DVD Buying

On my friend's blog (Messages from Atlantis - the link is in my profile), he mentioned Amazon's gold box special for the dvd set of "Babylon 5." Now that I've looked, the price has gone back up. Chuck/Maethe didn't buy the set because he said that "Netflix ruined the impulse buy." Even though I'm not a member of Netflix, I've had a similar dilemma for at least a year now.

The dilemma: do I invest in a dvd or not. For years I never thought about it because my dvd buying habits were generally limited to single movies. I'd spend anywhere from $10-25 for a movie and figure it was worth it because a) I'd probably watch it multiple times, and b) I like the idea of showing my support with my wallet. If I did have a question about buying a dvd, it was usually because the dvd didn't come with any special features, which is something that I really enjoy.

More recently, almost any and all tv series have been released on dvd, which raises the dilemma to a new level because the price for these sets is significantly higher. I still like the idea of supporting the shows I like, but usually tv shows don't reward multiple viewings the way good movies do. (The clear exception is any Joss Whedon show, which is why I bought the set for "Buffy" and "Firefly.") So, do I invest in a set, watch the eps once with Partner, and then put the dvd's away? That hardly seems worth the high price.

Obvious solutions are to join Netflix or rent the dvd's from a video rental store. Another solution I've come up with is to let friends borrow the dvd's. In that way, the more people who watch the dvd, the more it was worth buying it. (To this end, I keep a running list of my dvd's and can email it to any friend who's interested.) Otherwise, I don't buy the set and hope the eps are rerun on tv ( thanks to the dvr).

Back to "Babylon 5." Since the price went back up, I had to seriously consider the investment. I've always heard it was a well-written sci-fi show (my cousin thinks it is the best-written show on tv), but will Partner and I watch it more than once? Do I have any friends who would borrow the set? We thought about it and decided against buying the set. Instead, I'll look for it at my video store (when I rent "Lost" season 4) and possibly rent the discs.

I looked at the gold box special today, and it was for "Angel." The price is really cheap, so I decided it was worth the investment and ordered it. I assume that, even though I've seen all the eps on tv, Partner and I will still want to see the show again. Also, it's a show that more of my friends are more likely to want to borrow.

For anyone keeping score, yes - I ordered it from Amazon. I did this despite my earlier assertion that Amazon sucked. What can I say? Hence the title, "Truth and Contradictions."