Season 2 is delayed until July 13, 2010

[Edster2973]

It's all here folks. As I suspected, it's taking the studio a LONG time to prepare the necessary materials for Season 2 (original openings, closings, commercials, memorabilia, photos, etc.) as well as remastering the episodes. I myself am not upset about it. I'm more than willing to wait if it means the release is done right. I'm sure others will be irked however. Oh well, here's the link:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Lucy-DVDs-Delayed/12985

Also to note, Season 3 et al. is not guaranteed. Season 2 still has to do well sales-wise to warrant a release. I think the delay for Season 2 will help in that regard. Popular shows that are delayed tend to create more demand. If we suddenly were inundated with release after release, many fans would take their time in acquiring them. Now that Season 2 is 8 months away, many who would have passed on it are sure to get it. Ultimately, everything is working out in our favor.

Long live "The Lucy Show"!

Ed

[Timoth26]

I read that. I wasn't to surprised nor disappointed any. Even though Season 2 will be out almost 1 year after the first Season it's sure to just as good as the first. It would be cool to see Lucy, Viv, The Kids, and Lucy's house in color.

I guess delays are actually good. Because the longer the better.

[Robert 13]

I'm glad it is coming out. I just wish there was more of a guarantee for the October date for Season 3. I think sales will do well though. I'm doubting we will see the complete series on dvd as many fans will stop after Season 3 due to the departure of Vivian Vance. But we'll see as time progresses. If July comes and the wait wasn't justified with a stellar release, I will undoubtedly be ticked off.

[Scoobiedoo30]

Thanks for the update

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by Robert 13

I'm glad it is coming out. I just wish there was more of a guarantee for the October date for Season 3. I think sales will do well though. I'm doubting we will see the complete series on dvd as many fans will stop after Season 3 due to the departure of Vivian Vance. But we'll see as time progresses. If July comes and the wait wasn't justified with a stellar release, I will undoubtedly be ticked off.

I disagree with you about the complete series. After all, sales for "Here's Lucy" are doing well (as far as we know anyway), and Vivian Vance does come by to visit in the later seasons. I'm not saying it's a sure thing but I don't think it's guaranteed to fail though. As you say yourself, "we'll see as time progresses". I for one am planning on having the complete series one day.

Ed

[Robert 13]

Originally Posted by Edster2973

I disagree with you about the complete series. After all, sales for "Here's Lucy" are doing well (as far as we know anyway), and Vivian Vance does come by to visit in the later seasons. I'm not saying it's a sure thing but I don't think it's guaranteed to fail though. As you say yourself, "we'll see as time progresses". I for one am planning on having the complete series one day.

Ed

It's possible but it's going to be a very long time before the complete series is out on dvd. It's strange that "Here's Lucy" will be complete before "The Lucy Show" as her fans tend to like TLS more than HL. But I guess Lucie and Desi being in charge of her estate have control over "Here's Lucy". MPI will be much quicker than Paramount. Maybe some day we will see "The Lucy Show" complete. I hope I'm wrong and we do see it sooner than later.

[McGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by Edster2973

It's all here folks. As I suspected, it's taking the studio a LONG time to prepare the necessary materials for Season 2 (original openings, closings, commercials, memorabilia, photos, etc.) as well as remastering the episodes. I myself am not upset about it. I'm more than willing to wait if it means the release is done right. I'm sure others will be irked however. Oh well, here's the link:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Lucy-DVDs-Delayed/12985

Also to note, Season 3 et al. is not guaranteed. Season 2 still has to do well sales-wise to warrant a release. I think the delay for Season 2 will help in that regard. Popular shows that are delayed tend to create more demand. If we suddenly were inundated with release after release, many fans would take their time in acquiring them. Now that Season 2 is 8 months away, many who would have passed on it are sure to get it. Ultimately, everything is working out in our favor.

Long live "The Lucy Show"!

Ed

You have some pretty good insight, Ed! Earlier, I was trying to wrap my brain around CBS/Paramount still expressing reluctance to releasing Lucy, after their testimony that never before have they had so many requests for a show, and sales supposedly better than expected for Season 1. But continuing to stress that sales have to be good to warrent furthur releases, I guess must also be a ploy to create demand.

Anyway, I'm buying every release of Lucy wheather its The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy or the Lucy Specials adding to my I Love Lucy and Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by markway895

You have some pretty good insight, Ed! Earlier, I was trying to wrap my brain around CBS/Paramount still expressing reluctance to releasing Lucy, after their testimony that never before have they had so many requests for a show, and sales supposedly better than expected for Season 1. But continuing to stress that sales have to be good to warrent furthur releases, I guess must also be a ploy to create demand.

Anyway, I'm buying every release of Lucy wheather its The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy or the Lucy Specials adding to my I Love Lucy and Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour.

Thanks markway895 (how are you enjoying the DVDs you bought from me by the way?). As much as I think we fans want everything released for legacy's sake, the bottom line is that such projects cost money. I've learned that it helps to think like a business in order to predict what's coming next and why things are delayed etc. I'm not always right but I'm 90% in the ballpark most times.

As much as we all love the Lucy shows, I think if we were in the company's shoes, we'd handle things similarly. It's just a necessary evil when dealing with commerce. It's especially tricky for the companies given the economy lately. They have to gauge the difference between things that sell slowly due to the economy and things that sell slowly due to lack of interest. It's not always an easy call. I see this as their way of ensuring that the fans get what they want as well as the company ensuring they don't take a loss. In my heart of hearts, I think CBS has a true loyalty to Lucy and her catalogue and they want to do right by her. They just have to be careful in how they do it.

