HBO, a studio known for quality programming, is at it again. We aren’t even a month into summer and already HBO Video is giving hints and announcements of what to expect this fall and beyond. Like it did with Sex and the City and Six Feet Under, releasing complete series box sets, HBO will be ushering some new series box sets this fall.
Bada bing! Here comes Tony Soprano, who is about to put a hit on Santa this holiday season. The show that made you ask your friends “What are you doing Sunday night?” will get its moment in the sun as a complete collection arrives just before Thanksgiving.
Weighing in at 10 pounds, The Sopranos – The Complete Series will contain all 86 episodes on 28 DVDs. Plus three CDs of soundtrack music. And two discs of bonus material, including 16 “lost” scenes, an interview of creator David Chase by Alec Baldwin, roundtable discussions with writers and stars and Sopranos spoofs from The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and Mad TV. There’s also a panel discussion from the Paley Center for Media among “Whacked Sopranos” actors reflecting on their regrettable but necessary exits.
But if you want this massive set, it comes at a price. A price tag of $399.99 SRP. Your mileage may very when it comes to getting it on DVD, as numerous retailers, both online and in-store, may offer the bundle for less than $279.99.
“It’s really the biggest DVD gift set we have released to date, and that means both physically and metaphorically,” says Sofia Chang, the channel’s senior VP of DVD marketing. HBO is promising a huge marketing push for the release.
“We put a lot of work into it,” creator David Chase tells USA TODAY. He conducted interviews for the extras early this year, about seven months after the surprising (and anticlimactic) finale aired on HBO.
So that may be the icing of HBO’s complete series being released this fall, but the studio has some other surprises in store.
Another title to expect this fall is The Wire – The Complete Series. At the Entertainment Merchant Association (EMA) show this week in Las Vegas, HBO Video and Warner Home Video made the announcement. No word on if any new extras will be included with this title, but if it is anything like David Simon’s other police procedural, Homicide Life on the Street, then fans will be very happy.
Also announced at the EMA show was Deadwood – The Complete Series. The release will have similar packaging to the Sex and the City set and M*A*S*H* sets. All three seasons will be housed in one package resembling a big book with cardboard pages the discs will slide into. A look at the test packaging can be found here.
The last big HBO announcement at the EMA show was that the award-winning mini-series Band of Brothers will make its way to Blu-ray this fall. The series will be released in a similar tin package like the original DVD release. Special to this release will be digitally restored episodes, DTS sound, and new bonus features like picture-in-picture commentary with some of the surviving members of Easy Company.
Expect more information on this and the aforementioned titles in the near future.
