Sherlock: A Study in Pink DVD

Stock Photo of DVD

I have finally purchased the standalone DVD of the first episode of the BBC's Sherlock, "A Study in Pink", a couple years after first becoming aware of its existence. There is a frustrating lack of information about it on the internet, so like Sherlock Holmes himself I have had to find clues and make deductions about it.

The DVD was sold by Walmart in 2014; I can't find any information about when it became available for purchase but I surmise that it was likely originally released around the same time as the Season 3 DVD on February 11, 2014.  The original list price was $13.98 but was placed on sale for Black Friday for $9.96 (appropriately marked with a pink PROMO sticker). 

Alongside the broadcast version of "A Study in Pink", the original hour-long pilot is also included which is similar yet very different from the final version. Other bonus features include an audio commentary (which is on the Season 1 DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD sets), four interviews from around the time of Season 1's broadcast (which were also included on the bonus disc of the Sherlock: Seasons 1-3 Limited Edition gift set and later included on the 4K UHD set), and a VUDU redemption code for Season 1 in SD (which expired on March 31, 2015).

The DVD also includes previews for Miss Marple, newly restored on DVD and Blu-ray, and the Sherlock: Seasons 1-3 Limited Edition gift set.

Main Menu

Special Features Menu

Interviews Menu

Subtitles Menu

Curious George Season One Confusing DVDs

The 2006 "Curious George" TV series' first season was recently released on DVD, though it's not immediately clear that's what the titles are. The "Curious George 30-Story Collection" was released on August 27, 2019, and the "Curious George 30-Adventure Collection" was released on June 9, 2020. The 30-Story collection contains episodes 1-15, and the 30-Adventure Collection contains episodes 16-30. (Each episode is two stories, that's how each set has 15 episodes and 30 stories.) This is the list of which episodes come in each set:

Curious George 30-Story Collection
Disc 1:
1. "Curious George Flies a Kite / From Scratch"
2. "Curious George's Home for Pigeons / Out of Order"
3. "Zeroes to Donuts / Curious George, Stain Remover"
4. "Buoy Wonder / Roller Monkey"
5. "Curious George On Time / Curious George's Bunny Hunt"
6. "Curious George Takes a Job / Curious George Takes Another Job"
7. "Curious George, Door Monkey / Curious George Goes Up the River"

Disc 2:
8. "Curious George and the Invisible Sound / Curious George, A Peeling Monkey"
9. "Curious George, Dog Counter / Squirrel For a Day"
10. "Curious George Discovers the 'Poles / Curious George Finds His Way"
11. "Water to Ducks / Animal Magnetism"
12. "Doctor Monkey / Curious George the Architect"
13. "Zoo Night / Charkie Escapes"
14. "Curious George's Rocket Ride / Curious George, Train Master"
15. "Curious George and the Dam Builders / Curious George's Low High Score"

Curious George 30-Adventure Collection
Disc 1:
16. "Curious George Sees Stars / Curious George Gets a Trophy"
17. "George Makes a Stand / Curious George Sees the Light"
18. "Candy Counter / Curious George, Rescue Monkey"
19. "The Truth About George Burgers / Curious George in the Dark"
20. "The Clean, Perfect Yellow Hat / Bee is for Bear"
21. "Surprise Quints / Muddy Monkey"
22. "Curious George Takes a Vacation / Curious George and the One That Got Away"
23. "Ski Monkey / George the Grocer"

Disc 2:
24. "Keep Out Cows / Curious George and the Missing Piece"
25. "Camping With Hundley / Curious George vs. the Turbo Python 3000"
26. "Housebound! / Curious George Rides A Bike"
27. "The All Animal Recycled Band / The Times of Sand"
28. "The Elephant Upstairs / Being Hundley"
29. "George Fixes Betsy's Wagon / Curious George Takes a Dive"
30. "Unbalanced / Curious George vs. Winter"

REVIEW: The Daleks – Doctor Who Collection

One week ago I was perusing DVDs in a local Target store. Just as I was about to leave the section a DVD caught my eye. At first I thought it was the First Doctor’s second story arc “The Daleks” in a re-issued DVD, so I picked it up to read the back. Instead, it is a collection of Doctor Who episodes from the modern series featuring Daleks, as well as a classic series story arc.

Modern Series:
01.06 – “Dalek” – Ninth Doctor, 2005
04.12 – “The Stolen Earth – Tenth Doctor, 2008
04.13 – “Journey’s End” – Tenth Doctor, 2008
07.01 – “Asylum of the Daleks” – Eleventh Doctor, 2012
08.02 – “Into the Dalek” – Twelfth Doctor, 2014

Classic Series:
Story 078 – “Genesis of the Daleks” – Fourth Doctor, 1975

The set also features a 20 minute documentary about the Daleks, and a Dalek laptop decal.

After seeing what the product was, I put it back on the shelf and went on my way. I have been a casual fan of “Doctor Who” since I started watching the modern series in December 2012. But I am not so big of a fan that I want to own the series on DVD. Whenever I want to re-watch the show I will either stream episodes from Netflix or Amazon, or check out the DVDs from the public library (which I am currently doing). I kept thinking about “The Daleks” DVD collection for five days which ended with me deciding that I really wanted to own this set.

The primary reason I wanted it was for “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End”. It is my favorite story arc from the modern series. It is like the “Avengers Assemble” of Doctor Who. It features Rose, Jackie, and Mickey from Seasons 1-2; Martha and her mother from Season 3; Donna, her mother and grandfather from Season 4; Jack, Gwen and Ianto from “Torchwood”; and Sarah Jane and Luke Smith from “The Sarah Jane Adventures”. They all must join together in order to stop Davros, the creator of the Daleks, from using the Reality Bomb to destroy the universe.

The second reason I wanted to buy the DVD set was the price. If you bought the modern series episodes digitally, the cost would be about $4 a piece, which comes out to about $20. Then, if you bought the “Genesis of the Daleks” story arc on DVD, it ranges from $22-30. So “The Daleks” DVD collection is worth about $50. Target sells it for $12.99 – approximately a quarter of its value!

So I went to a Target store closer to my home and bought “The Daleks” DVD set. The episodes are a great sample of the modern series. They feature every Doctor, companion, and theme song version from the last 10 years. And all of the episodes are some of the best. So I would recommend the set for people like me – a casual fan of the series that does not own any seasons on DVD, but would still like to watch a few episodes every now and then.