So, what happened? Apparently there was some sort of rights mix-up regarding the inclusion, in the original set, of episode 212- GODZILLA VS. MEGALON. In the new set, which Rhino has called “The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 10.2,” that disc has been replaced with a disc containing episode 402- THE GIANT GILA MONSTER.
Even more exciting–one of the features of the disk will be a short sketch featuring Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu and J. Elvis Weinstein commenting on the SNAFU that led to the withdrawl and re-release.
The disc also includes an extra feature starring actor Don Sullivan (who stars in “The Giant Gila Monster”).
Tentative street date: Feb 5th.
As a reminder, the other three episodes in the set are episode 503- Swamp Diamonds (plus short: What to Do on a Date), episode 514- Teen-age Strangler (plus short: Is this Love?) and episode 810- The Giant Spider Invasion.
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This is a copy of the email that I got from Rhino
‘This boxed set is tentatively scheduled for a February 2008 release. There are no current plans for any single disc releases from this set, but thanks for your input. I’ll forward your letter to our suggestion box.
Dr. Rhino”
Not only is this greedy this is just pure BS because some of us DO OWN Volume 1 already. I think we should have a petition or something to force Rhino to make Giant Gila Monster (GGM) separate. They can make it separate just like their early releases. It cant be that hard to make sleeve art with a Gila Monster on the cover with Crow, Mike and Tom commenting.
I did email them about this saying they need to do the right thing for all of their fan base, & told them I would not like to purchase 10.2 because I own V. 10 already and do not need the same episodes twice. This is the worst kind of double dip out there, based on the cost of the double dip..IMO
That’s pretty much what I said in my letter too. I also told them that I own every MST3K title that Rhino put out, aside from Beginning of the End which was no longer available; both VHS and DVD.
I am happy that it is being rereleased for the fans that missed it originally, but I really don’t want to see this become a new trend. There were other solutions that could have been used to rerelease volume 10. They could have simply released it as a three DVD set, or replaced Godzilla vs. Megalon with one of the single DVDs already they already have rights to. And I know that in the latter scenario some people would probably end up having to buy one DVD they already have, but that is certainly better than three DVDs you already have.
Having said that I definitely want The Giant Gila Monster, but I honestly do not know if I am going to repurchase 3 DVDs I already have just to get it. Even if I do decide to purchase it I certainly won’t preordering or buying it anytime near the release date. Maybe I’ll purchase a used copy off Amazon a year from now, but that is as much as I can commit to. If they release it as a single I will buy it in a heartbeat though. I just hope and pray they work out a deal with the fans who purchased the original one when it came out that doesn’t involve mutilating the box as proof of purchase. I’ll reserve any harsh judgements for the moment and just wait and see.
I am hoping dr rhino (more like a quack) gets enough emails to make him decide to make GGM solo. I am sure his inbox is getting really full about now
As much as I love “Manos,” it will make me cry if they release it on DVD for the thrid time and not some other well-deserving feature.
I buy every mst3k set the day it comes for just this reason. I don’t pre-order but I do buy them the day they come out. This seems like another F-U to the fans much along the lines of the essentials. I hope they come to their senses at rhino/brians. Release shorts 3/santa claus conques the martians and gila monster as a set. I also agree with other who want the mexican Santa Claus too. That is one of my all time favorite mst3k eps and the movie itself is public domain. What’s the hold up?
I’d like to see Rhino secure the rights to another episode in order to get volume 9 back on the market (I agree that “Santa Claus” would be great), and then release that episode along with Giant Gila Monster in a 2 DVD set.
That said, I own volume 10.1 (I bought it a week before it got pulled), and have no intention of spending upwards of $60 for 10.2 in order to get my hands on only one episode that I don’t already own. If it comes to that, I’ll simply retain my VHS copy if GGM instead, thankyouverymuch.
Why in the world are people who already own Volume 9 & 10 endorsing Volume a 9.2 and a 10.2..
Why put a title we don’t own on a Volume that many of us do own ? Just for the sake of putting it back in print ?? For the sake of having a “.2” Volume of DVD sets to be put in print again ? I dont think so !
I think thats kind of stupid..
