B5:TLT Actual DISCUSSION Thread

[A_M_Swallow]

{snip}And there are other good things about them, such as when they are generous, they are remarkably so, etc, etc.. But I mean it must be a wide-spread problem if expert after expert (usually about half of which make sense of me) keeps saying it.

I don't know how that'll ever be turned around, apart from hiring more police to hunt down and arrest random downloaders as a "lesson".

Expert after expert are just reading the same books with little thought.

As to getting them to work, has Britain's test-um-to-death had any effect?

 

[hypatia]

Well, we've got a huge problem with standardized tests in public schools, and it is beginning to creep a bit into college. It's not bad for us, though. In public school it's getting ridiculous.

No. I'm saying something simple. If you begin to struggle/fail in a class, get you BUTT IN AND GET HELP FROM THE TEACHER.

This didn't used to be an unheard of event. Now, it is. And the sicking mommy and daddy on you is quite real as well, at first I was shocked, now I just smile and "give the speech" appropriate to the rant/questions being screamed/asked.

No, this isn't from any book, unless others who experienced it wrote the book. It is very real, it began to impact pass rates horribly. I can actually now "save" 3 or 5 more students out of about 20 if they at least can start coming to lecture. They won't thrive, but they have a chance of learning enough to pass.

The student sitting next to him, though, will often be the one who is taking calculus next year, and he's just going to ignore his peers and figure the problem out for himself.

I tell you, it's a shift in mentality that is noticeable in real life to many teachers.

 

[Sindatur]

Well, we've got a huge problem with standardized tests in public schools, and it is beginning to creep a bit into college. It's not bad for us, though. In public school it's getting ridiculous.

No. I'm saying something simple. If you begin to struggle/fail in a class, get you BUTT IN AND GET HELP FROM THE TEACHER.

This didn't used to be an unheard of event. Now, it is. And the sicking mommy and daddy on you is quite real as well, at first I was shocked, now I just smile and "give the speech" appropriate to the rant/questions being screamed/asked.

No, this isn't from any book, unless others who experienced it wrote the book. It is very real, it began to impact pass rates horribly. I can actually now "save" 3 or 5 more students out of about 20 if they at least can start coming to lecture. They won't thrive, but they have a chance of learning enough to pass.

The student sitting next to him, though, will often be the one who is taking calculus next year, and he's just going to ignore his peers and figure the problem out for himself.

I tell you, it's a shift in mentality that is noticeable in real life to many teachers.

Honestly, College kids sick Mommy and Daddy on their teachers? Good Lord, what is the world coming to when a College kid can't even stand on his own feet in college?

 

[darth_librarian]

Also, as of nine hours ago a torrent is available (it was available prior to that , but only with a private tracker). That's extremely fast - the bloody thing isn't even out yet!

Perhaps I'll give it a download, not sure yet (please note that this will not affect my decision to buy the disc when it's released in region 2 at September's end).

I own a lot of DVD's, but try bringing that up at a party. It's amazing. People will proudly exclaim they just download and copy on a DVD, and (almost) never buy DVD's anymore. Try convincing them that it's stealing and hurtful for the industry. I wonder, if it was possible to steal clothes in complete anonymity (like downloading), would the same sense of entitlement be applied? I'm afraid so.

True, I'll occasionally download a TV series or film, but it never affects my buying habits. I never burn something to a DVD, and will often delete a show after having watched it. For instance, I'll watch Battlestar Galactica through torrents, then later buy the box set of that season when it comes out. Though I'm TOTALLY against piracy, I don´t see the harm in that.

Oh and Bester, thanks for the review. TLT sounds great. Altough it kinda sucks that B5 would have such empty corridors - JMS managed to always have the place bursting with life on a TV budget. Perhaps a drawback to the green screen?

Agreed totally on this, especially as stuff is often very difficult to find legit in the UK. (BSG has yet to make it off of Sky in the UK, four years on). Downloads for me are the exception rather than the rule. I tend to delete after 1 viewing anyhow. A good legal stremaing service (i.e. BBC iPlayer) would stop me doing this altogether.

Read Misspent Youth (2002) by Peter F Hamilton for a nice view on what Internet piracy will lead to, artists not being paid for any work that is immediatly available for free and TV, music and literature sliding into stagnation as a result. Artists do not neceisarily want to get rich, but they need to eat!

Folk just do not see this. Most of my friends have given up on buying DVDs and even going to the cinema.

