TV series on DVD

i have been wondering how the advent of DVDs might affect television
series.
Up till now the convention seems to have been to aim for about seven
seasons, as this has some virtue for syndication. But if the sales of
DVDs make a lot of money, this might be rethought.
I am probably going to buy all seven seasons of Buffy, because I really
liked the show, but probably not other series. I would really like to
own the various Star Trek series, but (a) there are too many of them,
and (b) they have never fallen in price. But I have been buying a number
of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel
has just fallen into this category, though I havent seen the end yet.

The other variation just mentioned is price. I have bought a few seasons
of Xena, because they were *really* cheap. Since I havent observed any
continuity in the show, I can leave it at that.

The point of this letter is that if DVD sales become a serious
consideration, shows might begin to aim for about two or three seasons,
with a complete arc, because that is what people are going to buy. (A
couple I can think of are Roswell and Forever Knight). If you go longer
you have to start lowering the price dramatically to gather sales, and
you have to ensure that the show keeps its fan base.

I have seen it suggested that producers might bring out series entirely
on DVD. This seems unlikely, because you have no established audience.
People *might* buy a series because it was produced/written by someone
like Joss Whedon or JJ Abrams, but it might work better to bring out a
show for a season on television, then, if it attracts a good audience,
but not good enough for huge ratings, bring out subsequent seasons on
DVD.

(In my case I am buying more than I might, because I am trading in my
huge comics collection, and spending the credit on DVDs, comics and
tie-in books. So I do have six seasons of Stargate!)

--
my URL,
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mcardle

Edward McArdle

Does anybody know if Seasons 2 and 3 of Roswell are being released on DVD?

John

JMas493

"Edward McArdle" <> wrote in message
news:mcardle-...

> of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel
> has just fallen into this category, though I havent seen the end yet.
>

Hehe, wont tell you how it ends then but, at least to me, it left a wide
open door for a movie to milk Angel for a few more coins

Bratboy

<< oes anybody know if Seasons 2 and 3 of Roswell are being released on DVD?
>><BR><BR>


Season 2 has a release date in Region 2 already, so it would seem likely that a
Region 1 release is going to follow at some point.

SoHillsGuy

Bratboy wrote:
> "Edward McArdle" <> wrote in message
> news:mcardle-...
>
>
>>of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel
>>has just fallen into this category, though I havent seen the end yet.
>>
>
>
> Hehe, wont tell you how it ends then but, at least to me, it left a wide
> open door for a movie to milk Angel for a few more coins
>
>
according to my wife and daughter, both regular watchers of the show,
the season finale was written before the show was cancelled. And Whedon
decided not to change it when the cancellation was made official (or
maybe it had actually been filmed).

dick
-- the possibility of a movie followup was just a "bonus"

Dick Sidbury

Edward McArdle wrote:
>
> The point of this letter is that if DVD sales become a serious
> consideration, shows might begin to aim for about two or three
> seasons, with a complete arc, because that is what people are going
> to buy.

I kind of doubt it. TV has enough trouble coming up with enough good shows
that guarantee people will tune in each week and bring revenue from
advertisers, so when they actually get a good hit show, they want it to go
on for as long as possible.

Mike

Mike Kohary

Edward McArdle wrote on [Sat, 29 May 2004 20:44:04 +1000]:
> i have been wondering how the advent of DVDs might affect television
> series.
> Up till now the convention seems to have been to aim for about seven
> seasons,

100 episodes, or right around 5 seasons.

> I am probably going to buy all seven seasons of Buffy, because I really
> liked the show, but probably not other series. I would really like to
> own the various Star Trek series, but (a) there are too many of them,
> and (b) they have never fallen in price. But I have been buying a number
> of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel

Angel is 5

> The other variation just mentioned is price. I have bought a few seasons
> of Xena, because they were *really* cheap. Since I havent observed any
> continuity in the show, I can leave it at that.

There is continuity, if you actually watch the show.

