Last week I had a series of gift cards to use. The time after the holidays is a good time to do this, too, since there's usually no shortage of sales, special deals and so on. It also helped that a certain bookstore was running a special on DVDs, too. So I'm now the proud owner of the Studio One collection, the Golden Age of Television set, and the Preston Sturges box set. (If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know these selections are completely in character. And, yes, at some point before too much longer I plan to blog about some of these things -- especially the Studio One DVDs, which contain commercials, station breaks and a bunch of other neat surprises, including a great panel discussion with some of the participants. I'd forgotten how totally awesome Betty Furness was, but this panel discussion sure reminded me.)
While I was at it, though, I took care of some completion tasks. For the past several years I've been collecting the Saturday Night Live complete season DVD sets. This has been harder than it may seem, because there's two different styles of packaging. One style, the "limited edition" style, comes in a stiff case with a hinged front that opens like a book. There's another style that comes without that outer case. The problem with ordering it online is that you don't know which one you'll get until it arrives. This has resulted in some detective work, some of it frustrating at times.
One more collection that needed work was my SCTV collection. I had the first two sets, but since they were so expensive it required time and luck to find them affordably. However, a little online sleuthing and comparison shopping resulted in some good luck there, too, and I now have the third and fourth sets. It may not be a complete set just yet, but it's still a relief, one less thing for which to look.
Let's just say it's a good thing I had those gift cards. Being a completionist can sure be a pain in the neck sometimes.
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