Life is about moving forward and not backward. I don’t think MST3K fans who spent a lot of money on Volumes the first time they were in print should have to worry about re-releases with a new title in the Volume. That would mean any volume that is out of print, can go back into circulation with a new public domain title replacing one that is not, in the meanwhile we will either have to buy the set yet again for the sake of owning an authentic Rhino release that you cant get anywhere else or separately or simply refuse to own it. Sorry but I think its really insane, and I condemn Rhino for trying to force us to double dip for the sake of owning GGM and I hope this situation NEVER arises again
I want a Volume 13 with all new titles , not this 10.2 crap that they are pulling. I dont even want to think about a 9.2 option. Its not my fault some fans didn’t buy the sets when they first hit the market, and MST3K sets will all sooner or later go out of print due to rights issues. Why should people who own these Volumes have to go through this because some people didn’t get the sets when they readily available ?
The best solution is to make GGM a stand alone disc for people who do own Volume 10 and have a 10.2 for people who didn’t get Volume 10 while it was out there. I think that is the right thing to do for all fans of MST3K, and it caters to both the owners & non owners of Volume 10.
Sorry if the tone sounds harsh, but I am a little upset over the potential of owning 2 Volume 10s. I really am not into burning DVDs for myself as I want my discs to be real. 50-60 for a double dip is a heavy burden.. :cry:
Simply because complaints to the video uberlords are best heard at the Rhinoiest possible place, allow me to post the orificial email addy again:
drrhino@rhino.com
Mail away, soldiers of fairness and justice!!
Curious that I haven’t seen anyone suggest the more prudent thing to do would be putting out a version of 10 at a lower price point that only had the three previously released episodes. This would not only not alienate early adopters, but would give people reticent to drop 50 bucks on a full volume a chance to sample the series (the singles are much less common in stores where I live).
F YOU RHINO!!!!!!!! IM NOT SHELLING OUT ANOTHER $40.00 TO $55.00 TO RE-PAY FOR 3 EPISODES THAT I ALREADY PAID FOR OVER A YEAR AGO!! IM JUST GOING TO BURN IT WITH NETFLIX. I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE NETFLIX AND ARE ABLE TO BURN IT FOR ME! CORPORATE SWINE RHINO!
LET’S HAVE GAMERA SIT ON THE RHINO AND SQUASH IT TO PIECE’S! IF THEY THINK OF DOING A 9.2 I’LL DO THE SAME THING. IM OUT!!!!!
Hehe. :smile: You think they stickin Gila Monster in so the box art with the Dinosaur on it still makes a bit of sense? Oh good one, Rhino. :razz:
I agree that this is a strange option and I’m still not sure if it’s the best one. But I, for one, will pick up 10.2 because I never got the original one. (I’m a fan, but since I have every unreleased episode from on-air recordings, they don’t feel essential to me.) I want it for the Joel, Trace and Josh material, mostly.
Do I think they need to release “Gila” separately? Yes. Do I think they will? Not so sure. One has to assume that the market for such a disc will be very small, limited only to those who own the original volume 10 and don’t want to have to buy three episodes they already own. Then again, we all bought “Essentials”, didn’t we?
Still, though the situation is far from perfect, I think people saying “F you” and that they will not buy another release are engaging in the classic “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” Rhino has to try to balance the needs of the fanbase, but they also have to look at the realities of the marketplace. The reality is that the individual DVDs did not sell well. The reality is also that people do not like to see volumes out-of-print. This must have seemed like the best solution to them. Switch out the episode, but add some valuable content to make it up to those who bought it already. (And it would have been Rhino who made this decision. Although BB is involved, it is Rhino who brings in people like Mike, the original actors, or, in this case the Cinematic Titanic guys. So you can’t read any Joel/BB stuff into that.)
What gets me from the “I’ve got volume 10” crowd is that they seem perfectly okay with the three other episodes going out of print. And why shouldn’t they? They’ve got them. There seems to be a sense that as long as they are taken care of, the rest can go hang. Sure, there could be a better solution, but why should I feel bad that you are being put in a situation voluntarily (by choosing not to buy the new volume) that I am put in *involuntarily* (by the original going out-of-print before I grabbed it). I have volume 9, but if they put out a 9.2, I wouldn’t feel slighted. I’d simply evaluate the advantages and disadvantages and make my decision based on that, as anyone does with any purchase.
