Recently Time Life announced that they would be releasing the complete Real Ghostbusters Cartoon on DVD sometime this fall (including the later re-named version Slimer and the Real Ghostbusters.) On the one hand it’s pretty cool that all 140 odd episodes of the show are finally coming out on DVD (instead of those annoying 4-episode discs that came out a couple years ago), but on the other, the set being released is sort of a behemoth, the type of DVD release that could very easily hit shelves with an astronomical MSRP, not get purchased, and then find it’s way quickly to out-of-print DVD hell.
Personally I’m not a fan of complete series sets, unless of course the show in question only lasted a couple seasons. Typically they’re released after all of the individual seasons have come out and for folks like me that pick them up bit by bit, the complete set is pointless. What’s worse is that these sometimes come with the best special features (as in the case of Seinfeld which came with a nice coffee table book put together by Jerry and the producers of the show which is only available with the complete set.) Also, there’s that whole pesky price issue. Who wants to drop over a hundred dollars on a set of DVDs, no matter how much material is on them? It took me forever and a day to convince myself that it was worth dropping $80 on the complete Monty Python set (a show that I adore), and that was after it had been out for years and the price slashed in half. I don’t mind paying this much in the long run, it’s just the all-at-once deal that really gets on my nerves…
Getting back to the Real Ghostbusters, I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of having to choose between either three 4-episode discs that would run around $15 total, or a 25-disc set that will probably cost in the neighborhood of $130. Since when is targeting only the uber and extremely casual fans a good business plan? Anyway, that’s quite enough griping from me.
**Update** Well, apparently I was being way to conservative with my $130 estimate on the complete series. TVshowsonDVD.com just updated with the release date, price and extras on this set and it’s going to clock in at an ungodly $179! Again, I ask, who has 2 bills to drop on an 80s cartoon series all at once? Oh, and you have to purchase it thorough Time Life much the way they held the Muppets hostage for so many years. Ug. This coveted, yet overpriced, set drops on November 15th…
The reason for this post is to point to a news story on TVshowsonDVD.com, which give fans the opportunity to vote on possible cover artwork for the complete series set. There are two possible choices, both of which will probably feature some sort of lenticular motion action scenes on the outer slipcase. Personally my favorite of the two is the simpler art featuring the gang against a flat black background with a lenticular slime effect at the top of the box…
The other choice features the trademarked home base of the Ghostbusters, the renovated fire station (which is going to feature lenticular motion action in the windows as well as having the Ecto-1 pulling out of the garage.) I think it’s just a bit wonky, I don’t know…
Anyway, you can head on over to TVshowsonDVD.com and vote for your favorite…
