Saturday, May 07, 2011

Digital Digest: Home Media on a Budget

Happy early Mother's Day, and welcome to Digital Digest, your weekly dose of news for all things digital in the sitcom world! This week, in addition to our regular news, we have a look into ways to save when you are shopping for your favorite series on home media. Let's get going!


DIGITAL NEWS

Anchor Bay released several series from Carsey-Werner a few years ago, including Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Grounded for Life, but in recent years, Anchor Bay has been moving away from the TV-on-DVD business (presumably since they are now owned by Starz!, which is focused on movies). But now, there is good news for those interested in DVDs of those series: Mill Creek Entertainment has acquired the rights to release those series, as well as That '70s Show, which was previously released by Fox! But it gets even better: Mill Creek has promised "original broadcast versions" of all episodes, which is great considering that the first seasons of many of these series had syndicated versions. The only question that remains is whether or not original music will be left intact ("original broadcast versions" may not definitively answer that question in the way that it should), though most likely it will not be intact--but we'll have reviews of all of these when. No details are known about release dates, but this is something that we'll definitely be following up on! You can read more about this announcement here.

Following in the footsteps of other studios releasing "value-priced best-of" collections of series, MPI has some of their own in the works, including best-of releases of Here's Lucy, The Color Honeymooners, and The Honeymooners - The Lost Episodes! Each of these discs, set for a release on July 26, will come at a $9.98 MSRP and include fan favorites of episodes from all of these series. The best part is that the episodes on the Here's Lucy set aren't just limited to the ones that have already been released! Additionally, the original DVDs for The Honeymooners - The Lost Episodes has been out-of-print for some time, so in a sense, it is like it is returning to DVD. Of course, we'll have more on these when the time comes.

We wrap up our news this week with more of the "current series continuing on DVD," and these two DVD sets that we have today are no surprise. August 30 brings two ABC series, Desperate Housewives - The Complete Seventh Season and Cougar Town - The Complete Second Season to DVD. Of course, we'll have reviews on both of these (and many more current series continuing on DVD) around the release date!


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (May 10) brings us "tool time" once more with Home Improvement - The 20th Anniversary Complete Collection, a special set containing every episode of the series in a special tool box. Additionally, from Shout! Factory, we have Webster - Season Two. We have received copies of both of these sets for review, and will have our reviews posted very soon.


BLOG FEATURE STORY

Home Media on a Budget
by skees53

When the studios put out DVDs, the street price (the price that the studio suggests for the set) on every set looks awfully intimidating. Although the street prices have declined lately, when TV-on-DVD first began, even the most basic of sets had a street price of $50 or more. These days, street prices have come down to the $20-40 range for the most part, with some a bit higher and some a bit lower (Mill Creek tends to release a lot of $14.98 sets). But unless you are insistent upon buying every DVD set the day that it comes out at a specialty video store, you should be able to pay less. And depending upon how you buy for your DVDs, you can get DVDs for considerably less.

The basics of bargain hunting begin at the big box stores. Almost always, at places such as Best Buy or Target, you'll find DVD sets slightly under the manufacturer's suggested retail price, often even on the date of the release. But of course, these stores put out advertisements every week, advertising DVDs for less than the MSRP or even lower. And if you go into the stores, you can often find special displays of value-priced DVD that have been significantly marked down. You can even find multi-season packs of series at prices that are less than one season at retail price.

As we've mentioned over and over again, Big Lots is another great place to buy TV-on-DVD sets... that is, whenever they have them in stock. While they don't regularly carry TV-on-DVD sets, they will get a batch in once every few months, and they are typically priced anywhere from $5-10 per set. They once were even selling DVD sets for $3, but those days are long gone now, although it is still possible to find a few $3 DVDs here and there. Most recently, they've received some used, former rental DVD sets from Hollywood Video for $6, including many popular series such as Desperate Housewives, The Simpsons, Weeds, and more. The only drawback, aside from these being used sets (although I did pick up a few and they were all scratch free) is that these do not come in the original retail packaging, and for all of these sets, each disc comes in a rental ready Amaray case, sometimes cases that were created by the studio, but sometimes not.

