"Blockbuster[5]
formerly called Blockbuster Video is an American multimedia brand and former
rental store chain. The business was founded by David Cook in 1985 as a single
home video rental shop, but later became a public store chain featuring video
game rentals, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater.[6]
The logo was designed by Lee Dean at the Rominger Agency.[7][8][9][10] The
company expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. At its peak in
2004,[11][12] Blockbuster employed 84,300 people worldwide and operated 9,094
stores.[13]
Poor leadership and the impact of the Great Recession were major factors
leading to Blockbuster's decline, as was the growing competition from Netflix's
mail-order service, video on demand, and Redbox automated kiosks. Significant
loss of revenue occurred during the late 2000s, and the company filed for
bankruptcy protection in 2010.[14][15] The next year, its remaining 1,700
stores were bought by satellite television provider Dish Network,[16][17] and
by 2014, the last 300 company-owned stores were closed.[18] Although corporate
support for the brand ended, Dish retained a small number of franchise
agreements, enabling some privately owned franchises to remain open. Following
a series of further closures in 2019, only one franchised store remains open,
located in Bend, Oregon, United States.[11][12][13][19][20][21]
History
1985–1996: David Cook era and early growth
A Blockbuster store in Durham, North Carolina
Blockbuster's beginnings can be traced back to another company, Cook Data
Services, founded by David Cook in 1978.[3][22] The company's primary goal was
to supply software services to the oil and gas industries throughout Texas, but
it was very unsuccessful.[22] Sandy Cook, David's wife, wanted to get into the
video business, and her husband would soon study the industry and future prospects.[23]
Using profit he made from the sale of David P. Cook & Associates, the
subsidiary of his company, he decided to buy into a video store franchise in
Dallas known as Video Works. When Video Works would not allow him to decorate
the interior of his store with a blue-and-yellow design, he departed the
franchise and opened the first Blockbuster Video in 1985 under his own company
Blockbuster Video Inc.[24][25] When he realized the potential in video rentals,
Cook abandoned the oil industry and began franchising the Blockbuster
store.[26]
The first Blockbuster store opened on October 19, 1985, in Dallas, Texas, with
an inventory of 8,000 VHS and 2,000 Beta tapes.[27][28][29] The chain's name is
derived from the term blockbuster, a Hollywood term for a successful film.
Cook's experience with managing huge databases proved helpful in driving
innovation within the industry.[3] Following early success from the company's
first stores, Cook built a $6-million warehouse in Garland, Texas, to help
sustain and support future growth that allowed new stores to open quickly.[3]
Blockbuster would often custom-tailor a store's inventory to its neighborhood,
based on local demographics.[3]
In 1987, Waste Management co-founder Wayne Huizenga, who originally had reservations
about entering the video rental industry, agreed to acquire several Blockbuster
stores.[30] At that time, there were 19 stores, attracting Huizenga's associate
John Melk's attention due to its efficiency, family-friendly no-pornography
image and business model. Huizenga and Melk utilized techniques from their
waste business and Ray Kroc's model of expansion to rapidly expand Blockbuster,
and soon they were opening a new store every 24 hours.[31][32] They took over
many of the existing Blockbuster franchise stores, and Huizenga spent much of
the late 1980s acquiring several of Blockbuster's rivals, including Major
Video. In 1989, Nintendo attempted to halt Blockbuster's ability to rent video
games, filing multiple lawsuits and lobbying the U.S. Congress to ban the
practice.[33] Nintendo ultimately lost the battle, which paved the way for
future video game rental.[33][34]
Blockbuster sponsored the Blockbuster Bowl in American football, which began in
1990[35] and was played at Joe Robbie Stadium outside Miami. The first three
editions were played under that name before Blockbuster withdrew its
sponsorship.
Blockbuster membership card (c. 1990)
In 1990, Blockbuster bought mid-Atlantic rival Erol's which had more than 250
stores.[36] In 1992, Blockbuster acquired the Sound Warehouse and Music Plus
music retail chains and created Blockbuster Music.[37][38] In October 1993,
Blockbuster took a controlling interest in Spelling Entertainment Group, a
media company run by television producer Aaron Spelling.[39] Blockbuster
purchased Super Club Retail Entertainment Corp. on November 22, 1993, from
Philips Electronics, N.V. for 5.2 million shares of Blockbuster stock. This
brought approximately 270 Record Bar, Tracks, Turtles and Rhythm and Views
music stores and approximately 160 video retail superstores into the
corporation.[40] It also owned 35% of Republic Pictures; that company merged
with Spelling in April 1994.[41]
Blockbuster became a multibillion-dollar company, but Huizenga was worried
about how new technology could threaten their business, such as video on demand
and the growth of cable television. In 1991, just three days after Time Warner
had announced it would upgrade its cable system, Blockbuster's shares dropped
more than 10 percent.[42] In 1993, he made an attempt to expand into other
areas by investing in Viacom.[43][44] Huizenga also considered buying a cable
company, but this was unknown territory for Blockbuster and he decided not to
take the risk. He also had the idea of a 2,500-acre Blockbuster sports and
amusement park in Florida, something Blockbuster was still considering as late
as August 1994.[45] Unable to come up with a proper solution about how to face
the growing threats to the traditional videostore, he made the decision to sell
Blockbuster to Viacom and pull out.[46] Viacom acquired Blockbuster in 1994 for
$8.4 billion to help finance its bid for Paramount in the bidding war with QVC
Network Inc.[47][48] Blockbuster's stock trade had been dropping steadily the
months before the merger, with a small rise after the deal was announced,[49]
and by the latter part of the decade, its worth was estimated to have fallen to
just $4.6 billion.[50]
The Blockbuster Block Party concept was test-marketed in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, and Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1994. It was an "entertainment
complex" aimed at adults, containing eight themed areas housing a
restaurant, games, laser tag arena, and motion simulator rides, and was housed
in a windowless building the size of a city block.[51]
During the 1990s Blockbuster expanded in the United Kingdom, purchasing the
country's Ritz Video chain. The stores were rebranded to Blockbuster.[citation
needed]
The original Blockbuster company, Blockbuster Video Inc., was merged into the
parent company Blockbuster Entertainment Inc. which had earlier replaced the
Blockbuster Entertainment Company. In 1996, Blockbuster Entertainment Inc.
merged into a new Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation[52] and the retail
stores, then called Blockbuster Video, were renamed Blockbuster. The logo
changed slightly, but retained the ITC Machine font.[53] In November 1996
Blockbuster confirmed that it was moving its headquarters from Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, to the Renaissance Tower in downtown Dallas.[54] Most of the workers
at the Florida headquarters did not want to relocate, so Blockbuster planned to
hire around 500 to 600 new employees for its Dallas headquarters. The company
had offered various relocation packages to all of its Fort Lauderdale
staff.[55] The second Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation was later merged
into Blockbuster, Inc.[citation needed]
1997–2006: John Antioco era, Netflix sale turndown, and financial peak
In June 1997, Taco Bell president John Antioco resigned from the company to
become CEO of Blockbuster.[56] Also that year, Warner Bros. offered Antioco an
exclusive rental deal, seeing as DVDs were emerging as the new home video
medium. Blockbuster was to have rights to rent new DVD releases for a period of
time before they went on sale to the general public. The studio was to receive
40% of rental revenues in return, which was the same deal already in place for
VHS rentals. Blockbuster turned the offer down, and the studio responded by
lowering its DVD wholesale price in order to compete with the rental industry.
Walmart seized the opportunity and in a few years surpassed Blockbuster as the
studios' single largest source of revenue. Other mass retailers soon followed
suit, selling DVDs below wholesale price as a loss leader in hopes of drawing
more customers to their stores and selling them more profitable items. Unable
to match prices, Blockbuster's business model was severely affected.[57]
In 1998, Blockbuster created DEJ Productions, which acquired 225 films
primarily to provide exclusive content to its Blockbuster stores prior to being
sold off to First Look Studios in 2005.[58] During that same year, Blockbuster
bought the Irish video rental store Xtra-vision, with over 200 stores in
Ireland and the United Kingdom. In 2009, Blockbuster sold off its Irish
operations to Birchall Investments, with the few Xtra-vision stores in the
United Kingdom being rebranded as Blockbuster.
A Blockbuster sign in Stamford, Connecticut, which stood until March 2023, when
it was removed and listed for sale online[59]
In late 1998, Blockbuster launched a loyalty program called Blockbuster Rewards
that allowed customers to earn free rentals, including one older title each
month from the category of Blockbuster Favorites. After the 1998 test launch,
the chain went nationwide with the program in 1999.[60]
In August the same year, Viacom sold the Blockbuster Music chain to Wherehouse
Entertainment, which was subsequently purchased by Trans World Entertainment in
2003.[61]
In mid-2000, the company partnered with Enron in an attempt to create a
video-on-demand service.[62] The agreement was supposed to last for 20 years;
however, Enron terminated the deal in March 2001 over fears that Blockbuster
would not be able to provide sufficient films for the service (Enron also filed
for bankruptcy that year).[63] Also in 2000, Blockbuster turned down a chance
to purchase the fledgling Netflix for $50 million (~$84.9M in 2024).[64]
In 2002, Blockbuster acquired Movie Trading Company, a Dallas chain that buys,
sells, and trades movies and games, to study potential business models for DVD
and game trading. Also that year, it acquired Gamestation, a 64-store UK
computer and console games retailer chain, and purchased DVD Rental Central for
$1 million, an Arizona father-and-son online DVD-rental company with about ten
thousand subscribers. DVD Rental Central would eventually become Blockbuster
Online.[65]
On or around October 14, 2004, Blockbuster was spun-off from Viacom. Online DVD
subscriptions were introduced on Blockbuster.com, also known as Blockbuster
Online.[66] Blockbuster also rolled out its "Game Rush"
store-in-store concept to approximately 450 domestic company-operated stores.
Blockbuster began game and DVD trading in selected U.S. stores.[67]
At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster had more than 9,000 stores worldwide.[12] In
December 2004, Blockbuster announced its intention to pursue a hostile takeover
of Hollywood Video, its major U.S. competitor.[68] After several extensions of
the tender offer, Blockbuster withdrew due to FTC opposition.[69] To counter
the Blockbuster offer, Hollywood Video agreed to a buyout in January 2005 by a
smaller competitor, the Dothan, Alabama-based Movie Gallery. Since then, Movie
Gallery has filed for bankruptcy twice and its entire chain of stores has been
liquidated.
In May 2005, financier Carl Icahn waged a successful proxy fight to add himself
and two other members to the board. Icahn accused Blockbuster of overpaying
chairman and CEO John F. Antioco, who had served in that capacity since 1997,
receiving $51.6 million in compensation for 2004. Icahn was also at odds with
Antioco on how to revive profit at Blockbuster. Antioco scrapped late fees in
January, started an internet service, and decided to keep the company
independent, while Icahn wanted to sell out to a private equity firm.[70] Also
in 2005, Blockbuster began a campaign promoting its "No more late
fees" policy.[71] The campaign proved controversial, with Associated Press
reporting that the new policy actually charged users the full price of the
movie or game after eight days which they could cancel by returning the product
in question and paying a fee.[72] More than 40 states filed suit against the
company for false advertising.[72] Blockbuster later settled the suit by
agreeing to refunds, as well as promising to better explain the policy.[72]
Vintage Stock acquired the Movie Trading Company name from Blockbuster in 2006,
and continues to use the name for Dallas-area stores.[73]
2007–2011: James Keyes era, financial decline, and bankruptcy
Blockbuster DVD-by-mail envelope
A billion-dollar campaign called "Total Access" was introduced in
2007 as a strategy against Netflix. Through Blockbuster Online, customers could
rent a DVD online and receive a new movie for free when they returned it to a Blockbuster
store. While it was a major success every free movie cost the company two
dollars, but the hope was that it would attract enough new subscribers to cover
the loss. Netflix felt threatened, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings approached
Antioco with a suggestion to buy Blockbuster's online business. In return, a
new system would be introduced where customers could return their movies to a
Blockbuster store. Before the deal could be realized, board member Carl Icahn
intervened, refusing to let the company lose more money through Total Access.
