I-Man fans in the U.S. and Canada have waited for years for the release of The Invisible Man on DVD.  Now, finally, our wait is coming to an end.  I am extremely excited (tickled pink, in fact!) to tell you that Universal Studios has announced the release of season one of I-Man as a five-DVD set!  Mark your calendars for March 25, 2008!  That’s the date when the set will go on sale.  The suggested retail price for the set is $59.98 and it includes some really nice extras:

• A two-part audio commentary on the Pilot with Matt Greenberg, Breck Eisner, and Vincent Ventresca.
• A sit-down interview/discussion with Matt Greenberg.
• A bonus episode from Season Two:  “Legends.”

This news comes from TVShowsOnDVD.com and can be found at http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Invisible-Man-Season-1/8634.  I also want to thank CoolB and Krys for making sure that I saw this very important news item.

Impacts and Action

I want to take off my fan hat for a moment here and put on my business hat because I think it’s important to discuss how this could impact the future of our show.  Some of you may be thinking that if the DVDs sell well, Universal might think about bringing back the show.  It’s rare for that to happen, but it’s not unheard of.  Another possibility, that is also slim but maybe a bit more probable, is that they might give us an I-Man movie.  Yet another possibility, that is more likely, is for the show to be put back into reruns.  Any of the above could happen if the DVD sales are really strong.

So here’s where I encourage you to buy, buy, buy the DVDs.  I know that they are rather pricey and I know that many of you already have copies of season one, whether it may be taped from your VCR, bootlegged, or a foreign copy.  But please buy a set or two or three anyway.  The way you show Universal that you support this show and want to see more of it is by voting with your dollars.  That’s the only language they understand.

There’s yet another reason why it is very important that DVD sales need to be strong:  because we want season two I-Man DVDs.  We’ve never had season two DVDs released anywhere in the world and this is our golden opportunity to get them here. 

Please let’s learn a lesson from the U.K. DVD experience.  To refresh your memory, Contender had released season one with the full intention of releasing season two if season one sold well.  Unfortunately, season one didn’t sell well in the U.K. and season two was never released.  It was a risky business move to begin with since the I-Man audience in the U.K. is quite small, but it was wonderful that they gave it a go.  However, the U.S. probably has one of the largest, if not the largest, audience for the show and we are the ones who really need to make a difference if we want to ever see season two on DVD.  And Canada, we need your help too.

So in light of that, here are a few things you can do:

1. Buy a copy for yourself.
2. Buy a copy for other people.  They make great gifts.
3. Email as many people as you know and tell them about the I-Man DVDs.  Ask them to email as many people as they know and forward your letter to them and so on and so on.
4. Announce the DVDs on, not just I-Man forums, but entertainment, sci-fi, and other applicable forums.  Please be respectful of any forum rules.
5. Talk about the DVDs to everyone you meet.  The online fandom is just a very minuscule part of the total I-Man audience and many of those people might not have online access.  Case in point, one of my neighbors flipped when I told her what project I am working on.  She absolutely loves I-Man, but because she doesn’t have online access, she was totally unaware of any movie news or fan club activities.  I can’t wait till the next time I see her and tell her about the DVDs.  She is going to be so excited.   

So there are a few ideas off the top of my head.  If you have any ideas for how to promote the DVDs, feel free to share.  And if you have any cool experiences promoting the DVDs, please feel free to share those too.

And now please excuse me as I take off my business hat, put my fan hat back on and let out a big WOOHOO!!!