All that being said, by all means let Rhino know you want the individual release. It *is* the best solution and they haven’t said anything to confirm they *won’t* do it, just that it’s not *currently* in the works. If they get enough feedback to justify it, they will do it. But a word of advice: be civil. A bunch of screaming ninnies bitching and moaning will only make them decide that there’s no pleasing you and they won’t listen to you at all.
I feel like I am having a flashback….Joel VS. MIKE? I only know I like ( and miss ) MST3K!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!
At least putting a sub-par ep like “Gila Monster” on this thing. It’s lame of them to not force people that own the original version to double-dip if they want “Gila Monster”, but it’s not another Essentials where they put a top-notch episode in with a repackage.
And man, without “Godzilla”, this set is going to give volume 3 a run for the weakest set.
Rhindle,
Firstly, I think most of the thoughtful responses from those of us Sneeches-with-the-stars-on included absolute praise that they were releasing the other three titles. I know I did.
Secondly, the single titles sold quite well, both VHS and DVD. The only proof one needs of that is that they then entered into a long-term agreement to sell more episodes as volumes. Had the singles flopped, we would have nothing else from Rhino. The reason for switching from singles to volumes has more to do with the fact that people had begun buying season box sets in general and were willing to shell out $50 at a time for TV shows. Also, the economies of a 4-disc bundle allow a higher per-disc profit margin, both from a packaging standpoint and in distribution overhead and logistics.
Thirdly, while a “bunch of screaming ninnies” may SEEM counter-productive (and in the case of interpersonal relationships, it is – ask my ex-wife), the truth of the matter is that the sqeaky wheel gets greased when it comes to corporate-bashing banshees. Rhino has demonstated at least twice before that they will respond to the shrieking, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from their fans without walking away. In the case of Killer Shrews, they replaced restored versions of the disc FREE to anybody who requested it – no proof of purchase required.
It’s up to both varieties of Sneeches, starred and un-starred, to make Rhino aware that this double-dipping is totally wrong in both principle and practice and we won’t stand for it!
Poopie!
(and you’re right – they never said that they wouldn’t take care of us – we just want to make sure that they do)
I can’t justify paying 40+ dollars for Giant Gila Monster… even though I love the episode.
I bought vol 10 when it came out, and I’m super loyal to the MST3K machine… but I REALLY need them to release this as a single disc!
I’m emailing Dr. Rhino too.
*That’s what cats are wearin’ nowadays!*
It’s amazing so many people are up in arms over this 10.2 thing?! Yes I have the original volume 10, and no I don’t mind spending the dough on 10.2 for “Gila”. Let’s face it, in a handful of years we are all gonna be buying the Blu-Ray/HD complete-series-in-one-box-set version again anyway.
Ha! I won’t be buying Blu-Ray/HD versions of any old TV show – it wouldn’t improve the quality one iota beyond what the original analog tape was like – and DVD captures that quality fully. Furthermore, you’ll never see an MST3K “complete-series-in-one-box-set version” simply because the rights to all non-public domain movies that were used have to be negotiated and those rights expire regularly. Some rights will NEVER be acquired (at least as long as Sandy Frank is alive and Tosho exists). I’m glad you have the money to buy every new version, but most of us don’t :cry:
@Cheepnis:
Re: box sets vs. individual.
I seem to have overtstated the sales point. (Writing too fast, I guess.) I didn’t mean to imply they weren’t selling, but that Rhino felt that they would sell much better in sets because, as you indicated, people are kind of used to that format for TV shows now. Regardless of the relative success of the individual discs, the bottom line is that the marketplace (meaning not you and me, but the average consumer) is more supportive of box sets than of individual releases.
Re: “squeaky wheels”
The difference with this and the “Shrews” incident is that in the former case, there was an actual error in the encoding of the disc. I think (since they were going to fix it for future pressings anyway) that they would have had some sort of replacement program in place eventually anyway.