Antioco was pushed out in July and replaced with James Keyes, who rejected
Hastings' proposal, raised the price of online DVD rentals and put an end to
the free movie deal. As a consequence, Blockbuster Online's previously massive
growth quickly stopped.[74] Antioco's departure reportedly also involved
continued controversy over his compensation. He left with a $24.7 million
severance package.[75]
On June 19, 2007, after a pilot program launched in late 2006, Blockbuster
announced that it had chosen Blu-ray over HD DVD format to rent in a majority
of its stores. In the pilot program, Blockbuster offered selected titles for
rental and sale in 250 stores. Blockbuster stocked Blu-ray titles in almost
5,000 stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and
Australia.[76]
On July 2, 2007, the company named James W. Keyes, former president and CEO of
7-Eleven, as the new chairman and CEO. He introduced a new business strategy
that included enhancements to existing stores. The following month in August,
Blockbuster acquired Movielink for $6.6 million, forecasting a shift to
streaming video.[77] Movielink was an online video service that allowed
customers to download movie rentals from a library of over 6,000 films, created
in 2002 by five major studios including Warner Bros, MGM Studios, Paramount
Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Universal Studios.[78] The move gave Blockbuster
the opportunity to move away from the unprofitable Total Access (DVD-by-mail) service
in favor of online streaming. Despite growing competition from Netflix and
Redbox, the company downplayed the threat, choosing instead to focus on Apple
and Walmart as their primary competition.[79]
On September 14, 2007, Blockbuster GB Ltd bought a number of retail stores from
ChoicesUK plc. ChoicesUK is an AIM-listed multi-channel distributor and
retailer of DVDs, computer games, and CDs. The sale secured employment for
approximately 450 employees across 59 stores in the UK. As part of the transaction,
Blockbuster GB rebranded the stores as Blockbuster.[citation needed]
On February 17, 2008, Blockbuster proposed a buyout of struggling Circuit City.
However, following a due diligence review of Circuit City's financial books,
Blockbuster withdrew its offer in July 2008. Analysts were not favorable to the
proposed deal, viewing it as a desperate effort to save two struggling
retailers rather than a bold turnaround initiative.[80] Subsequently, Circuit
City filed for bankruptcy on November 10, 2008, and, after liquidating all of
its stores, ceased operations on March 8, 2009.[81]
At the beginning of 2010, Blockbuster had over 6,500 stores, of which 4,000
were in the U.S.—[82] a number that fell to 3,425 in late October the same
year.[83] In the United States it planned to close between 810 and 960 retail
stores, and instead launch as many as 10,000 "Blockbuster Express"
video rental kiosks by the middle of 2010.[84] It has been claimed that more
than 43 million U.S. households had Blockbuster memberships.[85]
On February 10, 2010, Blockbuster announced that it would cease all its
operations in Portugal, closing down 17 outlets and leaving over 100 workers
unemployed. Blockbuster representatives in Portugal blamed internet piracy and
the lack of government response to it as the key factors to the company's
failure in the country.[86]
In March 2010, Blockbuster began "Additional Daily Rates", or
"ADRs", for rentals not returned by their due date in the United
States, having already used this procedure in other countries such as the UK
for many years. An ADR was charged for each day a member kept the rental beyond
the rental terms. On March 12, 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Blockbuster's
independent registered public accounting firm, issued its audit opinion
disclosing substantial doubt about Blockbuster's ability to continue as a going
concern. This report was included in Blockbusters's 10-K SEC filing. On March
17, 2010, Blockbuster issued a bankruptcy warning after continued drops in
revenue threatened its ability to service its nearly $1 billion (~$1.36 billion
in 2023) debt load. By April 1, 2010, Carl Icahn had resigned from
Blockbuster's board of directors and sold nearly all his remaining Blockbuster
stock.[87] Blockbuster paired up with Time Warner to have Warner Bros. movies
made available in Blockbuster stores on the DVD release date and not be subject
to a four-week delay.[citation needed] Similar agreements were also made with
Universal and 20th Century Fox.
The liquidation of Movie Gallery began in May 2010, eliminating Blockbuster's
primary competitor. During the same month a dissident shareholder, Gregory S.
Meyer, in an effort to be elected to Blockbuster's board of directors, engaged
in a proxy battle with Blockbuster's board, alleging that the board had been
responsible for significant destruction of value to shareholders. Meyer was
elected to the board at Blockbuster's shareholder meeting in Dallas on June 24,
2010.
On July 1, 2010, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
after its shareholders failed to pass a reverse stock split plan aimed at
heading off involuntary delisting because of the stock's trading at well below
$1 (~$1.00 in 2023) per share.[88] The stock was then traded on the OTCBB
(over-the-counter bulletin board).
A Blockbuster store in the Midwest (2012)
Blockbuster was unable to make a $42.4 million(~$57.8 million in 2023) interest
payment to bondholders and was given until August 13, 2010, to pay off the
debt. The company hired Jeff Stegenga to be its chief restructuring officer
(CRO) in an effort to satisfy bondholder demands and recapitalize the company.
After failing to pay on August 13, bondholders gave Blockbuster until September
30, 2010.
On August 26, 2010, news media reported that Blockbuster was planning to file a
pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-September. In light of this news, the
company's chief financial officer (CFO), Tom Casey, resigned on September 11.
He was replaced by Dennis McGill, formerly CFO of Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc. On
September 23, 2010, Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due
to challenging losses, $900 million (~$1.23 billion in 2023) in debt, and
strong competition from Netflix, Redbox, and video on-demand services.[89][90]
Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation
earlier in 2010 for similar reasons.[91]
At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, Blockbuster said it would keep its 3,300
stores open;[92] however, that December it announced it would close an additional
182 stores by the end of April 2011 in attempts to emerge from bankruptcy.[93]
It was reported in February 2011 that Blockbuster and its creditors had not
come up with a Chapter 11 exit plan and that the company would be sold for $300
million (~$401 million in 2023) or more, along with taking over debts and
leases.[92] Blockbuster admitted that it might not be able to meet financial
obligations required under its Chapter 11 filing, a circumstance which could
mandate conversion of the bankruptcy filing to Chapter 7 (liquidation).[94] On
March 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a claim disclosing that
Blockbuster did not have the funds to continue reorganizing and should
liquidate.
On March 28, 2011, South Korean telecommunications company SK Telecom made a
surprise bid to buy Blockbuster.[95] Dish Network had also expressed interest
in bidding, as did Carl Icahn, despite calling Blockbuster "the worst
investment I ever made".[96] Dish eventually won the auction on April 6,
2011, agreeing to buy Blockbuster for $320 million and the assumption of $87
million in liabilities and other obligations.[16] On April 19, 2011, it was
announced that Dish would keep only 500 Blockbuster stores open. The
acquisition was completed on April 26, 2011.[17][97] In April 2011, Dish
Network told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that it needed more time to negotiate
with landlords in an effort to keep more than 600 Blockbuster stores open.[98]
In April 2011, Blockbuster's landlords objected to its assumption of leases that
it sought to assign to soon-to-be-owner Dish Network Corp., claiming that they
did not have adequate assurance that the new owner would honor those leases.
Blockbuster signed a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment to launch ITV
Programmes released on DVDs, Blu-rays, etc.[99] On May 6, 2011, Keyes resigned
as Blockbuster's CEO.
2011–2015: Michael Kelly era
Keyes was replaced by Michael Kelly under the new title of Blockbuster's
president. On August 31, 2011, the liquidators announced the closure of the
remaining 253 Canadian stores and shutting of the entire Canadian unit.[100] In
September 2011, it was announced that Blockbuster and Dish Network would launch
a new service called Blockbuster Movie Pass that would compete with Netflix.
For US$10 per month the members would have access to both a streaming service
and movies and games-by-mail. The package was only available for subscribers of
Dish Network's pay-TV service, and it eventually folded.[101][102]
A "now closed" Blockbuster store in Ypsilanti, Michigan undergoing a
liquidation sale in 2013
On January 13, 2012, Dish CEO Joe Clayton announced that while Dish had planned
to keep 90% of the stores in operation, meaning around 15,000 employees would
remain employed, because of market factors "there are ones that aren't
going to make it. We will close unprofitable stores. We will close additional
stores." Clayton did not say when these additional closings would happen
and only remarked that some stores were unprofitable. The Dish chief would not
say which stores the company was planning to close, but that each potential
closing was to be assessed on a "case by case basis".[103]
On October 4, 2012, Dish Network announced that it was scrapping plans to make
Blockbuster into a Netflix competitor.[104] On January 16, 2013, Blockbuster UK
entered into administration and Deloitte was appointed to run the business
while trying to find a buyer while some of the stores remained open.[citation
needed][105] Between November 6, 2013, and January 12, 2014, all 300 remaining
corporate-owned Blockbuster stores in the U.S. were closed and the DVD-by-mail
program was shut down.[106][107][108][109] The Blockbuster official website
identified 51 franchise locations remaining in operation in the U.S. in
2014.[110] Dish maintained its video streaming services, Blockbuster on Demand
and Blockbuster@Home,[111] until they were replaced by a new subscription
service in April 2015 called "DISH Movie Pack".[112][113] In May
2015, Michael Kelly retired from Dish.[114]
Blockbuster's decline was attributed to poor leadership according to others in
the industry. Franchise owner Ken Tisher said in 2015, "Blockbuster, if it
isn't already, is going to go into the Harvard Business Review for how not to
run a business, or how to run a business into the ground."[115] Keith
Hoogland, owner of Family Video, attributed poor decision-making as a primary
reason the company did not survive.[116] Jonathan Salem Baskin, a former
Blockbuster marketing communications executive, stated, "Digital would
have changed Blockbuster's business, for sure, but it wasn't its killer. That
credit belongs to Blockbuster itself."[117] Commentators view Blockbuster
as a main example of failing to change with the times.[118][119][120]
2015–present: Post-Kelly era and continual decline
Main article: Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon)
The last remaining Blockbuster located in Bend, Oregon
Although Blockbuster stores had the option of remaining open by paying a
licensing fee to Dish,[121] a corporate entity was no longer available to
provide supplies of branded products, forcing franchisees to design and produce
their own.[122] Additional store closures continued.[123][124][125] By January
2018,[126] the company's website listed nine remaining franchise-owned stores
in the U.S., including six in Alaska, two in Oregon, and one in
Texas.[127][128] Eight of those nine had closed by August 2018, leaving only
one store in Bend, Oregon.[21][129]
In January 2020, the last remaining store outside of the United States, located
in Dargaville, New Zealand, closed its doors.[130] The Bend location became the
last remaining Blockbuster in the world;[20] it serves as a tourist
destination, housing Blockbuster memorabilia and Russell Crowe film props which
John Oliver had donated to an Alaska store.[131] In August 2020, the location
was listed as an Airbnb rental for a 1990s-themed sleepover on three separate
nights in September; each were limited to guests from the area in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic.[132][133]
The entity that operated Blockbuster prior to the sale to Dish remains
nominally active under the name BB Liquidating Inc., and trades as a penny
stock.[134] However, it no longer has any assets or ties to the Blockbuster
brand or its remaining franchise location.[135] In activity related to the
GameStop short squeeze of January 2021, the BB Liquidating stock surged,
despite there being "no value for the common shareholders in the
bankruptcy liquidation process, even under the most optimistic of
scenarios."[136]
On September 21, 2022, the Blockbuster Twitter account revealed the Blockbuster
World Video Game Championship 3. The event was held during the Portland Retro
Gaming Expo 2022.[137] On March 23, 2023, the Blockbuster web page was
re-activated, with the message "We are working on rewinding your
movie".[138]
Business model
The standard business model for video rental stores had traditionally been to
pay a large flat fee per video, approximately $65, and offer unlimited rentals
for the lifetime of the medium itself. Sumner Redstone, whose Viacom
conglomerate then owned Blockbuster, personally pioneered a new revenue-sharing
arrangement for video. Blockbuster obtained videos for little cost and kept 60%
of the rental fee, paying the other 40% to the studio, and reporting rental
information through the global media measurement and research company Rentrak.
