Totally Tracey Online

One of the questions I regularly am asked is "When will The Tracey Ullman Show be released on DVD?" I wish I knew. I had the foresight to record every original broadcast, to hold onto those tapes and take good care of them, and eventually to put them onto my own DVD's. But not everyone was in a position to do so. And what about those fans of Tracey who were too young to watch it or to fully understand it? So far, their hopes for a DVD release have gone unanswered.

Is there any likelihood of a DVD release for TTUS any time soon? It seems doubtful. I see two roadblocks: rights fees for the music, and the size of the market for the product. Music rights have been a significant problem for many DVD sets. Sadly, it's not uncommon for programs to use replacement music, but this changes the episodes. Obviously, you can't substitute for all of the TTUS production numbers. Now this could be bypassed by putting out compilations that don't include any of the music, and it would be better than nothing, but it wouldn't be the same.

The size of the potential market may also be a problem. Fondly remembered as TTUS may be, it was never a ratings success. There just might not be enough potential buyers for Fox to make money selling it. And that's a shame, a rotten shame (but not a dirty shame). Perhaps a boutique seller such as Rhino Handmade or Shout Factory might be able to make a go of it, though the prices would have to be higher.

# posted by Roger @ 11:59 PM