> The point of this letter is that if DVD sales become a serious
> consideration, shows might begin to aim for about two or three seasons,
> with a complete arc, because that is what people are going to buy. (A
> couple I can think of are Roswell and Forever Knight). If you go longer
> you have to start lowering the price dramatically to gather sales, and
> you have to ensure that the show keeps its fan base.

I don't know about that, but not cancelling a show 2 or 3 episodes in,
espescially if it's a niche show and completing a whole season to sell
on DVD might happen. The networks are the ones that are forking out the
cash, so if it's not successful for them then they will want to try
something else, but since the sets and actors are all OK to go, a few
more episodes may be filmed to end the series well, or whatever.

Of course, this is all wishful thought.

> I have seen it suggested that producers might bring out series entirely
> on DVD. This seems unlikely, because you have no established audience.

Anime seems to be doing OK with this.

Justin

Dick Sidbury, says...
> according to my wife and daughter, both regular watchers of the show,
> the season finale was written before the show was cancelled. And Whedon
> decided not to change it when the cancellation was made official (or
> maybe it had actually been filmed).

Not according to interviews I read with Whedon, who said the last five
episodes weren't done when the show was cancelled, so the writers
scrapped the script outlines already in place and re-wrote the episodes
to tie up the series.

I think this is evidenced by what happens to some of the characters in
the final episode. Had the series been coming back, I do not think those
characters would have exited in the same way. Nor do I think we would
have seen the resolution of the Connor storyline if the writers didn't
know the show was ending.

Mark Spatny

"Dick Sidbury" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Bratboy wrote:
> > "Edward McArdle" <> wrote in message
> > news:mcardle-...
> >
> >
> >>of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel
> >>has just fallen into this category, though I havent seen the end yet.
> >>
> >
> >
> > Hehe, wont tell you how it ends then but, at least to me, it left a wide
> > open door for a movie to milk Angel for a few more coins
> >
> >
> according to my wife and daughter, both regular watchers of the show,
> the season finale was written before the show was cancelled.

If they'd spend some time in the fans.angel newsgroup or one of the many
fansites, they'd find that's absolutely not true.

Nonymous

"Justin" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Edward McArdle wrote on [Sat, 29 May 2004 20:44:04 +1000]:
> > i have been wondering how the advent of DVDs might affect television
> > series.
> > Up till now the convention seems to have been to aim for about seven
> > seasons,
>
> 100 episodes, or right around 5 seasons.
>
> > I am probably going to buy all seven seasons of Buffy, because I really
> > liked the show, but probably not other series. I would really like to
> > own the various Star Trek series, but (a) there are too many of them,
> > and (b) they have never fallen in price. But I have been buying a number
> > of series which run about three to four seasons, and which *end*. Angel
>
> Angel is 5
>
> > The other variation just mentioned is price. I have bought a few seasons
> > of Xena, because they were *really* cheap. Since I havent observed any
> > continuity in the show, I can leave it at that.
>
> There is continuity, if you actually watch the show.
>
> > The point of this letter is that if DVD sales become a serious
> > consideration, shows might begin to aim for about two or three seasons,
> > with a complete arc, because that is what people are going to buy. (A
> > couple I can think of are Roswell and Forever Knight). If you go longer
> > you have to start lowering the price dramatically to gather sales, and
> > you have to ensure that the show keeps its fan base.
>
> I don't know about that, but not cancelling a show 2 or 3 episodes in,
> espescially if it's a niche show and completing a whole season to sell
> on DVD might happen. The networks are the ones that are forking out the
> cash, so if it's not successful for them then they will want to try
> something else, but since the sets and actors are all OK to go, a few
> more episodes may be filmed to end the series well, or whatever.
>
> Of course, this is all wishful thought.
>
> > I have seen it suggested that producers might bring out series entirely
> > on DVD. This seems unlikely, because you have no established audience.
>
> Anime seems to be doing OK with this.
>
What about "Highway Patrol" for all of us Broderick Crawford fans?

Jim Nason

Jim Nason