Season One of Stargate Universe may be arriving in two separate DVD sets, GateWorld has learned.
“Stargate Universe has been tons of fun so far in the first half,” DVD Special Features Producer Ivon Bartok told us in an exclusive interview this week. “And this year what we’re doing is a little bit different. As far as I know, we’re going to be doing volume one and two DVDs.
This falls in line with a separate tidbit GateWorld received earlier this month.
Bartok’s special feature line-up indicates that the first ten episodes will be released in Volume One, while the back ten — premiering on SyFy in 2010, will follow later. This has become a popular trend for shows that air two chunks per season.
Seasons two and three of Battlestar Galactica released the first volume of DVDs just prior to the airing of the second half of the season, to help build anticipation and allow viewers to catch up. If this holds true for Universe, we should expect to see Volume One of Season One hit store shelves just before the second half of the season premieres in 2010.
There is no word yet on whether the 3-hour pilot of “Air” will be released as a standalone DVD like the SG-1 and Atlantis pilots.
“What we did for the DVD special features for the first ten episodes was to create 30 two-minute pieces and try to give us a really broad spectrum of things to cover,” Bartok told us. “We’re developing the strategy for the back ten right now. So, I don’t have the information I’d love to give you, but there’s definitely going to be a bunch of stuff on the back ten. And ultimately on the back ten, too, we want to expand the narrative a little bit.”
It appears Season One of SGU will have a sizable assortment of special features no matter how the sets are released!
Stargate Universe premieres on SyFy this Friday, October 2nd! Be sure to listen to our complete interview with Ivon Bartok, available now!
Great. Another way to get more money out of us.
First post though! :P
Like wow, so they join the ‘let’s screw you out of as much money as possible’ brigade huh? Because I sincerely doubt each of these sets will be half the price. I hate shows that do this. It’s like the ice cream companies that now sell you 1.5 quarts for the same price they used to sell you two quarts. Or the boxes of cereal that now sell you 8oz for how much they used to sell you 12 for. Nothing but a backhanded way to charge you more for less. And, anyone want to make bets on when the… Read more »
If it does get released like that, I don’t care how great it is, I won’t buy it.
Are you kidding me?
I’m in complete agreement with what Denise has said, unless they’re putting each half season at half the PRICE of a season, they’re pulling a BSG and just trying to scrape as much dough out of the fans.
I know this is a ‘new show’ and not ‘old stargate’, but that doesn’t mean you should start charging for DVDs even more than you already are.
/endrant
PS: Probably wouldn’t have bought it if it came in one box, but now the chances of me buying two seperate boxes for a season is slim to none.
My policy with the BSG dvd’s is to just wait until they release the version that has all of the episodes. Not only do I not want to pay twice the money for the series but I don’t like having the two separate boxes.
If all the sg-1 and sga were two per season that would be thirty different boxes I have to store. That = stupid.
This pisses me off. I can’t believe it. Greedy bastards!
and then they’ll probably use the lower sales of the DVD’s to justify not making the SG1 and SGA movies…
I hate shows that pull this crap! They aren’t gettin my money.
I still haven’t purchased the Battlestar Galactica dvd’s for this very reason! If this is true, then this is MGM screwing over their customers! Sorry, I might love the show, but consider this one less customer that will buy the Stargate: Universe dvds.
I wasn’t planning on buying your DVDs now I wont for sure. If the pilot is 20 bucks, part 1 is 20 and part 2 is 20, thats 60 bucks. When you can buy usually a season for 20 in SGA and SG1 on ebay.
Wow. Not one positive reply…..and this will be no different. This is complete horse-turd. Why release in two parts?? That is EXACTLY why I refuse to buy Battlestar Galactica on DVD. This show has the potential to soar or tank…we’ll all have to wait and see…but regardless of it’s success or failure, I will not be contributing to MGM sales in a two-part season box set. As a giant ‘screw-you’ to the fools who thought this was a grand idea, I might burn the discs off my less-than-frugal-with-cash brother, but either way the will not get a cent from me… Read more »
Folks, please remember that this is yet to be confirmed. I placed a question mark in the title because it has yet to be verified — not because I wrote it in disbelief. Just keep it in mind, it is still early and there is no guarantee until a formal announcement is made.
I agree with everything said here so far. I hate the idea of the DVDs being split up into two. This is just a greedy tactic to get more money from the fans. Nobody wants this, as you can see here… so why backslap the loyal fans in the face with this?
Whatever. After SG1, I no longer buy the DVD’s until the full series is released in a set.
Well David, I suggest since you have a report with these people, you pass it along that if this is indeed the way they intend to do it, they can stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Hollywood has entered an unparalleled age of greed and it has to be stopped. There is simply a difference between making money and taking advantage of your fan base. Are they that incredibly daft that they think we don’t realize what they’re doing?!
OK. People are forgetting that EVERY season of Stargate has been split into small volumes. Go check your DVD box sets, it has which volume it is on the disc. So dont just accuse SGU of this.
Now, as long as they bring out season 1 together I dont mind.
