Whedonesque : Comments on 20621 : Pre-ordering the Comic-Con edition of Dollhouse DVD?

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June 08 2009

Pre-ordering the Comic-Con edition of Dollhouse DVD? According to TVShowsOnDVD, starting July 6 you'll be able to pre-order the special Comic-Con edition of Dollhouse: Season One, for pick-up at Comic-Con. Otherwise, you try to grab one of the limited number of the sets being held back for sale at the event itself.

The One True b!X | Dollhouse | 20:41 CET | 40 comments total | tags: dollhouse, dvd, blu-ray, comic-con, lenticular letter

So, fight the Internet, or fight the crowds on the convention floor. I foresee me failing at both.

The One True b!X | June 08, 20:44 CET

Well, I'll try both to get the Dollhouse set. If I have to get a Blu-Ray set, that means I will have to get the player, too. I foresee an instant sellout, just like last year's Buffy Paley Fest Panel.

impalergeneral | June 08, 21:17 CET

So FoxStore.com is going to crash roughly around 10 am PST on July 6? Got it.

The Ninja Report | June 08, 21:27 CET

Crap. Hope I don't forget to preorder this. It'd be pretty terrible to drive all the way to Cali and not get my hands on one of these.

Jobo | June 08, 21:27 CET

I really hate Comic-Con exclusives. It's always stuff I want that I know I'll never be able to get. Stupid job keeping me from doing fun stuff.

BigVessXpress | June 08, 21:33 CET

another server crash brought to you by us wacky Browncoats LOL Good luck to all trying that morning and at Comic Con, I'm right there with you ;)

[ edited by Teacherdarling on 2009-06-08 21:45 ]

Teacherdarling | June 08, 21:40 CET

Yes, B!x, but your feet will hurt less while fighting the internet, and you can do so with a frothy beverage in your hand. And by frothy beverage I mean rootbeer float. What A&W puts in these things to make them so addictive, I'll never know.

Hopefully Fox's IT folks are ready for the influx so it doesn't crash like the ComicCon hotel reg system. But I also hope these sell out just as fast (was it 5 minutes again this year?) to reiterate to Fox that we mean business. Literally. "Keep making good stuff, keep getting our cashola." Rinse, repeat.

RayHill | June 08, 21:46 CET

You'll be emailed your pre-order code which is needed for pickup somewhere at Comic Con (the "where" at Comic Con hasn't been worked out yet)

This can only go well.

Simon | June 08, 22:22 CET

At least it is my lunch hour then. Let's hope...

Lioness | June 08, 22:48 CET

This seems suspiciously like a situation where many people get to fight both kinds of crowds.

Sunfire | June 08, 23:07 CET

The sad part is a lot of people who's going to get it, are probably just those resellers, which will just post it sometime later with a higher price on ebay.

Because they might bank from people who will not be able to attend Comicon.

Numfar PTB | June 08, 23:08 CET

This seems suspiciously like a situation where many people get to fight both kinds of crowds.

We'll be doing live coverage of the debacle on both days.

Simon | June 08, 23:11 CET

Are they somehow going to limit this to folks who are actually going to be at Comic-Con, or do we have to deal with the likes of, as said above, resellers?

Sproing | June 08, 23:54 CET

I'm looking forward to the chaos already ;).

Still would really like to get one of those exclusive sets, though (but won't, obviously :)). They always do stuff like this at Comic-Con. There's never a "there will be an exclusive set available at one local retailer in The Netherlands, close to where you live" thing ;).

GVH | June 08, 23:58 CET

Are they somehow going to limit this to folks who are actually going to be at Comic-Con, or do we have to deal with the likes of, as said above, resellers?

I'm going to assume that they'll hold all preordered sets until probably the last day of the con and then sell the ones that haven't been picked up since it's entirely possibly that people who won't be at the con will preorder.

I for one, now have the dilemma of which version to get, DVD or Blu-Ray. I'd rather the DVD since it looks nicer. I've always hated the stupid Blu-Ray cases. Plus, I have no other BR films or shows and I'm still out on whether BR will succeed. I do have a PS3 though so it's not like I wouldn't be able to watch BR. And the BR have smaller numbers. >_>

The Xan Man | June 09, 01:21 CET

Crap.

Well, here's hoping this is the only hopeful thing to come out of the ratings. Yes, very false hope, but hope nonetheless. At least they tell us the time zone. Yikes. This is going to go bad.

I want one.

korkster | June 09, 01:37 CET

Well suddenly I'm a little more content with the fact that I have to stay home and pre-order from Amazon.

embers | June 09, 01:37 CET

I suspect they are only offering 5000 special edition sets based on the Neilsen ratings, and decide there can't be that many people who want the DVD if the show attracted three million people.
About 25 thousand (half Blu-Ray and half regular DVD) may be a little better, and maybe offer such a set on Amazon for a week. That would we smarter.

impalergeneral | June 09, 01:46 CET

I suspect they are offering only 5000 special edition sets because they know Whedon DVDs sell and because making it hard to get even among the hard core geeks is the very smart thing to do. It's what I'd do, if I was them.