I’m not saying don’t be forceful, but the phrase isn’t “the screaming asshole gets the grease”. I don’t think being rude will help convince the brass to put together what amounts to a completely new, separate, commercial release. So writing “F Rhino” here is fine, I would just suggest refraining from it in letters to Rhino themselves. (Which, as I said, I fully support.)
I agree with Cheepnis. Who wants to buy Blu/Ray or HD/DVD version’s of an old show that has movies from the 1930’s – 1960’s. Thats crazy! Besides I will always keep my regular DVD player and DVD’s for my over 150 episodes ( soon I will have all of the non-released episodes ) because the media in a DVD will last forever ( unlike VHS tapes ). Most of us don’t have the money to replace over or around 60 Rhino episodes on DVD to Blu/Ray or HD/DVD. If Rhino does come out with new box sets on Blu/Ray or HD/DVD I will buy it becuase eventually I will get a Blu/Ray or HD/DVD player for my HD TV. For the others that are alreay out I will continue to watch them on my 1080i-720p-420s converter DVD player.
Lets keep in mind that TONS of people missed their chance to buy 10.0
This is a good opportunity for them to purchase the other three episodes they are missing, plus Giant Gila Monster.
It’s sad that Rex Dart’s day in the sun is gone forever, but we’ve got to stop thinking that Rhino is somehow out to get us.
I’d say that Rhino’s leveling of “double dipping” is pretty darn low compared to the torrent of “unrated edition” discs that are flooding the market these days.
i agree totally.
Rhino rocks… they really came through when Killer shrews had its little “problem”
i just want an individual episode to save me some coin.
hopefully they’ll do that… but i understand that they are in the business to make money and it may not be cost effective.
just for the people that bought the 10.1 release.
Well, my email is quoted below. Not that I expect any Christmas miracles from Rhino, but…y’never know. :wink:
First off, let me state that I agree with and appreciate the gesture on the part of Rhino to re-release the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 VOLUME 10 box set. I was fortunate enough to purchase the box set before it was recalled, and I truly felt for my friends who are fans who did not get a chance to purchase it when it first came out. I think that the re-release of the box set, as well as the continued releases in the pipeline, is a testament to the commitment of the part of Rhino to continue to provide the fans of this little puppet show with continual and quality releases of the show.
However, I would like to express my extreme displeasure at Rhino’s decision to replace the GODZILLA movie from the first VOLUME TEN box set with a movie that will only be available to the individuals who purchase what has been dubbed “Volume 10.2;” namely, THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. I find this choice, as well as the purposed notion that this disc will ONLY be available in this re-release, to be extremely insulting to the legions of fans who have supported Rhino financially through the years by purchasing in good faith the single-release VHS and DVD episodes, as well as the multi-pack VHS episodes as well as the DVD box sets.
To not make the GIANT GILA MONSTER DVD available either at a reduced price or for free (with a possible showing of proof of purchase) to the individuals who purchased the VOLUME TEN box set when it was initially released is, in my opinion, a disservice to the fans who purchased the box set in its first release expecting that we were getting THE release of VOLUME TEN. As you have undoubtedly learned through the years, many of the fans of MST3K are completists, and we strive to have all available episodes in our respective collections. To ask us to purchase a DVD set that we already own ¾ of simply to own this one other disc could potentially cause more damage to the reputation of Rhino among the fans of MST3K (who are incredibly passionate) than the good caused by the re-release of VOLUME TEN.
Please, I urge you to reconsider Rhino’s stance on the availability of THE GIANT GILA MONSTER on DVD to the individuals who purchased VOLUME TEN during its initial release.
Sincerely,
-Sonny Lemmons
It’s not that bloody hard for them to press extra copies of the disc, set up a credi card (or PayPal) link from the Rhino store. and sell it for $15-20 in a paper sleeve. I’d buy it in a heartbeat and you get a win-win situation. Right now, all Rhino is doing is pissing us — the people who actually buy each of these sets when they come out — off.
There’s no reason in the world they can’t have a Gila single disc available for a limited time at a reasonable price to hardcore fans who bought Vol. 10 initially. They put it in a white sleeve and send it to us and make a few extra bucks profit from it. It’s sound business sense so I think they’ll do it. Email them!
