Oh frabjous day!

[gwyn]

It's hard to overstate how anguished I was on finding out that LFN DVDs were pulled from distribution one week before they were due. There is so much goodness in S2, and fans had such a long hard road getting them -- the over a year wait is a good indication of how little support there's been for the show. And I felt pretty resigned, because the timing meant that most of the major resellers had to cancel their orders after sending out copies to the international orders (farthest out goes in the mail first). Currently the disc sets that were available before being yanked are going for upwards of $300 on e-bay.

So imagine my surprise when movies_michelle called me tonight to tell me that she was standing in a local Best Buy and they had copies on sale. Did I want them? she asked. HELL yes, I said. I don't care that they're $20 more than I would have paid on Amazon. They're physically there, and I can have them (unless the counter people took them away from her). Thank god for the S&H discs coming out today and her devotion to getting them. Praise be to Starsky and Hutch! Apparently this BB didn't get the memo to pull the discs, and someone emailed me today telling me she'd found some at a store in another part of the country. So the haphazard, mixed information is apparently causing enough confusion that if you're vigilant and look hard enough, you might be able to find some. Seattle area peeps, might be worth checking out michelle's BB store!

I can't stand the wait till Friday when I can get them in my grubby little fists. Finally, Hard Landing on disc! The nude scenes and love scene in crystal clarity! Whee! ANd I can only hope that this confusion and zaniness will get sorted out. It sounds as if it is a music licensing issue, but it's hard to know if it means someone wants to pull a song, or some junior legal assistant didn't cross all Ts and dot all Is. I just want the discs. I just want more discs. And I want Warner to understand how crushing this is to people who've struggled for years to make this a reality in the face of enormous opposition. But discs! Illegal discs! Yay!!!!

Comments

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

WOW! That's awesome!! I should check the BBs near me to see if they forgot to pull them too!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- and also, smaller retailers, too. I'm reading all the BBoardss and people are mostly concentrating on Best Buy, but it sounds like some of the smaller retailers may have them, and there are a couple of lesser-known online sites that seem to be shipping. So... get them while they're hot, though, because it could change at any moment, and the profiteers are snatching up huge quantities.

[melinafandom.livejournal.com]

Hey, Lys, if you have any luck, will you pick up a set for me too :)

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

heh. Yeah, not a problem.

But you gave me such a PERFECT opening to use this icon. :->

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I could imagine how horrible that would be by considering if they'd pulled Firefly before it made it to DVD. And I would have had to go on a rampage. So I'm glad there are no rampages (one hopes) in your future. :)

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, especially since initially WHV told us they wouldn't be making any more DVDs of the show. They felt S1 didn't sell enough. So the year wait... it's hard to explain how painful it's been for people who really loved the show, and how futile it all felt. We were so excited and then this... the problem is, we don't feel that Warner is behind them, despite their regime change. So people are understandably nervous that this means forever.

[melinafandom.livejournal.com]

You know, considering Warner has been such a pioneer in DVD in general and TV on DVD, the depths of their stupidity when it comes to LFN is really quite mind-blowing.

Shows that aired only on a pay channel (Jeremiah) have been released on DVD. Shows that lasted less than 13 episodes (Firefly) have been released on DVD. Why they would balk at a show that lasted 4+ seasons and was shown all over the world... erg.

If they're wondering why sales of season 1 weren't what they might have been, maybe they should compare the pricetag to comparable 22 episode sets. I've seen several people on DVDfile and other forums say they didn't buy simply because it was too pricey.

(And while I'm ranting at Warner, I want my Brimstone, dammit, but I suppose there's a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.)

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

To my mind, there's one reason and one reason alone that S1 did not sell as well as it could have, even more than price: It was available only in R1. Most of the LFN fans (as you well know) are not knowledgeable about a lot of this stuff, and the folks in other countries don't always seem to understand how to deal with other region discs. They sold fairly well in Oz despite this issue, but I think sales could have gone through the roof in eastern Europe, where the show is *huge* and Down Under, if they had made them available in other regions.

Price is a huge factor, and I understand their need to deal with the licensing, but most of the music is from Canadian and British artists, and so the fees just aren't that huge. What I think it comes down to is that they simply don't care to make them cheaper, and the marketing folks just do not get that if they slant the ads toward Alias fans, they would have a huge opportunity. Why not promote it as "if you like Alias, you'll love LFN" or "See the original spy babe" kind of thing? I just don't get it.

I kept hoping the new regime at WHV would be more open minded, but the price point and lack of other regions leads me to believe they're not. They swear they have a huge TV initiative and intend to get all their series on discs, but... LFN seems at the bottom of the barrel, and it had the potential to be gigantic.

[tiashome.livejournal.com]

Oooh, very nice! I'm happy for you, chica :-)

[destina.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, life really is all about those fabulous little surprises. I'm so happy for you! :D

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Set your mind at ease! I was not tackled by store security before I got out of the store. Right now, the Season 2s are sitting snuggly in the BB bag, just waiting for you to watch.

Hey, if you really want them before Friday, we could get together for dinner or something before then. Somewhere in Wallingford, maybe? Or we could try out the chai lounge next to the Neptune. (I'm assuming lunch is just not doable, since you'd have to get to me, as I think it would be virtually impossible for me to bus to you in a reasonable amount of time.)

