i used to watch bugs wen i was little (about 7/8 year old.) and loved beckett. i used to yell weneva he came on screen! i think he must av bin my first eva tv crush! lol
anyway, i suddenly noticed it was out on dvd so got it to relive my childhood! is still as class now as it was then! love it!
anyone else bought it on dvd coz they watched it wen they were a kid and remembered lovin it?!
Yes, I did. I remembered it very fondly, and was really annoyed that they didn't continue the cliffhanger. It always kept me on the edge of my seat, so when the DVD's came out I was really pleased and bought all the sets (including the complete set for the Gallagher interview). Most of the episodes came out on video, but by the time I realised they had, they'd stopped selling them!
I wrote to Revelation Films recently to ask them to release a special edition set with commentaries and documentaries. Waiting to hear back...
that'd be really cool if they brought some out with proper extras!!!
share Yeah, I'd like to see (or hear) what the actors and writers thought of some of the episodes. For example what did Jaye and Jesse think of how the series ended? Would they be interested in doing a reunion episode (imagine a Christmas special!). What episode were they most pleased with? Did they have any ideas that they would have liked to happen to their characters? The writers too could do commentaries on their favourite episodes. I'd like to hear stories from behind the scenes - there's always stories behind the scenes. Like when they built a full-size mock-up of a space shuttle, or when the IRA bomb went off. And what about the recurring characters? Did Robert Morgan (Blatty) expect to come back? There's so many questions unanswered about the series...
How about you? What special features would you most like to see? (By the way you might be interested in discussing more 'BUGS'. There's a good place at Yahoo called bugs-tv which people still post on).
Hmm . . . if you're talking about a proper DVD release with full bonus features and everything, then certainly commentaries (at least on important episodes) would be good, but plenty of interviews and stuff behind the scenes stuff would be even better. What about deleted scenes, if there are any? And the goofs! Standard bonus fare, really!
Funny, though, I remember last year, when I picked up the DVDs - I hadn't planned to get the series at all, at least not for a while. And I only really wanted the first two series, eventually, and maybe series 3, but they were £25 a series, which I thought was a bit much, just for ten episodes and no worthwhile bonus features (all those files are just stating what we know in the episodes anyway, and as for the Crime Traveller trailer, what was the point in that?). But then I saw the complete four-series box set, for just £40 - cheaper than £50 for two series separately. What you'd term a no-brainer! I snapped it up immediately!
Yes, the complete boxed set was a good deal, though again they could have capitalised more on the extras. I'm sure they included the 'Crime Traveller' trailer because they thought it would appeal to the same market as 'BUGS'. I never saw that series so I don't know if it was any good. It obviously wasn't as good as 'BUGS' as it only lasted two seasons.
Have you ever had any problems with any of the discs playing them on a computer?
You implied you didn't really want Season Four (which was released for the first time on DVD - it never made it to video). I find the more I watch it, the more it grows on me. It is after all more 'BUGS'. If there was a new series now, even if it was a load of rubbish, but had the same characters, I would watch it. Just for old times sake!
"Have you ever had any problems with any of the discs playing them on a computer?"
Never tried playing them on a computer, so I can't say.
"You implied you didn't really want Season Four (which was released for the first time on DVD - it never made it to video). I find the more I watch it, the more it grows on me. It is after all more 'BUGS'."
Well, I've only watched them through the once - I have watched the first three episodes again since then, but it's a question of finding time for it all. You're right, I wasn't bothered about season four. Not at £25 a season! But, as I've said elsewhere, a few times, I saw the box set for £40 and didn't need to think twice - I was paying less than I would have paid for more than I would have got.
"If there was a new series now, even if it was a load of rubbish, but had the same characters, I would watch it. Just for old times sake!"
Oh, so would I!
I know what you mean about finding the time to watch the episodes! I haven't watched some for a while, but I did enjoy watching the first season earlier in the year. I kind of like to leave it a while between watches as they can still surprise me even now. I can't remember exactly what I saw, but there were one or two episodes that I had forgotten certain things about, and I think you just appreciate it more if you aren't watching it often.