But if you limit yourself to just those stores, you probably won't find the best bargains out there. For that, you'll have to dig deeper, and a really good place to start is used video stores (or even some used bookstores). Many of these are independently owned or regional stores, but one of my favorites is the national chain Half Price Books, which sells both new and used DVDs at least 50 percent off of the original retail price. Sometimes, if they are overstocked on a certain item, or if you are willing to deal with a set that might have somewhat damaged packing, you can get them even cheaper. The great thing about stores like this is that you can sometimes find things that are nearly impossible to find at other stores, and usually at reasonable prices. Sometimes, you'll even find things that you never knew existed. Not too long ago, I found several brand new season sets of some Sony DVD products for $9.99, but what was special about these sets is that they all came in a nice tin case. Not only was it a great price, but the case was a nice bonus.

You can often find even better deals on DVDs by searching online. Again, if you are willing to go with used DVD sets, you can sometimes find sets very cheap... even pennies on the dollar in some case! That is especially the case for older releases of popular series that were mass produced. Eventually, the interest in the series drops off, and fans who bought the series are eager to sell theirs off, creating a glut of used DVDs for anybody eager to purchase them. But you can even find new DVD sets at great prices if you search around enough online. Obviously, amazon.com is a great place to start, but there are other websites selling used DVDs at very good prices, such as Hastings (which also has regular stores like Half Price Books).

No matter where you look, you'll always find bargains on DVDs, although the more you shop around, the better bargains you'll find. Sure, you could always pay full retail price for any set, but why do that when there are bargains waiting for you all around you? Home media is a business just like any other, and like any other business, the first price that you see isn't the lowest price you can pay.


LOOKING AHEAD

It looks like the news is finally starting to pick up again (somewhat), so we hope to have more news for you next week (and every week) here on Digital Digest. We have several blog reviews coming up in the upcoming weeks, and we hope you'll be here for that. Until next time, keep it digital!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, June 8

Young Sheldon - "Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mary struggles to make new friends while Mandy pushes Georgie to date another woman.

Ghosts - "Alberta's Descendant" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Alberta is thrilled when a living relative, Alicia (Ashley D. Kelley), visits Woodstone to learn more about her, but things take a turn when she hits it off with Todd (Rodrigo Fernandez Stoll), Sam’s podcast co-host. Also, Nigel uses his knowledge of Trevor and Hetty’s secret tryst to try to blackmail Hetty.

Animal Control - "Dogs and Geese" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dispatch radios a report of a goose on the loose; the precinct hosts an adoption day.

Animal Control - "Pigs and Minks" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The team welcomes back Patel even though he is still on suspension; Shred and Victoria are called into the principal's office on a school visit; Rick heads back into the field with Frank.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 5)

Thursday, June 8

  • Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory/8 Simple Rules/Ladies Man) - Catch Kaley on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Lea Michele (The Mayor/Scream Queens) - Lea is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) - Janelle appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) - Chris will be on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Boris Kodjoe (The Last Man on Earth/Second Time Around) - Boris is a guest on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever) - Maitreyi talks about Never Have I Ever Live with Kelly and Mark, (check your listings) and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
  • Marcus Scribner (grown-ish/black-ish) - Marcus joins the Tam Fam to discuss the final season of grown-ish on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • Nia Long (Uncle Buck/The Cleveland Show/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) - Nia appears on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Lauren London (The Game) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Fortune Feimster (Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune appears on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings. She also talks about FUBAR on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Cheers) - Kelsey is telling Rachael about his recent movie, the Frasier revival and what he's got going on next on a repeat of Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
  • Marilu Henner (Evening Shade/Taxi) - Marilu talks about Hallmark's Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
  • Vivica A. Fox (Mr. Box Office/Getting Personal/Arsenio/Out All Night) - Vivica stops by to discuss her involvement with the Tony Awards and her Fox Soul talk show Cocktails with Queens on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Marsha Warfield (Night Court/Empty Nest) - Marsha drops by to talk about her iconic comedy career, her The Book of Marsha comedy tour and finally sees the green room at Sherri that was inspired by her, so check your local listings.
  • Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City/Square Pegs) - Sarah will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.


