Battlestar Galactica Complete Series - Page 12

Who the hell is in charge of the packing for BSG on the HD formats? It's probably the same guy that thought the HD-DVD was a good idea.
How hard can it be to package them?

The telescopic core box doesn't really relate to the BSG series anyway. Does it resemble an FTL? Part of a Basestar? UNi said it was Limited. I wonder if it is limited enough to be gone by the end of the year.

I'm really considering plunking down the $170 for the UK set. I would just like a confirmation that the booklet has episode information.

BTW - Good review Dave. Does the packaging look like it will hold up over time, without getting "worn"?

I've had the boxset for a over a week now and I basically agree with your review, except that the variation in PQ does not bother at all, since it is, as you explicitely state, intentional, and even the most gritty parts look incredibly
better than the DVD. I didn't take the time to compare the PQ and AQ of the first season with the HDDVD though; did you?

From what I've read, it's not region B locked, but if SD extras are PAL, it may be a problem.

I have to think about it since I still have time to cancel my Amazon US pre-order. A bonus would be that at current exchange rate, it's a bit cheaper! Universal must have concluded the European market has a more sophisticated buyer

Sorry Dave V, bbut we seriously disagree on the toaster. If you have a place to display movie trinkets that's great, but you could have bought it as a separate item. That's what I said, for those that want one, buy one, but make it not part of the deal. Universal is assuming that all US buyers like toys

Also, how "green" is it to include made in China, oil-consuming trinkets that many will just throw away. Hey, maybe it does fit our energy-wasting US culture!

And maybe, just maybe, Universal was smart enough to know the greener European market wouldn't take to plastic junk in their cases

OK, my main objection is not the toaster but the dumb box & the way discs are displayed & stored.

ss9001

Why?

Calling it an improvement is hardly a good reason for not calling a spade a spade.

Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Don't disparage the good efforts of our HD-DVD boys and girls. It was a bang-up format! Even my GIRLFRIEND likes it when we watch Heroes (in HD DVD) because we don't have to deal with slow load times, menus and other annoyances. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff that's coming out on Blu, especially BSG. I am glad we have at least ONE hi-def format.

+1

Yet they keep making this stuff because people keep buying it, and the market for collectibles related to genre shows continues to grow.

I believe it's this stuff -- the collectibles, the conventions, the fannishness... the childishness -- that prevents shows like BSG from being taken seriously by the Hollywood establishment when Emmy-nomination time rolls around. This is not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing.

The telescoping box is solid and isn't cheaply made. The Season boxes are another story...flimsy comes to mind. My biggest gripe about the set is the lack of an episode listing. To forget that is unconscionable.

I was referring specifically to the BSG HD-DVD packaging, not the format.

That's the part that was my biggest concern. Fingers crossed the UK booklet has episode information, and not just character bios and pictures.
Disney did away with episode guides for the new Lost releases. I guess they cost too much to print??? LOL.

I strongly agree. The BSG Season 1 HD DVD package may have looked cool in pictures, but it is truly among the worst packagings ever made. It had zero rigidity to it. The clear plastic outer shell is thinner than your typical gallon of milk container; probably closer to the plastic of cheap bottled water. It is exactly like the plastic outer shell of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 season packs, but those have rigid interiors. Inside this flimsy plastic is, effectively, cereal box cardboard that is folded half a dozen times. And for disc retention, there are rubber hubs glued to the cardboard. It is very difficult to get discs on or off these hubs. It would be virtually impossible for them to make anything worse.

And for the BD packaging, for something that has a $350 MSRP, I have extremely high expectations. I wouldn't mind if each season came in its own shell similar to Lost, Die Hard collection, Blade Runner, Planet Earth, or even Heroes, and then have one large wrapper case around the 4 seasons. This telescoping package with each season facing a different direction sounds like it wants to be cool, but once people try fitting it on their media shelves, it seems like it will be dysfunctional.

Looking past the packaging, BSG really is a great show.

What's with all the hate for the toy? It's one thing to say, "That toy's dumb," and move on without giving it a second thought. But to be so violently opposed to its existence is a little weird.

I don't have any problems with toys. I like them quite a bit, actually. And I think we've reached a point in time in which toys based on a particular movie or show no longer suggest that that program is geared towards kids. Instead, it suggests that it's geared towards cool people.

And if the inclusion of a Cylon action figure in the box set sends up a red flag to the Emmy voters that BSG is not worthy of critical praise, then it just goes to show that Emmy voters are narrow-minded and living in the past. With that outlook, a show as progressive as BSG doesn't stand a chance to begin with, toy or no.

I think the problem with the toy stems from the idea that the toy was probably the brainchild of the person who came up with the box design. It follows that if you get rid of the person who did the toy, you'll likely also be rid of the person who came up with this incredibly stupid box set design.