 

[TheOneWhoWas]

Just finished watching it thanks to friend of mine, all I can say without any spoilers is.. Story #1 is like an OK episode of the series, not great but not bad either and probably better than anything else you'll be watching in the SciFi world.. Story #2 was simply AMAZING and I was quickly reminded of why I love this B5 Universe so much, the great dialogue.. I hope to "Drabawa" we see more of these DVD's in the future!

Can't wait until my copy gets here from amazon.com, I want to watch it again as well as all the extras :beer:

Keep

 

[GaribaldisHair]

BSG has yet to make it off of Sky in the UK, four years on ...

And it won't. As I understand it, Sky have moved away from sharing rights to its shows with the terrestrial stations in the UK, so the only place you can see them, either in first run or repeat, is Sky itself.

Hence, terrestrial viewers haven't seen seasons 3-6 of 24, any of BSG and probably season 3 onwards of Lost. I imagine it is a marketing move to encourage subscribers, especially where shows like 24 and Lost have built a fanbase elsewhere who then find the show moving to Sky.

Thank goodness for SciFi, who still do share rights, so I can now see the episodes of Heroes that I missed on SFC on BBC2.

 

[maneth]

Moving to Sky or buying the DVDs.

I'm trying very hard to stay spoiler-free for TLT until I can get my hands on the DVD.

 

[Les_Greenhalgh]

Moving to Sky or buying the DVDs.

I'm trying very hard to stay spoiler-free for TLT until I can get my hands on the DVD.

Hasn't BSG been shown on SKY 3 on freeview? not sure about 24 though.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

Hasn't BSG been shown on SKY 3 on freeview? not sure about 24 though.

Some of 24 has, but I am not sure how much. They have certainly not had season 6 yet, and I don't know if they have even had 5. Don't know about BSG.

Lost has only recently finished its run of season 3 on Sky One. I imagine that will take a while before it appears on Freeview. To encourage viewers to pay for Sky!

 

[raw_bean]

Some of us still can't even get Freeview...

Doesn't bother me overmuch, I watch mostly DVDs and barely any television at all these days. Mind you, when I move later in the year the odds are pretty slim I'll move to one of the other few areas of the country that still can't get Freeview.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

Mind you, when I move later in the year the odds are pretty slim I'll move to one of the other few areas of the country that still can't get Freeview.

You are clearly less familiar than you should be with Murphy's Law.

 

[dencor]

Went down to Best Buy early this afternoon and picked up my copy of The Lost Tales and though the 300 dvd was all the rage, it looked like The Lost Tales had sold a good number of dvds. Best Buy here in El Paso, Tx had a small section for our favorite show. Enough for about 30 copies and it made me feel good to see that 3 hours after its release they were down to just eight dvds left. I think I will go back tomorrow and see if any are left at all.

The mini comic that comes with it was a nice add and a wonderful tribute to Richard and Andreas. Though I am filled with excitment, having The Lost Tales before me, after almost a ten year wait. I can wait just a little while longer; until the sun goes down, to watch a show that made me laugh, touched my heart, made me cry but most of all made me believe that there can be hope, even for a person like me.

thanks
dennis

 

[hypatia]

I think it's great that the lucky few who can grab copies at this particular store get that particular extra.

I also know I feel like a chump for making sure I preordered early, in hopes that I might (in a small way) be helping to make future DVD's possible. I didn't expect thanks for doing this. But I also didn't expect to get the bum's rush, either.

And is it safe to assume that the entire international market (always one that seemed pretty loyal to and eager about B5) has no chance at all of getting this bonus?

Sure, they are running a business. O.K. From now on, so am I. No long the "ordering as loyal fan, in hopes of slightly helping the cause" for me. I'll be the wise shopper who waits for the best bargain.

So it's a business and the primary focus is to come out on top, business-wise. Fine. I shall follow those rules myself, from now on, and there are more than a few out there who will be doing the same.

No hard feelings, just a bit of a rude awakening to the fact that customer loyalty isn't worth shit. They're out to make the most money, and you are out to save it.

I'm glad I know the rules to the game, now.

 

[Jan]

I'm glad I know the rules to the game, now.

No, you obviously don't. What is with everybody being mad a WB over this comic thing and declaring that they'll change their buying behavior to spite WB for not appreciating their obvious loyalty? Clue: WB will never notice as everything is pre-digested by analysts long before any decision-makers or marketers see any trends.

