dvdjunkie32

I get the impression that the best days of TV on dvd are diminishing. I looked at the release schedule on tvshowsondvd.com and it just looks pathetic for the next 6 months. Nothing really major to get excited about except Mad Men season 3.

What about to the big tv show releases, or mega sets with interesting packaging? The last mega set that stirred up any excitement was last year's Farscape release.

I get the impression that the studios have dropped the mentality of just opening the vaults and throwing anything out on dvd. They are very selective and more prone to drop a tv series if it doesn't sell well. No more Gunsmoke, Bonanza or Rawhide for example. Now when I go to Sam's club, I see the classic shows releasing on crappy dvd companies like TMG.

rjh_54

While it's true that studios will release "anything on DVD", maybe that's for the best.

When you go to buy a show on DVD, are you really buying it for the packaging? Chances are, no. Not everyone has the same taste in television shows, and if you're a fan of a certain show that maybe isn't as popular, wouldn't you want to see the show released with crappy packaging and all the episodes rather than not having it released at all?

More recently, studios like Shout! Factory and Lionsgate have been acquiring rights to TV series on DVD didn't have strong sales with their old DVD studios. Two examples that were announced just this week are Mad About You (being ported over from Sony to Shout! Factory) and Dirt (being ported over from Disney to Lionsgate). I don't watch MAY but I do watch Dirt, and I can tell you right now, I do not expect the second and final season to have a release as loaded as the first season's was, but that wasn't too loaded to begin with.

As far as bonus features go, that's another thing that I don't really care that much about. Sure, good bonus features are a nice extra thing to have, but it really doesn't make or break the purchase for me.

The one thing that DOES matter to me is syndicated cuts. I haven't run into this problem too often (except on DVDs of ALF, Will & Grace, three season of Roseanne, and one season of The Golden Girls). I stopped buying ALF and W&G because I felt that if the DVDs were being pressed with syndicated cuts and mediocre or no bonus features, I might as well have been taping the reruns on TV.

Sorry for the rant.

To answer your main question, are the glory days of TV DVDs over? For the most part. There are a few shows that still need to be released, but overall, I'd say so.

WMAangel

It all depends on what your own personal definition and expectations are.....

Current shows continue to have their previous seasons released yearly, and DVD has been around for so long now that a ton of older shows have LONG since had their full runs available for plenty of time.....
The world is moving in a high definition direction, and many releases are being made in the growing area of Blu-ray Disc....however, DVD remains a viable choice for older shows that either do not exist on anything but standard definition video, or will be too cost prohibitive to ever be redone for HD....

WallyOPD

I missed that this week, but that's great news!

JohnnyDaBull

I think we're going to be seeing alot of stuff come out that noone ever thought would. I just have a good feeling, but I know paramount or disney/buena vista is never going to get off their asses and release any classic shows.

Double_Oh_7

I would much rather studios finish releasing some shows in TV-on-DVD limbo instead of planning new show releases. For example, I would kill for the remaining seasons of Green Acres!

Tscott

For whatever reason, the studios tend to cram most TV releases around the time of the Fall premiers. There's never much coming out in Spring or Summer (when people have the most free time and nothing to watch on TV, of course). Then Fall comes around and there's so much stuff that it's hard to keep up with.

TV on DVD isn't going away- just wait until Fall.

Josh-da-man

I think the glory days of DVD are over. Pretty much everything that's going to make money has been released. Companies are shrinking their catalogs and titles are being taken out of print. And TV-on-DVD isn't immune to this, either.

As far as television programming goes, you're looking at tons and tons of programming (four networks over five decades), most of which has limited appeal. And shelf-space in stores is shrinking; we're really only down to Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy as large national retailers with Circuit City and Suncoast biting it in recent years.

Michael Corvin

$20.99 on Amazon. Already preordered.

drmar35mm

I think this may be the case with major labels that put some production value into their TV DVDs and the packaging they come in. How many sets have to be sold to make it profitable? Tens of thousands? It's got to cost a lot to put these products out. But I think there's going to be a surge in secondary and budget labels that release or re-release older TV shows--assuming the studios and networks that own rights recognize that some revenue stream from un- or under-used properties is better than nothing. Shout Factory and Lionsgate have been cited; Mill Creek is starting to do more fun TV things on the budget end. But to hedge your bets, it's probably not a bad idea to pick up highly desired items now, when they're in print. That's what I'm doing, as budget allows.

