I hold in my stubby little fingers one of the Real Ghostbusters DVD sets. I expect I will have more to say as I work through the content, but that’s going to take awhile. This is just an initial look – and I’m impressed. Just to be clear, this is an advanced copy, not part of the initial pre-order shipping – so if you bought one, it’s still a few days off yet. However, we can confirm they exist – and they’re fantastic.<\/p>\n
For starters, it’s heavy – slightly bigger than a box of crackers, the set feels solid. In fact, I put it into a GameStop bag on the way to work, and it started to stretch the handles. While easy to fit on your video shelf, you do not doubt there’s a lot packed inside. This is confirmed once you open it, but I took a moment, first, to admire the box, which is plain geometry (hence the easy-to-shelf nature of the set), but the design is excellent. Animated panels show Slimer and the No-Ghost trying to saw himself loose, while windows have a laminated coat to make them shine compared to the rest of the “building.”<\/p>\n
Inside are five SteelBook cases, each with a handful of discs inside. Mock-ups of what to expect can be found here<\/a>, but seeing it first hand is impressive. No wonder the set is so heavy! All that casing, plus 25 discs in one small space.<\/p>\n Along with the cases are a cardboard sleeve Bonus Disc and a perfect bound series guide – the bonus disc, the only disc I’ve looked at so far, has the original four minute promo video (from what looks like a better-than-average VHS master), plus the same video with video commentary. There’s also alternate credit sequences, which is a plus, as the end-credit sequence doesn’t have credits! You can view the whole thing, sans titling. As well, there’s a gallery of title cards – every episode name from every episode, as it appeared at the start of each episode.<\/p>\n I had a quick look at the storyboards and series bibles also included on the disc, and if you haven’t seen them before, you’re in for a treat. The bibles are marked as First and Third, which begs the question, “where’s Two?” But that’s just curiosity talking – the two included are already chockablock of goodness.<\/p>\n OK, that’s for starters – I’m off to watch more. If you haven’t picked it up already, you should really consider<\/p>\n Remember, the code for both Canadian<\/a> and US buyers<\/a> – SLIMER – gets you $15 off of the order [UPDATE] Someone asked about how it’s packed, concerned that the bonus DVD would be at risk of damage from the steelbooks around it – I’ve added a picture of how the package is put together, and as you can see, the Bonus disc is in no danger. I can’t remember if the sleeve was turned 90 degrees, so the disc couldn’t slip out, but even if it wasn’t, and even if it could slide out of the sleeve, the disc would only encounter the episode guide, not a steelcase.<\/p>\n [ALSO] Each episode listing has a bit of trivia included, as well as episode synopsis and production notes! Neat!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nand is good until Nov. 26th, so even if you missed out on the pre-order deals, you can still buy at a reduced price. Another handy code is LKFS86 – Free Shipping on orders over $50 (no expiry known.) Orders made before the first week of December should <\/em>arrive in time for Christmas, in case you’re thinking of picking one up for someone special as a present.<\/p>\n