"Dark Skies" May Not Get DVD Release...

[Big Orange]

Fuck Sony Entertainment and fuck the fucking Recording Industry Association of fucking America!

From Bryce Zabel's home site:

The Crow Flies and the Skies Darken
Just returned this week from the San Diego Comic-Con where Mark Dacascos and I had a signing session for the new 5-DVD set of "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven." It would be more accurate to say that Mark had a signing session and I sat with him but he's such pleasant company and a good friend so who's complaining?

I just listened to our audio commentary on the DVD set last night and really thought it came out great (although I must train myself to never say "you know" again).

There are plenty of goodies for Crow fans on this beautifully mastered set released by Arts Alliance in association with TV Guide. One favorite is the show gag reel produced when we were going out of production for our wrap party and needed to laugh because it beat crying. The DVD set also has some show dailies and other extras like the pilot script.

Now for the sad part...

At the same time as the "The Crow" was making such a splash, however, I returned from Comic-Con to find out that the powers-that-be at the DVD division at SONY -- which had told me and confirmed to me several times that the "Dark Skies" DVD set was coming out in October -- have apparently changed their minds. The e-mail I received simply said: "There are no plans at this time to release. The music costs to clear for home entertainment made this very expensive to consider."

To all of you "Dark Skies" fans who took my word that it was coming out and are now disappointed, all I can say is that I stand at the head of that line. But when the people in charge send you e-mails that confirm specific release dates, that's usually good enough to talk about. I am as let down as you are. Probably more so.

What's funny about this is that in my very first communication with SONY about this, I anticipated the problem and offered to work with the "Dark Skies" music supervisor to identify expensive music and to find substitute tracks. We would have done that gladly. No one even responded to the offer so I assumed they had things well in hand.

Still, one for two ain't bad... I'll let you know if things change (although I will be much more skeptical)... for what it's worth...

And I was so bloody looking forward to a Region 2 release of Dark Skies, a great sci-fi thriller series that had (the still hot mind) Jeri Ryan in her prime! But noooo, those greedy shit-sticks from the RIAA had to step in at almost the last moment to pull the plug on the Region 1 release, compromising a Region 2 release by extension and all because of some fucking music from the 1960s that is heard fucking everywhere!

No wonder the RIAA are universally reviled and they're apparently crippling the entertainment industry by denying everybody the right watch old TV shows on DVD due to their extortionate and absurd demands for music royalties. I heard the RIAA are also holding back too many other TV shows from widespread DVD release - shows such as Ally McBeal, Spaced, Life on Mars, Two and a Half Men, The Practice, Doctor Who and Quantum Leap are widely available on Region 2 in the UK, yet I haven't heard of them getting legitimate DVD releases in North America. However there is still a chance that Dark Skies would see a Region 2 release with a Region 1 release withheld in the US. And Dark Skies was more of a hit on Channel 4 than on NBC anyway (although I would be cautious in holding my breath).

But bear in mind the RIAA are even pathological enough to attempt to block a fly on a wall documentary, because the camera crew were filming in a canteen with some unlicensed music playing in the background! So I realise what sort of fucking idiots the American public are dealing with.

And it was fucking callous of Sony Entertainment to build up the hopes of sci-fi fans of releasing a popular cult series, then suddenly pulling it for no good reason, other than being fucking cheap. And it is not as if Dark Skies would be a commercially unsuccessful DVD - Eric Close and Jeri Ryan are both still popular TV stars with millions of fans, so Sony has cut off a lot of potential revenue to please some sleazy music agents who are far too pinheaded to realise that a DVD with some 1960s music on it would be good promotion.

Ah well, at least Dark Skies could be repeated again on ITV 4 and I could also give Sony and the RIAA the proverbial finger by downloading Dark Skies from the Internet or somehow get hold of a pirate DVD (the two companies have done a Tarkin - the tighter they'e holding on, the more unlicensed music and TV shows slip through their fingers).

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I heard the RIAA are also holding back too many other TV shows from widespread DVD release - shows such as Ally McBeal, Spaced, Life on Mars, Two and a Half Men, The Practice, Doctor Who and Quantum Leap are widely available on Region 2 in the UK, yet I haven't heard of them getting legitimate DVD releases in North America.

Two and a Half Men has a first season set coming out in September.

The Practice just had Volume One released back in June.

Doctor Who: the original series gets regular individual serial releases just like in the UK, with "Robot" and "Survival" coming out next week, while Series Three of the new show will be released in November.

Quantum Leap had all five seasons released between 2004 and 2006.

Concerning Spaced and Life on Mars, both shows have had a pretty limited and narrow broadcast on US cable (only the first series of LoM was shown on BBC America, for example) so it could be just be a perceived lack of a profitable audience. Plus LoM only concluded its run this April, so for that show it might just be simply a matter of time.

I don't know about Ally McBeal, as it seems there's been literally no talk about the series for about six years. It could be music licensing issues, but if it was surely there would have been some word about it by now.