In addition to benefiting from a lower initial price, Blockbuster also
capitalized on the fact that movies were generally not available for purchase
at affordable price points during initial release periods. Thus customers had a
choice to rent, wait, or buy the film on tape at the much higher manufacturer's
suggested retail price targeted at other rental chains and film enthusiasts,
which at that time ranged between $70–$100 per title.[citation needed]
Quantity and selection of titles
Blockbuster stores followed a strategy of emphasizing access to the most
popular new releases, obtaining early access and stocking many copies of the
new-release titles, with a relatively narrower range of selections than
traditional independent video stores.[139] Much of the shelf space in the
stores was devoted to popular titles that were placed relatively sparsely on
the shelves with the entire front cover visible, so customers could browse
casually and quickly, rather than having a more diverse selection with fewer
copies of each title. Blockbuster sometimes contracted with studios to obtain
earlier access to new titles than other companies could achieve. Examples of
such contracts were those in which Blockbuster became the exclusive rental
chain for new releases from WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, formally WWF,
World Wrestling Federation), Funimation, Rhino, Paramount, DreamWorks, DWA,
Universal, Lionsgate, Summit, Anchor Bay, Manga, The Weinstein Company,
Dimension, Miramax, Hollywood, Touchstone, Disney, Buena Vista, 20th Century
Fox, MGM/UA, Orion, Sony, Columbia, Tristar, Image, Shout! Factory, Warner
Bros., HBO, New Line Cinema and Allumination FilmWorks.[140][141] As one
commentator complained:
Blockbuster was once an unstoppable giant whose franchises
swept across the country putting mom and pop video stores out of business left
and right by offering a larger selection of new releases, pricing them at a
lower point due to the volume they worked in... Gone were the fragmented,
independently owned shops that were often unorganized treasure troves of VHS
discoveries. In their place were walls of new releases: hundreds of copies of a
small handful of films. Everyone watching the same thing, everyone developing
the same limited set of expectations... They put focus entirely on what was new
rather than on discovering film history ...[139]
When a title was no longer a new release, each store would retain a few copies
of it and typically sell off the rest as "previously viewed" for
discounted prices.[142] Older movies would be re-categorized as
"Blockbuster Favorite" titles and placed in a different area of the
store.[143] Most Blockbuster locations also accepted trade-ins of used movies,
TV shows, and games....International operations
Australia
A Blockbuster Video store in Wagga Wagga Marketplace, New South Wales,
Australia
A Blockbuster store in Sandy Bay, an inner suburb of Hobart, Tasmania,
Australia
In Australia, the first Blockbuster store was opened in 1991 in Melbourne. In
1992, the Virgin Group and Blockbuster Inc entered into a joint venture to set
up Australia's first Virgin Megastores in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. This
lasted until Virgin sold its interest in the six stores to Blockbuster, which
promptly rebranded them in 1993 as Blockbuster Music. In 1994, Australian store
numbers rose to 54 with the acquisition of Major Video and Focus chains in both
Victoria and South Australia. In 1995, the growth continued with the opening of
the 100th video store in the country. By the end of 1998, Blockbuster Australia
opened over 125 stores. In July 1998, Blockbuster Australia launched into
franchising with the conversion of the former Video Flicks franchise group in
Queensland, and the former Movieland group in Western Australia six months
later. Also in 1998, the company sold its last two Australian Blockbuster Music
stores in Pitt Street, Sydney, and Chapel Street, Melbourne to Brazin Limited,
which incorporated them under its Sanity Entertainment brand. Throughout 1999
and 2000, Blockbuster Australia quickly expanded its franchise store network
through the conversion of smaller groups and the granting of individual
franchises. Before 2005, this was done through the acquisition of the Movies
Plus Group and the conversion of some individual Movies 4U and Movieland
outlets.[159][160][161]
In February 2007, Blockbuster sold its entire Australian store network to Video
Ezy. At the time, Blockbuster Australia comprised 370 outlets nationwide—29 owned
by the company and 341 owned by franchisees. Video Ezy had 518 Australian
outlets, all of them being owned by franchisees, pushing the combined group's
market share to 40% of the country's video rental sector. Video Ezy committed
to the master franchise agreement with Blockbuster for 10 years operating the
brand with the possibility of renewal for a further 10 years after that. As a
consequence of the deal, the company changed its name from Video Ezy to
Franchise Entertainment Group (FEG).[162][163][164][165] In October 2010, FEG
transferred control of the Video Ezy Australia and Blockbuster Australia online
businesses to its newly acquired and reorganized company, Elan Media Partners,
leaving FEG to manage the franchise relationships with individual Video Ezy and
Blockbuster outlets.[166][167]
Despite the two brands coming together, Video Ezy and Blockbuster franchises
closed 270 stores across Australia in the four years to August 2011. Additional
store closings would go on for several years,[168][169][170][171] until all the
stores in Australia had closed, although vending kiosks with the Blockbuster
logo were still in operation until early 2021.[172][173][174] Australia's last
Blockbuster store, in Morley, Western Australia, was closed at the end of March
2019.[175][176]
Brazil
Blockbuster was the largest video rental chain in the country, but finances
were not good enough due to high rental prices. Lojas Americanas, the largest
Brazilian department store, acquired half of the shares and now it is named
under "Americanas Express Blockbuster". The store layout was similar
to a regular American store with a Game Rush, but instead of games it offers
electronics goods like computers and DVD players, groceries like candies and
microwave popcorn, and even toys from Mattel and Hasbro's board games. In
January 2007, when Blockbuster had 127 stores across Brazil, it sold its
Brazilian stake for $87.4 million (~$124 million in 2023) and gave Lojas
Americanas exclusive rights to the Blockbuster brand in the country for 20
years. The average store has an interior on about 400 m2, where 80-100 m2 is
dedicated to movies.[177][178]
Canada
A Blockbuster store in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, which featured the
1985–1997 logo
In Canada, Blockbuster Canada (established in 1990) had operated independently,
and it initially remained financially stable.[179] It began a partnership with
Wind Mobile in December 2009, selling mobile phones at all stores in cities
where Wind's service was available. Phone sales began in Toronto and Calgary,
later expanding to other cities with Wind coverage. Some stores even featured a
full Wind "store-in-a-store" for postpaid activations and a larger
selection of devices.[180] However, on May 3, 2011, it was announced that the
company had gone into receivership.[181] On May 25, 2011, it was announced that
146 stores, accounting for approximately 35% of the company's stores in Canada,
would be shut down effective June 18, 2011. On August 31, 2011, Blockbuster
Canada announced that no buyer could be found for its remaining stores that
were acceptable to the court-appointed bankruptcy receiver, and that it would
wind down operations and close all stores by December 31, 2011.[182] The
company had acted as a guarantor towards Blockbuster's remaining debt.[182]
Denmark
Blockbuster came to Denmark in 1996 with the acquisition of the 29
Christianshavn video stores.[183] In 2009 they were on its peak with 72 stores
across the country.[184] Blockbuster Video Denmark sold the rights for the
Blockbuster brand to the Danish telecommunications corporation TDC in 2013,
excluding the 46 remaining brick and mortar stores which continued as RecycleIT
A/S, diversifying in refurbishing and reselling consumer electronics in
addition sale and rental of games and movies.[83][185] The original goal was to
rename all the stores before July 1, 2014, when TDC would get the exclusive
rights to the brand name in Denmark, but only 12 of them had been renamed at
the end of June and RecycleIT A/S filed for bankruptcy the same year.[186][187]
The 12 RecycleIT stores were bought by the company Blue City.[188] The new
owners planned to gradually phase out game and movie sales and rental within
2016, but due to the fast changes in the market it happened almost immediately
after the takeover, and seven of the stores, therefore, closed in 2015. In
2017, the five remaining ones had started to make some profit, and focus
exclusively on second-hand consumer electronics[189]
However, the Blockbuster On Demand service is still active in Nordic Countries,
offering both unlimited streaming and 48-hour rental of films online. Several
Smart TVs have the Blockbuster app pre-installed out-of-the-box, and it is
available on a variety of streaming devices such as Google's Chromecast.[190]
The rights to the Blockbuster brand are now in hands of Nuuday.[191]
Germany
Blockbuster opened 20 stores in Berlin and Munich and announced plans to open
250 more.[when?] The chain presented itself as family-friendly by not renting
pornographic films. However, that decision adversely affected the profitability
of the stores. Blockbuster left the German market in 1997.[192]
Hong Kong
In 1998, after the closure of KPS Video Express, Blockbuster saw an opportunity
to enter into the Hong Kong market, and entered into negotiations with KPS's
receivers Ernst & Young to buy the KPS operations. Blockbuster re-opened 15
of 38 former KPS stores by February 16, 1998, [193] and re-employed 145 former
KPS staff.[194] KPS members were given special offers to join Blockbuster, but
the video pre-paid coupon system was not retained.
Blockbuster pulled out of the market in 2004 after high operating costs and
losses to copyright infringement.[195]
Ireland
In March 2010, Blockbuster announced that it intended to sell all operations in
Europe. The company once had an Irish subsidiary, Xtravision, which did not
operate under the Blockbuster brand name. Blockbuster sold Xtravision at a loss
in August 2009 to Birchhall Investments Limited. All remaining stores were
closed in 2016, leaving only its online business and vending machines. In June
2021, Xtravision Xpress was placed into voluntary receivership.[196][197]
Israel
In the late 2000s at its peak, Blockbuster Israel had 40 branches and more than
260 automated video rentals.[198][199] In December 2011, Blockbuster closed off
its last branch store, and had only 80 automated video rentals left.[199]
Japan
In March 1991, Fujita Den Trading (which was the master franchise owner of
McDonald's in Japan) and Blockbuster Inc. entered into a joint venture to
establish Japan's first Blockbuster Video stores. By October 1992, Fujita and
Blockbuster opened 15 stores in the country – four of them next to McDonald's
outlets and most being located in the greater Tokyo area. Unlike Blockbuster's
U.S. stores, each Japanese outlet only occupied about half the floor space at
5,000 square feet due to the country's more limited available real
estate.[200][201] By June 1996, 32 stores were in operation with a public aim
for 150 by 1998. Blockbuster Japan faced heavy competition from Osaka-based
video rental chain, Tsutaya, with its 817 outlets, but the company saw
opportunity in the population having high VCR ownership levels (at around 75%),
low satellite TV penetration (at around 27%), and well-ordered store layouts
(unique for most local video stores).[202] However, Blockbuster's business
strategy of "wholesome home entertainment" saw it refuse to stock
adult entertainment, which accounted for 35% of the Japanese video market, or
the extreme horror films that were also popular. All of which meant Blockbuster
was unable to fit adequately into the Japanese market, and was immediately put
at a disadvantage compared to competitors that had no such ethical stance.
