Summary of "The Complete Series - Botched release of cult favorite": Universal is the only company I know of that can both excite and upset fans by releasing a show on DVD. Universal isn't known for putting bonus material on their sets, so a commentary track by Shaun Cassidy and David Eick is almost unheard of, and it impressed me. I think they did a nice job on the packaging; the foil and embossing are a nice touch. However, and you knew this was coming, they really, truly fucked this set up.
CBS aired the show out of order, and it made no sense if you watched it week to week. Anyone that watched the show could tell you this because it was so obvious, and confusing for the viewer. If you've never seen this show before then the following information contains spoilers and should be ignored. [Spoilers]: Dr. Crower left the show in "Doctor Death Takes a Holiday" after attempting to kill Sheriff Buck, so how the hell does he appear in the next episode?[/Spoilers] The answer: this wasn't the intended order of the episodes! Anyone can spend 15 minutes searching Google to find the correct episode order (check this site: http://www.garycole.net/tv/ag/epguide.html), and almost any fan site mentions the episodes aired out of order. Possibly the best resource is Shaun Cassidy, the creator/executive producer of the show. Sometimes though people can be difficult to track down, unless you already have them booked to a commentary track. Cassidy even talks about the series wrapping up in the last two episodes, but those aren't the last two episodes on the DVD set. Here's the proper order to watch the episodes, including the disc number, side and episode number on the disc, with spaces between disc swaps:
Pilot (Disc 1, Side A, Episode 1)
A Tree Grows in Trinity (Disc 1, Side A, Episode 2)
Eye of the Beholder (Disc 1, Side A, Episode 3)
Damned If You Don't (Disc 1, Side B, Episode 1)
Potato Boy (Disc 3, Side A, Episode 4)
Dead to the World (Disc 1, Side B, Episode 2)
Meet the Beetles (Disc 1, Side B, Episode 3)
Strong Arm of the Law (Disc 1, Side B, Episode 4)
To Hell and Back (Disc 2, Side B, Episode 3)
The Beast Within (Disc 2, Side B, Episode 2)
Rebirth (Disc 2, Side A, Episode 1)
Ring of Fire (Disc 3, Side B, Episode 1)
Resurrector (Disc 2, Side A, Episode 2)
Inhumanitas (Disc 2, Side A, Episode 3)
The Plague Sower (Disc 2, Side A, Episode 4)
Doctor Death Takes a Holiday (Disc 2, Side B, Episode 1)
Learning to Crawl (Disc 2, Side B, Episode 4)
Echo of Your Last Goodbye (Disc 3, Side B, Episode 2)
Strangler (Disc 3, Side B, Episode 3)
Triangle (Disc 3, Side A, Episode 1)
The Buck Stops Here (Disc 3, Side A, Episode 2)
Requiem (Disc 3, Side A, Episode 3)
You'll have to jump between the discs a bunch, but you have to do it if you want the show to flow properly.
Universal's flawed DVD-18s will add to the headaches of consumers when the disc starts to skip around. Hey, maybe you'll get lucky and get a "good" set (it's sad that you have to hope your disc will play, isn't it?).
Universal could easily turn their releases around. Step 1) Ditch the DVD-18s. Consumers complain about them because they don't contain artwork and can easily scratch, but the biggest problem is that they're failing, and that's unacceptable. Step 2) Since you've ditched the DVD-18s, just switch to the double-slim cases that Fox uses and your sets will take up the same amount of shelf space as they do now. Step 3) Contact some fans of a show; it's amazing what they'll be able to tell you! You could have put the episodes in the proper order and improved the release of the set. Three easy steps and the releases would be drastically improved.
I really hate writing reviews like this. I hope the studio can take this as constructive criticism, and not look at it as whining. Had this release been on DVD-9s and in the proper order then I would be writing about how I was impressed they included a commentary for the pilot. I really, really want to help Universal turn their releases around. I think they have some great product that is overshadowed by recurring production issues. (read entire review)
Universal has just made large art, and a couple of menus, available for us to post to the site. You can see there are a lot of deleted scenes; over 45 mins! (read entire news item)
8/10/2005
Cult Favorite Officially Announced - With Small Art **Updated**
Our retail friends came through for us again; American Gothic has been announced for October 25. The three disc set will contain all 22 episodes of the show (1002 mins), including 4 which didn't air during... (read entire news item)
7/19/2005
Cult Favorite Coming This October
Reader Christine Berni, the woman responsible for the American Gothic DVD petition, wrote in with some good news from Comicon. Shaun Cassidy (creator/executive producer) told attendees to his panel that... (read entire news item)