Bobaray

My Walmart (and I've heard mention of others) has greatly reduced their TV DVD inventory. This shelf space is now used for discounted movies at various prices. They only have a very small new release TV DVD section. All older releases were sent back to the manufacturers.

mgdeals

What's left that hasn't already been released on DVD? Current TV shows are still getting releases after each season. Niche shows with little following never had much of a chance to begin with.

JohnnyDaBull

Is that a serious question sir? I can start off with Kenan and Kel, Disneys Doug, Recess, The Wonder Years, The Pjs, The Weekenders, Rocket Power, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, As Told By Ginger and that is just a few I could think of.

WMAangel

A whole bunch of stuff, even fairly popular and highly requested titles....however, as with most everything in life, there is always a catch!

I think your question should be restated as: "What is left to be released onto DVD that isn't caught up with major licensing and music rights issues?"

Michael Corvin

Final seasons of the Muppet Show & DuckTales are two I'm waiting on. The studios dropped the ball on NYPD: Blue as well.

MR Round

I don't think so Studios are still releasing new shows all the time that people want. until they stop making TvOnDVD I think they're still in swing

-TRANCE-

It has been this way for quite awhile now it seems. Why the long wait to release Freddys Nightmares? If i could get that along with those two nickelodeon shows Hey Dude and Salute Your Shorts, I'll be very happy.

kstublen

There are tons of shows, Nickelodeon especially, that haven't been finished, released, or given a proper treatment. Doug, Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, and Hey Arnold have only been released on the far inferior DVD-R through Amazon. Clarissa Explains It All, The Adventures Of Pete & Pete, and The Secret World Of Alex Mack all had a season or two released, but haven't finished out yet. The Angry Beavers, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Eureeka's Castle, You Can't Do That On Television, and All That haven't seen a release at all.

And that's just Nickelodeon (they seem to be the worst, all things considered). King Of The Hill, The Bernie Mac Show, Malcolm In The Middle have all seen releases but have since ceased production, whether it be poor sales or rights issues.

I mean, we are just now finally getting Daria on DVD and that has taken forever. The way things are going we will probably never see The Wonder Years on DVD.

The Muppet Show: Season Four has been confirmed as coming in 2011, I think.

Cocacoladude78

With DVD dying down, I expect to see less titles coming out. The reason a lot of series aren't completed is because they just don't sell well.

I Love Lucy, Roseanne, and The Golden Girls (as far as old sitcoms) all sold very well and were completed at a fast pace! All have done very well in syndication since going off the air, so the base is there. They managed to escape their respective decades into a universal appeal.

Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Leave it to Beaver, etc., just haven't been selling that well at all. I'm surprised they're at least trying to complete these -- even taking forever to do so. All in the Family is probably the biggest shocker because it was the 70's number 1 show for years -- and well received.

Growing Pains and Gimmi a Break bombed all together.

Facts of Life wasn't far behind on DVD (though Shout now has that series and is giving it a 2nd chance later this year).

I think some of the above shows are just too 80's to escape their time capsule. Roseanne (also an 80's show, but more known as a 90's show) has a bigger demographic. The only people who really still mention Growing Pains are 80's kids.

I checked out the status on a Netflix-on-demand for Gimmi a Break. It's had a total of 3 views since release. A lot of people have been complaining about The Hogan Family not being released. Well, it will probably bomb out like Growing Pains. Did well for its time, but hasn't escaped the 80's time capsule in syndication. And these shows are too 80's family sugary nowadays for a mainstream appeal.

Growing Pains bombed on the Nick at Nite lineup quickly -- while I Love Lucy and Roseanne flourished on Nick at Nite for years! I Love Lucy in the 90's/Roseanne in the 00's. Nick at Nite used to devote Saturday nights to Lucy in the 90's. The Golden Girls was one of Lifetime's number 1 shows in syndication, and is played constantly on the Hallmark channel.