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! I can wait till Friday unless you want to get together -- in which case, my car is now fixed (said a la Nigel Bennett in the ep where he plays the Russian guy), so I can motor anywhere with confidence.

I just can't tell you how happy this has made me. The rumor is that some discs are defective, but I'm dubious about the source of the info. If you felt like opening the package, I wouldn't mind. But definitely keep that receipt!

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Hm. I'll open them up and try to test them out a bit. Is this the season with the Love Slinky? Cause I will test these boys hard, if it is.

Er, I mean, I shall do it for YOU!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

No, love slinky does not arrive until S4, alas. But this IS the season that has the nekkid Mikey and Nik in the first ep, before USA got all skeered of showing nekkid butts. Some dimwit was saying it was definitely discs 5 and 6 that wouldn't play, but then someone else said, gee, mine worked fine, and she tried them again and they played fine. Honest to god, the LFN fans are often so unbelievably dumb -- you have to put the disc in the tray, baby. Yeesh.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Nekkid! I thought it was awfully early for the Love Slinky, cause there's all that other stuff that happens and she has to get brainwashed and everything. Still: Nekkid!

Some dimwit was saying it was definitely discs 5 and 6 that wouldn't play

Or, you know, sometimes DVDs just get damaged. Sheesh. I shall double check them for you--and not just so I can see all the nekkidity.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Congrats!

And on a random but my-reason-for-commenting note, this: "Oh frabjous day!" is exactly what I said to my friend who just got a new job.

Yay for Jabberwocky.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I realize I don't have your mail address on this computer, and I was assuming it would be on your LJ! So sorry to answer you in comments, I'll try to send mail to you tomorrow (unless you want to mail me first).

Ping only means something like send mail or send a message, etc. Picked up from the submarine movie genre, one imagines, where you ping to hear if there's another sub around. So you're not behind the times, it's just one of those obscure usage pockets you haven't come across!

I don't have anything going Saturday night -- so if you're free, we could watch both movies, or one, whichever. I have something else to show you... something *really* pretty.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Okay, I get the sub reference. Cute!

Saturday works, then. Unfortunately I don't remember how to get to your house. Directions and/or an address would be great, and maybe a phone number in case of emergencies. (I know, I'm so demanding!)

I think I can handle two movies and a surprise. I love surprises. *Grinbounce*

[zoniduck.livejournal.com]

Good for you! Way to stick it to The Man. *g*

Why did they pull them anyway?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

You know, the worst part is that no one knows! WHV won't confirm anything, and store personnel are insisting that it means defective discs, so now all these people on the boards are panicking and freaking out about defective discs. The closest we've come to some info is the group of people who've worked hard to get the discs a reality, First Team, were told there was a licensing problem, which could mean a lot of things, but most likely music. Only, how severe it is, we don't know. We're very doubtful about their commitment to solving it, though, because of our terrible experience with them. They say they will, but... I just don't trust them.

[voleuse.livejournal.com]

*gasp* Really? I have to go check out my Best Buy, now. Maybe the DVDs will be there tomorrow!

I haven't even watched the first season yet, but I couldn't stand it if I didn't get to see the second one.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and originally they weren't going to release them at all. They said S1 didn't sell well enough. So the long year in between was mostly us writing letters and begging, and then four months ago they finally said they would -- over a year after the S1s came out. That's why I'm really concerned they won't follow through and bring them out for real.

[gem225.livejournal.com]

Hurray! I'm so glad that movies_michelle bought you the DVDs and that you'll get them Friday. When I found a set in Newbury Comics in Harvard Square yesterday afternoon after going to four other stores, I gasped, grabbed them, and marched right to the counter to pay for them, babbling at the guy who rang up my purchase. Fortunately they know me there and understand that I'm harmless. *g*

Enjoy the DVDs.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I know -- and I'm definitely trying to encourage people to check out smaller retailers, too. I think clearly a lot of people have not gotten the information, so smaller places might have them, too.

Unless, of course, all the profiteers snatch them up. :-(

[elinora.livejournal.com]

Why were they recalled?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

No one knows. The only bit of info we have is a hint that it was something related to licensing (the show uses music even more heavily than Buffy, so you can kind of imagine the licensing tangle that is). But nothing definite, and now there's a big rumor that it's defective discs because store clerks are telling people that it "always means defective discs." Which, of course, panics all the dimwits who don't understand any of this stuff.

[mystic-savage.livejournal.com]

Great news! Wonderful! I don't have the car today, but will see if Kevin can slip out at work. Yippee for you! VL

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

There are a couple of online places, too, that are apparently still shipping. So... don't know what to tell you but that I will have them in my greedy hands on Sunday!

[mystic-savage.livejournal.com]

Great! And after I read your post, my brother called--well, it's in my journal. But it looks like I may get a copy too at some point. :)

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

That's great news! DVD is the perfect way to watch series television - no commercials no waiting until next week.

[alexfandra.livejournal.com]

I spotted several sets at the Northgate Mall Best Buy yesterday afternoon (Tuesday). Sorry I didn't call -- I just thought that since it was Tuesday, that they'd changed their minds and released them after all and you'd know all about it by the time I reached a phone. Good for movies_michelle! Whew!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

If you want to make some fast bucks, you should go buy them post-haste if they are still there. Someone on ebay's already got a set up to $600. This is how desperate LFN fans are for anything.