[Jade Falcon]

As I mentioned to Big Orange on Spacebattles, it seems to happen with quite a few shows.

Tour of Duty released in the US has all of the 60's music, including the popular Paint it Black song that was used in Seasons 2 and 3 stripped from it and replaced by 'generic' music. Later seasons of Married with Children have the Sinatra opening tune removed.

[Big Orange]

Two and a Half Men has a first season set coming out in September.

A notably longer time after the Region 2 release in the UK, even though T&HM was shown in the states first.

Doctor Who: the original series gets regular individual serial releases just like in the UK, with "Robot" and "Survival" coming out next week, while Series Three of the new show will be released in November.

What are the cases and extras like for Doctor Who in Region 1?

Quantum Leap had all five seasons released between 2004 and 2006.

Ah, but I read up on Quantum Leap that much of it's musical content was changed or edited out for the Region 1 release (also Bryce Zabel suggested that should've been done for the possible release of Dark Skies and that would very likely happen if Sony wants to push through with it's release).

Concerning Spaced and Life on Mars, both shows have had a pretty limited and narrow broadcast on US cable (only the first series of LoM was shown on BBC America, for example) so it could be just be a perceived lack of a profitable audience. Plus LoM only concluded its run this April, so for that show it might just be simply a matter of time.

Boston Legal is seen by about ten people on a UK cabel channel, I haven't heard about The 4400 or FireFly given a wide TV broadcast, yet the box sets of these niche' TV shows are relatively widely available on Region 2 DVD. But I do know that Space: Above and Beyond was only released on Region 1....

I don't know about Ally McBeal, as it seems there's been literally no talk about the series for about six years. It could be music licensing issues, but if it was surely there would have been some word about it by now.

It is well known that most DEKs shows are held back by the irritaiting music lincensing in America. Ally McBeal has been available for many years on VHS and DVD in the Uk.

[andrewgpaul]

Compare Genesis of the Daleks:

Region 1.

Region 2

I'm still waiting for Homicide: Life On The Street to come out in Region 2, and I think I'll be waiting a long while Bought the S1/2 Region 1 box set, which turned out to be region 0. I emailed the distributors of the series to ask if the other seasons were the same, only to be told "We don't sell these discs outside the US". Well that's lovely, but it wasn't what I asked.

[Vertigo1]

Doctor Who Season 1

Doctor Who Season 2

That answer your question?

As for Tour of Duty, the theme song is edited in the re-broadcast versions as well.

[Jade Falcon]

Just asking Vertigo, are you absolutely sure, because Wiki's entry on Tour of Duty says that Paint it Black didn't appear as the opening theme till season 2.

However, it wouldn't surprise me.

[Big Orange]

Compare Genesis of the Daleks:

Region 1.

Region 2

I'm still waiting for Homicide: Life On The Street to come out in Region 2, and I think I'll be waiting a long while Bought the S1/2 Region 1 box set, which turned out to be region 0. I emailed the distributors of the series to ask if the other seasons were the same, only to be told "We don't sell these discs outside the US". Well that's lovely, but it wasn't what I asked.

I far prefer the Region 2 DVD covers of "old skool" Doctor Who, with the TARDIS' 1960s roundels, but the Region 1 DVD covers of the last two recent Doctor Who seasons look remarkably similar to the Region 2 versions. The confusion over the supplying of Region 1 and 2 DVDs seems ironic, since the Regions were supposedly introduced to discourage DVD piracy (but it seemingly never works).

The RIAA's lousy exploits must also typically backfire, by losing millions over useless legal battles and turning away millions of Americans from buying their approved music goods through their selfish conduct, exacerbating music/DVD piracy instead of preventing it (the RIAA could've avoided trouble by bending a little to small transgressions, but they've made themselves too rigid and are snapping).

[Jade Falcon]

Big Orange, if you're referring to the new blue covers on the DVD's of the classics stories, they are the same content. The blue cover Dr Who discs are just a cardboard sleeve over the old packaging, so if you prefer the old style you don't have to keep it.

[Big Orange]

I recently saw the cover of Doctor Who: The Ill Fated 1996 Movie and now comes with a cardboard envelope - I generally think the BBC treats it's TV shows much better than American studios and publishes many older or relatively obscure series.

I also think that Britain seems to be the better place to get DVDs and the publishing of old TV series on DVD is not so restricted by music licensing as it is in America. In my mind music licensing in America seems really convoluted and oddly anachronistic - really, the RIAA, copyright lawyers and the record companies themselves are all like stumbling dinosaurs nowadays (they wouldn't have been a problem two decades ago, but in the days of the Internet, video games, DVDs and MP3s they are beginning to get ridiculous).

And it seems quite embarrassing that even a current, popular cop series like Cold Case hasn't seen any DVD release yet and that music on NCIS has been given the snip for it's own box sets...