Hey guys,
Something that always crops up when I get my yearly dose of TV series' for Christmas, is the 'DVD Cover Conundrum', something that always baffles & annoys me to my core; when the DVD Cover Design follows one design for a few season/s then just changes, looking ridiculous and out of place on my DVD shelf.(in my opinion)
One of the worst examples would be this:
So I was wondering is this just my craziness, are there other people out there who get annoyed when sizes of box don't match, DVD spines are wonky, designs change, when LOST's season numbers are above and below the cast photos, or is it just me :P
And it really can't be that difficult to get someone to make sure the box-set matches the others, I mean we are paying out a fair amount to buy the sets...
Vote, Comment, Shout, or just say how crazy I am. I need to know :P
Twitter me with Comments too HERE
Adam
This article is actually awesome. I refuse to buy a show until it has been cancelled so you get the complete box set, so there are no changes :P or I just buy it on itunes ^_^
ReplyDeleteI watched 'The Wire' online, it's the one that annoyed me the most ever. I refused with that one, however I did buy ER when that shifted as I couldn't find it online. Most small changes annoy me though too like LOST :P
ReplyDeleteThis is genius!!! I've always think about that, even when the design is the same one the color coding usually baffles me, like using the same one for two seasons. And don't even get me started with those awful Simpsons heads!!!
ReplyDeleteYou rock, I thought I was insane and alone in that one... now I know I'm only insane :D.
Don't get me started on this...! It drives me absolutely insane!
ReplyDeleteIt infuriates me!! I feel the urge to kill when this happens!
ReplyDelete...especially since my pride and joy is my box-set collection! I own all The Wire box-sets, when i purchased the 5th i was devastated as 1, 2, 3 and 4 had amazing cover art!
The Psych DVD art is pretty consistent! They look awesome :)
I rely on recordings until the complete set comes out, it's usually much cheaper to do it that way too as well as looking nicer.
ReplyDeleteIt bugs me a little bit when I'm at peoples' houses and they have a Series X season 1-4 box set then further seasons individually.
The LOST sets annoyed me... Mainly Season 3... The design hadnt changed, but the serial number was randomly blolded, and moved about a cm further up ¬¬
ReplyDeleteThat's the kind of Nit-Picking that when I do I'm like "Wow, I'm Crazy." Great to see others the same :P
ReplyDeleteAgreed. My brother bought Shameless (English Show) the First Few seasons as a boxset, then the other ones individually, It is very annoying to look at :P
ReplyDeleteThanks for supporting my insanity :P
ReplyDeletehaha. One of the 'Other' answers I've got is: "What are you even on about?"
ReplyDeleteP
I know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteIn France, they changed the DVD cover style on 24, after season 4. From season 1 to 4, we had the UK visual (split-screens and all, I love it !) and then suddently, when season 5 came out 20th Century Fox thought it would be a good idea to switch to the US version (only Jack on the cover -> I'm not a fan of that style). Luckily a big french retail chain (FNAC) delivered special limited editions of season 5 through 8 which turned out to be the boxsets with the UK visual, so these last 4 fours years I always went there to purchase these editions because I cannot stand the change, it doesn't look good on the shelves.
So no, you're not alone. I think that if you're a fan of a show, you have to care about what the DVD boxset looks like. Editors have to respect the fans and stick to a style once they used it on the 1st season. The change on the final season of The Wire is stupid, unfortunately there's no alternative. I purchased the complete series boxset though, I love that show, and having it all in one black box is better.
Now, maybe I'm not as insane as you but I don't see what's wrong with the Lost boxsets. The first two seasons are way larger than the other four (because there was one disc per case instead of two) but besides that, there's nothing wrong, the number has the same style/size/position on each season. My only complain is the big "final season" on the 6th season boxset (they could have forgotten to put that and it would have been better-looking).
LOL. It was a pretty straight forward article.
ReplyDeleteYeah that REALLLLYYYYY annoys me!!! Glad to hear I am in good company :P
ReplyDeleteWhen they change the size of the box is the one that really gets me.
ReplyDeleteBooks, DVDs...they are supposed to look like they belong together on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteAlso on rare occassions cover art is actually art. To have the lay-out changed or the artist replaced by someone who doesn't understand the underlying meaning behind the previous covers is annoying.
That said, if push comes to shove I'll look around for other versions, US vs. UK for example. But ultimately if I want the show I'll buy the dvd even with an "ill-designed" box.
