Three years ago I did a survey about what I spend on TV shows. And what that means per hour and per episode.

Since then my collection has been growing continuously if not only for the basic reason that I purchase the shows I liked when I watched them on Torrent TV.

Now I was interested on how the prices have developed.

Thus I give you the updated data of the last ten season boxes* I bought:

Name	Price	Purchase Country	Running Time in Minutes / Number of Episodes	Price per Hour	Price per Episode
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Season 1	€10.45 (£7.43)	UK	589 / 25	€1.06	€0.42
LOST: Season 6	€17.32 (£12.78)	UK	796 / 18	€1.31	€0.96
Supernatural: Season 6	€18.36 (£15.86)	UK	917 / 22	€1.20	€0.83
Suits: Season 1	€20.58 (£17.84)	UK	528 / 12	€2.34	€1.72
Sherlock: Season 2	€12.24 (£10.39)	UK	266 / 3	€2.76	€4.08
Gossip Girl: Season 4	€16.14 (£13.88)	UK	893 / 22	€1.08	€0.73
Castle: Season 3	€22.99	DE	985 / 24	€1.40	€0.96
Dragon Ball: Season 5	€18.27 ($16.99)	US	751 / 31	€1.46	€0.59
Dragon Ball: Season 4	€18.27 ($16.99)	US	726 / 30	€1.51	€0.61
Dragon Ball: Season 3	€22.77 ($21.99)	US	751 / 31	€1.82	€0.73

In march 2009 the average price per hour was €1.43, now it’s €1.59% (+11%). Like 2009 it’s the shorter series that drive the average up – independent from the media type.

The price per episode was €0.97 and is now €1.16 (+20%). This can be explained by two factors. Summer shows like Suits have fewer episodes per season but the episodes themselves are about 10 minutes longer than in the fall season.
And Sherlock has only 3 episodes per season but with a running time of 89 minutes each.
In the end there seems to be a price tunnel in which seasons can be sold that is independent of the actual running time of said season.

But another trend can be seen. Like 2009 there’s once again only one season purchased in Germany. Must be my unwillingness to purchase half-season boxes (euphemistically: Season 1.1 and 1.2) for €29.99 each.

And now my inner statistics freak is satisfied again.

* Note: I left out the purchases which I paid for with Amazon gift certificates because they would have muddied the waters.

Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2012
Tags: Castle · Dragon Ball · Gossip Girl · LOST · Sherlock · Sherlock Holmes · Statistics · Suits · Supernatural · The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
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The Blues Brothers (1980)

02 May – €8.92 (£7.43) @ Amazon.co.uk

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

02 May – €9.48 (£7.93) @ Amazon.co.uk

Castle: Season 3 (2010 – 2011)

02 May – €22.99 @ Amazon.de

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

02 May – €11.68 (£9.89) @ Amazon.co.uk

Friends With Benefits (2011)

02 May – €8.37 (£6.94) @ Amazon.co.uk

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2012
Tags: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy · Castle · Chuck · Dragonheart · Eurotrip · Friends With Benefits · From Dusk Till Dawn · Glee · Gossip Girl · Gremlins · Lethal Weapon · LOST · Men in Black · My Mom's New Boyfriend · Poison Ivy · Road Trip · Sherlock · Sherlock Holmes · Smallville · Suits · Supernatural · Tango & Cash · The Blues Brothers · The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air · The Specialist · Thor · Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy · Transformers · Valentine's Day
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House M.D.: Season 6

01 Apr – €24.26 (£19.60) @ Amazon.co.uk

The Switch

01 Apr – €9.45 (£6.94) @ Amazon.co.uk

Rambo

08 Apr – €7.86 ($10.99) @ Amazon.com

Supernatural: Season 5

08 Apr – €11.68 ($26.49) @ Amazon.com (partially with gift certificate)

These three are series from my childhood that were made in former East Germany:

Spuk im Hochhaus (Spook in the Apartment Building)

11 Apr – €12.95 @ Amazon.de

In 1782 two innkeepers made their guests drunk and robbed them. When they killed a constable they were cursed to re-appear 200 years later and have to make seven good deeds to amend for their sins. They re-awake in an apartment building and cause havoc while trying to help.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2011
Tags: Bones · Dante's Peak · Harry Potter · House M.D. · JAG · Legion · Max Headroom · Rambo · Scott Pilgrim vs. the World · Spuk im Hochhaus · Spuk unterm Riesenrad · Spuk von Draußen · Supernatural · The Fast and the Furious · The Guild · The Switch · Up
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In the last few weeks I didn’t feel much like watching anything. But then the hill turned into a mountain. Luckily some of the series are pausing for some weeks and I decided to play catch up before I have to cross the Alps. Since this was a bigger marathon session I won’t talk about every individual episode but rather about I like the season so far.

