Battlestar Galactica DVD gripe

[javasaurus]

grumble.

First let me note that I don't have cable (I only watch about 4 hours of TV a week, and it's all broadcast, so cable's just not worth it).

This means I don't see Battlestar Galactica (or anything else) on SciFi. But I heard it was pretty darn good TV sci-fi, so I bought the DVD of the mini-series. Loved it. Absolutely floored by it. So I bought "Season One" and was a little upset to discover that there were only 17 episodes in season one, and the first four were a repeat of the mini-series. Where I come from (i.e., broadcast tv), a season is 22 or 23 episodes, not 13 plus a mini-series. To give them credit, the back of the box did say 13 episodes and the mini-series, so I need to learn to read the back of the box. Just like I learned years ago that the sale price in the grocery store only applies if the bar codes are the same, so ya gotta read all the bar codes on the prices and boxes to see if you are getting the sale item. But that's a different gripe for a different time.

I saw that "Season 2.0" was out, and got that. Nothing on the box about number of episodes, but I figured probably 17 or 18, similar to season one (with mini-series). Thin box, but hey, Greatest American Hero season two has 22 episodes in the same size box. It, by the way, does indicate 22 episodes, six discs, and a slew of extras on the back of the box. However, the Season 2.0 box of BSG does not include all of Season 2. In fact, only 10 episodes, half of the season. Anybody with cable might have realized that season 2 was still being produced when the Season 2.0 box came out, so of course it wasn't complete! But to me, there was no indication that this was only a half set. Yes, the box indicates about 7 hours of playing time, and in retrospect, 2.0 might imply the coming 2.1. The low price tag may have been a clue as well, but it's on par with Angel and Stargate (which are also full seasons).

As much as I'm enjoying the series (which is quite a bit), the DVDs are really ticking me off.

Regardless of DVD matter, you can now see why I only have time for four hours of broadcast tv per week.

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

try buying a british series (their word for our "season") and getting only *6* episodes. warning you now, there are only 13 episodes in the upcoming dr. who dvd set.

independent channels like sci-fi don't have to (and therefore don't) stick to mainstream networks rules of 26 episodes, and the networks themselves have reduced that number with fillers. the idea was 26 episodes each repeated once, but with may sweeps interruptions etc, they've trimmed that down. stargate did that *later*, but not originally when it was a 13 episode show on showtime.

it WAS the first season of BG, and was the 2nd season up to that point (they broadcast it in two chunks). if you don't know what the show originally was, i don't see how you can blame the dvd makers for selling the show as it was.

it ain't the dvd, its the original show, and if you don't know what you're getting into, read more reviews before you buy it rather than blame them for not living up to your quite frankly unjustified expectations.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

I disagree. It's about the DVD release that I'm complaining. The "Season 2.0" package doesn't indicate "first half" or "10 episodes from" or as you say, "the 2nd season up to that point." The only expectation I had was that season 2 meant season 2. Expectations are based on past experience with a variety of TV show DVD releases. When I buy a container of milk that says one gallon, I expect it to hold one gallon, not two quarts. How is that "quite frankly unjustified"?

As for reading reviews, I did a lot of that before getting the first DVD set. That's why I got the first set (the mini-series). I've got the first six seasons of Angel. Should I read reviews about season 7's DVD set to make sure it has the full season?

And as for the first season, both the IMDB and the official website separate the mini-series (4 episodes) from season one (13 episodes).

And I don't recall a time when any series regularly had 26 episodes per season. Prior to the 70s, re-runs weren't so common as now, and a full season would be more than 30 episodes. 22 to 24 has been typical since at least the early 70s. Maybe there was a brief period with 26 episodes as a trasition?

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

yes, i agree they should have had an episode list.

on the other hand, i can count 4 episodes per dvd, 3 dvd set, and assume there's only going to be 12. did i know that there were more than 12 in the series? no.

on the other hand again, i personally feel that the split between 2.0 and "2.1" is so large that they should just have called it "3.0" and simply acknowledge that they're producing one or two "Seasons" of 10-14 episodes a year.

its the "season" word that has the weight to it and after dealing with the oddball timing of british releases, especially the JNT ere of Dr. Who, i've just gotten used to it not meaning anything anymore.

its especially complex in how sci-fi's running them in their chunks instead of piecemeal the way normal networks operate (4-6 new ones, then 2-4 repeats so the production team can catch up). everything about that show has been different from its predecessors and contemporaries and occasionally like with the word "season" the old terminology simply doesn't apply.

