| I am one of those fortunate souls with a digital cable setup, which gives me access to the Movie Central premium film channels. One of the big selling points of these stations is they run the newest episodes of acclaimed HBO dramatic series like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rome and Deadwood. That last title is a series I have really been enjoying lately – but not on my cable box, on DVD.
I have now rented and viewed all 12 first-season episodes of Deadwood, an amazingly well-crafted Wild West drama. Besides compelling storylines and characters, the series also features much nudity, graphic violence and rampant use of the word "cocksucker," making it pretty much a perfect show. Go Deadwood!
Now why would I pay to rent a series that I could watch on my existing cable package? Well, for the same reason that many other people choose to watch Lost or Desperate Housewives on disc instead of on ABC and CTV, networks available to almost everyone.
The DVDs allow you to watch a series at your own pace and ensure that you will never miss a crucial plot-building instalment. In the case of hugely popular, long-running programs like The Simpsons, Friends and Seinfeld, the DVDs allow fans to see every second of each episode instead of the trimmed down syndicated versions available on many TV stations.
Then, of course, there are those bonus features so integral to the success of DVD releases. With the Deadwood Season One package, I greatly enjoyed documentary features that spelled out how the show is a lot more grounded in reality than I initially thought.
There has been an absolute explosion in the number of TV series available on DVD in recent years. Even such non-classics as MacGyver and Knight Rider are now available for those deluded enough to want them.
Jonathan Gross is the president of VSC (Video Service Corporation), a Canadian home-video distributor that handles many comedy and sports properties. Its TV-on-DVD titles include CTV mega-hit Corner Gas, former NBC sci-fi comedy series ALF and the twisted Canadian Comedy Network show Puppets Who Kill. The current DVD boom is no surprise to Gross.
"For people who are attached to certain shows, it’s a much more emotional attachment than what you get with film," he observes. "TV is often a shared experience. You can watch a show with your family and grow up with it. You watch that show again (years later) and it can take your mind back to better and earlier times."
As much as small-screen offerings are currently doing well on DVD, Gross can see the approaching day when "that balloon is going to burst because there’s too much on the shelf." Shortly after award-winning, critically praised shows like The Sopranos started to do big business on disc, it seemed like there was the sudden notion that every TV show, no matter how good or bad, was worth the DVD treatment.
Determined to keep VSC viable as a boutique company, Gross has had to say no to some less-than-enticing TV product. "We were offered Kate and Allie and Gimme a Break," says Gross, pausing for effect. "I’m not going to get rich on those." (For the legions of viewers who don’t know, Kate and Allie, starring Susan St. James and Jane Curtin, and Gimme a Break, with the late African-American actor Nell Carter, are a pair of tepid 1980s sitcoms.)
While an anticipated dip in sales may cause a more stringent screening of titles, right now the floodgates are open. You love marionettes flying rocket ships? Good news. The original Thunderbirds series is on DVD. You like seeing a blinged-up hipster from England conducting bizarre and hilarious interviews with government officials and celebrities? Great news! Da Ali G Show is on DVD. You get a kick out of seeing David Hasselhoff on Knight Rider bantering with his talking car? Not so great news. You need many hours of intensive therapy.
Next week: some cool TV stuff on DVD. |
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