'Seinfeld' DVD shows up...finally
Discs make much ado about nothing
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First volume will include the original 1989 pilot (and an alternate version) called "The Seinfeld Chronicles" and the first four episodes that ran before the network cautiously ordered 13 more, also on the disc, making a total of 18 episodes.
The second volume includes the next set of 13 episodes ordered followed by the back nine, for an additional total of 22.
The show about nothing will cost fans $49.95 for each volume, or $119.95 for a two-volume holiday gift set that includes exclusive "Monk's Diner" salt and pepper shakers and collectible playing cards plus a limited-edition script with handwritten notes by co-creator Larry David.
It was the production of all the hours of new interviews, audio commentaries and making-of programs and the amalgamation of hours of deleted scenes, outtakes and unused footage of Seinfeld's standup comedy routines from the first few seasons that kept the DVD from being released earlier.
Seinfeld credits series exec producer Howard West of Seinfeld's Shapiro/West & Associates management team for the elaborate special edition of the DVD.
"He actually stepped in, stopped that train and redirected the whole thing to what it became," Seinfeld told Daily Variety.
Reopening the store
It was also West and Seinfeld who quenched the fast-rising flames of discontent among the rest of the "Seinfeld" cast last December when they balked at participating in the DVD without compensation.
"You know, people do deserve money for services," Seinfeld said. "But the thing was that all the books are closed on the show, so it's kind of hard to go back and open them -- all these corporate entities that own pieces of the show, they're disinclined to revisit those deals. It (was) kind of a boarded-up store at this point."
After "twisting a few arms," Seinfeld and West tailored a compromise deal that requires the actors to participate in all bonus material for every forthcoming season set of DVD releases.
"They were only too anxious to be part of it," Seinfeld said of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. "But, you know, it still needed to be equitable."
All the cast members participated extensively in the new bonus features, as did Seinfeld, David and many others.
The series will surely rake in plenty of money. The top-selling TV title on DVD this year by far is surprise hit "Chappelle's Show," with more than $50 million in consumer spending.
Ben Feingold, president of Columbia TriStar, which is believed to be preparing the release of "Spider-Man 2" around the same time, said the studio will treat the "Seinfeld" releases as they would a big feature film in terms of the holiday marketing push.
"Seinfeld" also has been treated like a major film from a technical standpoint, with the entire series being digitally remastered in high-definition.
