DVD-TV

As I'm reminded that the original Star Trek TV series is finally starting to come out in season sets on DVD this month (and pity on the poor sap that bought them 2 episodes at a time for $20 each on DVD or the guy who paid $15 for each episode on VHS....oh, wait that's me), I am amazed on how many TV series are coming out on DVD from Magnum P.I. to The Dukes of Hazzard to even, God help us, reality shows like The Apprentice.

Of course the reason for this is simple. It's a real cheap way for a studio to make money. Lots of it. And everyone has at least one favorite TV show that they wouldn't mind being able to have a collection of, especially in DVD quality video. Hell, there's a web site devoted to these. They make great holiday gifts as they are usually something one wouldn't buy for themselves.

There are alot of shows I wouldn't mind having on DVD to at least show my little one that, in all coolness, is becoming a SF geek like the old man. Of course my wallet doesn't allow me this luxury so I have to pick and choose what I'm gonna buy. For my teen, on the other hand, living at home allows her to spend her disposable income on all 9 seasons of The X-Files and 6 seasons (so far) of Buffy.

The criteria I have for myself on these DVD sets is based on mostly 3 things: Cost, Current Airings and a variable "Nostalgia" factor. For example, I'll buy the ST:TOS sets because, even though they are $100 each, they are not shown that often and when they are they are cut as more commercials are shown today as there were in 1967. Plus the fact that the show was a great influence in my life the "Nostalgia" factor weighs big time here. On the other hand, as much as I wouldn't mind owning the other Trek Series, especially DS9, the number of seasons (7 each), cost ($100+ each) and the fact that TNG and DS9 are shown on Spike TV almost every day and Voyager is on every weekend currently makes it not worth it. Another of my favorite shows are all the "Law and Order" series, but despite the low cost of a season set ($40), they are on all the time just about every night and thus not worth it to me. Same thing goes for some of my other faves like M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and, yes, Magnum P.I.

Shows I like that are not shown often are possibilities for me. "24" is my favorite network series right now and buying that series makes sense as Fox only never repeats episodes and they are only shown on FX once in marathon form months later, so buying a season for $45 is almost a no-brainer.

Other shows that are only on for one or two seasons but achieve huge followings are make great DVD sets because there are not enough episodes to syndicate and play to death on cable, DVD is the only way to see them. These include "Firefly" (yeah, I know, I'll see this show someday....), "Dark Angel", "V" and "Millennium".

So, like everything else, a person's taste and how fat their wallet is determines what a person buys. I'm sure there are thousands of people that shelled out $2100(!!!) for all 7 seasons of TNG, DS9 and VOY. And then there are those who bought only the first season of The Osbornes for $25 and are just as content. But the nice thing about these DVD sets is that there are now so many box sets of whatever show at various prices that they make the perfect present for the really, really hard to buy for.

Now if they only will put out "The Greatest American Hero"...........