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Do "Extras" in DVD Complete Sets Cheat Loyal Viewers?
The Wild Wild West courtesy Paramount
The other day I filled my cookie card with 12 stamps and was rewarded with a free cookie. Last year I used points from my local grocery store to give me a sizable discount off a waffle iron. I use airline points to get free flights, and points earned at the theater for free movie tickets. Programs like these are designed to reward customers for being loyal — they're designed to keep people coming back.
The home entertainment industry seems, for the most part, designed to screw its loyal customers. "Oh, you bought the regular edition of the movie? Hah! We have a super-duper special edition with 20 minutes of new material, new extras and other awesome stuff you'll want because you're a fan of the movie." I'll admit to falling for the trap a number of times; I own two copies of The Bourne Identity on DVD (and another on HD DVD); two copies of Criterion Collection's Brazil release (because the first wasn't anamorphic); I had two versions of Last of the Mohicans before I sold one; and I have both the regular and special edition versions of the Lord of the Rings movies, but I bought the regular editions knowing the special editions were coming and I wanted both versions of the movies. These were all choices I made based on my enjoyment of the movie and what the new version offered. I may have been a bit annoyed, but I dropped the $20 to $25 (a bit more for Brazil) and upgraded. Nothing was riding on my purchase, or non-purchase, of the upgraded release, except for someone's bonus at the end of the year.
Back in May 2000, Fox released the first season of The X-Files, the first season set from any studio. Fans realized this would allow them to collect an entire series, in order, instead of buying volumes or "best of" releases. It quickly became the most-desired way to collect TV shows, and the studios started to reap the financial rewards. Then, in 2005, HBO released a complete series set for Sex and the City which contained some new bonus material in a custom case. Fans who bought the season sets were presented with this new, attractive set for less money than they had spent collecting the previous seven season releases. "That's OK," some said to themselves, "I don't need the bonus material, and I've been enjoying the show on DVD for years," while others rushed out to buy the set for themselves, or to give as gifts.
Fast forward three years and we've seen a number of these complete sets released in different configurations, some with one or two new bonus discs, others simply repackaged versions of the season sets. There's one configuration that angers fans more than any other: the bundling of TV movies in complete-series set. Fans of The Brady Bunch, for example, were annoyed to learn that "A Very Brady Christmas" and "The Brady 500" would only be bundled in the complete-series release. Surely they would be given the opportunity to buy the TV movie separately from the complete series, especially after supporting the show through five season releases! But no, there were no plans to make this available independently. Similar situations followed with The Andy Griffith Show ("Return to Mayberry"), MacGyver ("MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis" and "MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday"), I Love Lucy ("I Love Lucy: The Movie") and the recently announced release of The Wild, Wild West ("Wild Wild West Revisited" and "More Wild Wild West"). This wasn't new bonus material, but TV movies fans considered part of the series, and fans wanting to complete their collections were being compelled to upgrade at a cost of $100 to $200, a far greater price than the jump from a standard edition DVD to a special edition. Of course this was done on purpose, as the studios were hoping some fans who bought the season sets would purchase the new sets for the exclusive material. Sure, some of them did, but what did they learn from this experience? Don't buy the season sets because something better, and cheaper, will come out later.
Season releases almost always depend on strong sales of the previous set. There's always dropoff from one season to the next for older shows, and if the dropoff is too great, the studio puts the show on hold. But now consumers are being taught that if they hold off buying the season sets, they'll be rewarded with more material at a lower price. But wait... if they don't buy the season sets, will the complete series still be released? This is a big problem, especially for classic TV, since consumers aren't going to hold off buying sets for a show when it's still on the air (anyone waiting for a complete series release of The Simpsons could be waiting a long, long time).
There are a couple of solutions to this, but they involve doing away with exclusivity in the complete series releases. The first is to offer TV movies separately at retail shortly after complete series are released. This allows consumers who don't want or can't afford the big box sets to get the TV movies. The studio will make money on the new disc, and fans won't feel like their loyalty has been abused. Fox tried this with therelease of M*A*S*H "Martinis & Medicine Collection," the series finale and two bonus discs which were in the complete series set. A better idea, and one that encourages the completion of the season sets, would be to offer the disc with the TV movies for free with proof of purchase of all the seasons, and a small shipping and handling fee. This actually rewards those loyal customers, and may help push consumers to finish buying the season sets they forgot to buy.