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

Well, if I am buying a DVD set of "Season X" of a show and I have already seen Season 1 when the prices are comperable to similar shows seasons. I don't think it is unreasonable to be surprised and a bit unhappy when the "Season X" isn't the full season but 1/2 season. If the final season is a short season, fine but the 2nd season in question was a full season; but the DVD set is 1/2 of it.

I think it is entirely reasonable when you buy a DVD set of a 2nd or subsequent season of a show to expect to have at least approx. the same number of episodes as the first season.

How would you react if you bought "Dr. Who - Series 10" and it only had 3 of the 6 episode and was selling for the same price as "Red Dwarf Series 5" and didn't say something clear on the cover like "First Half of Series 10"? I gather that is what Java is unhappy about.

By your logic, the CW should start releasing their shows every 3 months since they show the series in chunks (fresh episodes for a few months, then repeats for awhile then more fresh episodes); charge the same price for the "Season X" as NBC is charging for a season of Friends.

So, if 6 episodes is normal for a year in BBC land, why on earth are they selling a 13 episode Dr. Who set (or are they calling it 2 seasons worth on the box)?

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

was calling it "2.0" bad marketting, particularly as the set was released before all of the second season was actually broadcast (the second half of the season started the next january after the dvds went on sale) a BAD thing?

Yes. i'm not doubting that.

on the other hand, you get what they offer at the price they sell it at or you don't. if you don't yet know what you're buying, then don't buy or accept that you took a risk and it didn't "pay".

if you don't think the price-point is reasonable, don't buy them. write to THEM and let them know. but don't come bitching online that your expecations weren't met when you didn't go into the purchase agreement with the right ones to start with by not studying what you were purchasing. I hit amazon.com's reviews and at least two other sites when i'm in any doubt what is on offer, or i simply accept the risk and accept the purchase agreement.

its that simple, its captialism in action and its how it works. that other shows and networks can afford to put out full 26-episode sets at $39 is their own lookout.

those networks can afford it because they aren't the only post-broadcast outlet - they can sell to syndication, for example -- and they make more money from advertisers per show to start with by having better ratings. on top of that, shows from the 90s have pretty much paid for themselves 10 times over so they can certainly afford to be "Cheap".

Galactica 2.0, on the other hand, hit the stores within a mere *months* of its broadcast - the dvd sales are the ONLY way that show is going to make a profit - they're not selling to milk collectors dollars out from ancient history, they're selling to actually finish *paying* for the show for its investors.

by 6 and 13 i was trying to imply that there IS NO STANDARD for the number of episodes of anything, nor should their be. many comedies run 6 (Ab Fab, Red Dwarf, Faulty Towers, Blackadder) but its not a requirement (Are you Being Derved ran 10-14 per year). Who did 13 because they could get that budget for it.

yes, by my logic, they do release everything in chunks. its *their* business decision to pay for the production and achieve a profit to please the corporation and its shareholders. its a new decision, but the only one for such material because it can never make its money back being restricted to just the tv broadcasts, no matter how often its repeated. accept it or don't.

i bought 2.0, having not seen a single episode. i wasn't aware until later that there was more to be shown and sold later. i shrugged and said "ok, i'll get that too". I acknowledged that i didn't know what i was getting.

on the other hand, i think given the circumstances of the series' production, and the production values it excels at when compared to "Friends Season 7", I think the price-point is quite reasonable.

contrast that to the (in my opinion legitimate) bitching i did about the fact that the muppets was MISSING segments of the show because of licensing rights crapola and that was completely unpublished by Disney distribution - that's a case where i can say i wasn't getting what i thought i was paying for reasonably.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

if you don't think the price-point is reasonable, don't buy them. write to THEM and let them know. but don't come bitching online that your expecations weren't met when you didn't go into the purchase agreement with the right ones to start with by not studying what you were purchasing. I hit amazon.com's reviews and at least two other sites when i'm in any doubt what is on offer, or i simply accept the risk and accept the purchase agreement.


It's my journal. I can bitch about the color of the sky if I want to.