Bones
With Bones it’s business as usual. I like their cases and their chemistry and I just enjoy watching them.
And I loved it how Brennan managed to jump over her own shadow for this kids show:

Castle
The same is basically true for Castle. Castle and Beckett are hilarious together and I love the way they solve their cases. Both shows have put the WTWT topic on a back burner which is good for now but it’s obviously still there and will become an issue again. I don’t mind as long as it’s well executed.

Chuck
Chuck’s family tree is becoming more complicated than the one Jennifer Garner had in Alias – and that’s saying something.
Chuck as a person has grown but luckily that doesn’t take away the humour and the appeal of the show. If anything the addition of Morgan as Casey’s “partner” made it even better.

Community
I love it how every episode is mainly about one or two characters but it doesn’t really feel that way because everyone is contributing their own point of view and in the end it’s always an ensemble show.
The zombie movie homage in the Halloween episode was so cool – and I don’t even like zombie movies.

Cougar Town
The show continues where it left at the end of the first season. I’m glad that it doesn’t really matter that Travis is in college because he’s either at home or they are visiting him, so he’s still a full cast member.
I also love how they toy with the series name, for example in episode five the title card read 100% Cougar Free Cougar Town.

(more…)

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Alias · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Life Unexpected · Melissa & Joey · No Ordinary Family · Raising Hope · Smallville · Supernatural · Terriers · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Two and a Half Men
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Deutsche Version | Those that came … those that went … those that did both … and those that did neither nor

Dollhouse

The Dollhouse is a place where you can rent an actual person which will be imprinted with anything one desires (from being a professional hit man to being an exceptional escort).
When this show went into its last intermission I kinda lost track of it. I always enjoyed it but somehow I never managed to come around and watch the last five or six episodes. Maybe I’ll do it in the summer.

Heroes

Certain people discover that they have abilities that would be described as “super-human”. They use them to protect us while living in secret.
Once this was a great show (in season one). But ever since then it has been declining and gotten more illogical with every season. I’m not sad that it was discontinued.

LOST

The plane Oceanic 815 crashes on a tropical island. The survivors have to fight against the island, a smoke monster, the Others and several other parties. Not only in their own time, but also in the past and in other realities.
“It’s all about the characters.” From now on I will understand this as “We have no plan were we are going and it will make no sense but at least you’ll see the characters in a lot of emotional turmoil.”. The more distance I get from watching the finale the more disappointed I become. I wasn’t too keen on the Battlestar Galactica end either but at least they had a physical voyage that leads them somewhere in the end. And here? We have only vague hints of what would have happened if Smokey had left or if the island had sunk. Where’s the re-watch value? Why bother to look for clues in the early episodes when you know that there won’t be any answers for which the clues could be useful?
In essence, J. Michael Straczynski is still the only person who actually can pull off a five season arc.

Supernatural

Sam and Dean Winchester fight all kinds of supernatural beings that kill or use people in their plans to bring the Apocalypse.
Technically this show isn’t over. There will be a sixth season and maybe more. But the big arc that has driven the show over the last five years is over now and I’m glad I was on board for it, even though my trip was shorter (I watched the pilot merely a year ago).

Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: Battlestar Galactica · Dollhouse · Heroes · LOST · Supernatural
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-19 | CW 20 (LOST Finale)

The Big Bang Theory 3×22 The Staircase Implementation
It was a nice “origin story” that I enjoyed (The hair! The suits! The North-Korean spy-girl!).
But I like Babylon 5!

Chuck 3×17 Chuck vs the Living Dead
Even though Shaw might be back I enjoy this season 3.5 much more than season 3.0. I love how Ellie is getting drawn into the spy game and how his father figured out he still was the Intersect. My favourite scene was when Sarah “intercepted” the knife and Orion was wondering whether she also had an Intersect.

Gossip Girl 3×22 Last Tango, Then Paris
It wasn’t bad but a few things bothered me. For example Dan following Serena headlessly without thinking about Vanessa. And even though Jenny was “deported” I didn’t get the feeling that she was actually punished for what she did this year. And Chuck getting shot in a dark alley was a bit too clichéd for me.
But I loved the idea of Georgina returning (and her condition!). And since Mercy was axed she could play a larger role next season.