It's time TV-DVD consumers are treated like the loyal customers they are. Start offering exclusives to people who collect all of a show's seasons the hard way and keep them coming back for more.
Share your thoughts about complete series sets, loyalty programs and the bundling of new material in the comments below. — Gord Lacey
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Jul 21, 2008 3:20 PM
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I totally agree that they should offer the "bonus" discs or the "tv movies" that they put in the complete series set by themselves for purchase.
I don't believe that a series is complete until you have all of the tv movies or specials. It is not right that they (in most cases) will not release them separately for the loyal customer that has purchased the seasons one by one.
I finally broke down & purchased the complete series of "I Love Lucy" for the Lucy movie & bonus materials after I had already purchased the seasons one by one. So now I am stuck with an extra set because I can't find anyone that wants to buy it & I am not going to give it as a gift because of the expense (all of my family & friends have a $20.00 to $30.00 cap on gifts).
It is also disheartening to go out & pay $40.00 to $80.00 (Forever Knight,Firefly,SNL,The Waltons,etc...)for a season of a show & then months later find it for $15.00 to $20.00! It was just announced that the complete series (all 3 seasons) of "Millennium" is fixing to be released & you can purchase it for less than what just one season originally cost!! Yes I already own it! Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman released the tv movies by themselves after they completed the series. This is what makes us loyal consumers HAPPY!!
The least the studios can do is release the bonuses & tv movies for those of us loyal customers who supported the series so they could eventually release it as a "complete series!"
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Jul 21, 2008 4:13 PM
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I agree. After purchasing all eight Seinfeld sets as soon as they were released, I learned that Sony was releasing bonus material with the complete series set.
On the other hand, HBO/Warner offered me the opportunity to buy the entire Get Smart series set (with bonus material) from the very beginning. I did so, and have not regretted my decision.
Needless to say, I am much more inclined to buy from HBO/Warner again than I am from Sony. The former gave me a choice, and rewarded me for buying the complete series. The latter rewarded my loyalty by cheating me out of material I would have gladly paid extra for. I won't make that mistake again.
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Jul 21, 2008 4:18 PM
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The studios not only rip off the actors/writers for their share of the profit from the DVDS, but they also rip off the consumers by all this repacking with a few minutes of new material while you have to buy the whole series all over again. Especially in the light of the current economic situation, especially in the US -- they've been slowly strangling their golden goose.
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Jul 21, 2008 4:23 PM
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Thanks for the editorial, Gord. I'm still waiting for CBS/Paramount to do "the right thing" and allow "MacGyver" fans to finish this series that can't or will not put down money for the complete series set. How loud do we have to get in order for this studio to release them separately to the very ones who made it a popular seller for them? I'm getting tried of this practice, and they are now screwing the fans of “The Wild, Wild West”? The endless cycle of hell continues… As a diehard fan of "MacGyver", it doesn't help when you try to convince the studio that there is demand in the first place (and it took years for them to finally release this series and in such a rapid pace too), only to be doing the same song and dance with the two made-for-TV-movies.
Please, CBS/Paramount, remedy this situation.
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Jul 21, 2008 4:34 PM
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As a long time supporter and lover of TV-On-DVD, I think this is one of the things consumers have to accept and adapt accordingly.
Being a fan of sitcoms, I bought every individual set for Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens. Luckily, the Complete Series sets were announced the same time the Season 9 sets were, so I didn't purchase those. And when the big days came, I did buckle and buy those complete series sets: Seinfeld with the Coffee Table book and Round-table disc; Raymond with the Series Finale script and King of Queens for the bonus disc.
I didn't buy these sets for the extras: I would have bought them anyway. That's just because I have a pure affection for those shows. I enjoyed them on the DVDs for years before I got them in the Complete Series sets, and that is priceless.