As Sheridan might say, why not do something breathtakingly rational like opening up a dialogue?!? The rules of the game are that if you want to change the future behavior of a company, you TELL them. Tell them that you love the idea of the comic. Tell them that you think they went about distributing it the wrog way. Tell them that you're looking forward to seeing loyalty and pre-ordering rewarded next time around instead of a store or convention exclusive. Lots of you - tell them. By now we all know the litany, snail mail's best...be polite...thank them...but most importantly, *tell* them.

Don't get your nose out of joint, do something to change it. Isn't that what B5 is all about, changing things?

Oh...as for whether the international community has any hope of getting the bonus? You tell us about three days before your respective release dates. Because that's when we found out about it here in the US.

Jan

 

[hypatia]

No nose out of joint, and I found out that letter writing doesn't really seem to do much of anything, so no I don't think I'll be voicing a complaint. I'll simply be a smarter shopper from now on.

I know, Jan, you are JMS's ultimate defender. I don't even know if he had anything to do with it. I'm literally just saying it's good to know what rules to play by.

It is, in the end, a game of money. And I do have relatives in a town with a Best Buy and other similar big-store memberships.

As I said, it's just good to know when efforts are wasted, and how you might better play the game.

 

[KoshN]

I'm glad I know the rules to the game, now.

You and others are making a big deal out of nothing. The comic explains in more detail something that was mentioned in the Sheridan story. I can't believe the amount of pouting, crying and whining that is going on over this tiny comic that isn't even necessary for your enjoyment of the DVD.

If it's that important to you, find one at Best Buy, like I did. If you're so strapped for cash, return your Amazon one for a refund, but be sure to tell them it's because it didn't have the comic included. Sure, you'll have to pay return shipping, but those are the breaks.

Then, after you have the comic, you'll see that all this time, you've been caught up in the waa-waa hysteria and were making a mountain out of a molehill all along.

 

[hypatia]

The gas money it would cost me to get to a Best Buy makes that suggestion a bit insane.

What's funny, actually, is that I"m not mad at all and people keep saying, quite angrily, that I am. Wow, that's an interesting thing to witness.

My message is simple:

Now we know last-minute specials and deals are likely to pop up. So be aware of this, and make your buying decisions accordingly. With advanced notice I could have gotten a relative to help me out on this.

It's literally just good to know that advance ordering turned out to have a disadvantage. So I won't do it anymore for WB products, B5 ones in particular. I'm sure WB will survive. And I'll be a wiser shopper.

Now, let's see if the rabid "all that touches JMS must be good" talk can calm down a bit.

 

[KoshN]

No, you obviously don't. What is with everybody being mad a WB over this comic thing and declaring that they'll change their buying behavior to spite WB for not appreciating their obvious loyalty? Clue: WB will never notice as everything is pre-digested by analysts long before any decision-makers or marketers see any trends.

As Sheridan might say, why not do something breathtakingly rational like opening up a dialogue?!? The rules of the game are that if you want to change the future behavior of a company, you TELL them. Tell them that you love the idea of the comic. Tell them that you think they went about distributing it the wrog way. Tell them that you're looking forward to seeing loyalty and pre-ordering rewarded next time around instead of a store or convention exclusive. Lots of you - tell them. By now we all know the litany, snail mail's best...be polite...thank them...but most importantly, *tell* them.

No, Jan, that would take too much effort. They prefer to complain here.

 

[Jan]

Now, let's see if the rabid "all that touches JMS must be good" talk can calm down a bit.

Where did you see any of that? I thought we were talking about WB's marketing tactics. That has nothing to do with JMS that I know of and nobody...until now...has mentioned him.

Jan

 

[KoshN]

The gas money it would cost me to get to a Best Buy makes that suggestion a bit insane.

How am I supposed to know how much it will cost you in gas to get to your nearest Best Buy and back?

It's literally just good to know that advance ordering turned out to have a disadvantage.

You got your DVD for $2+tax less than it would cost at Best Buy, plus it wou;d have cost you time and gas to drive to Best Buy, all for an 8 page minicomic.

So I won't do it anymore for WB products, B5 ones in particular. I'm sure WB will survive. And I'll be a wiser shopper.

And the next one probably won't have a comic, and you'll have paid more to get it. Oh yeah, that's wiser.

Now, let's see if the rabid "all that touches JMS must be good" talk can calm down a bit.

Who's saying that?