Blu-ray Series: Why not start from the beginning ?

[Blu-Style]

Why do they start from the middle ?

Look at Blu-ray´s like

• LOST ( Season 3 )
Why not start with Season 1 first



• Nip / Tuck ( Season 4 )
Why not start with the first one



EDIT:
(according to GregBlu5)

added to the List:

• Smallville ( Season 6 )



Anybody has an explanation for this ?

[CptGreedle]

I totally agree with you!
I hate starting a series in the middle or what not.. I always want the first and start from the beginning. It is how it was meant to be seen.

[Copywriter]

Well, I'd rather have LOST S3 come out on time that have a FOX situation where they are just now getting around to PB S1 and S2 will be later.

If LOST S3 wasn't coming until say summer, there's no way I buy it. I'd get the SD on release day.

It's better, sales wise, if they come out with this stuff on time and then go back and release previous seasons.

[GregBlu5]

Originally Posted by Blu-Style

Why do they start from the middle ?

Look at Blu-ray´s like

• LOST ( Season 3 )
Why not start with Season 1 first

• Nip / Tuck ( Season 4 )
Why not start with the first one

Anybody has an explanation for this ?

Blu-ray on TV is still quite new. (Same with Smallville Season 6, to add to your examples above.) With new movies and with existing SD titles, film companies can pick and choose which to release. But with TV series, you're going to have to begin where the latest Season is coming out and then backtrack, as time and sales permit.

I mean, I had Smallville 1-5 and Nip/Tuck 1-3 already in SD. I would much prefer--as was the case--that I could decide to buy Smallville Season 6 in Blu-ray or SD, as well as Nip/Tuck 4 the same. Given how *much more* expensive Blu (Hi Def) TV series are, I certainly am not anticipating replacing my previous TV purchases any time soon.

I did, in fact, buy those two, latest-season series in Blu. It might have taken many months, otherwise, to see them come to the marketplace if Warner went back to the beginning instead and started releasing from that point. And, I would not have bought them and would have been forced to buy Season 6 Smallville in SD yet again (as well as Nip/Tuck S4).

They've even done the same with the X-Men 3 movie on Blu (while films 1 and 2 are not yet in Blu).

It's not chronological, but it is much more logical with a very new format.

-Greg

[Uberfy]

I think the choice to start a series at the beginning or in the middle has pros and cons for the studio, depending on whether the consumer has already invested in the available SD seasons or not. For me personally, if I already bought the earlier seasons on SD, then I'm glad that they are skipping ahead to the current season for the Blu release. Only if I were just discovering a series would I hope that they started from the beginning with Blu. I don't mind mixing formats if I already bought the earlier seasons. But if I didn't already own Seasons 1 & 2 of Lost on SD, for example, I would wait for all of them to come out on Blu before I invested in the series.

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by Blu-Style

Anybody has an explanation for this ?

Day-and-date sells best and I believe it costs a lot of money to do box sets like Lost in HD.

Dreamworks is doing something similar with Shrek the Third. The HD DVD sales would be worse if they released the first one on HD DVD tomorrow and the third one only on DVD. So, if they are only going to do one, doing the day-and-date one (the one where the DVD is being released the same day) makes sense.

--Darin

[Sonny]

I wish they would too , but I'm not that lucky...

[Beta-guy]

I have the entire Star trek TNG in DVD, if they brought it over to Blu-ray (after the contract they have has expired) I would most likely NOT buy the series over again, reason it's too mush money, 1 season is $60 - $70 now multiply that by 7, I suspect the reasons are the same for why they won't release earlier season, maybe in the future but for now they are keeping things current, if it's on of those $30 seasons then I'd agree...

[SpaceDog]

Since the most current & recent seasons always sell better, it only makes sense for them to start with the current ones. However, as a show of good faith, it'd be nice if they interspersed each new season with the first, then second and so forth.

Part of me worries about the beautiful Blu Ray boxed set for the complete series of LOST though...

[Mr. Joshua]

I would like the following tv series on blu-ray:

The Jeffersons
All In The Family
Sanford & Son
The Equalizer (Universal owns this one so I will pray!)
Crank Yankers
South Park
Seinfeld
The Tick (live action show)
Sid & Marty Croft's work including:

H. R. Pufnstuf
Land Of The Lost
Sigmund and the Seamonsters
The Lost Saucer
Far Out Space Nuts
Wonderbug
Electrawoman and Dynagirl
Dr. Shrinker
Bigfoot and Wildboy
Magic Mongo
Horror Hotel
Lost Island
Lidsville

All Tom & Jerry cartoons

I guess thats all of them.