I don't plan on changing the way I buy DVDs now either. I expect there to be a Complete Series set for Monk and Curb Your Enthusiasm, yet I buy the season sets anyway. I enjoy the sets when I buy them and always have them to watch.
The only way to really do what I do (and no I am not a Rockerfeller, I, like most people, have a fixed income), is to sell your seasoned sets. I sold all of my Raymond, Seinfeld and King of Queens sets on eBay for about $15-$20 a set. Did I break even? Heck no! But it made buying the Complete Series set more affordable and less painful.
I know these companies are just out for the money, but what do you expect. We live in America. Companies aren't being run out of the goodness of their hearts to better the lives of the people. They are looking to turn a profit, and not just any profit... a BIG profit. And to be honest, who would expect anything else.
It's unfortunate that such greed runs over all aspects of lives, especially DVDs now. But the companies know that there are suckers like me who will buy the products they put out anyway, even if they drag me and my money in the dirt first.
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Edited by kravitzfan12 at 07/21/2008 2:47 PM
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Jul 21, 2008 5:44 PM
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Thanks for this, Gord. This has to be one of the "worst practices" going on in the home video industry these days. I feel especially burned by A&E: After I bought the 6 extremely expensive sets of "Homicide: Life on the Street," they put out a complete series box set at a price of roughly two of the season sets, AND included the three "Law & Order" crossover episodes that weren't in the season sets, plus the reunion movie. I wouldn't feel as burned if they'd made the three L&O crossovers (with their HLOTS conclusions) available to buy on a separate disc. At least the movie was available separately.
I'm also still annoyed that the "Buffy" complete set contains a bonus disc that was denied to those of us who faithfully bought each season as they came out.
You're right, the lesson learned here is not to buy the individual seasons, which in the end may lead to not getting a full-series package at all.
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Jul 21, 2008 5:45 PM
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It's funny you wrote this rant, Gord. My spouse & I created a blog just so people can rant about things like this:
http://vitriolicviewers.blogspot.com/
As our time has been limited recently, we're sick of people getting shut down by the droning of incessant corporate cheerleaders on every popular site for these discussions & we're not the experts on everything, I encourage other sites to link to this blog & users to contribute entries if they'd like since one of the goals of the blog is to inform the public when a TV-DVD release has problems (we will also give kudos to those releases that are great). However, we tell it like it is & will not tolerate any attempt at nasty behavior or censorship nor corporate cheerleaders (details laid out in the rules). I actually wrote an entry covering some of these very issues based on our experiences.
One source of praise was to the studio who put out Invader Zim; they released the seasons & then did a complete series w/a house. However, those who already bought the seasons could get the house by itself (I believe w/proofs of purchase + S&H) & my spouse did just that.
The movie thing really irks me & I don't prescribe to double dipping unless the new edition is $8 or less + I can resell my old edition or give it to someone. It ticks me off even more when the releases come out at random such as the new ones for Sixteen Candles & The Breakfast Club.
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Jul 21, 2008 5:49 PM
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I'm pretty aggravated with the whole situation, too! I have purchased over 600 seasons of different shows over the years just to find out after I've spent a fortune on buying them separately they either lower the cost to a third of what I paid for it or put out a complete boxed season package with all sorts of extra bells and whistles. Where's the loyalty? If we (the true fans) hadn't supported the shows release on DVD in the first place there would be no complete box sets for the johnny come lately's to purchase. Try finding a season 2 of Kojak, anyone? I'm getting sick and tired of the shoddy treatment from the studios. I like the idea of getting a free disc containing the extras with proof of purchase stubs, too. The studios owe us that much!
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Edited by Hytecker99 at 07/21/2008 3:01 PM
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Jul 21, 2008 5:58 PM
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I'm pretty aggravated with the whole situation, too! I have purchased over 600 seasons of different shows over the years just to find out after I've spent a fortune on buying them separately they either lower the cost to a third of what I paid for it or put out a complete boxed season package with all sorts of extra bells and whistles. Where's the loyalty? If we (the true fans) hadn't supported the shows release on DVD in the first place there would be no complete box sets for the jonny come lately's to purchase. I'm getting sick and tired of the shoddy treatment from the studios. I like the idea of getting a free disc containing the extras with proof of purchase stubs. The studios owe us that much!
