DVD’s: Spending the Night

Nov. 7, 2005 issue - This week, HBO is releasing a pink velvet binder with 20 discs (that’s 94 episodes) of "Sex and the City." The collection includes all six seasons now sold in separate boxed sets, in addition to a batch of extra extras. (How do you get to Manhattan’s Magnolia Bakery? Pop in disc 20-or look in the Yellow Pages.) Sofia Chang, HBO Video’s vice president of marketing, calls the new collection a "coffee-table DVD." But given its $300 price tag, you might need to sell your coffee table to afford it.

The latest trend in TV-to-DVD: lavish boxed sets that include every episode, not just a single season, of long-running shows. In November Warner Home Video drops a $300 "Friends" collection with 10 seasons in a wooden box. Fox Home Entertainment is putting out a collector’s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," with 40 discs that include all 144 episodes and a letter from creator Joss Whedon. (The price: $200.) "We still get requests for something new on ’Buffy’," says Fox’s Steve Feldstein.

Studios hope the repackaging will tempt diehard fans and find new viewers. TV-show DVD sales have skyrocketed from $132 million in 2000 to a projected $2.7 billion in 2005. "I would say the top shows are worth repacking," says Jan Saxton, an analyst at Adams Media Research. But some consumers can’t help feeling cheated. "Fans have been buying these things for years," says Gord Lacey, founder of TVShowsOnDVD.com. "Now these complete series are released with everything for less money, attractive packaging and bonus material. It’s a slap in the face." And this time Samantha isn’t delivering it.