LOST 6×16 What They Died For
I loved Desmond as sideways-Mastermind, I really enjoyed these parts of the episode. But I also liked the parts on the island. I just don’t think that Ben has turned again (I think he’s conning Smokey) and I don’t think that Jack will actually become the lighthouse keeper; I think there will be yet another twist to this all.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×18 Changes
I was a bit disappointed of Kat’s behaviour. Patrick’s friendly banter didn’t feel out of place. But her reaction to it did.
I enjoyed the rest of the episode though.

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Babylon 5 · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Justified · Kick-Ass · LOST · Mercy · Party Down · Superbad · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men
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Deutsche Version | CW 18 | CW 19-20

Chuck 3×16 Chuck vs the Tooth
I already like this new mini-arc (there are only three episodes left). My guess for the end is something like this: Ellie and Orion get caught by the Ring and Chuck and Sarah have to burst in to save them and thus revealing themselves.
I loved to see Christopher Lloyd in this episode and while I only know him as “elderly person” I was a bit surprised how old he actually looked now (he’s 71 after all…). On TV Tropes there’s a trope called “Running the Asylum”. It has a different meaning but I loved the idea that an inmate of the Cuckoo’s Nest is now the chief psychiatrist for an asylum full of spies.
Spoiler (mark to read):
Since I’ve read that they introduce yet another game-changer into the finale my guess would be that Orion removes the Intersect from Chuck’s head for good. Except for the Karate they didn’t make much use of it this season anyway (or at least I have that feeling). I think Chuck is ready to be a spy in his own right and they don’t actually need the Intersect as plot device anymore.

The Big Bang Theory 3×21 The Plimpton Stimulation
“You are my landlord and you are my movers. And I can’t pay any of you.” Great episode. It was a great fun in itself.
I’m still somewhat troubled over that whole break-up thing. I don’t have the feeling that they’ve actually explained why they’ve broken up. Penny just ran out on him and that was it. No real aftermath or real explanation. For me that makes it a bit unreal.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×16 Too Much Information
The first episode was a bit anvilicious (modelling & eating disorders…) but I liked that Kat tried to help Patrick open up.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×17 Just One Kiss
I liked the second episode better, especially with bringing Blank/William back.

Bones 5×21 The Boy with the Answer
I liked it that they brought the Gravedigger case again. I also liked that the writers and actors made me really hate her for attacking “my people” by questioning their integrity.
I also smell change coming. When characters start to question their own purpose and goals right before the season ends, most of the time they are going to change the concept of the show (at least for a while).

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Angel · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Good Will Hunting · Gossip Girl · Happy Town · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Justified · LOST · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest · Party Down · Smallville · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men · Veronica Mars
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-17 | CW 13-19

Chuck 3×15 Chuck versus the Role Models
Again, I’ve enjoyed this episode very much. Loved the tiger even without Mike Tyson.
I also liked the hint to an oncoming arc in the end. I strongly suspect that the Chuck gang and the Awesome family will soon cross paths again.

And I loved this little spoof of Hart to Hart (not to mention the blink towards LOST at the end) (warning: contains spoilers if you’re not up2date):

And here’s the original:

LOST 6×14 The Candidate
Just like with Supernatural they seem to be cleaning up the game board for the Grand Finale.
What disturbed me most about the Kwon’s death was not that it happened after they reunited after being apart for three years (bad things happen…) but that neither Jin nor Sun thought about their daughter at that moment, a child that will now be raised without parents. I understand that a little more from Jin’s perspective since he never saw his child and it was three years since Sun had been pregnant but Sun should have said something!

The Big Bang Theory 3×20 The Spaghetti Catalyst
I loved it how Leonard and Penny behaved like divorced parents (IMHO with switched gender roles – she takes him to Disneyworld and he has to deal with his nightmares afterwards) and how Sheldon – who loves them both – has a hard time deciding of whom to hang with.

How I Met Your Mother 5×21 Twin Beds
This story was not well constructed. I get that Barney and Ted might have regrets but how it played out was not well executed IMHO – especially since Don is basically an unknown to me. How often have we seen this guy? Three, four times? And now I should care about him?
I also didn’t like the twin bed story, it felt contrived.

