MSCL.com News Archive

Is MSCL being re-released on DVD?

Is MSCL being re-released on DVD? Here’s what we know so far!

Last update: June 15 2007 by Sascha

Is MSCL being released in R1?
A release is in the works, but nothing is officially announced so far.

tvshowsondvd.com broke the news in May 2007:

An article in the trade magazine VideoBusiness in late May 2007 mentioned more details about the DVD set.

Who is releasing MSCL in R1?
The set is expected to be released by Shout! Factory, the studio that handled the really impressive Freaks & Geeks set.

What are the bonus features on the R1 release?
Since the R1 DVD set has not been officially confirmed, we do not know what the bonus features will be. There is a list of suggestions here, but we can’t confirm that any of these features will end up on the DVD. If you have more suggestions for bonus features, feel free to add to the list or email Shout! Factory directly.

Please note that nothing is officially announced or set in stone. Things may still change!

Shout!Factory shot so far interviews with the following people:

Crew:
- Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz and Winnie Holzman (executive producers and creators of “My So-Called Life”)
- Todd Holland (director “Life of Brian” and “Weekend“)
- Jason Katims (writer “The Substitute“, “Life of Brian“, “So-Called Angels“)
- Scott Winant (co-executive producer, director “So-Called Angels“, “Dancing in the Dark” and pilot episode)

Cast:
- Wilson Cruz (”Rickie Vasquez”)
- Paul Dooley (”Chuck Wood”, he’s also Winnie Holzman’s husband)
- Devon Gummersall (”Brian Krakow”)

Audio commentaries for the following episodes (with various cast & crew members):
- The pilot episode
- Life of Brian
- So-Called Angels

More commentaries with other cast and crew members are in development.

The booklet will have tributes by Joss Whedon (of “Buffy” and “Firefly” fame) and Janeane Garofalo (”Felicity”, “The Larry Sanders Show”). Winnie Holzman will add an introduction with thoughts about possible future plot developments.

We will add new informations to this forum and our website at http://www.mscl.com/dvd as soon as they are confirmed.

How much will the R1 DVD cost? Where will the set be available? When can I preorder?
Again, the set has not been confirmed, so at this point we don’t know if it is being released, let alone what the retail price would be, where it might be sold, or when orders might be accepted.

Where can I talk about the DVD release at the forum?
R2 release: http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4052
R1 release: http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087
Shout! Factory: http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4092

How can I contact Shout! Factory?
You can contact them through their website:
http://www.shoutfactory.com/contact.aspx

You can email them at retail@shoutfactory.com

You can also send them letters:
Shout!Factory
2042-A Armacost Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

What happened with the last release? What is the controversy which was referred to by tvshowsondvd?
You can read all about it in the Another Universe section of the forum. Here’s the short version:

AU was supposed to release the set exclusively (meaning no other retailers would be selling the MSCL set). The first 2500 orders would also come with a special MSCL lunchbox created for the DVD set. The bonus features were supposed to be (1) the 1995 Museum of Television and Radio session with the cast and crew of MSCL from 1995 and (2) a 2002 interview with Winnie Holzman, Ed Zwick, and Marshall Herskowitz.

Many people preordered in February 2002 and were double and triple charged for the set ($99 each time). They were told not to report it to their credit card companies because then AU would not be able to refund their money. Months went by without refunds, and when people finally reported what happened to their credit card companies, they were told that it was beyond the time period where the credit card companies could do anything about it.

The original release date was scheduled to be June 2002, but the DVDs did not begin to ship until November 2002. There were issues regarding music clearances as well as non-payment from AU to BMG that caused the delays. Shortly before the DVDs began shipping, AU decided to allow other retailers to sell the DVD set (without the lunchbox or bonus disc). Everyone who had already paid $99 for the set (and in many cases been double and triple charged) was frustrated that the DVD set was being sold for as low as $45. The choice was to cancel their AU orders and risk never receiving a refund (a pretty big risk considering that many people were never credited for the double and triple charges) or hope that AU shipped their DVDs. In the midst of this, phone calls and emails to AU were going unanswered, their phones were disconnected, employees reported not being paid, and there was a general feeling of chaos. In order to persuade customers not to cancel their orders, AU promised that everyone who received an AU set would also get a lunchbox and bonus disc (not just the first 2500 orders) as well as a free MSCL shirt and an AU gift certificate. The shirts and gift certificates never materialized.

The lunchboxes and bonus discs (which contained only the 2002 Bedford Falls interview, not the 1995 MTR session) were not shipped until a year later in November 2003 because AU still owed the lunchbox manufacturer an outstanding balance. Eventually when AU closed its doors in 2004 because Ross Rojek (the CEO of AU) was arrested on fraud charges, Jason Rosenfeld (the man responsible for getting MSCL released on DVD in 2002) retrieved the remaining lunchboxes and shipped them to customers who still hadn’t received them. Whew!