To my earlier comment about a new series I would add that I would even enjoy a completely new series (say, a spin-off called 'Gizmo's' or 'The Hive', though 'SSD' doesn't sound very exciting does it, and it would probably have to have a cast of incompetent characters to continue the SSD trend!), even with entirely new characters. They could have the odd recurring character like Dent or Jan pop up. What do you think?
Speaking of SSD - does anybody know what it stands for?
My best guess at the top of my head is "Special Services Division" - but I'm probably wrong.
It says it in an episode like 'Newton's Run' or 'Fugitive' or there is a logo with the words on at least. I believe it stands for Special Security Department, but it's one to check.
I think SSD must have been the most incompetent outfit of the series. Just look at their record. They had the bumbling Wence in charge in the first two seasons, in the third they wrongly pursued Ros when it was their own boss Gage who was the villain, and the most damning and humiliating event was the organisations non-appearance in S4! Even Kamen & Ross managed that! Although mentioned in a few S4 episodes they just weren't considered worthy of their own episode.
Rob
"I think SSD must have been the most incompetent outfit of the series. Just look at their record. They had the bumbling Wence in charge in the first two seasons, in the third they wrongly pursued Ros when it was their own boss Gage who was the villain, and the most damning and humiliating event was the organisations non-appearance in S4!"
Yes, they did have the potential to be so much more than they were . . . but on the other hand, if they were too efficient, then our regulars wouldn't get a look in, would they!
Btw - whatever happened to Wence?
Yes, it's a shame Wence didn't reappear like Blatty did, but I suppose they couldn't really have had him as the crooked boss in S3 as he was so straight-laced, and we didn't really see the organisation after that. Either he was killed by Gage or simply sacked, or he just retired, or he got a job somewhere else (not The Hive please), but it would have been interesting to find out.
I think Wence was a great character because of Beckett's disdain for him and the way he messed things up (especially love that scene at the end of 'Newton's Run' when they kick him out for a dog. All he wanted was a nice meal! What was your favourite Wence moement?
Rob
"Wence was a great character because of Beckett's disdain for him and the way he messed things up"
We never did find out what the backstory was between those two!
I suppose he could have been simply sacked for incompetence, but it would have been nice to specify something . . .
sudden thought - maybe he was the kidnapper at the end of season 4 ;-) OK, probably not, but you know how random thoughts pop into your head sometimes!
Yeah, I like it! He wanted revenge for the time they kicked him out of that meal for a dog... Don't tell me, he's "above revenge"!
I wonder if their relationship goes back to when Beckett was at The Hive - they probably knew each other professionally. No doubt Wence ruined some important Hive operation with his blundering ways, and he probably didn't approve of Beckett's lack of respect for authority. Who knows, perhaps it had something to do with when Beckett trespassed on American Naval Base...
Rob
"anyone else bought it on dvd coz they watched it wen they were a kid and remembered lovin it?!"
Yes, me!
I just bought all DVDs this month, great! :)
Look in the "I spoke to Greg" thread, there is infact a 5th series they never aired.
SSD were, generally speaking, blundering professionals that our trio of "mavericks" ran rings around, but not totally inept when they killed that contract killer in "Shotgun Wedding" (also in S3 I didn't think the SSD married duo were inept on principle even though they were hoodwinked by their corrupt, backstabbing boss in "Fugitive").
shareAnyone for an SSD TV series spinoff? I'd pay for that! Mind you, I'd pay for any kind of series set in the 'BUGS' world - it's been too long...
Rob
The Bugs setting seemed to shift a bit. In the first two seasons you get a subtle impression that it's set in an alternate 2000s, then the writers drifted a bit away from that. Also there's some confusion over the so-called "Eastern Alliance" and Soviet Union (and the mysterious Asian state in "Assassins Inc." that may be a different kind of Japan).
share