Gotta be the Napster-generation. :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's aggravating. It won't stop me from buying. If it's a show I'm enough into to want DVDs, I'll still want them. But every time I look at the bookshelf it will bug me again.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone! :) I hate when they change the look of the DVDs from season to season by moving the title or switching which end the studio is on... top to bottom. I tend to buy box sets and/ or make my own custom DVD art.... occasionally I find custom art on sites too. Call me anal, but I truly enjoy looking at a shelf or 10 filled with DVDs with matching spines.... ll titles in same or similar space, all studios at the top, all DVD logos at the bottom, all cast images towards the bottom! It simply looks cleaner to me and more balanced on the shelf. Even when I like the cover I tend to make it fit my format and create a custom just so everything lines up. So..... I feel your pain, frustration and anger!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree I will buy the DVD or box set anyway despite a poorly thought out DVD cover, but I will not enjoy doing it and often time am overheard grumbling by the cashier....
ReplyDeleteThe way modern TV networks are , one is almost safer not even watching a series until it is cancelled! Then you know it will have a plot that comes to fruition in the series finale(or not) and exactly what you are in for
ReplyDeleteI never buy box sets unless the series is over. Absolutely cannot have extra individual seasons alongside a box set.
ReplyDeleteLove The Wire and find myself whistling "A Hunting We Will G" when ever Chalky appears on my screen during Boardwalk Empire episodes.... or am I the only one?
ReplyDeleteI bought 1 box set before the series was over... Monk season 1-7. But in my defense it was for my mom and I will never have to look at the box with a solo season 8 next to it.
ReplyDeleteI put "who cares." Because, honestly, who would really buy a DVD boxset to sit and watch the cover?
ReplyDeleteAnd... who in this day and age buys DVDs now anyway? We have the internet! :p
I buy DVD's as i prefer to watch stuff on a TV screen... funny that.
ReplyDeleteI buy DVDs but usually rip them to my PC to watch on my TV snce i have a HTPC hooked up to my TV and use it as a DVR/media streamer with SageTV. There are tons of free programs to stream from pc to PS3 or whatever game system that one may have too. I just find for archival purposes and ease of use. Having my entire DVD collocation Just like with iTunes or any similar music collection I can scroll thru.. see art and decide what sounds good to me. So I do not think buying DVDs and watching ripped files on TV are mutually exclusive.
ReplyDeleteDon't we all? I mean, that would be why you stream it using a PS3 or any media sharer.
ReplyDeleteOr, for movies (and for hoarding) rip them to discs as data (instead of burning), which most DVD Players can play anyway. You can fit about 5/6 movies on one DVD disc that way.
Funny that.
If it's a tv series I love, I love owning the actual DVD. Not only as a collection type thing but the quality is usually better than downloading it from the internet.
ReplyDeleteIt's more convenient too. Downloading it, usually you have to set aside space on your hard drive for it, download each episode individually and stuff.
Then there is the fact that if I love a tv series, I want to support the people who make it so I buy the dvds because that means they have more money to keep making more.
Some people like authenticity...
ReplyDeleteI'm old fashioned. I like having the actual dvd. Just as I prefer reading a "real" book instead of an e-book.
ReplyDeleteI also used to be a bit of a collector - autographs, memorabilia etc. - and dvds fit that world. I even trolled eBay for some of those one episode things that get sent out to people who vote in the Emmy's.
What bothers me is having some season of a show on DVD then having some on BluRay. But I don't want to re-purchase shows I already own just to get them on BluRay. (although I do intend to do that with Lost's first 4 seasons eventually)
ReplyDeleteI think the more seasons of a show there are, the harder it is for them to keep the boxes consistent in design. South Park has actually done a great job of staying consistent with their boxes for a show that has over ten seasons on DVD.
Rofl. Riiiight.
ReplyDelete...yeah.
ReplyDeleteI used to be the same. I used to support shows by buying the DVDs... until most of the shows I loved kept getting cancelled. So now I just don't buy into any of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd once the DVD boxset is released, it's uploaded. Quality is the same.
Sure, when you download episodes week-to-week the quality isn't as good but... it's not like it's on DVD yet anyway. I usually wait for the boxset upload and have at it.
I think the last boxset I bought was an X-Files one, which was on special, in England, when I didn't have the net. XD
Well, a book and an e-book are two different mediums, so I agree on that.
ReplyDeleteBut, for me, watching something on TV that I've bought and watching something on TV that I haven't bought are the exact same thing. Just means I have extra cash to spend on buying CDs. Oh... wait... XD
When I was younger though, I used to have a collection of about 600 DVDs. Then I got broadband and it all went out the window!