[Blu-Style]

Well, then I hope they´ll go backwards, and release the other seasons soon

thnx for the explanations everyone

[jedisinclair]

Originally Posted by wsciv123

I would like the following tv series on blu-ray:

The Jeffersons
All In The Family
Sanford & Son
The Equalizer (Universal owns this one so I will pray!)
Crank Yankers
South Park
Seinfeld
The Tick (live action show)
Sid & Marty Croft's work including:

H. R. Pufnstuf
Land Of The Lost
Sigmund and the Seamonsters
The Lost Saucer
Far Out Space Nuts
Wonderbug
Electrawoman and Dynagirl
Dr. Shrinker
Bigfoot and Wildboy
Magic Mongo
Horror Hotel
Lost Island
Lidsville

All Tom & Jerry cartoons

I guess thats all of them.

Man... talk about a blast from the past! I LOVED Dr. Shrinker and Bigfoot and Wildboy.

[SpaceDog]

Possibly the best thing about Universal being HD-DUD exclusive is that by the time Battlestar Galactica comes to Blu Ray, it'll be in that nice complete series gift set. (I hope)

[crey014]

One question: With American TV DVD releases, do they have the tendency to change cases halfway through the series? Here in NZ, Season 1 and 2 of Lost has a thin case for every disc but now Season 3 is released, they have changed it to this 6 discs in a large case which is kind of infuriating. This sounds a bit petty but it does ruin the whole 'flow' of the boxsets.

So, do they change cases halfay through a series? If yes, there's a good chance they might also do this with the Blu-Ray releases.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Blu-Style

Why do they start from the middle ?

...

Anybody has an explanation for this ?

They aren't starting from the middle. They are starting with new releases, and not also releasing the previous seasons simultaneously.

It's a matter of gauging how well something would sell, and whether the market is sufficient at this time.

Do you really think the market would be there for three seasons of Lost, six seasons of Smallville, and four of Nip 'n' Tuck? That's 13 box sets! So, hold off day and date with the DVD new release until you can release the entire series so far?

Gary

[jw]

Its a common problem with all series, Look at Happy Days, Season one was Digipack, then season two came and its in a standard dvd case with 6 discs. I think all series have experienced it. It is called trial and error, when tv was new to DVD the big boxes were the way to go, but with all the releases and limited shelf space in peoples homes, there were complaints that they were out of shelf space, so the studios started making slimline, smaller cases, a real welcome but a ugly shelf appearence.

I have 2 shelves of TVonDVd and almost all mine have changed somewhat throughout the transition through the years. One that really pisses me off is MacGyver, they have season 2 in 7 individual slimline cases and the other seasons are two discs to a case, in slimline cases, Season 1 is more than twice the size of the others, I would rebuy it just to get a slimline case because it bugs me that much.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by darinp2

Day-and-date sells best and I believe it costs a lot of money to do box sets like Lost in HD.

Dreamworks is doing something similar with Shrek the Third. The HD DVD sales would be worse if they released the first one on HD DVD tomorrow and the third one only on DVD. So, if they are only going to do one, doing the day-and-date one (the one where the DVD is being released the same day) makes sense.

--Darin

HD DVD would do a lot better if they sold all three as I think the 1st one is by far the best....

the 3rd one was just corny...

[Storm]

Originally Posted by jedisinclair

Man... talk about a blast from the past! I LOVED Dr. Shrinker and Bigfoot and Wildboy.

I have not thought about the Croft shows in years. Would love to see some them again also.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by crey014

So, do they change cases halfay through a series? If yes, there's a good chance they might also do this with the Blu-Ray releases.

Quite a few series have had this issue here in the US with "Charmed", "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Office" coming to mind right off.

~Alan

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Do you really think the market would be there for three seasons of Lost, six seasons of Smallville, and four of Nip 'n' Tuck? That's 13 box sets! So, hold off day and date with the DVD new release until you can release the entire series so far?

The above reminded me to mention that Warner Bros. is planning on releasing the First Season of "Smallville" on HDM next year.

~Alan