After watching three seasons of Fox’s TV show 24 compressed into the last month I find myself answering the phone “Robson” and making mental notes of cars behind me that turn where I do. 24 stars Keifer Sutherland as a government agent bad ass with the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit or CTU. Each episode is a fast paced ride as the whole season takes place inside a 24 hour period, and as Jack Bauer says; “Events take place in real time.”
It’s hardly ideal to watch every episode of 24 or any show in such a rushed fashion. Compressing months of TV into a week seemed to illuminate similarities in the story arcs of each season and by the third I found myself making sport of looking for common elements; the traitor working for the CTU while bleeding intel to the enemy, this season’s trecherous woman in a smart business suit, and “spot the cliffhanger” as the episode approached the 50th minute. But despite its flaws I find myself addicted to the adventures of Jack Bauer like a junkie undercover agent convinced he’s researching some future investigation.
I heard 24 was good but had long missed the boat. Normally I would have moved on with life chalking it up to another TV show I ignored, but urged by co-workers and family I decided to take advantage of the recent phenomena of TV shows on DVD and try to catch up to the fourth season before it filled my PVR.
“Producers could be catching on that TV might not be there to sell you dish detergent as much as to sell you the DVD.”
TV on DVD is has become a recent phonomena whose impact reaches further than just a small group of rabid fans of an obscure title. In 2004 Merrill Lynch reports that consumer spending on TV DVDs will grow from $2.3 billion in 2004 to $3.9 billion in 2008. TV shows on DVD have become a goldmine for producers boosting potential profit margins by as much as 50 percent. This affects advertising revenues and even the lifespan of a TV show as it continues the decline in the relevance of ratings. Consider that today "Desperate Housewives" is considered a hit series attracting 20 million weekly viewers, "The Beverly Hillbillies" in the 1960s attracted 60 million viewers a week. Producers could be catching on that TV might not be there to sell you dish detergent as much as to sell you the DVD.
This years’ TV DVD success story is Fox's "Family Guy." The animated comedy was shown the axe in 2002. But Family Guy is getting another chance on the air because of sales of its DVD collections. Family Guy makes its return to Fox May 1.
Broadcasters are increasingly aware that keeping certain shows on the air despite poor ratings could translate into more DVDs. This is especially true where the show has attracted a dedicated following of fans.
Few TV shows attract fanatics like Star Trek series and UPN announced this year it has cut Star Trek: Enterprise from its lineup. Expect rescue efforts to be intense as organized by websites like SaveEnterprise.com fans have united to save the show with a organized email and letter campaigns and rally’s, with the largest at the UPN headquarters in Los Angeles dubbed the 5,000 Trekkie march.
The success of TV shows on DVD is not without hurdles and largest is the legal muck of music licensing which soils the industry. Many classic TV shows feature recognized popular music of its time, but even a fragment of a song in the background of a scene must be licensed before the DVD can be released. The legal malady of has proven fatal to a DVD release of the hit 70s TV show “WKRP in Cincinnati”. Only some episodes of Ally McBeal’s first season have been released to DVD to a fragmented collection. The only alternative to legal gridlock due to music licensing is to release incomplete sets or edit the episodes themselves as “Married…With Children” has. “Love and Marriage” by Frank Sinatra was used as the show’s theme song on TV and has been replaced on the DVDs third season. DVD collections of Quantum Leap and Northern Exposure are notable examples of popular TV shows that couldn’t overcome music licensing and have been released with replacement music.
TV shows on DVD are making an impact on home entertainment and seem to be influencing the industry in unexpected ways. Of course you don’t have to go on any multi season marathons just because a title you’ve missed is out on DVD, watching too much TV, even on DVD will start affecting your mind after awhile. Now you’ll have to excuse me while I teach my dog to sniff for explosives.
