Prisoner's 2012 Release Dates!

[Robert]

well it is possible to buy the australian ones..it just doesnt seem to be a cheap option for UK people even via ebay..and the uk boxsets work out a lot cheaper for sure!

[Andra Jai]

I haven't bought volume 13 yet and will hold off until a further announcement

If no more are released I will sell off the earlier volumes and go for the Australian set.

[The~Governor]

Originally Posted by ChrissyJM

Nope me neither! It's really annoying when you think how loyal fans of the show are in the UK - to be treated this way is appalling!!

I totally agree. It's shameful the way the fans are being treated!

[JonD]

Ladies, Gents: You have to bear in mind that whilst you may all be die-hard fans of P:CBH, the volumes only sell on small quantities in the UK, in comparison with other TV shows. Also, even though it's an old series, it's not cheap to get it prepared, boxed and authorised for sale in the UK either. All of the prep-work, certification, artwork and discs, take time to be produced and approved. Fremantle Home Entertainemtn work on lots of other stuff, besides P:CBH.

Whilst I sympathise with all of you, who want to be owners of all 692 episodes, I would say count yourself lucky that you're getting the show at all. It's the longest series of any kind, to ever be released onto UK DVD. Releases have to be staggered, so that sales forecasts can be made, and actual sales figures can be considered likewise.

This is NOT a cheap series to be released onto DVD, so please can I ask all of you to be a little more patient. Fremantle would not have bothered releasing 13 volumes, if they had no intention of releasing all the others. It would be career-suicide for them to do this! Not only would they annoy all the people who have bought all the volumes thus far, think of all the money they would have spent, which could have gone onto releasing titles far more profitable and popular than P:CBH ever could be!

P:CBH is a niche title! It's also a soap-opera-style drama, and I say that as a fan of the show! As such, you can't expect Fremantle to produce and release every single volume of the rest of the series, overnight, just to please all of you. There are other things and other releases that also have to be considered.

Oh, and I'm a collector of P:CBH too, so am acutely aware of the delays too. But please be a little bit more sympathetic. Many other companies would not have bothered to release this show at all, moreso in the UK, due to the extreme length of it, and the limited fanbase it actually has!

Apologies if that sounds harsh, because it isn't meant to.

[L.J.F.64]

Whilst I agree that us fans have to be patient for the releases, why on earth did they release 3 sets within 11-12 weeks of eachother if vol14 is going to be a much later release, they should have staggered them out futher apart so we can have the sets out on a more consistant basis not give us false hope with rapid releases.

[ChrissyJM]

It's not the fact that they are taking a while to come out. It's the fact that there has been no communication to advise when the rest are coming out. I think it's fair to be concerned when you have invested money in to the first 13 that have been hyped up on this forum and elsewhere, for everything suddenly to go quiet. It won't be the first time series releases have been stopped midway in the uk!

Oh and the only difference between ours and the Australian is the packaging that's why volumes aren't coordinated on discs.

So yes I am concerned and still annoyed!!

[Andra Jai]

I don't mind waiting for the full series to be released as long as I know it definitely will be

I think all most of us want his confirmation that we won't eventually be left with 13 dvds of half a series which would be pretty useless to most collectors.

[JonD]

I understand where you are all coming from, but like I say, there may be a perfectly legitimate reason why there has been no news on Volume 14.

As for why Volumes 11, 12 and 13 were all released very close together, I don't know why, as I don't work or have any input into what Fremantle do with this series. They probably released them close together, due to a gap in scheduling alongside all of the other shows and films they release. This is not uncommon or unheard of. What you may see as quick-releases of a show, has often been planned weeks or months in advance.

Maybe Fremantle thought that it'd be nice to give you 3 sets to work your way through, because there would be a delay in getting the next set out? Maybe the copyright or licence was due to expire, and thus they were forced to release these three volumes very closely together?

Maybe there is unforseen technical problems in getting Volume 14 ready for sale? Maybe there's an issue with the master discs? Maybe there's been a problem with the discs after they've been produced and finalised? Maybe the staff are on holiday? Maybe there's been a fire at the duplicating centre? Maybe they've decided that they want to release other shows and films before the next Prisoner DVD set, so they can make some money, which can then be reinvested in gettting the next Prisoner volume out? Maybe there's been a death?

I don't know what has happened, but I fear some of you are coming across a tad selfish, as if its the masive conglomerate corporation versus the poor little Prisoner DVD watcher, and that they are denying you something that you feel you are automatically entitled to!

Originally Posted by ChrissyJM

It's not the fact that they are taking a while to come out. It's the fact that there has been no communication to advise when the rest are coming out.

I hate to break this news to you all, but you aren't entitled to know anything. Fremantle don't have to tell you jack, if they don't want too. You need to accept that. Just because their is a webforum where you have previously been given information about a pending release, or where previous releases have been advertised all over the media, doesn't automatically entitle you to get that same kind of information for all future sets.

With that said, no company would invest in releasing 13 volumes of a series that ran to 692 episodes, if they weren't prepared to stick with it, through the long haul, and see the show through to completion. There's no guarantee that any company would stick with it, but I'd bet reasonable money that you will see the rest of the show, eventually, just because Fremantle have invested a large sum of money thus far, and it would be career-suicide to NOT continue releasing the show.

Yes, I am aware that in the past, some companies haven't stuck with certain shows, (THIRD WATCH, THE PRACTICE are two US releases that were started then dropped), but I would like to hope that Fremantle are simply just very busy doing whatever it is they need to do to get Volumes 14 onwards ready for release.

Like I say, P:CBH is not the only show they release. It is not their best-selling or most profitable title. I therefore suspect that they are simply giving the show a temporary break, until they are ready to continue with it. If the fans have to wait a bit, then they have to wait a bit. It's as simple as that.

The fact they haven't told you why, is not something you or any of us should automatically expect to be told about. Neither is it something you should be demanding of Fremantle to justify why they are doing (or not doing) something. Just because they've given you the information before, it's always been as a courtesy.

Nothing more, nothing less.

You can't expect them to always give you the answers you want or need, nor should you be expecting them to tell you anything at all. Yes, you may be the customers, the purchasers, the fans of the show, but that doesn't give any of us the right to demand an explanation for something.

Have any of you actually tried telephoning Fremantle, or writing or e-mailing them? If not, it could be a good way of being pro-active, and getting answers to some of your questions.

Fremantle wouldn't release 13 volumes at great cost, only to then quit and give-up on it. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable reason for the delay. The fact you are all not privy to that info, is really, a moot point. You all need to be a lot more patient. Not everything that happens is done to actively piss you all off.

Keep your fingers crossed, wait a bit longer, and then hopefully something will be mentioned or announced. But please don't demand or expect that you be told about why there's been a delay or there's been no news. Sometimes, delays happen, and customers have to simply be patient!

[The~Governor]

You keep talking about Fremantle Media but the DVDs are actually being released by Shock - is Shock the distribution arm of Fremantle or something?

[Robert]

wow JonD..you make some fair points although some of the comments are perhaps slightly patronising
and also unless you work for fremantle you can't be sure on some of the points you make
I wouldn't have said people are being selfish in what they have said..even if it may seem that way to you