Rhindle,
The “Shrews Incident” was not caused by flawed encoding or mastering. They purposely edited out the opening monologue of the movie, including a few riffs, presumably to save time/space on the disc. This was no “accident of manufacturing” and the fans were justifiably riled up about this revisionism.
The “Dead Talk Back” issue, on the other hand was not to be blamed on Rhino. They encoded from the master tape as provided by Jim Mallon. The fans were upset that Jim’s master wasn’t even as good as most fan copies and they wished that Jim/Rhino had tracked-down a copy without the many flaws that are now set in circular “stone”.
I never encouraged anybody to be rude or obscene in their communique with Rhino. I only asked that they expressed their displeasure. I was simply saying that IMO, The Rhinos will be more responsive to more letters rather than fewer, regardless of their tone or overexpletivosityness.
BTW, Sonny, nice letter!
HERE’s the response from Rhino i got today.. .
just FYI
This boxed set is tentatively scheduled for a February 2008 release. There are no current plans for any single disc releases from this set, but thanks for your input. I’ll forward your letter to our suggestion box.
Dr. Rhino
Stay up to date with all things Rhino, including upcoming release information, contests & other fun stuff, by signing up for the Rhino Newsletter:
http://www.rhino.com/RZine/newsletter.lasso
…and the Rhino Handmade Early Warning Newsletter:
http://www.rhinohandmade.com/newsletter.lasso
it was a quick turnaround on a response and it was honestly all i was hoping for… just to bring it to their attention.
i think they understand.
For those of you who got the Dr. Rhino response, you shouldn’t panic about that because it’s a token response that “Dr. Rhino” (if THAT is his real name) when a question or suggestion is made that Rhino has no official press-release about.
I got a similar response years ago back when Rhino was releasing Transformers cartoons on DVD. I had asked when the next volume of Transformers: Armada (Which was a good year or two after the first volume) and I got the same response.
I wouldn’t get all reactionary on the comments because that’s probably a pre-written response until they make an official comment about it.
Honestly, I think since they have so much trouble getting the rights, or maintaining the rights to the movies in MST3K episodes they really should just go back to releasing individual episodes separately and go back to the “bundles” they used to do when the episodes were out on VHS back in the day. It’d be easy to release a “box set” of four movies in slim cases or something, and if in the event the rights to a movie is pulled, you pull off the cellophane and sell the ones that are still good separately.
Needless to say, if we all e-mail Rhino and tell them how we feel I’m sure they’ll make some sort of initiative for those of us who got the original box set.
@ Cheepnis:
“The “Shrews Incident” was not caused by flawed encoding or mastering.”
“To-may-to”/”To-mah-to”. Accidental or from a bone-headed move, it was still something that was going to inevitably be fixed because it was obviously wrong. That is not the case here.
“I never encouraged anybody to be rude or obscene in their communique with Rhino.”
And I never said everyone was going to be. But when I hear a straightforward form-letter response (that doesn’t really say anything of substance, mind you) called an “F-you from Rhino” and I see people swearing they are going to quit buying *any* MST3K DVDs over this, they are crossing a line that I think hurts rather than helps.
“I was simply saying that IMO, The Rhinos will be more responsive to more letters rather than fewer, regardless of their tone or overexpletivosityness.”
And, IMO, if they get a few well worded letters and a thousand screaming ninnies, they *will* say “F-you”, go ahead with their plans and that will be that. I agree that everyone interested should write, but I don’t agree that their tone won’t matter.
“BTW, Sonny, nice letter!”
Yes, that’s a well phrased comment. Of course, I don’t think it’s realistic (or fair) to suggest sending the “Gila” disc to people who own “Volume 10.1” for free. I think the going rate for a single episode release is fair, as that’s what you’re getting. (Less if it’s just in an empty sleeve. Although why you’d want it without a proper case, I don’t know.)
Despite my hardcore fan-ness, I seriously doubt I will waste money on a set I already own 3 of the 4 discs.
As others have said, this is ‘The Essentials’ all over again. You would think they might have learned from that. Their main customer base, a.k.a. hardcore fans, already owned Manos on DVD when they re-released it with SCCTM and it hurt their sales of that set. The same will happen here. I don’t blame them for trying to keep the 3 properties they still have rights to in circulation, but as mentioned before, they could have packaged it with something available in a single disc version (like Mitchell or one of the shorts discs) to spare fans that already owned 10.0 from having to skip out on yet another title.