@anubis lives: Yes, every season was split into three cases (5 discs), but only in the UK were they sold separately. In the US, they were sold in one box set. As far as I know, that is. They were never advertised as S1.0 and S1.5 or whatever.
And I agree with all the previous posts. No split seasons for me. I still haven’t bought Eureka’s S3 for that very reason. Waiting for a whole season box set.
As if being a loyal fanbase wasn’t enough for these people in the first place!
You can gurantee that the result of this will be 3 things:
1. iTunes download
2. Wait until full season 1 set is on DVD
3. YouTube
I don’t want MGM to loase money and go under, but doing seperate releases like this for Universe is not good, meaing the average responsible fan will not waste their money.
Edited:
I don’t want MGM to loose money and go under, but doing seperate releases like this for Universe is not good, meaning the average responsible fan will not waste their money.
@katikatnik: Fair enough. I stand corrected. But I still fail to see the outrage. Just wait to buy the full season. No one is forcing you to buy the volumes.
And just to note, we brits have been having separate volumes released for ages. Never been this much outrage.
Gang, I really don’t understand the outrage here. I found the separate releases for BSG a minor annoyance at most, because I didn’t want to pay $50 for 10 episodes. The result is that I simply had to wait. The prices come down, they’re sold used, or they show up at Costco and Sam’s Club a few months later as a deal. Just decide how much you are willing to spend on 10 or 20 episodes, and wait until you find the sets for that price. I refused to pay over $25 for half a season of BSG, and just… Read more »
I have always thought that it’s a bit of a ripoff when companies try to sell their series in fractions – I just wait for the whole season to arrive before I part with my paper.
Agree with anubis lives, they’ve been trying to rip us brits off for years! Lol.
Its not so much selling out though as going with “industry standard”. Its also good business sense, and increases the odds of the season being renewed. Why the hell would they stick with the less profitable complete season option, when pretty much all of their competators go with a more lucrative option? That’s a sure-fire way of ensuring your season doesn’t get picked up in favour of something else.
Often they release a 1.0 and 1.5, followed by a “complete season” anyway. And if you actually exercise this fantastic little invention called ‘patience’ things actually tend to get cheaper. *gasp!*
well I for one do not mind if it comes in 2 dvd sets if it means that they will get more money for the show that way i will be happy to buy 2 dvd sets and they are not the first show to do something like this, and i dont realy understand why people would be so mad about this
Well I’ll be waiting till the release the whole season in one box before I buy!
Same, i don’t want two dvd sets for one season, will just wait for a complete season release
I agree. Selling each season in First Half and Second Half SUCKS. Why change after 15 seasons? I guess I will wait until the seasons come out in Full Season packages.
Do not do this. This was my biggest gripe with the BSG sets. Stargate already has it right. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.
I don’t care what anyone says about, “Be patient. They will release the whole season at the regulaer price soon enough.” I started watching BSG with the premiere of the miniseries and I stuck with it thoroughout the entire first season. I missed a lot after that due to not having time and travelling a alot. When I looked to get the DVDs I couldn’t find the entire second season at a reasonable price. Now after the series is ovwer I have yet to see the entire season for 2 or 3 anywhere. Screw buying two DVD sets per season… Read more »
Selling DVD box sets in two parts is a shameful way of extorting more money from the customer, because naturally the total cost of the two halves is always greater than a whole season box set would be. I’ll just wait for a “The Complete First Season” box set after the second half has aired. Oh and I trust they’ll be releasing on Blu-Ray as well this time around? To not do so would be criminal. I’ve stopped buying Atlantis DVDs after season 1 and will not buy the rest of the seasons unless they are released on Blu-Ray. I… Read more »
To Darren and David, I understand your need topoint out that this is unconfirmed, however given the way the other distributors are going, it is rather likely. Okay, Darren, even IF it is true that the studio itself is in trouble I can’t say that it is a reason to give in to this change in market standard. I understand the idea that this is the way we pay to help them make shows we enjoy get made. The problem is that the reason DVD is such a tough market is because for a consumer, DVD’s are not cost effective.… Read more »
Sorry, to correct that the RD Back to Earth was a 3-part mini series that should have been shown as a 2 hour feature.
It also means you will get to buy the episodes in dvd format earlier…I welcome this.
First off, I know this report is unconfirmed as yet, but that is exactly why we fans need to express our opinion now. I felt so strongly about this that I called into the podcast immediately after seeing the Bartok interview… before it was even a news item. I understand that this could be a move to help MGM avoid bankruptcy, but here’s the problem: they’ve lost my sale entirely. And judging from the many posts here, they may have lost many fans’ sales. I am a Stargate fan who downright prefers to buy the DVD’s, but not only do… Read more »
One more small thought: some folks have said they’ll wait for the “inevitable” one-volume release of the whole season. If they go ahead and announce in the eventual press release that that version is coming, and that it will be repackaged and not just a bundle of the two, then I’m in. But judging by BSG and some other series I’ve seen (I don’t have a clue how the American Dad! DVD releases are working), that probably won’t occur.
