Comments on: Ridiculous Prices on Lost at Amazon

By: Thom

Thom — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:04:54 +0000

True, but flash in the pans usually flame out pretty quickly. Heroes has been a punching bag since season two. Lost’s biggest dip was season three, and it picks up half way through. Four and five are seen as high points. Buffy has, technically a worse track record with fans (I would say the two standout seasons of Buffy are seasons 2 & 3, but almost all the other seasons-especially six and seven-are at best…mixed). There is a chance that season six will go tragically off course, I suppose…but I have found that shows where there is a goal often are more satisfying than those that wander around season after season. Which gives favor to the idea that the final season will be…good. :)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:57:48 +0000

I think one of the biggest factors in determining whether Lost becomes a perennial (like Buffy) or a flash in the pan (like Heroes) is how satisfied viewers are with the wrapup. Which we won’t know until next year. So let’s wait and see.

By: Thom

Thom — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:42:16 +0000

The thing is…people are still buying Buffy and Angel sets… I know a lot of people who are years behind on some series… and Lost is one of those shows I suspect will be remembered for quite a time to come. I dn’t doubt the prices will drop -Buffy seasons are like $20-$25 now-a-days. But that doesn’t require Amazon to dump the current stock to be ready for cheaper versions. :)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:13:04 +0000

Ralf, you’re right, that’s another option. Personally, I like owning discs — I can watch without an internet connection or loan them out or travel with them — but the storage space has become quite the problem. And I do wonder when we’ll ever again watch the seven seasons of Buffy or five seasons of Gilmore Girls… but it’s nice knowing if I want to, I can.

By: Richard J. Marcej

Richard J. Marcej — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:40:06 +0000

I think this is a way for Amazon to clear out a bunch of single season DVD sets knowing that after Season 6 there’ll probably be a deluxe Lost complete set, featuring all 6 seasons in a unique package.

By: Ralf Haring

Ralf Haring — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:29:20 +0000

Or pay as low as $9 a month on netflix and stream them all free.

I’m sure tv-on-dvd sales longevity is just like anything else. A very small percentage will be perennials while most will just fade away. I would expect more compact shows like miniseries or HBO shows to be more enticing. It seems more likely that someone would sit down and watch ten episodes of Band of Brothers again than 10 seasons of some show with 22 episodes each. That’s a lot of hours!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:09:15 +0000

I dunno… I suspect sales will drop drastically once there’s no longer an advertisement for show running weekly. :) Seriously, with new series all the time, do lots of people really go back and buy previous shows after they end, when nostalgia’s not involved? (That is, when only a few years have gone by instead of decades.)

Depending on how satisfying the end is, I guess there will be an opening for a Complete Series box set.

By: Thom

Thom — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:56:47 +0000

I don’t think it’s an attempt to get rid of them now…they always have sales on the prior seasons before the beginning of the next. It’s not like the final season means noone will ever buy the series on DVD again. :)