Blockbuster handed its remaining shares over to Fujita Den Trading in 1999, and
exited the Japanese market.[203]
Mexico
In September 2015, all remaining Blockbuster retail stores (263 in total) in
Mexico had been converted to "The B Store", and the floor space
dedicated to video rentals reduced from 70% to 20%, the remaining space being
used for general technology and electronics sales. The re-branding occurred
with the owners not renewing their license with Blockbuster and the imminent
expiry of the existing license.[204][205] All remaining B-stores closed by July
2016.[206]
New Zealand
The chain also operated for many years in New Zealand,[207] but over the years
lost customers to other retailers like United Video and Video Ezy, as well as
the rise of streaming services. While the store in Bend, Oregon was generally
regarded as the last Blockbuster store, there was one in Dargaville, north of
Auckland, that managed to stay open until finally closing at the end of January
2020.[208]
Norway
In December 2002 the first Blockbuster store opened in Norway, and was followed
by another store some months later in 2003, both located in Oslo. The hope was
to acquire an already existing video chain. When that failed, it was made an
attempt to build a Norwegian blockbuster chain from scratch. But both stores
closed in the spring of 2004.[209]
Peru
Blockbuster opened its first store in Peru in 1995, and by 2002 it had ten
stores in Lima. However, in 2006, Blockbuster announced that it plans to shut
down its stores in Peru due to poor revenues, which it blamed on the effect of
movie piracy.[210] The last store in Peru was closed on January 3, 2007. The
company had already closed down its stores in Ecuador, Portugal and Costa Rica.
El Salvador followed in 2010, and Argentina in 2011.[211]
United Kingdom
A Blockbuster store in Moor Allerton, Leeds
A "Blockbuster Express" shop in Harrogate, Yorkshire, typical of the
smaller UK stores often located in established urban and suburban areas
In March 1989, Blockbuster opened their first store in the United Kingdom on
Walworth Road, London.[212] In February 1992, Blockbuster purchased Citivision
PLC, the biggest home-video company in Britain, for $81 million (~$173 million
in 2023). At the time, Citivision operated about 775 stores in Britain branded
as Ritz.[201]
Blockbuster UK operated trade functions in all their stores, buying and selling
pre-owned DVDs, console games, and gaming accessories. Stores offered either
store credit or cash for trade-ins, and would price-match with competitors. At
its height in 2002, Blockbuster UK operated out of over 800 stores.
In early 2013, the company had 528 locations in the United Kingdom. On January
16, 2013, Blockbuster placed its United Kingdom subsidiaries in administration,
putting over 4,000 jobs at risk. Non-UK stores were unaffected by the
administration, and continued to trade as normal. On February 1, 2013, a large
number of Blockbuster stores in the UK were closed, and the UK business was
purchased out of administration by restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Europe on
March 23, 2013.[213]
Blockbuster UK then traded as TS Operations, with only 264 branches retained.
On October 29, 2013, Blockbuster UK announced it was to go into administration
for a second time.[214] On November 14, 2013, 72 store closures were
announced,[215] with another 62 made on December 5.[216] A week later, with no
success in finding a buyer, it was announced by Moorfields Corporate Recovery
that all remaining stores in the country would cease operation on December 16,
2013, with stock to be cleared the day before this.[217]
In September 2018, to coincide with the digital release of Deadpool 2, a pop-up
retail store in the style of an original 1989 Blockbuster outlet was opened for
two days in Shoreditch in East London. The store gave away 1,989 copies of the
film in reference to Blockbuster's entry year into the UK
market."(wikipedia.org)
"The VHS (Video
Home System)[1][2][3] is a standard for consumer-level analog video recording
on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by the Victor Company of Japan (JVC). It
was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period in the late
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early to mid 2000s.[4]
Magnetic tape video recording was adopted by the television industry in the
1950s in the form of the first commercialized video tape recorders (VTRs), but
the devices were expensive and used only in professional environments. In the
1970s, videotape technology became affordable for home use, and widespread
adoption of videocassette recorders (VCRs) began;[5] the VHS became the most
popular media format for VCRs as it would win the "format war"
against Betamax (backed by Sony)[6] and a number of other competing tape
standards.
The cassettes themselves use a 0.5-inch magnetic tape between two spools[7] and
typically offer a capacity of at least two hours. The popularity of VHS was
intertwined with the rise of the video rental market,[8] with films being
released on pre-recorded videotapes for home viewing.[9] Newer improved tape
formats such as S-VHS were later developed, as well as the earliest optical
disc format, LaserDisc; the lack of global adoption of these formats increased
VHS's lifetime, which eventually peaked and started to decline in the late
1990s after the introduction of DVD, a digital optical disc format.[10] VHS rentals
were surpassed by DVD in the United States in 2003,[11] which eventually became
the preferred low-end method of movie distribution.[12] For home recording
purposes, VHS and VCRs were surpassed by (typically hard disk–based) digital
video recorders (DVR) in the 2000s....VHS development
In 1971, JVC engineers Yuma Shiraishi and Shizuo Takano put together a team to
develop a VTR for consumers.[17]
By the end of 1971, they created an internal diagram, "VHS Development
Matrix", which established twelve objectives for JVC's new VTR:[18]
The system must be compatible with any ordinary television
set.
Picture quality must be similar to a normal air broadcast.
The tape must have at least a two-hour recording capacity.
Tapes must be interchangeable between machines.
The overall system should be versatile, meaning it can be
scaled and expanded, such as connecting a video camera, or dubbing between two
recorders.
Recorders should be affordable, easy to operate, and have
low maintenance costs.
Recorders must be capable of being produced in high volume,
their parts must be interchangeable, and they must be easy to service.
In early 1972, the commercial video recording industry in Japan took a
financial hit. JVC cut its budgets and restructured its video division,
shelving the VHS project. However, despite the lack of funding, Takano and
Shiraishi continued to work on the project in secret. By 1973, the two
engineers had produced a functional prototype....Technical details
VHS has been standardized in IEC 60774-1.[33]
Cassette and tape design
Top view of VHS with front casing removed
The VHS cassette is a 187 mm wide, 103 mm deep, and 25 mm thick (73⁄8 × 41⁄16×
1 inch) plastic shell held together with five Phillips-head screws. The flip-up
cover, which allows players and recorders to access the tape, has a latch on
the right side, with a push-in toggle to release it (bottom view image). The
cassette has an anti-despooling mechanism, consisting of several plastic parts
between the spools, near the front of the cassette (white and black in the top
view). The spool latches are released by a push-in lever within a 6.35 mm (1⁄4
inch) hole at the bottom of the cassette, 19 mm (3⁄4 inch) in from the edge
label.[citation needed] The tapes are made, pre-recorded, and inserted into the
cassettes in cleanrooms, to ensure quality and to keep dust from getting
embedded in the tape and interfering with recording (both of which could cause
signal dropouts)
There is a clear tape leader at both ends of the tape to provide an optical
auto-stop for the VCR transport mechanism. In the VCR, a light source is
inserted into the cassette through the circular hole in the center of the
underside, and two photodiodes are on the left and right sides of where the
tape exits the cassette. When the clear tape reaches one of these, enough light
will pass through the tape to the photodiode to trigger the stop function; some
VCRs automatically rewind the tape when the trailing end is detected. Early
VCRs used an incandescent bulb as the light source: when the bulb failed, the
VCR would act as if a tape were present when the machine was empty, or would
detect the blown bulb and completely stop functioning. Later designs use an
infrared LED, which has a much longer life.[citation needed]
The recording medium is a Mylar[34] magnetic tape, 12.7 mm (1⁄2 inch) wide,
coated with metal oxide, and wound on two spools.
The tape speed for "Standard Play" mode (see below) is 3.335 cm/s
(1.313 ips) for NTSC, 2.339 cm/s (0.921 ips) for PAL—or just over 2.0 and 1.4
metres (6 ft 6.7 in and 4 ft 7.2 in) per minute respectively. The tape length
for a T-120 VHS cassette is 247.5 metres (812 ft).[35]
Tape loading technique
VHS M-loading system
As with almost all cassette-based videotape systems, VHS machines pull the tape
out of the cassette shell and wrap it around the inclined head drum, which
rotates at 1,800 rpm in NTSC machines[36] and at 1,500 rpm for PAL, one
complete rotation of the head corresponding to one video frame. VHS uses an "M-loading"
system, also known as M-lacing, where the tape is drawn out by two threading
posts and wrapped around more than 180 degrees of the head drum (and also other
tape transport components) in a shape roughly approximating the letter M.[37]
The heads in the rotating drum get their signal wirelessly using a rotary
transformer.
Recording capacity
The interior of a late-generation VHS VCR showing the drum and tape
A VHS cassette holds a maximum of about 430 m (1,410 ft) of tape at the lowest
acceptable tape thickness, giving a maximum playing time of about four hours in
a T-240/DF480 for NTSC and five hours in an E-300 for PAL at "standard
play" (SP) quality. More frequently, however, VHS tapes are thicker than
the required minimum to avoid complications such as jams or tears in the
tape.[24] Other speeds include "long play" (LP), "extended
play" (EP) or "super long play" (SLP) (standard on NTSC; rarely
found on PAL machines[38]). For NTSC, LP and EP/SLP double and triple the recording
time accordingly, but these speed reductions cause a reduction in horizontal
resolution – from the normal equivalent of 250 vertical lines in SP, to the
equivalent of 230 in LP and even less in EP/SLP.
Due to the nature of recording diagonally from a spinning drum, the actual write
speed of the video heads does not get slower when the tape speed is reduced.
Instead, the video tracks become narrower and are packed closer together. This
results in noisier playback that can be more difficult to track correctly: The
effect of subtle misalignment is magnified by the narrower tracks. The heads
for linear audio are not on the spinning drum, so for them, the tape speed from
one reel to the other is the same as the speed of the heads across the tape.
This speed is quite slow: for SP it is about 2/3s that of an audio cassette,
and for EP it is slower than the slowest microcassette speed. This is widely
considered inadequate for anything but basic voice playback, and was a major
liability for VHS-C camcorders that encouraged the use of the EP speed. Color
depth deteriorates significantly at lower speeds in PAL: often, a color image
on a PAL tape recorded at low speed is displayed only in monochrome, or with
intermittent color, when playback is paused.[citation needed]
Tape lengths
VHS cassette with time scale for SP and LP
VHS cassettes of different play time labelled both for NTSC and PAL
VHS cassettes for NTSC and PAL/SECAM systems are physically identical, although
the signals recorded on the tape are incompatible. The tape speeds are different
too, so the playing time for any given cassette will vary between the systems.
To avoid confusion, manufacturers indicate the playing time in minutes that can
be expected for the market the tape is sold in: E-XXX indicates playing time in
minutes for PAL or SECAM. T-XXX indicates playing time in minutes for NTSC or
PAL-M.
