I wish SAAB would come out on DVD

[voidprime]

Well, it looks like Best Buy will have the DVD set for a an exclusive period of time later this summer. I hate these exclusive sale periods for DVDs at Best Buy (I don't have a Best Buy in my area).

[The Old Man]

Space: Above and Beyond - The rumors are over!

Posted by Gord Lacey

6/12/2005

You've heard the rumors that Space: Above and Beyond will be coming to DVD, and... well... it's not here. Good news though; it is coming, and it's coming very soon - this summer.

More information at TVShowsonDVD.com

[voidprime]

TV Shows on DVD reported last week that Best Buy may be releasing SAAB in October (sorry, I don't have the link to the news item handy).

[Guest 19:19]

thats sweet, keep us informed

[Gunslinger]

<font color='#000000'>I love this show.   There is still a fan base around teh show, but I wonder why there aren't any SAAB DVDs yet (other than the bootleg DVDs).    I wish FOX or some other compnay like ADV (or Anchor Bay) would get this show out on dVD ASAP.

Be Seeing You,

David Blackwell</font>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i loved that show!! i cant remember the episode where the colonel from another squadron takes over the fifty eight?? was that their unit number? cant remember for sure, anyway, he takes them to some distant planet to retrieve some hammerhead fighters then on the way back to base they get jumped by chigs and the colonel ends up getting sucked into a black hole while listening to johnny cash, "i walk the line", very dark episode, cool show, man, i hadnt thought about that show in a while, thanks

[Libby]

There's a thread about this over on alt.tv.x-files. Apparently the good news is that the release date has been moved to 6 September.

But apparently the bad news is that there won't be any extras. The whole story can be read (rather surprisingly) in a Firefly forum - the link is:

https://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=10737

Rather than summarise, here's an extract from someone who appears to be pretty well informed:

--------------

In October 2005, Fox Home Entertainment and Best Buy will team together for an exclusive release of the cult TV series "Space: Above and Beyond" on DVD. They will likely herald it as a 10th anniversary of its original airing, and pronounce its release at long last, after many a request for its release by its fans. Look closer and you will discover that this is a bare bones release that is being dumped out with little thought. The lack of participation on the upcoming release by the creators, crew and cast is not for lack of trying. After discovering the release of a bare-bones "Space: Above and Beyond" DVD set on a DVD-rumours website of all things, Hard Eight Pictures (production company of Glen Morgan and Jim Wong, the creators and show-runners of the series) tried to connect with Fox's home entertainment department to find out what happened, seeing as they had pitched the idea of putting together a great set for the fans several months earlier that was met with encouragement.

Glen Morgan and Jim Wong were not interested in slapping on a couple of last minute audio commentaries -- they wanted to do it right and had an active hand, as many filmmakers are beginning to do with the advent of DVD. Plans to round up the entire cast and creative team for a retrospective documentary, original shorts, at least 6 actor/episode-specific commentaries were in place, old directors cuts and effects tests were pulled out of attics for archival purposes (everything was saved !). Morgan and Wong are very proud of their work on this series, appreciated the fans of the show and even offered to finance the special features themselves. After inquiries about delaying this surprise Best Buy release, so that they could be involved, the marketing department claimed that they did not see this show as viable enough to warrant a 7th disc of special features. And so, despite Hard Eight's best efforts, Fox has chosen not to involve anyone who had anything to do with the series with this upcoming DVD release.

------------------

You can read more on the Firefly forum.

Although none of this would bother me too much as I never got into S:AAB, I do feel angry on behalf of S:AAB fans. After all, like a lot of people, I buy DVD sets not just for the episodes but also for the extras. M&W's plans might have been a bit over the top - but something could have been worked out so that Fox didn't spend too much money on the extras, but with enough to make fans happy, and maybe even sell the sets to people who hadn't watched the show (me, for instance).

It looks like Fox's marketing team still don't understand what their prospective customers actually want.

[Guest WaveCrest]

I had wondered if the Region 1 Space: Above and Beyond DVD set was barebones or not.

[ethsnafu]

I have the Region One DVD release Richard and it certainly is a barebones release. No extras to speak of at all. Fox commissioned this on the cheap and the price reflects that lack of additional content. I would like to see a re-release of this in future and hopefully some additional content will be considered. If you haven't seen it it is well worth checking out.

Eth