Saturday, December 22, 2012

St. Elsewhere Seasons Two Through Six on DVD?

I received this comment from a fan named Marc Goldberg:
It's been asked a million times before: when will this fantastic series get
on DVD beginning with Season 2?
Sadly, my answer is: don't hold your breath. This article by Edward Copeland, "20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Release Your DVDs!", which accompanied the awesome three-part 30th anniversary retrospective at PressPlay, explains why St. Elsewhere and most of the rest of the MTM catalogue won't be coming out in any official release any time soon.

By the way, the continuing story of Mrs. Florence Hufnagel will resume soon.

Update, April 30, 2013:

Turns out this page gets a lot of search traffic for people searching for St. Elsewhere on DVD. There is indeed demand for this show on DVD.

If you'd like to express that you would be interested in buying St. Elsewhere without resorting to video piracy, you can sign this online petition:

Petition to Fox Home Entertainment to release St. Elsewhere on DVD



Who knows...maybe they just need some grassroots market research. With any venture, you need to be able to demonstrate that there's adequate consumer demand to make it worthwhile. So here's an opportunity to show strength in numbers.

Of course, those who are familiar with the show's ratings during its six-year run know that overall numbers weren't its strong suit. No appealing to the 18-35s here. Do DVDs skew towards a baby boomer demographic?

Update: August 3, 2013: If any of you are wondering why St. Elsewhere isn't on YouTube, shoot me a message through the contact form.

Update: January, 2018: Great news for U.S. residents: the complete series of St. Elsewhere is now available on Hulu.

20 comments:

  1. If any of you are wondering why St. Elsewhere isn't on YouTube, shoot me a message through the contact form. --- OK. I am interested to know this answer. I muse it could be because of the great cast (negotiations now with stars) the music (I notice The Safari's Wipeout was swabbed out from season 1 and note the travesty that is WKRP) or demand as you point out in the article. Why it is not on Youtube when it appears elsewhere (no pun intended) is anyone's guess - but probably a corporate decision based on fear. Please do shed some light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like I said, please use the contact form!

      Delete
    2. Short answer--you're not allowed to violate copyright laws and publish whole episodes on YouTube. Even if others get away with it.

      Delete
  2. Daniel Butterfield: you said you're not allowed to violate copyright laws and publish whole episode on YouTube?? Then why do YOU and several others have full episodes of Season 1 on YouTube?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are no full episodes of Season 1 on my YouTube channel. The channel that currently features full episodes from Season 1 got around the video-detection issue by zooming in on the screen and cutting out the edges of the picture. I don't have video-editing software for doing that, and I like the cinematography and directing too much to cut out parts of the screen. When I tried putting up full episodes from season two onwards, I was warned that my channel would be shut down if I didn't take them down. I wanted to play it safe. Whenever I've tried to post even just clips from season 1, they get blocked worldwide.

      Delete
  3. Don't waste your time with so-called box sets. I've tried two of these ripoffs. Neither one refunded my money. Their guarantees suck as bad as their product.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a shame they couldn't get an official DVD boxed set together over the years, especially with virtually the entire cast (except Ed Flanders) still alive and able to provide commentary, etc. A lost opportunity for sure.

    I have a "complete series" bootleg collection I purchased a few years back, but it's missing about a dozen episodes (I was refunded pro-rata & kept the set because the quality was quite good) - I have the missing episodes on VHS tape up in my closet, but what a hassle to find each one, convert to DVD, etc.

    I guess if WKRP finally made it to DVD, there's always hope...but the audience that would truly appreciate it is rapidly aging and shrinking!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is such a shame there isn't yet a complete dvd boxed set out yet still considering you can bet other medical dramas on box sets

    ReplyDelete
  6. To a certain extent, I can understand the show NOT being on DVD, what with manufacturing costs, licensing and mechanical fees, etc. What I find frustrating is that it isn't being shown anywhere through syndication (like MeTV), or -- other than season one -- it's not available for streaming (Hulu, Amazon, Netflix).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recently communicated with Hulu in regards to adding the next Season (s) as they show Season 1. They replied, they would look into it. That may have been keep current customer happy line but then again it may have been the absolute truth. Maybe if we could get more people to communicate with them about it they would seriously pursue it.

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    2. Yes, I recently finished season 1 and was crushed to not find the rest. I loved this show back in the day.

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  7. There are 6 episodes of season 2 (St. Elsewhere) on YouTube right now.

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  8. Regarding 20th Century Fox holding good shows hostage:

    Yesterday, BBC announced "Rupert Murdoch's Fox Network arm raided in European Commission Probe." 21st Century Fox is said to be cooperating.

    Doubt it will happen, but maybe Fox will suddenly become motivated to release old shows on DVD because they need the money.

    Trying to be optimistic here.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well, for those who don't mind watching just a portion of the screen, most of the series can be seen at this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/peppe901962

    ReplyDelete
  10. Have just watched all I can find on youtube but am still missing half of season 2. Season 3 is on there but with no sound! Such a shame as they contain "important" storylines ☹

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you get Hulu? They carry all six seasons now.

      Delete
  11. All 6 seasons are now available to stream on Hulu. Well worth the low subscription cost to watch this show.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wednesday, April 7, 2021--9:11 pm CST

    The only season of "St. Elsewhere" that's on DVD is the first season. Will a ever put seasons 2 through 6 on DVD? I'm sure a lot of fans of the TV Medical drama and fans of William Daniels and the reason of the cast members would love to see seasons 2 through 6 on DVD. Why won't they release seasons 2 through 6 on DVD or Blu-ray? Is there something against releasing seasons 2 through 6 of "St. Elsewhere" on DVD or Blu-ray.
    Seasons 2 through 6 needs to be released on DVD or Blu-ray. Please release seasons 2 through 6.

    Terry Marvin (Dallas, Texas)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thursday, April 8, 2021--11:48 am CST

    William Daniels and his wife will celebrate their 70th Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. Bonnie will be 92 on Sunday, June, 20, 2021. Again, let's wish William Daniels a very blessed 94th belated birthday. William Daniels turned 94 on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

    Terry Marvin (Dallas, Texas, USA)

    ReplyDelete

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