Riba Rambles:
Firefly on DVD: A modest proposal

Like any good fan, I keep talking up Firefly to other friends, but the real proof of the show is in the watching. And, well, my husband and I only have one copy of the DVD box set, which we enjoy enough to not want it too long out of our hands, and it's a bit too expensive either for us to buy a lending copy or for uncertain viewers to necessarily take the risk.

I wonder if anybody in charge would consider making a cheaper "teaser" DVD. One disk. Just the pilot, or maybe the pilot and one other episode.

Regardless, sell it for cheap. Dirt cheap. Make it an impulse buy. Maybe $5 to $10, with a coupon inside giving purchasers a discount on the full box set if they like it.

I think that could help garner a lot more viewers in time for the movie this September. [Especially if they can throw in a trailer for the film as a bonus!] Not only would it entice the curious, but existing fans might be willing to buy a few as gifts.

So. Anybody know anybody who could pass this idea on to the appropriate parties?

[PS: I just heard that Harry Potter, Batman Begins, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are going to be released in IMAX. Any hopes for an IMAX Serenity? <drool>]

Added slightly later: Here's what I see:

DVD with just the 2-hour pilot for about $6, or with the 2-hour pilot plus one episode (I'd vote for "Our Mrs. Reynolds) for $9. [Assuming the 14-episode box-set goes for about $40.] Packaging may be as simple as a cardboard sleeve. Bonus feature includes trailers for the Serenity movie.

The package includes a coupon (with the UPC code from the box -- no receipt necessary, so it can be a gift) for $5 or $8 off the box set. That way, if new viewers like this taste of the series, they can buy the rest of the show without paying twice for what they've already got. And then, once they have the box, they still have this little sample DVD to lend to their friends. [And the studio won't risk borrowers double-dipping on the rebate/coupon, since the UPC will already have been cut off.]

And this wouldn't just appeal to potential new viewers.

Even though we already own the box set, I might consider buying the $6 version to lend to friends and coworkers, so I don't have to part with our existing DVDs.

Win all around, don't you think? Other than the risk that Fox wouldn't want to be promoting a Universal picture, do you see any downsides?

PPS: See these other TV Starter Set DVDs for a similar concept already in place.