I’ll never understand the thought process behind TV on DVD release dates. Why do so many of them end up coming out just weeks before the new season starts? After everyone just had a whole summer with a drastically reduced television schedule. Shouldn’t there really be a flood of new season sets in May and June? Whatever the case … as has become the norm, with the new seasons approaching we have a bunch of current shows releasing new sets. Among those you’ll find Supernatural, Heroes, Two And A Half Men, The Game, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Rescue Me, and CSI. My pick for the week actually isn’t even a TV show. It’s the latest Bring It On movie, Fight To The Finish. I’ll explain that, and have the rest of the releases, after the jump.
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Supernatural: The Complete 4th Season
If I had to pick a favorite show currently on television, Supernatural would be it. It’s just so good, every time out. Because the show is on The CW, I don’t think Kripke and his team get enough credit for what they’ve put together with these four seasons. The story of the Winchester brothers hasn’t missed a beat the whole way through. And it covers the gamut, from frightening, to heart-wrenching, to laugh out loud funny. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for season five, and if you haven’t hopped on board yet, this is one that I highly recommend. (Check our our giveaway for the Blu-ray version of this set). |
| Heroes: Season 3 (Blu-ray) And if I had to pick the show currently on TV that most frustrates me, Heroes would be it. It’s a strange relationship I have with Heroes. And its one that I’m sure more than a few other fans share. At its core, the idea is so good. Unfortunately, the execution of that idea has been … hit and miss? Moments of brilliance all too often give way to moments of head scratching bewilderment. But there is just enough there, and enough hope that it will all turn around, that you have to see it through. Season three had both its highlights, and its lowlights, but it should be a nice collection for anyone that is still hanging in there. |
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Bring It On: Fight To The Finish
Ok, it’s technically not TV on DVD, but it’s not like this one was ever released in the theaters. And, the Bring It On series is stuffed to the gills with TV actresses. The original had both Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) and Gabrielle Union (Flash Forward). Bring It On Again had Felicia Day (The Guild). All Or Nothing added Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Kiersten Warren (Maximum Bob!). In It To Win It starred Ashley Benson (Eastwick) and Cassie Scerbo (Make It Or Break It). And now Fight To The Finish has Laura Ceron (ER), Gabrielle Dennis (The Game), and an appearance by Lauren Gottlieb (So You Think You Can Dance). And yes, I do know far too much about screwball comedy cheerleader movies. |
- C.S.I.: The Complete 9th Season – Grissom’s exit didn’t do a lot for the ratings, but there were highlights, with Taylor Swift guest starring and a “Star Trek” based episode featuring Ronald D. Moore.
- The Game: The 1st Season – This one was much better than the ratings, or its treatment by the network, would suggest. Worth a look.
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!: Volume 3 – You can never go wrong with Scooby-Doo.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 8 – Also always a solid animated choice.
- Desperate Housewives: The Complete 5th Season – Here’s an odd bit from the extras disk – Miss Piggy takes Wisteria Lane. WTF?
- Brothers & Sisters: The Complete 3rd Season – More drama from the Walker family. It’s hard to go wrong with Patricia Wettig vs Sally Field.
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Volume 1 – A very cool idea. These are the other detectives from the time of Sherlock Holmes. It includes Jeremy Irons in his first screen appearance.
- Two and a Half Men: The Complete 6th Season – The number one comedy on television, for years now.
- Rescue Me: Season 5, Volume 1 – Somehow, I’ve never seen this show. It’s one on the list to get to eventually.
- People Like Us: The Complete Series – UK comedy from 1999 featuring guests such as Sarah Alexander, Bill Nighy, and David Tennant.
- Ben 10: Alien Force: Volume 4 – Another installment from the Cartoon Network stalwart.
- Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye – The three part story about the beginning of the battle between good and evil on Earth.
- Shaun the Sheep: Vol 4: Little Sheep of Horrors – Something for the kiddos that, based on the description, sounds pretty fun.
- And finally, three new releases from Doctor Who: Story #088: The Deadly Assassin – Story #094: Image of the Fendahl – Story #150: Delta and the Bannerman
Tags: ben 10 alien force, Bring It On, csi, Doctor Who, Fight To The Finish, People Like Us, Scooby-Doo, Shaun the Sheep, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the game, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, transformers, two and a half men, Where Are You!
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Posted by Brett LoveBrothers & Sisters, Clack, Columns, Desperate Housewives, Features, General, Heroes, Rescue Me, Supernatural, TV Shows
“I’ll never understand the thought process behind TV on DVD release dates. Why do so many of them end up coming out just weeks before the new season starts? After everyone just had a whole summer with a drastically reduced television schedule.”
I agree. I have pretty much stopped watching shows weekly due to other hobbies, specially watching ice hockey, reading, and playing video games, so Netflix is pretty much my designated destination for seasons of shows.
Dollhouse and Sons of Anarchy were good examples of being early enough releases for people to catch up. Then you have releases like Smallville, or Grey’s Anatomy that come out within a week of the new season.
Heck, IASiP (Sunny in Philly) and Castle come out two days before and a day after the new seasons start, respectively. Being someone who has to see something from the beginning and watch all consecutive episodes in order, I would hate that.
/endrant
It seems like the studios live in denial that people could spend the summer watching network TV on DVD. I’ve had 3 old series in rotation all summer (one that I’ve seen and want to revisit, and 2 I haven’t seen). It’s beyond understanding that they wait until September to release many season sets–as if they think that people can only understand the concept of scripted television in the fall, and the summer is only for junky reality crap. It’s a ten-year-old mindset at best. Why aren’t these production and marketing people at the studios fired and replaced by someone who lives in the 21st century, and understands today’s audience? I don’t think the network people have much to do with release dates–it’s the companies that produce the DVDs, mostly TV studios.
“Why do so many of them end up coming out just weeks before the new season starts? ”
To minimize their advertising budget, so they can hype the show’s return and DVD at the same time.
My guess is that early DVDs would conflict with the time window during which the networks have contractual rights to air repeats. (The fact that the networks don’t air the repeats anymore is beside the point apparently.)
I’ve always felt that it was the old mindset that the DVD release is a promotion for the “real” product: the new episodes on the network. When so many shows seem to get renewed (or not) based on the income from the DVD set sales, I’m not sure why that mentality persists, but it takes a LOT to get Hollywood to change its assumptions – in business terms, Hollywood is an extremely conservative town.