As I said in an earlier post, I plan to own the entire series of "The Lucy Show" someday, in addition to "Here's Lucy" and "Life With Lucy" (a show that I don't think was her greatest effort, but it's only a half season's worth of episodes and the completist in me wants everything). Time will tell.

Thanks for the kind words in any case!

Ed

[MadonnasManOne]

I'm disappointed with the delay, only because I've never seen any of the Second Season episodes of "The Lucy Show". In fact, until the Season One release, I'd never seen any episodes other than the few that were from later seasons, on television. So, while I understand that this is a business, I'm still wishing they would come sooner. I'd buy them all, right now, if they were released. Until then, I'll just keep buying the season releases of "Here's Lucy", as that is a show I'd never seen until the Season One set, and enjoying my Complete Series set of "I Love Lucy". I just pray that we have a Complete Series of "The Lucy Show"!

[Robert 13]

Originally Posted by MadonnasManOne

...So, while I understand that this is a business, I'm still wishing they would come sooner. I'd buy them all, right now, if they were released. Until then, I'll just keep buying the season releases of "Here's Lucy", as that is a show I'd never seen until the Season One set, and enjoying my Complete Series set of "I Love Lucy". I just pray that we have a Complete Series of "The Lucy Show"!

I'll be buying "Here's Lucy" too. But I probably won't run out on the day of release to get "The Lucy Show". With "Here's Lucy", I usually pre-order and sometimes forget the day it comes out and it shows up in the mail. I'll wait until I see "The Lucy Show" in stores sometime late next year and hope to pick up a copy. I, actually, prefer "Here's Lucy". It hasn't hurt that MPI wasted no time in getting Season 2 on the shelves. Rumour has it that Season 3 may be out by April. So "The Lucy Show" is on my backburner of dvd-buying for now. There are so many other things coming out in the months before this new street date, I have so many sets to work through.

[storrs19]

I wonder why it takes CBS a year between releases but MPI can shoot the next season out in less than three months? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

[Robert 13]

Originally Posted by storrs19

I wonder why it takes CBS a year between releases but MPI can shoot the next season out in less than three months? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

They didn't trust that Season 1 would sell well. If they had, we would be seeing Season 2 a lot sooner. Like I said, I think it will hurt sales for Season 2 because I've already read posts all over the net and on amazon where people are asking where they can buy Season 2. By the time next July rolls around, will Season 2 sell? Sure, probably. But would it have sold better if it was released in the next few months? Definitely.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by storrs19

I wonder why it takes CBS a year between releases but MPI can shoot the next season out in less than three months? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

It's because "The Lucy Show" is an older show and requires more restorative work, which means more money involved. This is why CBS needs more "proof" that it will sell. There is a definite demand for the show but it's often compared unfairly to its predecessor, "I Love Lucy", and doesn't play nearly as often in syndication. So it's considered a bit of a risk investment-wise. Plus, and I've said this before many times, there's also work in finding out what still survives from the show in terms of original airings, like original openings, closings, commercials, etc. This adds to the expense. In our still fragile economy, CBS has to play it safe and exercise a bit of caution before investing whole hog in a show that may not end up selling enough to justify the costs involved in putting it out in the first place.

"Here's Lucy", in contrast, is a newer show. They also were preparing for syndication more fully by then, so better care was taken with the show. Lucille Ball owned "Here's Lucy" outright as opposed to "The Lucy Show" being owned by Desilu, the company she had sold off by then. So she (and later her estate) took special care of it since it was set to be a commodity. Also, and correct me if I'm wrong if anyone knows differently, I think Columbia House video bought the rights to "Here's Lucy" and did remastering on the show itself. So the cost involved on MPI's end is not nearly as huge as it is on CBS's. Even if "Here's Lucy" doesn't sell nearly as well as the "The Lucy Show", MPI will still see an easy profit since not much money was invested in the restorative process, at least not as much when compared with "The Lucy Show".

Does this make more sense to you now?

Ed

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by storrs19

I wonder why it takes CBS a year between releases but MPI can shoot the next season out in less than three months? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

It's simple: CBS is starting from scratch restoring The Lucy Show. Restoration is a time-consuming process. At the time season one was released, those were the ONLY episodes of the entire series that had been restored. The entire Here's Lucy series, on the other hand, has already been restored and any given season (except for the extras) can hit the shelves practically at the drop of a hat. HL was restored several years ago for syndication purposes and also because there had been plans to have Shout! Factory do the season releases. But, as we all know, that business relationship disintegrated and so an almost-ready-to-release product was turned over to MPI for release. MPI has a far simpler task to do than CBS.

[Edster2973]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

It's simple: CBS is starting from scratch restoring The Lucy Show. Restoration is a time-consuming process. At the time season one was released, those were the ONLY episodes of the entire series that had been restored. The entire Here's Lucy series, on the other hand, has already been restored and any given season (except for the extras) can hit the shelves practically at the drop of a hat. HL was restored several years ago for syndication purposes and also because there had been plans to have Shout! Factory do the season releases. But, as we all know, that business relationship disintegrated and so an almost-ready-to-release product was turned over to MPI for release. MPI has a far simpler task to do than CBS.

Ahhh... someone else who gets it. Thanks for chiming in. Nice to see I'm not alone!


Ed