I don’t own SCCTM on Rhino DVD and I won’t pay for The Giant Gila Monster on Rhino DVD. I normally replace all my bootleg copies with Rhino copies as they’re made available, but I won’t be fleeced.
“For those of you who got the Dr. Rhino response, you shouldn’t panic about that because it’s a token response that “Dr. Rhino” (if THAT is his real name) when a question or suggestion is made that Rhino has no official press-release about.”
What he said. Nothing is decided. Let Dr. Rhino know how you feel POLITELY and hope for the best.
And, a reminder, let’s keep it PG-rated and courteous in the comments. Thanks.
If they don’t decide to give the Gila disc to people for free (which they probably won’t), i certainly hope we can buy it for a few bucks. That way, Rhino makes some money off the people who already bought it AND from the people who didn’t and we, the lucky consumers, get the epsiode. Seems like a win-win to me.
Grumble! While I understand the need to put something in there to make it worth its price–well, since the set is MOSTLY OOP–come on Rhino, cut us some slack here. I mean, we are the ones who bought this stuff when it comes out first. Why should we be slammed for that?
Why not put out Gila Monster in an Essentials Collection along with Beginning of the End and Amazing Colossal Man? Then everybody can be happy. ;)
I’d pay $10 to get Gila Monster in a sleeve. They should just sell the other 3 as singles on Rhino.com, put Gila in set 13 and include a paper advertisement mentioning you can buy the other 3 on their website. Then send the set 10 leftovers out in paper sleeves.
If there’s anyone interested in knowing what MST3k episodes are likely to be released then check this list I’ve made:
http://forrestcrow.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=mstchat&action=display&thread=1152828151
It seems to me like there’s a really obvious way to solve this. I’m going to send this suggestion to Dr. Rhino but I thought I’d also run it by you guys.
Simply pack in a rebate form with 10.2. Fill out the rebate, attach a proof-of-purchase from 10.1 plus your receipt and proof-of-purchase for 10.2 and you receive a check for 3/4 of the MSRP for 10.2. This seems astoundingly simple to me.
Keir,
I don’t think Rhino would go for rebating 3/4 of the price, since that would mean they’d be basically giving away three free DVDs to each person who got the rebate. But it wouldn’t hurt to run it by them.
Erhardt,
Considering that those who already own 10.1 have 3/4 of this new set, I think a rebate for 3/4 of the price is entirely reasonable.
Remember that when you buy any entertainment media, the medium it comes on is an extremely small secondary cost. Theoretically, the vast majority of your purchase price is going toward the license to view the entertainment. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to pay again for a license I already own.
Diamond Joe said:
“What would make more sense would be a special offer, made through sites like this, mst3k.com, and rhino.com, in which you could pay $10 or $12, and get the Gila disc in an envelope. Rhino could make a profit on the deal, and presumably only people who already have 10.1 would bother to seek it out.”
I picked up V-10 the day it was released, and while I’m not happy about having to pay for 3 episodes *I already bought from Rhino*, I would much rather buy 10.2 than get a loose disc in an envelope from Rhino. But that’s just me; I’m a completist.
10.2 will almost certainly have new cover art. And that, along with the bonus features (and, of course, the fact that I haven’t seen “Giant Gila Monster”) is reason enough for me to blow $50 on it. But, as someone wisely pointed out on the MST3K Boards, I just wish Rhino had saved “Gila Monster” for V-13 and re-released V-10 as a 3-disc set.
Keir,
It may be reasonable. But it doesn’t make good business sense to give away three DVDs, especially when Rhino has the option to sell the new one as a stand-alone. Which, I’ll remind everyone, is still a possibility. I just don’t see Rhino offering a 3/4 rebate.
Erhardt,
I really don’t see much possibility for lost profit. I can only think of a few options for what to do with those extra discs:
1) Sell them on eBay. Yeah, sure, a few people will do that and they’ll probably manage to find some suckers to take them up on the offer. Not many though, I’m guessing. Besides, by their own admission very few sets sold before they went OOP, so there aren’t many discs out there to be auctioned off.