To calculate the playing time for a T-XXX tape in a PAL machine, this formula
is used:
PAL/SECAM recording time = T-XXX in minutes × 1.426
To calculate the playing time for an E-XXX tape in an NTSC machine, this
formula is used:
NTSC recording time = E-XXX in minutes × 0.701
Since the recording/playback time for PAL/SECAM is roughly 1/3 longer than the
recording/playback time for NTSC, some tape manufacturers label their cassettes
with both T-XXX and E-XXX marks, like T60/E90, T90/E120 and T120/E180.
SP is standard play, LP is long play (1⁄2 speed, equal to recording time in
DVHS "HS" mode), EP/SLP is extended/super long play (1⁄3 speed)[39]
which was primarily released into the NTSC market....Decline
The video cassette
recorder was a mainstay in television-equipped American and European living
rooms for more than twenty years from its introduction in the late 1970s. The
home television recording market, as well as the camcorder market, has since
transitioned to digital recording on solid-state memory cards. The introduction
of the DVD format to American consumers in March 1997 triggered the market
share decline of VHS.[10]
DVD rentals surpassed those on the VHS format in the United States for the
first time in June 2003.[75] The Hill said that David Cronenberg's movie A
History of Violence, sold on VHS in 2006, was "widely believed to be the
last instance of a major motion picture to be released in that format".[76][77]
By December 2008, the Los Angeles Times reported on "the final truckload
of VHS tapes" being shipped from a warehouse in Palm Harbor, Florida,
citing Ryan J. Kugler's Distribution Video Audio Inc. as "the last major
supplier".[77]
Though 94.5 million Americans still owned VHS format VCRs in 2005,[10] market
share continued to drop. In the mid-2000s, several retail chains in the United
States and Europe announced they would stop selling VHS equipment.[78][79][80]
In the U.S., no major brick-and-mortar retailers stock VHS home-video releases,
focusing only on DVD and Blu-ray media. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment along
with other companies ceased production of VHS in late 2010 in South
Korea.[citation needed]
The last known company in the world to manufacture VHS equipment was Funai of
Japan, who produced video cassette recorders under the Sanyo brand in China and
North America. Funai ceased production of VHS equipment (VCR/DVD combos) in
July 2016, citing falling sales and a shortage of components.[81][82]
Modern use
Despite the decline in both VHS players and programming on VHS machines, they
are still owned in some households worldwide. Those who still use or hold on to
VHS do so for a number of reasons, including nostalgic value, ease of use in
recording, keeping personal videos or home movies, watching content currently
exclusive to VHS, and collecting. Some expatriate communities in the United
States also obtain video content from their native countries in VHS format.[83]
Although VHS has been discontinued in the United States, VHS recorders and
blank tapes were still sold at stores in other developed countries prior to
digital television transitions.[84][85] As an acknowledgement of the continued
use of VHS, Panasonic announced the world's first dual deck VHS-Blu-ray player
in 2009.[86] The last standalone JVC VHS-only unit was produced October 28,
2008.[87] JVC, and other manufacturers, continued to make combination DVD+VHS
units even after the decline of VHS. Countries like South Korea released films
on VHS until December 2010, with Inception being the last Hollywood film to be
released on VHS in the country.
A market for pre-recorded VHS tapes has continued, and some online retailers
such as Amazon still sell new and used pre-recorded VHS cassettes of movies and
television programs. None of the major Hollywood studios generally issues
releases on VHS. The last major studio film to be released in the format in the
United States and Canada, other than as part of special marketing promotions,
was A History of Violence in 2006. In October 2008, Distribution Video Audio
Inc., the last major American supplier of pre-recorded VHS tapes, shipped its
final truckload of tapes to stores in America.[12]
However, there have been a few exceptions. For example, The House of the Devil
was released on VHS in 2010 as an Amazon-exclusive deal, in keeping with the
film's intent to mimic 1980s horror films.[88] The first Paranormal Activity
film, produced in 2007, had a VHS release in the Netherlands in 2010. The
horror film V/H/S/2 was released as a combo in North America that included a
VHS tape in addition to a Blu-ray and a DVD copy on September 24, 2013.[89] In
2019, Paramount Pictures produced limited quantities of the 2018 film Bumblebee
to give away as promotional contest prizes.[90] In 2021, professional wrestling
promotion Impact Wrestling released a limited run of VHS tapes containing that
year's Slammiversary, which quickly sold out. The company later announced
future VHS runs of pay-per-view events.[91][92]
The VHS medium has a cult following. For instance, in February 2021, it was
reported that VHS was once again doing well as an underground market.[93] In
January 2023, it was reported that VHS tapes were once again becoming valuable
collectors items.[94] VHS collecting would make a comeback in the
2020s....Legacy
Often considered an important medium of film history, the influence of VHS on
art and cinema was highlighted in a retrospective staged at the Museum of Arts
and Design in 2013.[99][100][101][102] In 2015, the Yale University Library
collected nearly 3,000 horror and exploitation movies on VHS tapes, distributed
from 1978 to 1985, calling them "the cultural id of an
era."[103][104][105][106]
The documentary film Rewind This! (2013), directed by Josh Johnson, tracks the
impact of VHS on film industry through various filmmakers and collectors.[107]
The last Blockbuster franchise is still renting out VHS tapes, and is based in
Bend, Oregon, a town home to under 100,000 people as of 2020.[108][109]
The VHS aesthetic is also a central component of the analog horror genre, which
is largely known for imitating recordings of late 20th century TV
broadcasts." (wikipedia.org)
"The Education
of Max Bickford is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at
8:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 23, 2001, to June 2, 2002, during the
2001–02 television season. After a strong initial launch, the show's audience
'dropped sharply afterward' despite its prime time slot following 60
Minutes.[1] Within a month, two of its three executive producers were removed
and reports claimed the show was being 'overhauled', though CBS denied this,
preferring the term 'creative adjustments'.[2] In May 2002, Touched by an Angel
was returned to its Sunday 8 pm slot, bumping the second-to-last episode of The
Education of Max Bickford to Monday.[3] In June 2002, the final episode aired
and the show was not renewed.
Overview
The series starred Richard Dreyfuss as the title character, a college professor
of American Studies at Chadwick College, an all-women's school in
Massachusetts. The series follows Max, a recovering alcoholic trying to rebuild
his life, as he tries to prove that his teachings still carry relevance to a
generation far different from his own. Often Max finds himself challenged by
the faculty over his unorthodox style and his often cantankerous personality.
Also starring was child actor Eric Ian Goldberg, who portrayed the young Lester
Bickford, Max's son. Max's colleagues included Marcia Gay Harden as Andrea
Haskell, his former student (and lover) who had recently joined the faculty,
and Helen Shaver as his best friend, Erica, previously known as Steve before
her transition. Max's daughter, Nell, played by Katee Sackhoff, attended the
college.
The series was one of the first to be produced in High-Definition.
Cinematographer Michael Mayers was brought in to pioneer this move into
Hi-Def.[4]
Cast
Main
Richard Dreyfuss – Max Bickford
Marcia Gay Harden – Andrea Haskell
Regina Taylor – Judith Bryant
Helen Shaver – Erica Bettis
Katee Sackhoff – Nell Bickford
Eric Ian Goldberg – Lester Bickford
Meredith Roberts – Brenda Vanderpool
Molly Regan – Lorraine Tator
Stephen Spinella – Rex Pinsker
David McCallum – Walter Thornhill
Recurring
Jayne Atkinson – Lyla Ortiz
Stefanie Bari – Anna
Natalie Venetia Belcon – Rose Quigley
Craig Bonacorsi – Adam
Brennan Brown – Ron Zinn
Lynn Collins
Angel Desai – Jardie
Ylfa Edelstein – Isabelle
Angela Goethals – Danielle Hodges
Donna Murphy – Esther Weber
Coté de Pablo – Gina
Ellen Parker – Noleen Bettis
Robin Raven
Kristen Schaal – Valerie Holmes
Chris Stack – Alec
Kellee Stewart – Yolanda
Episodes
No. Title Directed by [5]
Written by [5] Original air date Prod.
code [5]
1 "Pilot" Rod
Holcomb Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
September 23, 2001 1AFB79
2 "Herding Cats" Rod
Holcomb Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
September 30, 2001 1AFB01
3 "Who Is Breckenridge Long?"
David Long Jan Oxenberg October 14,
2001 1AFB02
4 "Hearts and Minds" Rod
Holcomb Rob Thomas October 21,
2001 1AFB03
5 "In the Details" Rod
Holcomb Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin
October 28, 2001 1AFB04
6 "Do It Yourself" David
Jones Tom Garrigus November 11,
2001 1AFB05
7 "Revisionism" David
Platt Sharon Lee Watson November 18,
2001 1AFB08
8 "A Very Great Man" Martha
Mitchell Dianne Houston December 2, 2001
1AFB06
9 "It's Not the Wrapping, It's the
Candy" Elodie Keene Anya
Epstein December 9, 2001 1AFB07
10 "The Good, the Bad, and the
Lawyers" Rob Holcomb Jan
Oxenberg January 6, 2002 1AFB10
11 "Save the Country" Don Scardino
David Yorkin January 13, 2002 1AFB09
12 "The Cost of Living" David
Jones Tom Garrigus January 20,
2002 1AFB11
13 "I Never Schlunged My Father"
Michael Schultz Joe Cacaci January 27,
2002 1AFB12
14 "Money Changes Everything"
Martha Mitchell Richard Dresser February
24, 2002 1AFB13
15 "Genesis" Don
Scardino David Black March 3,
2002 1AFB14
16 "An Open Book" Matthew
Penn Story by : Grace McKeaney & Kate Milliken
Teleplay by : Grace McKeaney March 10, 2002
1AFB15
17 "Past, Present, Future" David
Jones Tom Garrigus March 17,
2002 1AFB16
18 "Murder of the First" Rob
Holcomb David Yorkin March 31,
2002 1AFB17
19 "The Bad Girl" David
Platt Linda Burstyn April 14,
2002 1AFB18
20 "The Egg and I" Michael
Fields Story by : Kate Milliken
Story & Teleplay by : Grace McKeaney April 21,
2002 1AFB19
21 "One More Time" Don
Scardino Joe Cacaci May 12,
2002 1AFB21
22 "The Pursuit of Happiness"
David Platt Story by : David Black & Lorin Dreyfuss
Teleplay by : David Black & Lorin Dreyfuss & Richard Dresser & Tom
Garrigus & Joe Cacaci June 2, 2002
1AFB20
Reception
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregated score of 79% based on 11
positive and 3 negative critic reviews. The website's consensus reads:
"Bolstered by intelligent writing and a strong supporting cast, The
Education of Max Bickfordfinds Richard Dreyfuss commanding the small screen
with ease."" (wikipedia.org)
"The Agency is
an American action-spy television series that followed the inner-workings of
the CIA.[1] The series was aired on CBS from September 27, 2001 until May 17,
2003, lasting two seasons.
The series was created by Michael Frost Beckner and was executive produced by
Beckner, Shaun Cassidy Productions, and Radiant Productions in association with
Universal Network Television and CBS Productions. The program featured
unprecedented filming from the actual CIA headquarters.
