MovieChat Forums > Friday the 13th: The Series (1987) Discussion > Worth buying whole series on DVD?

Worth buying whole series on DVD?

posted 10 years ago by Struckworld7767
14 replies | jump to latest

Never seen this before, but I am a huge fan of the movie franchise. (I understand that both of them are unalike though)

I just finished re-watching Twin Peaks and was in the mood for more late 80s/early 90s TV, when it dawned on me that the Friday The 13th series would be the perfect candidate.

Unfortunately the show is not streaming on Netflix anymore, and the only way to get it would be on disc. I won't buy it online, I'd much prefer to own a physical copy.

Would the DVD be worth buying? Is there any word on a Blu-Ray release coming? I wouldn't want to buy the DVD set only to find out that a Blu-Ray release is coming soon.

I'm from Paris... TEXAS

[–] daughterofolaf 10 years ago

I have heard nothing about blu-ray one way or the other but my guess is that it will not be coming anytime soon.

I bought the entire series on DVD after only having seen a handful of episodes on the Chiller channel and I personally felt it was worth it, especially since the price was so reasonablefor the pack with all three seasons. Very fun show and some episodes truly are creepy. The sets are high quality with good packaging. My only complaint is that there is no "play all" feature which, in my opinion, completely sucks to not have on DVD's of TV shows.

Anyway, the formula for most of the run is more or less the same which I guess some people might feel is a flaw and I have heard others complain about the DVD transfer being only so-so but come on--this is a TV show from the 80's so...it's going to look a little old. Because it IS! I personally have no issues with the transfer. It's fine and looks as it should--like an 80's horror anthology show. :)

If you enjoy 80's movies and TV and like horror and/or anthology style shows then this should be an ace-in-the-hole for you! Happy watching. :D

"It wasn't me who was murdered, was it?"

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] NadareNeko 10 years ago

I think the series is worth owning on DVD. I'm a big fan of 80/90's horror though. It's a fun premise with very unique artifacts. The characters are enjoyable, and the atmosphere is great. The last time I looked at the DVD set prices, it was pretty cheap so it won't cost much to give the first season a look. If you like that, I'd say buy the rest of the series.

"I'm a nasty piece of work, Chief. Ask anybody."
- Good Ole Conjob aka John Constantine, Hellblazer

[–] classics_guy 10 years ago

Yes. I loved the show! I bought it new off ebay and paid about $83.00 for it!
Now it's at $47.91!

I bought mine 2 or 3 years ago though.

[–] alucard624 10 years ago

If you're really unsure of getting the show on DVD, there are a few episodes here and there on Youtube to watch so you can get an idea of how the show is before you decide to go further.

[–] chimp1978 8 years ago

I don't know if you already bought DVD, but there will be another new set of DVD for all three Seasons next month at Amazon and other sites. Nothing news on Bluray.

[–] putrescent_stench 8 years ago

Any info on why they're releasing a new DVD set? Better transfers? Extra features? I haven't seen this show in years and hadn't thought of it until I got an old Fangoria magazine at a convention that talked about Season 2 and saw it referenced in "Crystal Lake Memories." I'd love to watch it again.

Given the popularity of the Friday the 13th franchise, I'm surprised there hasn't been more attention to the show or talk of a remake. "Crystal Lake Memories" talked about how part of what stopped them was all the boo-hooing about the black magic and violence. Nowadays they could get away with a lot more.

"every time godzilla loses to mothra I die a little bit more"--Godzillaswrath

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] ARH 8 years ago

From the reviews on Amazon, it sounds like they just repackaged the previous release.

[–] Barlow_and_Straker 8 years ago

Yeah, I just bought the CBS repackaged one that just came out; it's nothing great at all. The previous complete series release is packaged and designed MUCH better! I recommend NOT purchasing the new series release, but definitely recommend buying the first complete series release. The new release has a black and white skull on the front and the older release is in all color.

[–] thefuzzydan 8 years ago

I really wouldn't hold my breath on a better DVD transfer or Blu Ray release. While I have no inside info, I work in the film/video field enough to know that the current transfer is from the video masters or copies of the masters (honestly, I am kind of shocked on how poor the image is even for a series mastered on videotape). Star Trek: The Next Generation (another Paramount syndicated series produced and released at the same time as Friday the 13th) had this issue (soft, blurry image) when it was broadcast in HD on Netflix and Hulu when there was only the videotape masters to pull from. Since Star Trek has a large and devoted following, Paramount sunk the time and money into remastering all the episodes from the raw film camera negatives and digitally re-creating the special effects. F13 was also shot on 35mm film so this process could be accomplished for it as well but I doubt the fan-base is large enough for Paramount or CBS Video to go through the effort. It really is a shame not only for F13 series fans but for the fact that it was actually an intricately photographed series and would be beautiful if transferred from the film negatives to HD. Again, I'm not counting on it.

The Fuzzy Dan Speaketh

[–] andersb36022 (90) 7 years ago

It would be nice if CBS studios would release the set with better audio quality if nothing further can be done about the picture. So many times I have to turn up the audio on episode after episode, there's no consistency there. Some eps were stereo while others are monaural. Also add subtitles to the episodes and some unreleased extras to cash in again.

[–] PaladinNJ (21513) 6 years ago

I bought the DVD set. Never regretted it.
You can see most of the episodes on YouTube but the quality is crap. (Last time I looked, Scarlet Cinema was not available, due to copyright issues with Universal, probably)