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About Freddy's Nightmares...

Well, the Freddy's Nightmare DVD bombed overseas, so they're probably fairly hesitant.

New Line really no longer exists, so its no longer the house the Freddy built. Warner Bros. wasn't built by Freddy, so they could probably care even less. In 1999, New Line released one of the best box sets available at that time for the Elm Street movies -- when DVD was fairly new. It undersold!

No surprise about Freddy's Nightmares bombing as it really was an awful show -- and HBO's Tales from the Crypt wiped the floor with it during the 1989 season -- even being a pay channel exclusive. That show also received 4 awards and many nominations during its run. It also created the Crypt Keeper icon -- who even ventured out to an early 90's Saturday morning cartoon. And that's years ago... It also sold well enough for Warner Bros. to release all the seasons.

Personally, Tales from the Crypt had some pretty dismal later seasons, but it still sold well enough for Warner Bros. to release them. Freddy's Nightmares bombed on them! Bombed hard!

New Line was also disappointed with the DVD box sales of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies: that set sold less than 50,000 copies in 1999. Conversely, the Friday the 13th 2004 box set sold 250,000 copies. Which is why Paramount re-released the Deluxe editions in '99. The original 1999-2002 releases sold ok and the box set sold well enough for them I suppose.

It's sort of like Mario vs. Sonic -- 18 million vs. 6 million comparing Mario Bros 3. to Sonic 2; 20 million for Mario World vs. 1 million for Sonic 3. Both are icons, but Mario outsells Sonic by a very wide margin and always has, even still to this day. I highly guess that Mario Bros Wii wipes the ass of Sonic 4 hard in overall sales. I'd bet the house on it.

Now, you probably wouldn't think Jason would have outsold Freddy (as Freddy was more popular in the 80's), but that's what happened in the 2000's.

It's a cold day in hell when Paramount is putting in more effort, but that's what happened in 2009 with their released Deluxe Editions and Blu-rays. Warner Bros is just re-releasing the same exact 1999 prints of Elm Street with no features and a shot of Jackie Early Haley on the box -- who wasn't even in the films. That's their new forthcoming box set. Virtually nothing...

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Wiki (Freddy's Nightmares):
In 2003, Volume 1 (the first 3 episodes) was released on Region 2 DVD in Ireland and the UK, by Warner Home Video.[2]. Volume 2 was also planned for release later that year, however, sales were so poor, that Warner canceled the release of Volume 2[3].

Jay G.

The Crypt Keeper wasn't created by the TV show; he existed in the original comic book version of Tales from the Crypt from the early 1950s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_f...t_%28comics%29

rjh_54

This is exactly what blows my mind. All 7 seasons of TGG have sold very well on DVD, and thanks to The Proposal and those Superbowl commercials, Betty White is becoming more familiar to the younger generations of viewers, so why not release the spin off, The Golden Palace? It only lasted one season and I know that there are so many people out there who would buy it. What's the hold up?!

Cocacoladude78

They're probably afraid that The Golden Palace will bomb on DVD -- like it did on Lifetime and in the ratings when it originally ran in 1992 on CBS.

Shows usually take a dive when they change networks and switch vital cast members. Almost no one thinks highly of The Golden Palace. It flopped in primetime. Golden Girls flourished on NBC's Saturday Night Lineup, Golden Palace bombed on CBS.

It could sort of play out like "I Love Lucy" vs. "Life with Lucy." That's really how a lot of people feel concerning the two shows...

One remembered forever, the other, a colossal flop.

The current holder of Golden Girls rerun rights, Hallmark Channel/WE tv, currently does not include the series (The Golden Palace) in rotation at all. It was ditched after the Lifetime fiasco.

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The Hogan Family also bombed out when they added Grandpa and moved over to CBS from NBC.

NoirFan

Hell, the glory days of DVD, period, are over.

davidh777

What's been already said: Most of the big shows have already been released, and the way we consume TV has changed drastically in the last few years.

JohnnyDaBull

I told you it was not over for tv on dvd http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gho...Season-1/13391. I have to get this.