Community 1×23 Modern Warfare
I can’t even count how many references this episode alone had – and still was able to tell a fully fledged story: First there were the named references to Friends and Cheers then it seemed like a post-apocalyptic movie, then Abed quoted The Terminator and fought like in The Matrix (including bullet-time at a later point), then there was this doomsday movie scene where people are warming their hands over a burning barrel in the midst of destruction (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow), the mention of the Neutral Zone (Star Trek), The Prize (Highlander), the gun taped on the back (Die Hard) and I’m pretty sure Señor Chang’s golden guns were from some movie, too.
I’m also sure I did not mention every reference here nor do I think that I caught all of them. Two words: Absolutely hilarious.

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: Bones · Cheers · Chuck · Community · Die Hard · Doctor Who · Friends · Hart to Hart · Highlander · How I Met Your Mother · Independence Day · LOST · Smallville · Star Trek · Supernatural · Terminator · The Big Bang Theory · The Day After Tomorrow · The Matrix
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-16 | CW 18

Chuck 3×14 Chuck vs the Honeymooners
I’ve enjoyed this episode very much. It had the typical Chuck mixture of fun and action the early seasons had. Sarah’s Texan impersonation was also very funny and I don’t think I have to say anything about her habit of walking around in lingerie all the time.
But I also really enjoyed Jeffster’s (IMHO good) interpretation of Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Romantically Challenged 1×02 The Charade
Nope, nothing special about this show. Just your average multi-camera sitcom with laugh-track.

Happy Town 1×01 In This Home on Ice
I’m a bit confused. Is this pure mystery? Is there a supernatural element in the story? What’s up with Chloe?
The pilot felt a bit rushed because so many different characters had to be introduced (however briefly) but it certainly looks intriguing and I’ll continue to watch.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×15 The Winner Takes It All
If there’s one thing in TV Land that gives me the creeps, it’s public embarrassments in front of a big audience, especially if one sees it coming. I always cringe and even try to stall the inevitable moment by pausing(!) the video. And yet I will not skip over it.
In contrast, I have no problem with putting myself into a spotlight and do things I’m not talented enough to do – just for the fun of it.

Unfortunately, 10 Things won’t get a second season. While it’s not the best show out there, I certainly enjoyed it.

Bones 5×19 The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle
This is one of the episodes I have my problems with. Bones always dealt with magic when it came to solve their murders but the way they found the cause of death this time was once again too over the top. It was like the episode where the bones turned into foam and they still could determine the way the blade (bullet?) went through the rips. Wall Banger.
But I enjoyed the other parts: Booth getting loose, B&B singing, Hodgins & muslim guy talking Baseball, Angela invoking her father, …

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Bones · Chuck · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Firefly · Gossip Girl · Happy Town · House M.D. · Justified · Leverage · Romantically Challenged · Smallville · Stargate Universe · Supernatural · The Good Wife · White Collar · X-Men
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-15 | CW 13-17

Romantically Challenged 1×01 Don’t Be Yourself
What I’ve seen so far is a run-of-the-mill sitcom and I’ve seen nothing (except for Alyssa of course ) that makes this one special. Maybe I watch a few more episodes, maybe I don’t. But I honestly don’t think I’ll miss something if I don’t.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×14 Meat Is Murder
It was really cool how Blank played Kat while being completely honest with her.
But I also liked how Bianca tried to smooth things up with Cameron and how she “trained” Stacy (especially on the topic of LOST) so that she would be perfect for Cameron.

Bones 5×18 The Predator in the Pool
Rena Sofer, huh? I can see why Booth would be attracted to her. I find it fascinating who both Bs know that it’s “wrong” what they are doing and yet go through with it (for now). But I liked the uncomfortable look on Brennan’s face because the ball is on her side now and she has to act.
As for the case: A lot of convenient coincidences in this one (like the fish burping out the skull at the right moment). I have no problem with written coincidences on TV shows but please not too many and not blatantly obvious.

Castle 2×21 Den of Thieves
Michael Trucco, huh? Starbuck fell for him, Penny fell for him – so why not Kate?
I really liked it that Ryan and especially Esposito played a bigger role than usual. They have been criminally underused so far. And it was great how the two of them and Castle totally “inconspicuously” investigated Trucco’s character.
I also liked how the episode ended and they all covered for Esposito.

Cougar Town 1×20 Wake Up Time
Again the men were the highlight of the episode. Grayson on the emotional level, Andy on the funny level and Bobby on his usual weird level. Too bad Kylie is gone already; I really thought she and Grayson made a nice couple.

And now for “emotional chicken”:

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Categories: Misc
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Bones · Castle · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Indecent Proposal · Justified · LOST · Party Down · Romantically Challenged · Smallville · Spider-Man · Star Trek VOY · Supernatural · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men
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