Sunfire | June 09, 01:52 CET

So this is definitely a 1/per deal?

iwearthecheese | June 09, 01:54 CET

A 25,000-copy "special limited edition" would sort of take the special out of the limited. The entire point is for it to be rare. Making five times as many and putting it on Amazon would be silly.

The One True b!X | June 09, 02:00 CET

Rare= more valuable is silly. IMO. It is what it is, special or not special, and we (humans, including moi) are sheep, in this regard. Well, not actual sheep. They are happy to munch, regardless of how much or little pasture there is, and do not prefer , or probably even like, say, caviar. Sensible. Personally, I like caviar. What on earth am I talking about?

toast | June 09, 02:36 CET

It's just human psychology. Making something harder to get gets you some free buzz and makes people want it a bit more. I for one am glad they're doing it. Between that, a panel, Joss's genuine Con charisma, and showing "Epitaph One," this should be a very good event going in to Season 2.

Sunfire | June 09, 02:42 CET

Rats,

I was hoping they were doing a pre-order thing so they could produce enough ahead of time.

Be careful everyone going.

1st goal is to not get hurt.
2nd goal is to get a Dollhouse DVD.

Remember that Wal-mart disaster the day after Thanksgiving.

[ edited by Anonymous1 on 2009-06-09 02:45 ]

Anonymous1 | June 09, 02:44 CET

Well, this should make things a whole hell of a lot easier on me and my Californian friend.

UnpluggedCrazy | June 09, 04:08 CET

This sucks. I wish they would offer some online for the unlucky folks who can't make it to Comic-Con this year. Damn my boyfriend and his touring band! I guess I'll have to shell out the big bucks on eBay as usual. :(

twinkiefoo | June 09, 07:46 CET

Im going to Comic-Con and all, and I was a bit freaked about not getting this super cool DVD. But, now that I have the chance to pre-order my hopes and dreams look that much brighter YAY!!

RheaM | June 09, 08:44 CET

Thinking about it Fox shouldn't have gone down this route. I'd have would brought out a basic DVD boxset and a limited edition DVD boxset for general release. Bit like what they do for video games. Then everyone gets a chance to get it, not just those who are going to Comic Con.

Simon | June 09, 09:22 CET

But to be honest, I do see their point in doing this. Comic Con is a crucial part in Dollhouse's chance to pick up new viewers over the summer. It is probably the biggest event to hype the show to the target audience. If they want a hype, it has to start there.

wiesengrund | June 09, 09:30 CET

Comic Con is a crucial part in Dollhouse's chance to pick up new viewers over the summer.

Wouldn't the people going to Comic Con be watching it anyway? And they're getting to see Epitaph One before everyone else (well within reason).

Simon | June 09, 09:33 CET

And plus, I'M going to Comic Con this year, so they totally have to offer lots of special goodies as a mark of appreciation for my trans-Pacific journey.

I would appreciate a reminder closer to the day itself please, given that I still haven't firmed up dinner plans for this evening... and it's already 6:30pm!

missb | June 09, 09:37 CET

Wouldn't the people going to Comic Con be watching it anyway?

I don't think so. There's still a big part of genre, sci fi and even Whedon fans that needs to be convinced. Dollhouse is definitely not being watched by every Comic Con attendee. Um, at least that's what I'm feeling from the, erm, never-been-to-Comic-Con-cause-I-live-in-Austria-perspective. :)

wiesengrund | June 09, 09:42 CET

I'm standing up for the rights of rich fans who can't go to Comic Con :).

Simon | June 09, 09:48 CET

I have to agree with Simon, I think that the people who attend Comic Con are Joss' core audience: he packs the largest hall even when he doesn't have a show to promote, so I assume most of the people there have already given 'Dollhouse' a look. Which all makes for a really long sentence, but it is early and my grammar skills are wanting.

embers | June 09, 14:45 CET

Actually embers, it's the second largest hall and it only holds 5000 people if I remember correctly. Considering the con sees 125,000 attendees on any given day I think there's room for improvement in the Dollhouse viewer base there.

It can seem like Joss is the center of the con to the lay man (or woman) but the con is so much larger than you might think. It's just that his fanbase (us) is very vocal there.

The Xan Man | June 09, 16:43 CET

Comic-Con exclusives are part of the thing. I don't get what the problem is.

The One True b!X | June 09, 17:34 CET

The problem is not everyone is us and can be there. Then again, it's not like every fan can be at every convention or whatever to get every piece of exclusive junk* they have in the world. You could be somewhere else where others aren't and get your hands on something equally as shiny.

*The word junk is used lightly in this sense

The Xan Man | June 09, 18:26 CET

Shhh!! The less people who know about this, the better!!

Riker | June 09, 19:22 CET

Seriously! Why is this on the front page? Quick, take it down! Secret handshakes all!

korkster | June 09, 22:45 CET

Simon | June 09, 09:48 CET

I'm standing up for the rights of rich fans who can't go to Comic Con :).

Ebay! Charity auctions. Etc.

Anonymous1 | June 10, 04:43 CET