I would like to share the following saga as a PSA for anyone who is suffering with the issue described below. It also might be a launching point to a conversation about piracy, owning your own media, etc.
A few weeks ago, I ordered 30 Rock on Blu Ray from Best Buy. The box set was advertised as containing the “Complete Series” and “All 138 episodes”. When the set arrived, I looked at each of the disks and they indeed had all the episodes listed. When I played the disks however, 4 episodes were missing. I was afraid of this, as over time, certain episodes were pulled from streaming services as they were deemed offensive.
The missing episodes really bummed me out and I felt slighted as a consumer. As a person who never pirates and wants to do the right thing, I was extremely frustrated that I was having a worse experience as a paying customer.
I contacted Mill Creek Entertainment (the publisher of the Blu Ray set) and politely described my situation. I had to send multiple emails and leave several voice messages, but they did contact me after a week or so. After providing proof of purchase and proof of the missing episodes, they sent me replacement disks (free of charge).
If anyone out there has the 30 Rock box set and is missing episodes, you can remedy the situation (with some effort). While it was a pain in the butt to get this resolved, I have to credit Mill Creek Entertainment for making things right.
This is why owning physical media is so important! sometimes what is removed for being offensive or even just because of licensing reasons, is a little silly, when other things that maybe should be restricted aren’t.
Really nice to hear you were able to get in touch with them and they were helpful. Maybe this will encourage others to do the same, so well done!
I’m going to assume the live show was one of them?
I remember there being some of the most offensive and hilarious moments I’ve ever seen on TV in there.
Everything else aside though the nerve of some sanctimonious dork thinking they should decide for everyone what they can and cannot see is ridiculous. Glad to see they at least shipped the missing ones, but really shouldn’t even be an issue in the first place.
I was afraid of this, as over time, certain episodes were pulled from streaming services as they were deemed offensive
Keep in mind that the more usual reason why episodes are pulled from streaming is because of licensed music rights. This is especially true for older streaming shows (that are 10+ years ago) - typically, the rights to play someone else’s music during your show only lasts for about 10 years. After that, you (the show distributor) no longer have access to the music, and thus are not permitted to play the music in the episode. 30Rock was shown originally on NBC Network TV, which has its own sets of rules for “propriety” (which can change based on tastes). This is one of many reasons why a show may no longer be available on a streaming platform (or they mysteriously vanish only to pop up on some unrelated channel).