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Message 1 -- Feb. 12, 2002

3,102 signatures

Welcome to the DVDaria list. Thanks for signing up.

This is only a test. In the event of "Is it College Yet?" being released on DVD, you will instructed to go buy it, and told where to find it. Which is the primary purpose of this list.

Until such time, I'll keep you abreast of DVDaria site developments -- and we will have some, some good ones, soon -- while sharing all the news and rumors fit to email about "Is it Fall Yet?" and MTV's inevitable decision to release the entire series on DVD.

It bears repeating that what will make this happen will be sales of the DVD. I'm cynical enough to not believe in repetition as a sales technique, but, y'know, it works. So, I fight my better judgment and keep hammering that point home. I only wish I'd had the presence of mind to do so when the site was getting 200 hits a day -- around Jan. 21 -- but I was too busy being a fan.

The good news is, I keep finding people who: a) Didn't know IIFY? was released on DVD, and b) Try once to buy it at the mall and find it isn't there, then give up. That's good news because -- outside of the fan community, those who discover the big fan sites that link to it (for which I am deeply grateful), and folks who stumble upon it searching Google for "daria on DVD" -- to date, there's been no real promotion of DVDaria. And you may have noticed that there's no real promotion of the DVD, either, outside of the Daria festival last month. These days, the site is about it.

Some of you who frequent Daria message boards wonder if "fandom" will "continue." Well, in its present form, probably not. But there will be many folks who do remember that cool show on MTV, and my goal now is to be here for them, and point them at whatever product we get, until the boxed sets appear.

All of you are DVDaria, as are those who've contributed even the slightest bit -- some news here, a suggestion there, or even your signature. I'm just the scribe. I'm cynical enough to not believe in multilevel or viral marketing, but, y'know, it has it's place.

Some time spent looking for DVD petitions -- offering cross promotion -- is needed. I'm going to build a page for that. Some time spent looking for message boards in the target demographic and spreading the word would be cool. And looking for reviews anywhere would be productive, as well -- we'll point the fence-sitters at those, and gather them to show whomever at MTV might look in that the discs are valued outside the class of message-board miscreants. Please let me know what you find.

Here's some reviews that I've found recently, and it seems that a polite word toward the reviewer can yield happy results in terms of information and more places to look:

DVD Talk -- Review by Adam Tyner http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=3258 --

Adam was very kind and added a plug for DVDaria to his review. So go read his piece, which is very thorough and positive.

He also offered this information about how the DVD is doing (Feb. 6):

"I haven't been able to find a source that provides VideoScan stats beyond the week's top 20. A studio source might be your best bet, since VideoScan doesn't include online purchases, which I think might account for a decent percentage of Daria sales. Amazon lists it 767th in terms of popularity which, in the scheme of things, is a pretty solid number.

"By comparison with other MTV releases, "Real World - New Orleans" DVD is 2,695, "Tom Green Show: Uncensored" is 2,657, "Inside Fear" is 11,411, "Total Request Live - Best Of Carson" is 10,194, "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2001" is 2,440, and "Finest Moments - MTV Unplugged" is 2,596. It's also outranking DVDs from major studios released on the same day, not that stomping "Bubble Boy" or "Glitter" would take much effort.

"I didn't look at all of MTV's DVD releases, but if Daria isn't their most popular release on Amazon, it's awfully high up there. That's just one retailer, but strong sales at one are probably indicative of respectable sales elsewhere as well."

DVD File -- Editor's Choice review by Dan Linzmeier http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/dvd-video_4/daria_isitfallyet.html

Pretty good review, but he gets the suggested retail price wrong, saying it's $24.98. He needs setting straight.

DVD Verdict -- Review by Dezhda Mountz http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/daria.shtml

"I never watched Daria, but I'm gonna start because I really liked this movie." Jeepers, if only MTV and Paramount would read this one.

Apollo Movie Guide -- Review by Ryan Cracknell http://apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=3857

A less glowing review, but at least he was honest. And reviewed it. Those of you who revel in the reviewer's art might kill some time picking it apart.

Adam Tyner was also kind enough to point me at the Home Theater Forum message boards at http://hometheaterforum.com. Yes, one of you told me about this long ago, and I did nothing -- I should have. I've got threads started in "TV and HDTV Programming" and "Studio and Manufacturer Feedback" that need bumping, if you're so inclined, to keep getting the word in front of fresh eyes. Or start your own. It's a most excellent forum -- heavily moderated and requiring your real name, which makes it ultra-civil -- and you won't be disappointed.

The very good news is that one Martin Blythe -- Paramount Home Video's Vice President of P.R. -- reads these boards. He's already responded to the question of more DVDs by saying, "Lobby MTV. We distribute them." So, I took the opportunity to point out that we've been doing so for nine months. Hope he reads it.

This has gone on long enough. Thanks for your attention and for supporting the DVDaria effort.

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NOTE: These notes are intended to cover recent developments and finds for those who never look up Daria information. Sorry if you've read some of this before. Write me to unsubscribe if this tendency gets annoying.

Remember that you can show this to people at http://yahoogroups.com. They'll have to register and sign up for group name "DVDaria." Or -- duh, Al -- just forward this mail.
Alan Benard

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Last update: 2002-02-19