DVD confusion
I was looking on Amazon for the DVDs of this great show, reading the reviews and such, and there seems to be a convoluted situation with multiple DVD releases of the series, some of them shortened syndicated versions of the episodes while others are uncut full versions. Apparently the first few DVD releases from Anchor Bay in 2005 were shortened versions, but in 2006 they were re-released as the full versions, with the 2005 versions discontinued. Then later Mill Creek got the rights to release new DVD sets, and from what I understand, the first four seasons of the Mill Creek release are the full unedited versions, but for some reason seasons 5 and 6 contain the shortened versions of the episodes. Then in 2013 there was yet another release, this time of the "complete series" as a single set, and apparently this time the entire series contains only the shortened versions of the episodes, causing some consternation among fans.
Here's what the Wikipedia page has to say:
Anchor Bay Entertainment released all 6 seasons of 3rd Rock from the Sun on DVD for the very first time in 2005-2006.[9][10][11][12][13][14] Seasons 1 & 2 contain the edited, syndicated versions of the episodes instead of the original broadcast versions. As of 2010, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print. On these DVDs, the bloopers segments (on the last disc of each season) are in 16:9 format, indicating that the series may have been filmed in 16:9 format.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Rock_from_the_Sun#DVD_releases
On May 4, 2011, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that they had acquired the rights to re-release the series on DVD in Region 1.[15] They have subsequently re-released seasons 1-4. These releases contain the unedited, original broadcast versions of the episodes.[16][17] Seasons 5 & 6 were re-released on January 8, 2013 containing the same edited versions of episodes seen on the Anchor Bay release.[18]
I find the whole thing confusing and I was wondering if anyone could help clarify which DVD sets are the best ones to get. I'm looking for the full, unedited versions all the way through. It seems clear enough that the Mill Creek releases of seasons 1-4 are ok, but if i'm following all this correctly, it doesn't look like the DVD sets of seasons 5 and 6 have ever, in any of these three separate releases, ever contained the full, unedited episodes. Am I wrong, did I misunderstand somewhere? Because this whole thing seems to be a needlessly complicated mess, and plus I can't understand why they would release the first four seasons complete and unedited and then release the last two seasons shortened. It doesn't make sense to me.
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