New on DVD/Blu-ray (January-June)

Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI) Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI) Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series

01/03 - Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series (2023 Release)
01/27 - Master of None - Season Three / The Complete Series
02/21 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Nine / The Complete Season Ten
02/28 - Growing Pains - The Complete Series
03/28 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/04 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/18 - Blondie - The Complete 1957 Television Series (Blu-ray)
04/25 - Cheers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
05/23 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Eleven / The Complete Season Twelve
05/23 - Go On - The Complete Series
05/23 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (Universal)
05/29 - Gimme a Break! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/29 - Kate & Allie - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/30 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

06/08 - The CW Summer 2023 Premiere Dates; Peacock's Bupkis Gets NBC Airing
06/07 - Hallmark's Christmas in July Programming; The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Launches July 6
06/06 - New Superman Animated Series Coming to Adult Swim; TV Stars Come Together in Netflix Film
06/05 - Shout! TV's ALF Reunion; Hulu's This Fool Season Two Premieres July 28
06/04 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 5, 2023)
06/03 - SitcomsOnline Digest: ABC Declares Rating Victories for 22-23 Season; Australian Version of The Office in the Works
06/02 - HBO Renews Somebody Somewhere for a Third Season; Remembering Marlene Clark of Sanford and Son and Other Sitcom Stars We Recently Lost
06/01 - MeTV's Marry Me Block on June 4; TBS Sets Miracle Workers: End Times Premiere Date for July 10
05/31 - Amazon Freevee's Jury Duty Gets Special Release; Stars on Mars Fan Experience
05/30 - 75th Emmy Awards Nominations on July 12; Final Season of HBO's How to with John Wilson
05/29 - Memorial Day 2023 TV Sitcom Marathons
05/28 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 29, 2023)
05/27 - SitcomsOnline Digest: CBS Wins 2022-2023 Ratings Game; Netflix Ends Sharing of Passwords
05/26 - Prime Video Renews Priyanka Chopra Series; Sex and the City 25th Anniversary Event in NYC
05/25 - Brady Bunch House on the Market; The Family Stallone Gets 2nd Season
05/24 - Antenna TV's Father Knows Best Father's Day Fest Marathon; Netflix Gets Glamorous This June
05/23 - CBS Summer 2023 Reality Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces Peanuts Programming
05/22 - More Details on Zoey 102; New Lifetime Movie Series Coming July 8
05/21 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 22, 2023)
05/20 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Showtime Looking to Bring Back Two Old Favorites; Disney+ Removing Content
05/19 - Futurama Triumphantly Returns July 24; Final Season of Physical Drops August 2; Primo Premieres May 19 on Amazon Freevee
05/18 - The CW Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Netflix Upfront 2023
05/17 - Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023; Sarah Silverman HBO Special Premieres May 27
05/16 - ABC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; FX's Summer 2023 Slate
05/15 - FOX Announces 2023-24 Programming Slate; iCarly Season 3 Premieres June 1
05/14 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of May 15, 2023)
05/13 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Season Finale Brings Back a Familiar Face; Comedy Central Renews Digman! for Second Season
05/12 - NBC Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; Hulu Orders Deli Boys from Onyx Collective
05/11 - CBS Upfront 2023-24: Fall 2023 Schedule; The CW Summer Lineup Has Comedies
05/10 - Minx Returns in July on STARZ; Never Have I Ever Final Episodes Premieres June 8, Trailer Drops
05/09 - The CW Acquires Son of a Critch; FX's The Bear Returns June 22
05/08 - NBC's Hot Wheels Gets Celeb Judges; Zooey Deschanel's Max Series Premieres May 23