I, like many others, have been annoyed by current trend of "split seasons" for many genre shows. It seemed to start (although I could very well be wrong about this) with SciFi/Syfy with Farscape and the Stargate franchise. But wherever and whenever it started, it spread. Not only has this type of schedule become the norm of SyFy (Stargate Universe, Battlstar Galactica), it's spread to network television (Flash Forward, Glee, V).
The mid-season hiatus is annoying. I don't think anyone here would argue that point. But I never really understood where the networks were coming from with this plan. I'd think you stand more a chance to lose viewers if you make them wait four months for new content. And in general, people don't do things in the winter months. Sportsfans only have football and hockey. In the spring, people get busy again. They go out, they make plans, etc. There's basketball and baseball, both of which have a lot more games in their seasons than the winter sports. So, the general viewing public would have more conflicts with a show's airing scheduling in March and April, than they would in January and February, right? That's why I don't really get it. And I can't be the only one wondering what to do after Jeopardy ends because nothing is on TV - except Law & Order, of course.
Aside: If anyone knows what the networks' real reasoning behind this type of scheduling in, please let me know. I'll insert it here. I just can't figure it out, and I really would love to know. It could make good business sense for other reasons, I suppose.
But it is what it is, so... fine, whatever. We deal with it. We Hulu, and TiVo, and DVR, and whatever else, so that we can have lives and be geeks. I bet someone, somewhere, is still setting a timer on a VCR.
However, there's a new layer to this that really disturbs me. By new, I means that it's something that I hadn't really noticed before now. That phenomenon? Half-season DVD releases. I first saw this when I was trying to add Battlestar Galactica to my Netflix queue. I didn't really understand how the seasons were numbered and what was going on. Jen explained it to me (thank you, Jen!). I thought this would be something isolated, BSG-specific, because the seasons were so strange, and the hiatuses weren't on any regular or schedule, etc, etc.
And then, today, I was trying to figure out when we'd see new episodes of Stargate Universe this spring, and wound up on the SGU page on SyFy.com. There, I saw an ad informing me at Season 1.0 was being released to DVD next week... before the full season has even finished airing! And the MSRP? $49.98. For 10 episodes. What!? Does that mean that fans are expected to pay nearly $100 for a full season of Stargate Universe? This was only the second time I've seen DVDs released this way - maybe it's more common that I think - but it shouldn't be. Because that's insane. Insane! And it makes me feel like the trend in split-season scheduling is really just a ploy to get us to spend twice the money for the same content.
Let's be honest - in general (yes, that's always a dangerous phrase), sci-fi and fantasy fans tend to be smarter than average, and pretty well-educated. That leads to gainful employment, and disposable income. If SyFy continues to release television seasons in this manner, it seems to me that they're just taking advantage of their fan base and they money that said fans have to spend. Greedy.
I don't know why I'm so worked up about this. But, I don't think that I'm overreacting. If the plan really is to get $100 per 20 episodes, I know I'm not overreacting.
Sue
Anomaly Staff Writer
Subscribe to Anomaly via iTunes
But it is what it is, so... fine, whatever. We deal with it. We Hulu, and TiVo, and DVR, and whatever else, so that we can have lives and be geeks. I bet someone, somewhere, is still setting a timer on a VCR.
However, there's a new layer to this that really disturbs me. By new, I means that it's something that I hadn't really noticed before now. That phenomenon? Half-season DVD releases. I first saw this when I was trying to add Battlestar Galactica to my Netflix queue. I didn't really understand how the seasons were numbered and what was going on. Jen explained it to me (thank you, Jen!). I thought this would be something isolated, BSG-specific, because the seasons were so strange, and the hiatuses weren't on any regular or schedule, etc, etc.
And then, today, I was trying to figure out when we'd see new episodes of Stargate Universe this spring, and wound up on the SGU page on SyFy.com. There, I saw an ad informing me at Season 1.0 was being released to DVD next week... before the full season has even finished airing! And the MSRP? $49.98. For 10 episodes. What!? Does that mean that fans are expected to pay nearly $100 for a full season of Stargate Universe? This was only the second time I've seen DVDs released this way - maybe it's more common that I think - but it shouldn't be. Because that's insane. Insane! And it makes me feel like the trend in split-season scheduling is really just a ploy to get us to spend twice the money for the same content.
Let's be honest - in general (yes, that's always a dangerous phrase), sci-fi and fantasy fans tend to be smarter than average, and pretty well-educated. That leads to gainful employment, and disposable income. If SyFy continues to release television seasons in this manner, it seems to me that they're just taking advantage of their fan base and they money that said fans have to spend. Greedy.
I don't know why I'm so worked up about this. But, I don't think that I'm overreacting. If the plan really is to get $100 per 20 episodes, I know I'm not overreacting.
Sue
Anomaly Staff Writer
Subscribe to Anomaly via iTunes
Portable Music: The Sony Walkman TPS-L2 first went on sale to the public in Japan on July 1, 1979. The Discman D-50 came along 5 years later in 1984 (CD players in general were released to the public two years prior), but ESP - electronic skip protection - wasn't introduced until 1993, nine years later! The minidisc hit the market in 1992. I have a few friends that used them, and still do, for intricate audio mixing, but they didn't seem to really catch on in terms of general use, at least in my experience. And then, in 2001, the 5G iPod was unveiled. Today, iPods come with up to 160G of storage space, touch screens, the ability to run applications and play video, take photos... the newest Nano even shoots video. And if you have an iPhone, well....
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And, finally, computers & the internet: The Commodore
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