AoS Season 2 Blu-ray Disappointment

I haven’t done a gripe post in a while, but I am compelled to do so today.

I’ve been a fan of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (henceforth: AoS) since before the first episode aired. Once it hit its stride after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and then Skye/Daisy’s ascension to the ranks of Inhuman, they totally hooked me. And then they released the Season 2 Blu-ray. Well…that was a disappointment.

Now, I’m not saying I don’t still like the episodes and whatnot, but while Marvel is under no marketing obligation to deliver more than episodes, I still feel ill-used. First of all, the pre-order price for AoS season 2 was $55. That stung especially when both the Arrow and The Flash Blu-rays for their recent seasons come in at just $45 (that’s a 22% increase). I’m glad I I pre-ordered. The release-day price on this Amazon exclusive (oh, did I mention it was an Amazon exclusive?) leapt to $72(!).

Now, if there was value for that price, I might not be grumbling. After all, season 1 had all the extras we’ve come to expect: commentaries, bloopers, road trip, and so forth. I figured that for what they were charging, there had to a ton of commentaries and extras. The sum of the extras turned out to be a few deleted scenes, and a few minutes of bloopers. That’s it. And — to rub salt in the wound — if you go into the Bonus Features menu and click on the Info selection, you get the disclaimer that reads: “The commentaries and interviews on this disc are for entertainment purposes only. [yadda yadda yadda]” Yeah, they seriously put that on the disc set that is sparklingly devoid of commentaries and interviews.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel cheated.

Given what disc-buyers have come to expect, and given that this set comes with a premium price tag, and given that the producers and cast are pretty visible and have demonstrated a functional ability for the act of speaking, the desert of bonus features feels like a slap in the face to fandom. Given that I’m a creative type, and the pre-order made my wallet whimper a little, I’m certainly not going to buy any bonus features or a new mea culpa release should one happen.

Given media realities, this isn’t likely something that’s going to be fixed, which may be a mistake. It certainly doesn’t engender the warm fuzzies. If it suggests anything, it’s that there isn’t going to be a season 3 release — after all, a lot of fans are going to be skittish about plopping down the ducats if they don’t get a premium product for their premium outlay. No, it’ll probably be in the cloud; the excuse being the disappointing sales of the season 2 discs.

So yeah. I really enjoyed the second season and was really looking forward to the discs. Now, while I’m still looking forward to season 3, there’s some “meh” now living in my craw. It’s not a tragedy, but it’s certainly sad since it could have been avoided.

#marvelfail