Premise
The series was controversial in its exploration of contemporary international
affairs and its treatment of the ethical conflicts inherent in intelligence
work. Beckner's pilot script, written in March 2001, posited a re-invented CIA
tasked with a "War on Terror" after Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda
terrorist organization plots a lethal attack on the West. The pilot was to
premiere at CIA headquarters on September 18, 2001, and set to air on CBS
September 21, 2001. The actual 9/11 attacks convinced the network to hold the
pilot and instead air a later episode. That first episode was broadcast later
as the fifth episode of the first season.
The September 11 attacks changed the way Americans viewed topical entertainment
and The Agency, at the time, was one of the most topical offerings on network
television. The producers of the series quickly responded to this new American
perspective on world affairs, but CBS canceled the show shortly after the
second season's final episode.
Cast
Gil Bellows – Matt Callan (season 1)
Daniel Benzali – Deputy Director Robert Quinn (episodes
14–44; recurring previously)
Beau Bridges – Senator/Director Tom Gage (episodes 14–44)
Rocky Carroll – Carl Reese
David Clennon – Joshua Nankin
Ronny Cox – Director Alex Pierce (episodes 1–10)
Jason O'Mara – A.B. Stiles (season 2)
Will Patton – Jackson Haisley
Gloria Reuben – Lisa Fabrizzi (episodes 1–13, 21–22)
Richard Speight, Jr. – Lex (season 2; recurring previously)
Paige Turco – Terri Lowell
Episodes
Main article: List of The Agency episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 September 27, 2001
May 9, 2002
2 22 September 28, 2002
May 17, 2003
Home media
DVD Name Region 1 Region 2
The Agency (2 Episodes from Season 1) N/A
October 4, 2004" (wikipedia.org)
"The Guardian is
an American drama television series created by David Hollander which originally
aired on CBS from September 25, 2001, to May 4, 2004. The show stars Simon
Baker as Pittsburgh corporate attorney Nick Fallin, with Dabney Coleman as his
father and boss. When Nick is convicted of drug use he is sentenced to 1,500
hours of community service as a guardian ad litem; the show focuses on this,
his recovery from drug addiction, and his strained relationship with his
father. It includes guest stars such as Farrah Fawcett, and featured scenes
with the Pittsburgh Police in multiple episodes.
Episodes
Main article: List of The Guardian episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 September 25, 2001
May 21, 2002
2 23 September 24, 2002
May 13, 2003
3 22 September 23, 2003
May 4, 2004
Cast and characters
Main
Simon Baker as Nicholas "Nick" Fallin, a lawyer
sentenced to community service for drug-related crimes. The central
protagonist, he is a driven individual whose work and relationships are the
focus for the series.
Dabney Coleman as Burton Fallin, Nick's father and the
senior partner at the law firm where Nick works. Another central protagonist,
the two do not have a close relationship. Starting in season two he fosters
Shannon Gressler.
Alan Rosenberg as Alvin Masterson, the head of Legal
Services of Pittsburgh, where Nick serves his community service. Later in the
series, Alvin dates Laurie Solt, a social worker.
Wendy Moniz as Louisa "Lulu" Archer, Nick's de
facto boss from mid-season one and his main love interest. She marries another
man, but Nick can't seem to move on, partially because she can't seem to
either, even after her marriage.
Raphael Sbarge as Jake Straka, Nick's closest friend and a
law colleague.
Charles Malik Whitfield as James Mooney, an attorney at
Legal Services of Pittsburgh and a friend of Nick. He has a gang and drug
background.
Rusty Schwimmer as Barbara Ludinski, the secretary for Legal
Aid where Nick is doing his community service. Jake has an ongoing somewhat
ambiguous relationship with her that teeters on the edge of becoming romantic.
He likes and respects her but he remains tentative.
Amanda Michalka as Shannon Gressler, a troubled child.
Erica Leerhsen as Amanda Bowles, an ambitious but caring
associate.
Kathleen Chalfant as Laurie Solt, a hardworking social
worker who provides guidance for Nick.
Recurring
Denise Dowse as Judge Rebecca Damsen, who presides over the
cases in family court
AJ Michalka as Shannon Gressler
Notable guest stars
Farrah Fawcett as Mary Gressler, a troubled grandmother and
love interest of Burton Fallin. Appeared in four episodes in season 2.
Rita Moreno as Caroline Novak, mother of Lulu (Louise Archer
played by Wendy Moniz), for three episodes in 2003.
Lolita Davidovich as Victoria Little, a social welfare
advocate and love interest of Alvin Masterson. Appeared in two episodes.
Zac Efron appears in episode 15 of season 3.
Bethany Joy Galeotti as Claire Stasiak. Appeared in two
episodes: "What It Means to You" and "My Aim Is True".
Chris Pine as a troubled teen, Lonnie Grandy, in the season
3 episode "Hazel Park".
Will Ferrell, credited as "Phil Weston",[3] in a
cameo appearance as Larry Flood, a new lawyer at LSP, in the season 2 finale,
"All the Rage".
Corey Feldman as a former child actor, Gavin Putinski, in
season 2's "You Belong to Me".
Erik Estrada made a cameo appearance in a restaurant in
season 3, episode 18, "The Bachelor Party".
Joseph Campanella as Ralph Longo, the sick grandfather
evicted from the home he had squatted in for 21 years, in season 3's episode 9,
"Let God Sort 'Em Out".
Aaron Paul as a gay teenager in the season one episode
"The Men from the Boys"
Chloë Grace Moretz as Violet in the season three episodes
"The Watchers" and "Blood in, Blood Out". This was her
first ever acting role.
Danielle Panabaker as Samantha Gray in the season three
episode "The Daughter-Father Dance", for which she won a Young Artist
Award for Best Performance in a TV Series—Guest Starring Young Actress.
Anna Gunn as Meghan Barstow, a lawyer for a pharmaceutical
firm in season one episodes "Home" and "Reunion".
Viola Davis as Suzanna Clemons' attorney in the season one
episode "The Men from the Boys".
Kerry Washington as Drea Westbrook, a client in the season
two episode "The Next Life".
Jesse Plemons as Lawrence Neal, a disabled child in the
season one episode "Paternity".
Lee Thompson Young as Levi Mooney, James' nephew whom he
briefly has custody over.
Production and location
The fictional offices of Fallin & Fallin is located at the Frick Building
The show was set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was filmed in the city from
time to time. Beginning in season 2, the theme song was "Empire in My
Mind" performed by The Wallflowers. The fictional offices of Legal
Services of Pittsburgh are located at 121–123 Seventh Street, Pittsburgh, while
Fallin & Fallin's offices are located in the Frick Building, 437 Grant
Street, Pittsburgh.
Broadcasters
In the United States, as of September 2018, it was being broadcast in re-runs
on Heroes & Icons and Paramount+. The Guardian has aired in the United
Kingdom on the Hallmark Channel, ABC1 (April 2006) and, more recently, 5USA
(May 2009) and Five (August 2009). In Turkey, the show aired on TNT and in
Australia on Network Ten; as of 2011 re-runs are airing on the Nine Network
following episodes of Simon Baker's 2008–2015 vehicle The Mentalist, but before
on free-to-air television, the show has also aired on Foxtel's defunct station
TV1 (now TVH!TS) in 2003 during the Saturday Night's Crime Time Block before
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU. In India and
Pakistan the show airs on Animax from June 2010 and AXN and FX. In Singapore,
the show airs on AXN through Starhub Cable Television. In New Zealand, the show
airs on Vibe, channel 7, via sky TV. In Latin America, the series premiered in
October 2012 on the Sony Spin channel.
Home media
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment) has released all three
seasons of The Guardian on DVD in region 1.
On February 6, 2018, CBS Home Entertainment released The Guardian-The Complete
Series on DVD in region 1.[4]
DVD Name Ep# Release Date
The First Season 22 October 27, 2009[5]
The Second Season 23 September 7, 2010[6]
The Final Season 22 February 8, 2011[7]
The Complete Series 67 February 6, 2018
CBS/Paramount controls video rights only in the USA (where CBS Television
Distribution has ancillary rights). Outside the US, Sony Pictures Television
controls distribution rights, and international DVD releases will be mostly
from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
In Germany Koch Media has released the first two seasons on DVD and
Blu-ray.[8][9][10][11]
Awards
Year Award Category
Result
2002 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
"Top TV Series" – Jakob Dylan
Won[12]
Family Television Awards "Actor" – Simon
Baker" Won[12]
"New Series" Won[12]
GLAAD Media Awards "Outstanding Individual Episode (In a
Series Without a Regular Gay Character)" – "The Men from the
Boys" Nominated[12]
Golden Globe Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a
Television Series - Drama" – Simon Baker Nominated[13]
Young Artist Award "Best Performance in a TV Drama
Series - Guest Starring Young Actor" – Erik Knudsen
Nominated[14]
"Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actor"
– Jesse Plemons Nominated[14]
2003 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
"Top TV Series" – Jakob Dylan
Won[15]
Emmy Award "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama
Series" – Farrah Fawcett Nominated[16]
Environmental Media Awards "Drama - TV Episodic" –
"Assuming the Position" Nominated[17]
2004 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
"Top TV Series" – Jakob Dylan Won[18]
Environmental Media Awards "Drama - TV Episodic" –
"Big Coal" Nominated[19]
Young Artist Award "Best Performance in a TV Series -
Guest Starring Young Actress" – Danielle Panabaker
Won[20]
2005 Prism Awards "Performance in a
Drama Series Storyline" – Simon Baker Nominated[21]
"TV Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline" – "Beautiful Blue
Mystic" and "Amends" Nominated[21]
Young Artist Award "Best Performance in a Television
Series - Recurring Young Actress" – Scout Taylor-Compton
Nominated" (wikipedia.org)
"Danny is an
American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series was created, executive
produced and starred Daniel Stern. It was one of the last comedies to air on CBS's
Friday night lineup airing along with The Ellen Show which premiered at the
same time. The series premiered on September 28, 2001, and was abruptly
canceled after two episodes were aired, making it the first series of the 2001
U.S. television season to be canceled.[1]
Premise
Danny is recently separated father struggling to raise his two teenage kids.
Despite just turning 40, he still wants to pursue his lifelong dreams all while
running the town's local community center.
Cast
Daniel Stern as Danny
Julia McIlvaine as Sally
Jon Foster as Henry
Roz Ryan as Chickie
Robert Prosky as Lenny
Vincent J. Burns as Vince
Joely Fisher as Moly
Mia Korf as Rachel
Episodes
The first two episodes of the series were directed by Peter Lauer.[2]
No. Title [3] Directed by
Written by Original air date Prod.
code [2]
1 "Pilot" Peter
Lauer Daniel Stern September 28,
2001 62554-001
2 "Donuts and Beer" Peter
Lauer Bob Nickman October 5,
2001 62554-002
3 "The Dress Mess"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA
4 "Forget About Your Boss"
TBD Allen J. Zipper
Unaired TBA
5 "Danny's Night Out"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA
6 "Algebra I"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA
7 "The Trojan Wife"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA
8 "The Kid Stays in the Picture"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA
9 "Daughters and Pigs"
TBD TBD Unaired TBA"
(wikipedia.org)
"The Ellen Show
is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that
was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS, airing from September 24, 2001,
to January 11, 2002. It also starred Cloris Leachman, Martin Mull, Kerri
Kenney, Jim Gaffigan, and Emily Rutherfurd, with Diane Delano recurring.
