It really pees me off that every season 1-4 release has been issued in a different format, including packaging, menus, extras etc. And now to really take the pi**, I have found out that "Universal" are about to release a 17 disc box set of seasons 1-4 for £47.99. This means they have ripped me off on price as well. No doubt this box set will probably be in a uniform package, so that it will look nice on the shelf, while my high priced individually purchased sets look odd. I have included a link below for anyone that's interested.
I've been buying each season on Amazon for $27.99 US and now they're selling for $20 - except season 6/7 of course. Thy'll drop the price on that 3 months after we buy it.
Whadaya gonna do. I still have my old Toshiba 386 laptop I paid $10,000 for in 1989.
Welcome to the capitalist system!
I held off buying Seasons 2 and 5 because I had
most (but not all) the episodes on tape, and it
paid off when Amazon cut the prices as you indicated,
which is what I expected to happen eventually.
BTW-When I lined up the boxes on my shelf, I noticed
that the picture of Columbo gets progressively smaller as the seasons progress. I wonder what that
is supposed to symoblize?
You all make excellent points, but you didn't actually think this digital racket wanted us to buy these things just once did you? If that weren't true, the discs would be encased ...like VHS tape.
I agree -- I find the incontinuity of USA-released packaging just as irritating as the representative artwork selected for each season. Whoever it was, certainly wasn't a fan of Columbo.
I've long since placed the 5 discs in their own acrylic snap cases, and the prints are superb, but the first season packaging was the epitome of marketing waste. I couldn't get rid of that cumbersome pain in the fast enough.
I really DO appreciate the DVD qualities, and my Columbo library is blessed with great transfers, but no matter how careful you are in handling its tenuous media, this so-called "digital age" is nothing more to me than replacements waiting to happen.