2) Give the discs to friends who haven’t seen the show. Wow, how terrible for Rhino if people who have never seen it end up liking it and going out and buying the other DVDs (including this new set since they’ll only have three out of the four discs from it).
3) Give the discs to a friend who likes the show. That will be pretty darn rare I’d imagine. What self respecting fan wants only part of a set?
On the other hand, screwing over the fans by not offering a fair deal like the one I mentioned is a sure way to lose profit (from me at least, and judging by the comments, from some of the other folks around here too). I can guarantee that if they do this I won’t be buying this set, nor any others from Rhino ever again. Sorry, but sending a clear signal that you don’t want to earn my money legitimately means that I no longer feel much desire to give it to you.
Releasing GGM as a single DVD makes a lot more sense than refunding people 3/4 of the box set price. I also think asking Rhino to give those of us with 10.1 GGM for free is ridiculous. The easiest solution, and the best long-term business decision for Rhino, is to make GGM available for purchase as a single disc. Hopefully if they receive enough feedback they’ll do that.
I knew this would happen eventually but I wasn’t sure if they were going to replace it with something they had already released or a new episode. I recommend selling the original volume 10 on ebay. Make a hundred bucks and use that to buy this new set. You’ll have to give up Megalon, but according to Toho you don’t have it legally in the first place. What they should do for the box art is tape the Giant Gila Monster’s face over the dinosaur’s.
A couple people have asked about the problem with volume 9 and it’s probably Women of the Prehistoric Planet (which i think is a similar situation to Megalon in that the company whom Rhino was dealing with didn’t really have the rights to it). What they should do is replace it with Slime People, which they own, and release Giant Gila Monster together with Slime People and call it the early adopter set.
The real problem with giving out a rebate of 3/4 the MSRP is that Rhino doesn’t actually get paid the MSRP for the box sets, unless you buy them direct from Rhino. If you buy the set at a store for $60.00, chances are Rhino only got about $30.00 for the set. But rebates come from the manufacturer, not the retailer. So Rhino would have to refund the buyer $45.00, despite only receiving $30.00. They’d be better off, cost-wise,just giving the 4th disc away for free.
Time to move on. If you are one of the lucky ones like myself who has the original set…good. If not, I guess that will teach you to pre-order :evil: Why deal with a .2 release, lets just move on to #13 and put all actual, OOP and proposed volume 10’s to bed.
jazzbo,
Yeah, I thought about that. I’d be fine with them offering a rebate of 3/4 of actual purchase price, but I’ve only rarely (if ever) seen a manufacturer do a rebate based around a non-specific amount. Plus it leaves them open to a greater chance of fraud by the jerk who decides to alter their receipt.
I’m guessing a single disc release is extremely unlikely for similar cost reasons to what you brought up. To do a single release they would need to create box art, ship them to the stores, and secure shelf space. All of that costs money on a disc that has fairly limited appeal to only those who got 10.1. Worse, there’s a chance of people who don’t know the story picking up the single and then finding out that it’s available in the set and they get a repeat of the negative publicity from Manos.
The only option besides a rebate that makes sense is for people to send in a proof-of-purchase from 10.1 plus, say, $15 and a couple of bucks for shipping and getting a disc in an envelope. Either that or the rebate would be fine by me, but they need to do something. I’m not paying a second time for what I already own.
It would be one thing if they had recalled it, then you could have gotten your money back and spent it on the new set. You wouldn’t have Godzilla and there would have been plenty of people who didn’t return there copies, but they wouldn’t be able to complain when they had their chance to send it back. I never heard about a recall though, they just removed it from store shelves. That ship has sailed and now they need to do right by their customers.
I hate to say it, but Rhino don’t need to “do right” by nobody. They can release this, and fans will buy it, because fans want the shows on DVD. Sure, maybe 5% of people won’t buy it on principle, but overall, the people who would shell out the money on this are going to do so. I doubt Rhino stands to lose much in the short OR long run on this.
anyway, netflix/blockbuster/etc. will probably get the 10.2 and everyone who wants the gila monster episode can avail themselves of such services…