It was DeGeneres' second attempt at a sitcom, following Ellen on ABC (1994–98),
but it was unable to attract strong ratings and was cancelled after 13
episodes, leaving 5 unaired. Unlike many short-lived sitcoms, which often
disappear and are hard to find, it lives on somewhat as it was released on DVD
(twice) and is also available digitally in some markets.
Plot
After her internet company Homelearn.com goes bankrupt, Ellen Richmond decides
to move back to her hometown to live with her eccentric mother, Dot, and scatter-brained
sister, Catherine. At home, Ellen becomes reacquainted with her senior prom
date, Rusty, who thinks they can pick up where they left off (which, since she
is gay, seems unlikely), and her befuddled high school teacher, Mr. Munn.
Though worlds apart from the people who love her, Ellen begins to adjust to a
very different way of life and takes a job as a guidance counselor at her
former high school.
Cast
Main
Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Richmond
Jim Gaffigan as Rusty Carnouk
Emily Rutherfurd as Catherine Richmond
Martin Mull as Ed Munn
Kerri Kenney as Pam
Cloris Leachman as Dot Richmond
Diane Delano as Bunny Hoppstetter (recurring)
Notable guest stars
Jennifer Irwin as Meg (episode: "Pilot" - the
character became Pam played by Kerri Kenney instead)
Regan Burns as Officer "B" Arthur (episodes:
"Walden Pond", "Joe"")
John Francis Daley as Erik (episode: "Walden
Pond")
Susan Yeagley as Waitress (episode: "Chain
Reaction")
James Patrick Stuart as Guy, the Vanity Fur pet
groomer/stylist (episode: "Vanity Hair")
Marissa Jaret Winokur as Tina (episode: "Vanity
Hair")
Tom Poston as Joe (episode: "Joe")
Betty White as Mrs. Gibson (episode: "Missing the
Bus")
Dakota Fanning as Young Ellen (episode: "Missing the
Bus")
Mary Tyler Moore as Aunt Mary (episode: "Ellen's First
Christmess")
Ed Asner as Santa Claus (episode: "Ellen's First
Christmess")
John Ritter as Percy Moss (episode: "Gathering
Moss")
Maureen McCormick as Rita Carter (episode: "Shallow
Gal")
Seán Cullen as two different characters (episodes: Guitarist
in "Just the Duck" and Christian Snee in "One for the
Roadshow")
Kaley Cuoco as Vanessa Carter (episode: "Shallow
Gal")
Ellen's real-life mother Betty DeGeneres and her brother
Vance DeGeneres appeared in an episode (episode: "Just the Duck")
Production
The show was created by Carol Leifer and Mitchell Hurwitz, who co-wrote the
pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.[2] DeGeneres came out as a
lesbian in the later seasons of her sitcom Ellen. Her character on The Ellen
Show, Ellen Richmond, was also a lesbian, although it was more of an aside, the
show not focusing much on the character's sexuality.[citation needed]
Four cast members from The Mary Tyler Moore Show featured in the sitcom -
regular Cloris Leachman, plus guest stars Betty White, Ed Asner, and Mary Tyler
Moore herself,[3] the latter two reuniting in the same episode alongside
Leachman (White appeared in a separate episode).[4] Moore had also appeared in
two episodes of DeGeneres's previous sitcom, Ellen, and would also later appear
as a guest on her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[3]
Episodes
The Ellen Show produced 18 episodes, but was canceled 2/3 of the way through
its season. The final 5 episodes were never broadcast, but are available on
DVD.
No. Title Directed by
Written by Original air date
1 "Pilot" Andy
Ackerman Carol Leifer & Mitchell
Hurwitz September 24, 2001
An Internet entrepreneur returns to live in her hometown after her new business
venture suddenly collapses.
2 "Walden Pond" Andrew D.
Weyman Carol Leifer September 28, 2001
Ellen decides to make some decisions about her future, hoping to find
inspiration by sitting by a pond and reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
3 "Chain Reaction" Andrew D.
Weyman Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin
October 5, 2001
Ellen tries to rally the town against a new restaurant that features scantily
clad waitresses.
4 "Vanity Hair" Andrew D. Weyman
Ric Swartzlander October 12, 2001
A profile in Vanity Fair gets Ellen thinking about a new hairdo.
5 "The Move" Andrew D.
Weyman Rob LaZebnik & Mitchell Hurwitz
October 19, 2001
Ellen's moving home causes friction, leading to her sister Catherine moving out
to live with a new boyfriend.
6 "Muskrat Love" Andrew D.
Weyman Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin
October 26, 2001
As she looks to rid the yard of a pesky raccoon, Ellen is asked to help a
lovesick high school student.
7 "Joe" Andrew D.
Weyman Mitchell Hurwitz & Rob LaZebnik
November 2, 2001
Ellen's search for the perfect cup of coffee reveals some disturbing news about
her mother Dot's new boyfriend.
8 "Cathy's Taffy" Andrew D.
Weyman Story by : Sue Kolinsky
Teleplay by : Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin November 9,
2001
Ellen launches a new business to sell her sister Catherine's delicious homemade
taffy.
9 "Missing the Bus" Andrew D.
Weyman Story by : Jim Gerkin & Ric Swartzlander
Teleplay by : Ric Swartzlander November 16, 2001
Ellen's efforts to honor a longtime district employee ends up costing the aging
school bus driver (special guest star Betty White) her job.
10 "Alive and Kicking" Andrew D.
Weyman Carol Leifer & Chuck Martin December
10, 2001
Ellen tries to counsel the school's troubled kicker on the eve of a
championship football game.
11 "Ellen's First Christmess"
Andrew D. Weyman Darin Henry December 17,
2001
Ellen's plan for her Aunt Mary's (special guest star Mary Tyler Moore) surprise
Christmas appearance exposes some ill will between Dot and her famous sister.
(Also features a special appearance by Ed Asner in a nod to The Mary Tyler
Moore Show, which starred Moore, The Ellen Show regular Cloris Leachman, and
Asner.)
12 "A Bird in the Hand" Andrew D.
Weyman Sue Kolinsky January 4, 2002
When Dot gives Ellen an heirloom brooch, Catherine is jealous and Ellen is less
than excited. Matters only get worse when she loses the brooch and has to fess
up.
13 "Just the Duck" Andrew D.
Weyman Jim Gerkin January 11, 2002
Ellen discovers Catherine on a secret date with Rusty and is invited to join
them; with an imminent breakup, a surprise rebound may be in the works.
14 "Shallow Gal" Andrew D. Weyman
Harold Kimmel Unaired
When Ellen realizes she was the unpopular geek in school, she gets desperate
and befriends the ex-head cheerleader. Is Ellen now the snob? (Guest star Kaley
Cuoco also played a young Ellen in her previous sitcom Ellen.)
15 "Gathering Moss" Andrew D.
Weyman Bill Kelley Unaired
Catherine and Ellen attend a self-actualization session where they learn to
"see it, want it, take it." They instead discover they can't take
each other! Special guest star: John Ritter.
16 "A Matter of Principal" Andrew
D. Weyman Darin Henry Unaired
After Ellen is left in charge of the school, her alternative approach leads to
chaos. With a student body in complete anarchy, Ellen finds out a secret.
17 "Where the Sun Doesn't Shine"
Andrew D. Weyman Chuck Martin Unaired
When Ellen lobbies for her mother Dot to receive the annual town Sunshine
Prize, Ellen discovers that she's also up for the prize, and is the favorite to
win.
18 "One for the Roadshow" Andrew
D. Weyman Story by : Mitchell Hurwitz & Rob LaZebnik
Teleplay by : Darin Henry & Bill Kelley Unaired
Ellen discovers that the board game her Aunt Mary gave her years ago that has
never been opened is worth thousands of dollars, enough for Ellen to move out.
Home media and streaming
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region
1 in a 2-disc box set on July 11, 2006.[5]
In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and
subsequently re-released the complete series on February 4, 2014.[6]
Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home
Entertainment, owns the international rights. The complete series was released
in Region 4 (Australia) as a 2 DVD set on February 1, 2017 by Umbrella
Entertainment.
As of 2023, all episodes can be seen for free on Crackle and Fubo in the US and
on CTV in Canada.[7][8] The show is also available for purchase on Apple TV and
Amazon in the US." (wikipedia.org)
"Wolf Lake is an
American supernatural drama television series that originally aired on CBS from
September 19 to October 24, 2001. Nine episodes were produced, but only five
aired before the series was canceled by CBS. The full series, including the
four unaired episodes, was later picked up and broadcast on UPN in April–May
2002.[1][2] Wolf Lake depicts a pack of werewolves living in a Seattle suburb.
Summary
Seattle policeman John Kanin proposes marriage to his girlfriend, Ruby Wilder,
and she accepts. However, as she gets into her car, she is attacked. The only
thing Kanin finds of his now fiancee, is a severed hand. He travels to her
hometown of Wolf Lake to find some answers. However, his experiences there
raise even more questions. What John doesn't know is that some of the
inhabitants of Wolf Lake are actually werewolves. The werewolves, or the ones
who survive the change, live on the "Hill" and enjoy special
treatment, separated from the normal humans.[3]
Cast
Main
Lou Diamond Phillips as Detective/Officer John Kanin
Tim Matheson as Sheriff Matthew "Matt" Donner
Graham Greene as Mr. Sherman Blackstone
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sophia Donner
Sharon Lawrence as Vivian "V" Cates
Scott Bairstow as Tyler Creed
Mia Kirshner as Ruby Wilder/Cates/Creed
Paul Wasilewski as Lucas "Luke" Cates
Recurring
Bruce McGill as Willard "Will" Cates
Kellie Waymire as Miranda Devereaux
Fiona Scott as Presley
Carmen Moore as Deputy Molly
Christian Bocher as Buddy Hooks
Guest stars
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by
adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Bill Mondy
Gregory Itzin
Sam Anderson
Levi James
Craig Olejnik
Sarah Carter
Ralph J. Alderman
Craig Bruhnanski
Steve Makaj
Kelly Dean Sereda
Deanne Henry
Ryan Robbins
Jodelle Ferland
Episodes
The first five episodes of Wolf Lake aired on CBS in September–October 2001,
before CBS pulled the series from the air. The series later was reaired on UPN,
with the final four episodes debuting on UPN in April–May 2002.
List of Wolf Lake episodesNo. Title
Directed by [4] Written by Original air
date [4]
CBS
1 "Meat The Parents" Bryan
Spicer Alex Gansa & Rick Kellard
September 19, 2001
2 "The Changing" Dwight
Little Daniel Knauf September 26, 2001
3 "Soup to Nuts" Joe
Chappelle Roger Director October 3, 2001
4 "Tastes Like Chicken" Rachel
Talalay Philip Levens October 10, 2001
5 "Excitable Boy" Po Chih
Leong Toni Graphia October 24, 2001
UPN
6 "Four Feet Under" Winrich
Kolbe Roger Director & Daniel Knauf
April 10, 2002
7 "Leader of the Pack" James
Head James Duff April 17, 2002
8 "Legend of Lost Lenore" Joe
Chappelle Rick Kellard April 24, 2002
9 "If These Wolves Could Talk"
Thomas J. Wright Story by : Roger Director & Rick Kellard
Teleplay by : James Duff & Philip Levens May 1, 2002
Broadcast
ITV bought the rights to show the series in the United Kingdom.[citation
needed] In August 2006, the Sci Fi Channel bought the syndication rights to
reair the series in the United States.[5]
Home media
The series was made available on DVD in 2012.[6]
Reception
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregated score of 20% based on 2
positive and 8 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads:
"Wolf Lake's ill-defined story and uninvolving sense of mystery make it a
yawn-inducing watch."[7]
While Ron Wertheimer of The New York Times said it was "a promisingly
quirky pilot",[8] Variety's Michael Speier remarked that it "sometimes
works as high drama but sometimes comes off as extremely silly".[3]
While the series was poorly rated, it received two Emmy nominations, for
Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Main Title Theme Music."