I really really want to buy this, loved the show quite a bit, but I can't get past this packaging decision, especially not at this price. I may grab the Season 4.5 set and just hope the others get released later...

One thing to note is each season does come in its own box, which can be removed from the cube and stored in a more "normal" fashion. I would have preferred different packaging, but I'm more concerned with the content on the discs themselves, which is outstanding.

I too will hold off in the hopes of better packaging once this POS has had its last run. By then I'll probably have forgotten much of the minute details of the show, and I'll enjoy it better viewing the HD version from the start.

My understanding from the above was that the individual season boxes within the larger box are the "flimsy" boxes. Also, the way they're stored within those individual boxes looks less than desirable. I'm hopeful the 4.5 set will either have individual thin cases or a large case ala Planet Earth / Blade Runner.

I think that if there was an option to buy the "regular" BSG Complete Season without the swag and packaging, less people would be upset about it and simply just buy the cheaper one.

Brandon

Agreed.

bingo

And there's no "hate" toward the toy or the box
but pissed off at the stupid people who dream up these ideas & approve them as "neat" for the masses.

ss9001

I would suggest that your rant on the inclusion of the Cylon action figure is more childish than the inclusion of the item in the box set.

If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you want to throw it away, knock yourself out. I think you overestimate when you assume that your opinion represents the masses.

Agreed. Opinions are often best kept to ones self. I for one collect cool packaging. Like the batpod packaging for dark knight and the trunk for the harry potter blurays. Studios release these things for a reason, to appease true fans of the series not that nerds want perfect uniformity on their shelves in alphabetical order in perfect height and width. Some people need to get lives.

This is an internet forum. What else is there but to express opinions? After disclaiming that people should keep their opinion to themselves, you write that you like "cool" packaging like the Dark Knight and Harry Potter sets, that these things appeal to "true fans" and not "nerds [who] want perfect uniformity." Gee, all those sound like opinions to me.

ss9001 expressed his opinion forcefully on the BSG set. He's entitled to do so and this is the place and the thread to do it. You are entitled to express your contrary opinion as forcefully. But it's completely out of bounds for you to attack another poster for speaking his mind when he hasn't done so in a way that violates the rules here. Telling another poster to get a life skirts far closer to violating the prohibition on personal attacks here than anything ss9001 wrote.

^^
thank you

I'm only being as forceful as I have been to help get more people who don't like the way these collector sets are boxed to come out and state so. Maybe, some people at the studios will eventually get the hint. Or at least, offer traditional boxing for us traditionalists and "unique" boxes for those that want them.

For you who are criticizing my opinion or obstinance, you should go back & read the threads when BSG Season 1 came out on HD-DVD. Hundreds of unhappy owners, with cracked discs due to the nubs, flimsy box, on & on. So this is not new or isolated situation. For some reason, Universal wants funky boxes for hi-def BSG

The least Universal could do is put the episode guides in the box . With all these discs, it'd be nice to know what's on them!

ss9001

Really?

I'll bet there are more posters in this thread stating they don't like it or will wait for different packaging than do.

Shall we start counting them?

ss9001

Lurkers too

I really don't care for the gimmicks either... especially when they cost me more than a non-gimmicked set would.

That said, I want the content more than I want to protest the gimmick... so when left with no other option, I buy the gimmick to get the content.

I'm not one of those who has to have everything on my shelf match exactly or anything... but standard multi-disc cases would always be my preference for TV season sets.

Kind of reminds me of what is to come, for classics like Gone With The Wind and Wizard of OZ. Overzelous packaging, adding to the price of the movie. Not interested in paying for more cardboard or plastic. I just want the movies released in an organized format, that fits in my HD case shelving units and yes, that HD DVD 1st season is a pain in the butt to store in said cabinet.

What's worse is when you try to take a disc out, you may break it in two out of said HD DVD packaging. To add insult to injury, when my copy of season one arrived it was lacking the 4th disc, that must have fallen off the piece of crap rubber holder on the flimsy case

The outerbox is really sturdy. The individual season boxes are not that flimsy but I would not line them up on a shelf. They boxes would most likely pancake.

I never owned the HD-DVDs as I read about all those issues. I can say this set has no issues on my PS3. It sounds amazing and if you are familiar with the production of the show it also looks better than it ever has.

If you are a fan of the show and can justify the price, go for it. If not I'm sure it will be cheaper in a few months. I know I'm going to be starting from the begining.

You should have bought the UK verison of the HD-DVD set, which came in a nice digipack. The Brits were the more sane "packagers" back then too. BTW, this is supposedly what the UK version of the complete BD set looks inside (picture is from the DVD version, but it looks to be the same except possibly different colors):



Also a bit silly, but at least practical and a more reasonable size ...

I`ll wait for each season to come out seperately.

Will they include the other extras, such as Razor or even the pre-mini-series?