Yesterday,
November 9th, was the official street date for the BBC's releases, on DVD and high-def Blu-ray disc formats, of both
Doctor Who - The Complete 5th Series and of
Sherlock - Season 1 (in fact, both are shows currently co-produced by Steven Moffat!). As the day progressed yesterday, fans began to report (on e-mail, message board, Twitter and Facebook) that both local brick-and-mortar stores AND online e-tailer sites (both those connects with store chains and those with only an online presence, such as Amazon.com) were not showing stock of these titles. OR showing stock of the DVD version, but not the Blu-ray Disc version. Even the studio's BBC American online store seemed to be affected, first showing
Sherlock as still in a pre-order status (despite being on the title's street date), and as of this writing showing the Blu-ray version of
Sherlock on "backorder."
We mentioned around mid-day at our Facebook and Twitter feeds that we were aware of the issue, by saying this: "
We're looking into fan reports that today's BBC releases (Sherlock S1 & Doctor Who S5) may not have made it out to the stores in all formats." As the day wore into the afternoon and evening, and then into this morning, we received word from employees at a FEW various brick-and-mortar stores that they had received stock...but at the last minute (for example, one "big box" store manager told us that the DVD version of
Doctor Who had arrived a week ago, to be stored in the back room until street date, but the Blu-ray version didn't make it to their location until it was drop-shipped by express carrier yesterday afternoon!).
Today the BBC responded to our inquires with this statement: "
All Sherlock: Season One and Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series DVD and Blu-ray sets, that were ordered on time by retailers, have been delivered. A great reception for both series has lead to a larger demand for the titles. We are currently working with retailers to meet this demand in a timely manner."
As of this writing, Amazon.com shows that both the
DVD and
Blu-ray releases of
Doctor Who - The Complete 5th Series is "In Stock" (this is in the USA; Amazon.ca in Canada shows the title as out-of-stock in both formats). Other retailers in the States (both in-store and online) seem to be moving in that direction as well (if they aren't already there).
Sherlock - Season 1 seems to be moving at a slower rate, however: many stores tell us (or tell their customers, who have passed it on to us) that they are out-of-stock, or (more often) that stock wasn't received in the first place. Amazon.com shows as of this writing, for this particular title, that
the DVD version "
Usually ships in 1 to 4 weeks," and that
the Blu-ray version is expected to be "
In stock on November 14, 2010" (this coming Sunday...which seems odd, because who delivers on a Sunday?).
Hopefully this information helps our readers understand what's going on with these titles a bit more, and can help with expectations about where and how you can find a copy. If we find out anything more that's of a significant nature, we'll certainly let you know! Our thanks to everybody who has helped.