(wikipedia.org)
"The Amazing
Race is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people
race around the world in competition with other teams. The Amazing Race is
split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in
foreign areas, interact with locals, and perform physical and mental challenges
that often highlight aspects of a location's culture, history, or economy. Over
the course of the Race, teams travel by airplanes, helicopters, trucks,
bicycles, taxicabs, cars, trains, buses, boats and by foot. Teams are
progressively eliminated at the end of most legs for being the last to arrive
at designated Pit Stops, until only three remain. The first team to arrive at
the finish line is awarded the grand prize.
Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, the original series has
aired in the United States since 2001 and has earned thirteen Primetime Emmy
Awards, ten of them for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program".
Emmy-award-winning New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan has been the
host of the American version of the show since its inception. The show has
branched out to include a number of international versions following a similar
format.
The Race
Unless otherwise indicated, the seasons are referring to the original American
version of the series, hosted by Phil Keoghan.
Each race depicted in The Amazing Race is broken up into a number of legs. In
each leg, teams generally leave the pit stop of the previous leg and travel to
a different location, where they perform two or more tasks – often including
one Detour and one Roadblock – before being given instructions to go to the
next pit stop. It is every team's goal to complete each leg as quickly as
possible, as the last team to arrive at the pit stop is usually eliminated from
the competition.
Teams
Typically, each cycle of the Race features eleven teams, each composed of two
people with a pre-existing relationship. Original Race rules required that
teammates have a pre-existing relationship of more than three years and no
previous acquaintance with other racers during that cycle.[1] Individual racers
must be of a specific nationality and meet specific age requirements; this is
necessary to allow teams to obtain the necessary passport documentation to
travel across the world without incident.[2]
The team format has varied in some seasons. Five seasons featured twelve teams
of two rather than eleven, while the Family Edition featured ten teams of four
racers, some of whom were young children. The twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth
seasons included teams made up of people who met for the first time just prior
to the start of the race.
Normally unseen, a two-person production crew, one recording audio and the
other recording video, accompanies every team. Generally, teams may not travel without
their production crew, who are switched among teams after each leg to avoid
biases from developing.
Money
At the beginning of each leg, each team receives a cash allowance with their
first clue, which they must use to cover all expenses except for airfare, which
is covered by a production-provided credit card. In the eighth season, this
card could also be used to purchase gasoline.[3] Allowance money is usually
given in U.S. dollars regardless of location. The amount of money varies from
leg to leg. Teams are allowed to keep any unused money for future legs, barring
certain penalties for finishing last.
If team members spend all of their money or have it taken away in a
non-elimination leg, they may then attempt to obtain more money in any way that
does not violate local laws; this includes borrowing money from other teams,
begging from locals, or selling their possessions. Since the seventh season,
teams have been prevented from begging at United States airports, and teams may
not use their personal possessions to barter payment for services.[citation
needed]
Route markers
A standard Route Marker looks like this.
Route markers are uniquely-colored flags that mark the places where teams must
go. Most route markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes,
but some may mark the places where the teams must go in order to complete
tasks, or may be used to line courses that the teams must follow.
The route markers used in the first season were yellow and white. They were
changed to yellow and red in the second season, and this has remained the
standard color scheme since. Occasionally, different color schemes are adopted
for certain legs, seasons, or versions of the race.
Clues
When teams start a leg, arrive at route markers, or complete tasks, they
normally receive a letter-sized tear-away envelope that contains their next
clue inside a vertical-fold folder. The envelopes are usually yellow, but in
the first two seasons of the Latin American version, the envelopes are blue.
The clues themselves are typically printed on a vertical strip of paper,
although additional information is often provided inside the clue folder. After
retrieving the clue, teams open the envelope and must read aloud the
instructions given on the clue sheet, then follow those instructions. Teams are
generally required to collect every clue during each leg and keep that
information with them until they reach the next Pit Stop, surrendering them
once they have checked in. Teams may not take an additional clue from the clue box
should they lose their first one; teams who do so are assessed a penalty. Teams
are not directly penalized for misplacing their clue but will lose time either
searching for it or trying to learn from other teams of where to go next.[a]
At route markers, clue envelopes are placed inside a box mounted to the marker.
In early seasons, the box contained exactly the number of clues for teams on
that leg, allowing teams to indirectly determine their current placement in the
leg by counting envelopes. In more recent seasons, extra envelopes are left in
clue boxes to prevent this from occurring.
In some cases, clues – most often of the Route Information type – have been
provided by more unorthodox means, such as in an advertisement in a local
newspaper or on some item related to the task just performed. A common
unorthodox means in the American version is to place the clue at the bottom of
the Roaming Gnome, the mascot of Travelocity, the former sponsor of the
American version....Rules
While the complete set of official rules has not been released to the public,
certain rules have been revealed during the various versions of the race:
Unless otherwise stated, such as during Roadblocks, team
members must stay within 20 feet (6.1 m) of each other and stay close to their
assigned camera and sound crew. When using any form of transportation, unless
otherwise stated, teams must be able to travel with the camera crew. Teams are
recorded requesting only two tickets after they have made their initial request
for four.[29]
Teams are required to purchase economy class airfare when
they fly, using the credit card provided by the show.[30][31] The airline, at
its discretion, however, may upgrade the team(s) so long as there are no
additional costs.[32] Teams may use their cash stipend to purchase first-class
fares for other modes of transportation.[33] Teams may be forbidden from flying
on certain airlines or restricted to specific airlines or restricted to transit
in certain countries varying on seasons.[k]
Teams are prohibited from contacting friends, family, and
acquaintances during the Race without supervision. The Race however may provide
them with an opportunity to contact them at select times.[34] When this happens
while the Race is going on, teams are not allowed to proceed to their next
task.[l] In special circumstances, the production team will allow racers to
contact family members outside a race-required task.[m]
Unless otherwise stated by the clues, teams are allowed to
use the help of locals for navigating and during tasks. Teams are required to
have any locals who appear on camera sign release forms that legally clear the
footage for use; some teams have avoided or reduced contacts with random local
strangers because the release process can take a very long time to complete.
Teams are free to work together at any point unless
otherwise stated by the rules.[35][36] Excluding the use of the Yield and
U-Turn, teams are prohibited from hindering the performance of other teams such
as by taking extra clues from a clue box, taking another team's assigned
vehicle, altering the equipment for other teams at a task or using more than
one Yield or one U-Turn at a time.
In any tasks that provide the teams with equipment, tools,
animals, guides, or other props, teams are forbidden from changing these
mid-task. Teams are forbidden from interfering with such equipment for other
teams. When teams are given rental cars, and the car breaks down outside the
team's control, they will be given a replacement vehicle but given no
additional time credits for the time it takes to make the changeover.
Teams are prohibited from possessing maps, guidebooks, cell
phones, personal digital assistants and other similar aids at the start of the
Race, but may use the provided money to purchase these as they progress. These
may be provided by the show if required for a certain task.[37]
Teams are prohibited from using their personal items to
barter for services on the Race, though they are not necessarily prohibited
from selling them for cash. The teams' bags may be subject to review during Pit
Stops by production. Teams are free to sell or barter any items they have
purchased during the Race.
In cases where teams are instructed to walk or drive
themselves to a destination, teams are not allowed to hire a taxi to guide or
take them through the route. In early seasons of the original series, teams
frequently employed this tactic; several exchanges of dialogue in the 17th
American season indicate that it is now prohibited.
Except for The Scramble, teams are required to pick up clues
in the correct order. Should a team collect the wrong clue, they are required
to cease whatever task(s) they are performing and backtrack to wherever the
correct clue was and then perform its associated task(s).
Teams are expected to keep the Race fanny pack containing
their cash, passports, clues, and other documents with them at all times. Other
items mandated by clues are subject to this requirement. Teams that do not have
these upon check-in at a Pit Stop are required to go back and retrieve the pack
and any missing mandatory contents (e.g., passports) before being checked in.
In one case, during 21st American season, a team had one of their passports
stolen by a cab driver during a non-elimination leg that was followed by a leg
in the same country. The team was checked-in last for a non-elimination finish
and allowed to race in the following leg but would be eliminated if they still
lacked their passport by the time they were required to produce one for
international travel. Teams may check in after losing or abandoning any
non-mandatory items (e.g., items of clothing), but they must continue the Race
without them.
Teams must complete each challenge as specified by the clues
given to them throughout the Race. Should a team fail to properly complete a
challenge, violate any provisions made in a clue or task description, or miss a
clue altogether (unless specifically allowed to do so, e.g., by winning the
Fast Forward, or by using an Express Pass), they must either go back to the
location of the challenge and complete the challenge, or incur a penalty when
they check in (see Penalties and time credits).
To check in, all team members must step on the mat. As seen
in the 30th American season and later on the eighth Israeli season, legs may
end in a photo finish (and in both cases, the close finish was between the last
two teams); the last team to step onto the mat was declared last-place team.
This rule was also alluded to orally by teams on the fourth Australian
season.[n]
Teams are forbidden from touching another team's belongings,
such as removing them from a taxi to use the new taxi. However, if the taxi
driver removes the items, the team will not be penalized. Teams also may not
intentionally hinder another team by hiding materials needed for a task.
Teams are prohibited from begging where it is illegal. On
the American version, teams are additionally prohibited from begging at U.S.
airports.
Team members may not smoke during the Race.
Teams are required to abide by all local laws of the country
where they are racing.
Starting in the 25th American season, teams may only book
one travel itinerary for themselves. They were no longer able to book a second
set of tickets if they subsequently discovered a second flight that they
preferred once they purchased the first booking. DVD commentary for the first
season reveals that this was originally a rule, but was dropped for the second
season.
The teams are often given additional rules and instructions that apply
specifically to a given leg or to a task supplied with one of the clues; these
are usually not explained to the viewer unless they affect the Race
results....Production
The production of The Amazing Race is a challenge due to its premise being a
race around the world. Among the difficult duties that producers face, scouting
out locations, designing tasks, selecting teams, and planning logistics for the
entire course are the most important to accomplish in pre-production. During
the Race, the camera crews need to keep up with the movement of the teams and
the host. And when the footage for the entire season has been recorded and
edited, team members, production crew as well as the local staff who hosted or
facilitated the tasks are obliged to keep the details of the race confidential
and not leak out anything that hints at locations, events, or outcomes of the
Race. An exception is the television network that airs the show in a country
which hosted one of the legs where they can air teasers such as "Who among
the teams will come here to (the network's home country name)?"[citation
needed] However, in recent American seasons, CBS had released a map to show the
locations that the racers would be visiting.
The show is broadcast on CBS in the United States and simulcast via satellite
in various networks around the world.[43]
Through its efforts, the American version has received many accolades,
including Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations in categories for audio and
video production and editing. In 2010, CBS announced that season 18 of the show
would be broadcast in high definition." (wikipedia.org)
"Citizen Baines is an American drama television series created by Emmy Award-winning producer Lydia Woodward, that stars James Cromwell. The series premiered on CBS September 29, 2001 and ended on November 3, 2001.