Buffy 2nd Season DVDs

[uberkitty]

I just got the Buffy 2nd Season DVDs, and I wanted to vent a little.

WHY OH WHY is their design so dumb?

1. The only way to tell which episode is on which disk is to read through an enclosed booklet--very inconvenient.

2. There is no way at all to tell which disk the extras are on--you basically have to select each episode and look on its second screen to see if there are any extras.

Also, David Greenwalt, bless his little heart, has absolutely no idea what commentary tracks are supposed to be. On his commentary for "Reptile Boy," instead of giving us glimpses behind the scenes or relating amusing anecdotes or something, he basically just summarizes all the action on screen ("Here somes Charisma again. She's so great. Now, Buffy, as I said, is worried about being treated as an adult, and she's explaining to Giles that ...").

Also (last thing): why oh why do the Brits have more seasons on DVD than we do? These disks are clearly the same ones released in the UK a couple years ago--why did we have to wait? And if we had to wait, couldn't they have tossed us a few more extras for our patience?

Ok, I'm done venting.

 

[Staffan]

Also (last thing): why oh why do the Brits have more seasons on DVD than we do? These disks are clearly the same ones released in the UK a couple years ago--why did we have to wait? And if we had to wait, couldn't they have tossed us a few more extras for our patience?

It's a matter of syndication rights. Once a season is in syndication in the US, they can release it as a DVD. By the way, note that you can buy the second season for $60 in the US, while the brits have to pay £80, which is something like $120 - twice the price!

 

[uberkitty]

Re: Re: Buffy 2nd Season DVDs

It's a matter of syndication rights. Once a season is in syndication in the US, they can release it as a DVD. By the way, note that you can buy the second season for $60 in the US, while the brits have to pay £80, which is something like $120 - twice the price!

Re syndication rights: but aren't more seasons than just 1 and 2 syndicated on FX now? (I don't have FX--this is purely conjecture.)

 

[Morrus]

Also (last thing): why oh why do the Brits have more seasons on DVD than we do? These disks are clearly the same ones released in the UK a couple years ago--why did we have to wait? And if we had to wait, couldn't they have tossed us a few more extras for our patience?

Makes a pleasant change. You yanks know nothing about patience - we have to wait for everything. Spiderman only came out a few days ago here...

 

[Flinx]

Re: Re: Re: Buffy 2nd Season DVDs

Re syndication rights: but aren't more seasons than just 1 and 2 syndicated on FX now? (I don't have FX--this is purely conjecture.)

Your're right about FX. All episodes of the first 5 seasons have been aired.

As far as only releasing one season every six months or so, I have no idea. Probably some kind of marketing ploy. For instance, Star Trek: TNG has been off the air and in syndication for about 5 years now and they just released the second season DVD set and I believe season three is still a few months away.

 

[BadMojo]

I just got the Buffy 2nd Season DVDs, and I wanted to vent a little.

WHY OH WHY is their design so dumb?

1. The only way to tell which episode is on which disk is to read through an enclosed booklet--very inconvenient.

2. There is no way at all to tell which disk the extras are on--you basically have to select each episode and look on its second screen to see if there are any extras.

I don't have the 2nd Season DVD's yet, but you just described the exact same problem that the 1st Season set had. It's a bit discouraging that the design wasn't improved, but at least the sets are still reasonably priced.

On a different note, it's a real shame that the first two seasons of Buffy were only shot in 16mm tape. You can really see the difference between the first two seasons and the later seasons. The visual flaws were really magnified with Season 1 on DVD and I would imagine that Season 2 is the same.

Of course I will still be buying the Season 2 DVD's and will probably purchase Seasons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7+. Despite any flaws that the DVD's might have, I can't get enough BtVS.

 

[Staffan]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Buffy 2nd Season DVDs

As far as only releasing one season every six months or so, I have no idea. Probably some kind of marketing ploy.

Probably a matter of not wanting to saturate the market. Most people (at least most people who have a DVD player) can afford a $60 hit to the wallet without much trouble (slightly less true with the £80 UK ones, but the principle stands). You could even buy a season as an impulse purchase. However, $120 for two seasons is a far less trivial purchase, so it makes sense to spread the releases around a bit. One might argue that releasing them all at once would let people buy them at their own pace, but that would remove the initial "buzz" when a new set is released - a fan is more likely to think "Look! It's the new 3rd season box set. It MUST be mine!" than he is to think "Hmm... I have these $60 to spare. Perhaps it's time to get that 3rd season box set that was released last year."

 

[uberkitty]

Staffan, I agree that's probably their motivation, and I can't really object to that part--the delay between seasons. What bugs me much more is the delay in getting them released in the first place over here, which does seem to have something to do with the whole selling-the-show-for-syndication thing. Fox owns the show, right? And Fox owns FX. It seems like there shouldn't have been such a problem about "selling" the show into syndication and releasing DVDs at the same time.

Anyway, I, too, am eager for every morsel they toss me, and I had the 2nd season the day after it was released because I pre-ordered it at Amazon back in March, and I'll be pre-ordering the next set, and the next.

I'm perfectly willing, by the way, to be taught patience by my British cousins--but not about Buffy, dammit! We loved her first!

 

[Flinx]

Staffan, I agree that's probably their motivation, and I can't really object to that part--the delay between seasons. What bugs me much more is the delay in getting them released in the first place over here, which does seem to have something to do with the whole selling-the-show-for-syndication thing. Fox owns the show, right? And Fox owns FX. It seems like there shouldn't have been such a problem about "selling" the show into syndication and releasing DVDs at the same time.

To get into syndication, you have to have at least 100 shows. The season finale of the 5th season was the 100th show. The DVD's started coming out at the beginning of the 6th season so I don't think there was that much lag time there.

The deal about not wanting to saturate the market does make sense. But I still want all the episodes now!

 

[Mouseferatu]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Buffy 2nd Season DVDs

Probably a matter of not wanting to saturate the market. Most people (at least most people who have a DVD player) can afford a $60 hit to the wallet without much trouble (slightly less true with the £80 UK ones, but the principle stands). You could even buy a season as an impulse purchase. However, $120 for two seasons is a far less trivial purchase, so it makes sense to spread the releases around a bit. One might argue that releasing them all at once would let people buy them at their own pace, but that would remove the initial "buzz" when a new set is released - a fan is more likely to think "Look! It's the new 3rd season box set. It MUST be mine!" than he is to think "Hmm... I have these $60 to spare. Perhaps it's time to get that 3rd season box set that was released last year."

Feh, says I. I don't mind them waiting a little while, so as not to saturate the market, but six months? (Actually, longer, since "Winter 2003" is, even by the most generous interpretation, at least seven months down the pike.) What are they trying to do to us?!?!

I think two or three months is a far more reasonable interval. But then, I'm Instant Gratification Guy, and I won't usually even pick up a novel series unless it's all been released already, so maybe I'm just impatient.