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Jul 21, 2008 6:10 PM
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Extras do cheat the loyal customer. I was annoyed when after buying the Twin Peaks 2 seasons on DVD I then found that they would be released together along with the pilot episode which is not available separately. Studios also double-dipped on Babylon 5, releasing the 5 movie set which included 2 already-released movies.
How about this for an idea, offer the entire series set up front, then sell select seasons if people want them. With a still-running show such as The Simpsons they could release 5-season sets. Or as you suggest sell the extras on a separate disk as was done with the re-release of the Emma Peel set (I own the original so this was a great option for me).
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Jul 21, 2008 6:50 PM
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You know what really bugs me? When a studio releases a TV series ONLY in complete season format. For instance, with the release of the Real Ghostbusters from Time Life I'm being forced to either settle for the 4-episode discs that came out a couple years ago, or to drop $160-180 on all five seasons at once. I don't know about most people, but even though I'm a huge 80s cartoon nut, I can't justify making a purchase that big on a set that big, all at once.
It was the same deal with the Monty Python set, at least until it had its price cut in half. I'd be willing to drop the $160-180 in the long run, but at least give me the opportunity to but the show a season at a time. Oh, and don't sheath the set in a goofy lenticular slipcase, making me wonder how much of that $160 is going towards useless gimmicks...
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Jul 21, 2008 6:57 PM
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This approach to DVD releases definitely seems backwards somehow. It's giving newer or more casual fans the opportunity to own the series at a lower price(since they weren't willing to pay full price for the season sets) and then giving them extra discs or features that they probably won't appreciate as much as avid fans.
Still, I'm torn, because I recently bought the Stargate SG-1 complete series box set. I only really got into the show halfway through the last season, but I'm a huge fan and it seemed like such a good deal for all ten seasons and the box looks so good on my shelf. This particular complete series has 4 bonus discs, which is something I'm willing to let my brother watch, since he has the individual seasons and he got me into the show.
While I'm on the subject of Stargate, quite a few complete series boxes care too much about appearance and forget that they're supposed to keep discs safe. Stargate and Alias are two of the biggest examples, and I'm lucky enough to have received my DVDs in very good condition(whereas others have unplayable discs).
I think if they're going to try to rope in loyal viewers to pay large sums of money for the series all over again, they should at least make the box a little bigger to keep the discs safe.
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Jul 21, 2008 8:50 PM
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Man, I totally agree! I started collecdting season sets in region 2, and then, to show my support of my favorite shows, bought the region 1 sets when they were finally released. And now after all that loyalty, someone can come along today, plunk down significantly less money than I spent in support of the show, and get a boat load of additional, great extras. Yep, I definitely think that DVD set producers should provide an easy way to collect points toward extras - and make it possible to collect those points without ruining the packaging. I like the way Disney does their rewards program. If the Mouse can offer loyalty rewards, there's no reason why every major DVD manufacturer can't offer some incentive to keep us buying the season sets to provide the funds that allow the studios to do those big megasets.
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Jul 21, 2008 8:51 PM
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I cannot disagree with Gord on this issue. I am a M*A*S*H fan and I was angered with this news article on tvshowsondvd.com in 2006:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/MASH/6323
Then some of my anger was cooled with this article from 2007:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/MASH/6895
Although the downside of the "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" set was that loyal fans (like me) are stuck with two copies of the episode "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen".
NOW, LET'S GO TO THE MOTION PICTURE SIDE...
The 1970 feature of M*A*S*H was released at least 5 times.
1. as a part of the "Five Star Collection" series (2 Disc)
2. as a single-disc
3. the Two-Disc edition re-packaged as a part of Fox's "Award Series"
4. The Single Disc Edition was a part of the complete series set
5. The Single Disc Edition was a part of the "Robert Altman Collection" released by FOX.
I'd say enough already!
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Jul 21, 2008 9:41 PM
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