Being a Stargate fan can be hazardous to one’s wallet. That’s what they should put on just before Stargate Universe is aired. Call me Naive, call me ignorant, but I am still trying to understand this point. One pays cable or Satellite Bill to watch Stargate on the Telly. Cable company pays affiliate, who pays whoever royalties or whatever, but Finally MGM gets their cut (Please correct me if I am wrong). Then they Release Season 1 part 1 gets some more money from *some* of the people for the DVD’s, Next They Release Season 1 Part 2 gets some… Read more »
MGM is really hard up for cash. No way they’re going to make that Atlantis movie now.
I think it’s a bad idea to copy the split season thing that Battlestar did. It confused the hell out of me didn’t want to risk paying twice for an episode so ended up never purchasing any seasons. they should just stick with 1 set of discs per a season. don’t need the confusion and I think I can wait.
I hate posting on this place because the fans here are unreasonable and easily agitated. Hornets. You’re like frickin hornets. Here’s the deal: I am the editor of the special features for Stargate and I have to tell you: DVD and Blu-Ray are dying mediums. The vast majority of people don’t want or need to have the box set sitting on their shelf anymore, especially for a show like Stargate. The people here on Gateworld are small small sample of Stargate Fans… ie: the ones who actually think this has anything to do with you. Splitting it up makes fiscal… Read more »
I don’t understand the anger over this. I don’t like the trend of split seasons any more than any of you, but it’s still fairly trivial. So we may have to pay a little more money for it over a longer period of time. Big deal. There is an upside, though; we’ll get the first ten episodes on DVD much much sooner.
@editorguy
I have no idea what you’re talking about regarding BSG DVDs. They’re all PACKED with special feaures (buttload of commentaries, extended episodes, deleted scenes, making-of featurettes). There aren’t many shows that get this kind of treatment on DVD, only Mad Men (2 commentaries per every episode and much more) tops BSG imo.
I guess they need more money to pay for the new exotic sets and for the big names which IMO won’t make the slightest difference to the sucess of SGU. None of this new cast come close to the charisma of RDA and Joe Flanigan. I’ve spent all the money I’m going to on this franchise and have no intention of ever buying Stargate DVD’s again.
@editorguy the main reason I buy the DVDs is for the special features and commentaries, as you are right, I can get the episodes themselves online. I bought all the SGA DVDs for this reason. Your dismal prediction for the future of DVDs does not bode well for the SG1 and SGA movies, does it?
editorguy:
Wow. Let me get this straight– you just insulted your customers by calling them/us hornets and that we need to get with the program with itunes? I really hope you are not actually working for MGM, but that would explain why MGM is now in trouble. IF anybody in my company said that to one of our customers they would be fired on the spot as the company made an apology to the client.
“This has become a popular trend for shows that air two chunks per season.”
Most of which just happens to be shows on networks belonging to NBC Universal Inc.
That includes but not limited to; NBC, SyFy, Bravo, USA, Oxygin.
These ‘split’ season sets are just a way for them to get more money, especially since they’re priced almost as high as the fullseason sets.
@editorguy, I’m just saying.. (not that I am condoning it, or actually doing it.) If downloading is going to be the way of the future, well IMHO, on one hand you have a release by the studio or channel, for a cost, then on the other hand, the same download (or a reasonable facsimile) is available for *FREE* off Torrents.. so as they say in the good ol’ US of A, Ya’ll do the math… DVD’s were always purchased for the un-adultrated version of the show + commentaries + additional material. I Wouldn’t want to waste 4.xGb of data off… Read more »
The DVD market is shrinking, more now than even a year ago. Profit margins are being cut as more $ are coming out of that purchase price. Anyone happen to notice the writers strike that paralyzed the industry and many support business? (Heavy sarcasm ) They wanted fair compensation for their work as it aired in other ways and rightly so. (Everyone say Internet.) And they are not the only ones. Directors, actors and studios all want their fair share. So, when I say “Internet” I am not just talking about the “black market” downloading of shows commercial free but… Read more »
BTW, did anyone notice the flimsy packaging of the new Children of the Gods DVD? The sides of the case had open slots; as did the SGA blue ray case. Even the cardboard cover was very thing. They screamed cost cutting. One more thing….. The reason that I have purchased multiple box sets for myself (including the original SG-1 season 1-8 and slimline (x3) for children, gifts etc., is because Stargate’s DVDs have always been reasonably priced compared with the “cash cow” that was Paramount: Star Trek. The original DVDs of ST: TNG were the most reasonably priced at say… Read more »
Yeah we know it is to make more money. Sorry I’ll wait til they have it in one package. Heck I might wait til the show is complete and get all at once. Depends on how great it is.
Hornets is a reasonable way to describe your average Internet forum or message board, and the responses to editorguy have in no way proven him wrong in characterizing the posters thusly. Do people want the things they enjoy to keep being created and distributed? Then frigging buy them. End of story. I’ll pre-order the first season — *or* half-season set if that’s how they go — the moment I see it available on Amazon. Same way I did with every season of SGA, same way I do with Supernatural, Lost, Smallville, and S1 of Dollhouse. There are more than enough… Read more »