without a lot of cast energy.

I've bought the first three seasons and will probably spring for four, and maybe five, but even if the whole series is eventually released, I can't see spending good money for mediocre shows.

There's a lot of other shows that exhibit a similar bell curve with one or more mediocre concluding seasons that I don't want to pay $30-40 for or to boost the cost of a complete set. In other cases, I might want to skip a weak first season or two before starting to pay money for stronger later years.