As for checking reviews, I do when I have questions or doubts. I didn't have any questions or doubts, I was just wrong.

The point I'm upset about, and the only point I'm trying to make here, is that it said season two, and contained half of season two. If they had said on the box "volume 1" or "first half" I'd have still paid for it. I have no problem with putting out half-seasons, but ya gotta say that's what you are doing.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

it was only the "first half" because the second half hadn't even been broadcast yet. of course, only die-hard fans of the show would have known that, but i think they only expected die-hard fans of the show to have purchased the dvds in the first place.

and as you noted it didn't say season 2 - it said "2.0" - yeah, that gives their marketting team a lot of leeway. it could have been a catchy, trendy thing, or it could have actually meant something.

or better still, it can give them the room to make it mean something later while just being a trendy thing now.

It's my journal. I can bitch about the color of the sky if I want to.

well, if you do that, then i'll actually be worried. ;-)

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

It's my journal. I can bitch about the color of the sky if I want to.

well, if you do that, then i'll actually be worried. ;-)

I dunno, I am not above bitching about a grey sky when I have outdoor plans. Grin. However, if he is bitching on-line about a green sky instead of turning off and disconnecting the computer and going somewhere relatively safe, THEN I'd be worried (and pretty annoyed)

of course, only die-hard fans of the show would have known that,
And this would have been found out by Java how then?

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

contrast that to the (in my opinion legitimate) bitching i did about the fact that the muppets was MISSING segments of the show because of licensing rights crapola and that was completely unpublished by Disney distribution - that's a case where i can say i wasn't getting what i thought i was paying for reasonably.

(snark) Well, the Quantum Leap usenet group was bitching about songs being cut, I am sure that if you had done some research, you would have found out that songs had been cut from the Muppet show. It isn't Disney's fault that you didn't do your research. (/snark)

yes, by my logic, they do release everything in chunks.
But they don't release the DVDs in chunks (I have yet to hear of any other show having 1/2 of Season X as a release ... esp. not clearly marked). Why not acknowledge on the package that it is Season 2 (part 1 of 2) or something like that?

I hit amazon.com's reviews and at least two other sites when i'm in any doubt what is on offer, or i simply accept the risk and accept the purchase agreement.
But why should Java have had any doubt about what is on offer? The box implied Season 2 (not 1/2 of Season 2). The first season wasn't a 2-box set to be purchased separately.

on the other hand, i think given the circumstances of the series' production, and the production values it excels at when compared to "Friends Season 7", I think the price-point is quite reasonable.
Why not do what Star Trek does and have the full year as a single box for a higher price? Or were they measuring the sale of the DVDs to determine whether or not to continue the series? Or maybe they are planning to release the 2nd half of the season in a boxed set called Season 2.1 - the complete 2nd Season - which will cost 2x what Java purchased and contain both halves. That could make them quite a bit of $ for their investors and it isn't like they told anyone that they planned to release the 2nd half by itself....

I know that MASH Season 11 is coming out this fall. I assume (unless told otherwise) that it will contain Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen and may cost a bit extra because of that. However, if they market it as "MASH Season 11 - the regular episodes" and sell GFA separately; that is fine (I will admit to being somewhat annoyed that there is a special DVD that you will only be able to get by buying the boxed set of all 11 seasons when Java and I have already bought 10 of them).

on the other hand, you get what they offer at the price they sell it at or you don't. if you don't yet know what you're buying, then don't buy or accept that you took a risk and it didn't "pay".
Like people who purchased the upgrade to MS Suite THEN found out it didn't contain the Photo-Editor? Or people who purchased a season pass to Gauga Lake or Frontier City then found out that they weren't going to be part of the 6 Flags Family the next year? Or people who purchase a new computer then find out that the chip is unstable? Or people who purchased the Ford Pinto when it first came out then had it blow up? Or the people who invested in Enron? Or the book I bought several years ago that had the 1st 4 chapters in it twice and was missing chapters 8-12. I made the purchase, I should have no reason to bitch about it (I was able to return it and get another copy). Saying that anytime a person purchases something it is 100% buyer beware is a VERY bad idea to me.

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

To be fair, there is a precedent for half-season releases. Lost In Space is one, though it was clearly marked as such. And I've seen several shows released as "Season 1, volume 1", "Season 1, volume 2" etc. The point is, the make it clear on the package.