Monday, June 27, 2005

Poll Results - What Sort Of TV Shows Do You Buy On DVD?

I know that's not exactly the poll question but that was the intent. Thirteen voters this week, and I wasn't one of them.

In first place with 5 votes (38%) is "Shows from when you were young." That's not really surprising - nostalgia is a considerable force in our lives and shows from when we were kids are almost like comfort food, bringing back good memories.

In second place is the miswritten "Why would I buy TV shows on TV?" - which of course was meant to read DVD - with 3 votes (23%). That actually was what caused me to come up with this poll - someone commented in response to one of my early TV on DVD columns "I hate reruns. Why would I buy TV shows on DVD?" I was trying to provide some answers.

There was a tie for third between current series, and miniseries with 2 votes each (15%). I get miniseries - there are maybe a half dozen that I would buy if I could afford them or if they were available on DVD. Current series is a bit more of a mystery. I suppose the motivation is that it's a series you really like and this way you get it full length, with commentaries and special features and without commercials.

In fifth place, with 1 vote (7%) is a sort of catchall category - "Shows that you haven't seen." What I was aiming at was shows from another country or shows on sources which, for whatever reason, you don't get on your TV. For me an example might be Deadwood or Dead Like Me which are or were on a premium movie service that I don't subscribe to. Of course there isn't enough room in the poll to explain that.

Bringing up the end is Children's Shows. No one voted for that category, which in all honesty is a massive surprise to me. I don't have kids but a large part of my brother's DVD collection is made up of Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs for my 2 year old nephew (who only really wants to see the disc where Cranky the Crane falls down - I've pretty much got that one memorized).

What's in my collection? Well not much. The price of boxed sets is a consideration but there are a lot of movies I want to own as well. I have the pilot and second episode of Smallville which was put out in Canada soon after the show debuted and wasn't offered for sale in the U.S. I also have the Brentwood DVD of 20 episodes of Dragnet from the 1950s, and I nearly bought a cheap set of Public Domain comedies from the 1950s including some early Jack Benny Programs. I'd like to get Band Of Brothers or From The Earth To The Moon if I can ever get a good price on either but right now what I'm really interested in is getting Firefly before the movie Serenity is released. So I guess you could put me between Shows from when I was young and current series. Of course with my luck my next purchase will probably be another Thomas set for my nephew.

New poll later today. I may revisit this topic later but for now I'm looking at something different.

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