By Derek Miner
November 4, 2002
To read Part I of MSCDVD, click here.
To read Part II of MSCDVD, click here.
If you’re looking to find information about the late, lamented TV series MY SO-CALLED LIFE, your best bet is to visit MSCL.com, but be careful about calling it just another “fan site.”
“A lot of people, they associate ‘fandom’ with this informality, and ‘Oh, we have these fans, these fanatics, it’s an easy sell,’” suggests MSCL.com owner Steve Joyner. “Really in the case of MY SO-CALLED LIFE, the fans are more like supporters of the show,” adds Jason Rosenfeld, a former employee of BMG who joined with MSCL.com to help get MY SO-CALLED LIFE released on DVD.
Whether you consider them “fans” or “supporters,” these are the people who have been involved in every aspect of this project, in some way. These are the people who petitioned to bring MY SO-CALLED LIFE to DVD. They became the customers who pushed pre-orders past the expectations of online retailer Another Universe. They are the people who waited patiently as legal clearances held back the DVDs as well as a bonus disc and lunchbox designed by Another Universe. These are also the customers who have turned to the forum at MSCL.com to not only follow, but become a part of the ongoing saga. As Dan Fowlkes of the MSCL.com support team suggests, “It’s like a soap opera trying to get this DVD out.”
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The month of September began with the MY SO-CALLED LIFE project appearing to wind down. Early in the month, Another Universe sent out a mass email announcing a release date of September 17th and apologizing for the unforeseen delays. The email also revealed the lunchbox and bonus disc to be shipping at a later date, but at no extra shipping charge. Another Universe also acknowledged that customers had problems with duplicate charges and asked those who ordered to check their credit card statements for such charges.
Jason Rosenfeld had been acting as a customer service “go-between” on behalf of Another Universe for most of the project. Rosenfeld and his partner, Gord Lacey, developed a form at Drygrass that allowed customers to enter problems which could be forwarded to Another Universe for action. Rosenfeld was hearing about problems from unlikely sources, as well. “It was very embarrassing to me to be doing [press] interviews and then last thing they would ask me is, ‘By the way, can you take care of this double-charge for me?’” Rosenfeld recalls.
While customers were getting more impatient and vocal about being overcharged, another unfortunate accident stirred up emotions further. Around September 11th, DVDEmpire listed a MY SO-CALLED LIFE box set for $79.98 including the same bonus materials offered by Another Universe. The news soon spread via outlets such as DVDFile.com. Fans immediately cried foul. They had been led to believe the set would be exclusive through Another Universe, and some had paid up to $115 for the set even without the lunchbox.
Within two days, the listings at sites such as DVDEmpire disappeared, and the solicitations were revealed to be an error. “There was a distributor that was interested in doing work with BMG,” explains Another Universe’s CEO, Ross Rojek. “And they wanted to put it out into accounts that BMG had never gone into, so BMG said basically, ‘Yeah, we can do that. No big deal.’ And I said, ‘Excuse me, this is mine.’ And what happened was, the distributor jumped on and started soliciting for it… And they basically took the information from my webpage and said, ‘This is what we’re selling,’ without a contract. Without a sales agreement from BMG.”
Anger over the erroneous listings passed quickly, as the announced release date was less than one week away. Customers had been waiting since legal issue made the original summer release date impossible. “BMG missed the first date, and then they didn’t give us one,” says Rojek. “And I didn’t want to go back out with another one until they gave me a good one, which wasn’t until the end of August when they said, ‘Okay, September 17th.’”
“Now September 17th rolls around and they’re like, ‘Okay, look, it’s still manufacturing because there’s so many blockbuster movies, all the replication companies are working on it. Oh, and by the way, you didn’t really want it in a slipcase, did ya?’” Rojek says BMG believed the lunchbox to be the container and did not produce a slipcase to hold the discs together. “No, see the lunchbox is the external packaging,” Rojek told them, “the slipcase is so people can put it on their shelf.”
On September 19th, Rojek posted an apology at the MSCL.com forum, mentioning the slipcase delay and promising shipment to customers as soon as BMG could deliver the discs. Rojek also announced that the lunchbox package would extended to all pre-orders to help make up for the delay. On the topic of double-charges, Rojek wrote, “The charges were accidentally done through batch information transfers between our computer systems and our processor. We have completely changed that system in order to make sure it can not happen again.”
MY SO-CALLED RERUN
On October 4th, Amazon.com listed MY SO-CALLED LIFE for order on their site with a release date of October 22nd. Still smarting from the DVDEmpire incident, fans began demanding answers immediately.
The company providing MY SO-CALLED LIFE to Amazon.com turned out to be Ventura Distribution, who were, in fact, authorized by BMG. “Jason and Another Universe came to us and said, ‘Would you mind if these guys got involved?’” explains Steve Cooper, Vice President of DVD at BMG Special Products. “Out of respect to [Another Universe], we went back and said, ‘are you sure with this?’ I think Ross and Another Universe, to his credit, said that a website – regardless of the website – is going to only hit a certain amount of customers,” Cooper explains. “I think he believed at some point that the demand seemed to be higher than we all assumed, that there was clearly an interest in this product, more than anybody probably assumed, and thought that if it was available at people’s local retail stores, or their everyday shopping point, the product would be more attainable for customers, and that would drive more excitement, and drive more interest.”
“The exclusive material is ours,” Rojek adds. “We made it. Or we licensed it ourselves. So it doesn’t show up in the bonus set for anybody else because we own it.” To distinguish their product from the one offered at other retailers, Another Universe changed the listing on their site to the “MY SO-CALLED LIFE DVD Collector’s Edition Set.”
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Customers reacted strongly to the news that other retailers would be carrying MY SO-CALLED LIFE, even if it would be without the lunchbox or bonus disc. Posting volume picked up at MSCL.com’s forum, including many angry comments directed at Ross Rojek and Another Universe. Rojek replied to several of the threads, conceding amidst the ire, “As in any organization, the ultimate responsibility lies with the owner or CEO. Therefore any blame that needs to be made ends up with me.”
“Since most everyone here has made it fairly clear that there is very little we can do to make them happy, I'm going to do the best I can, make as many people as satisfied as I can, and finish the project,” Rojek also wrote. “That means everyone will get any outstanding credit owed, get the DVD set they ordered, get the bonus stuff we've told them they will get, plus other stuff we're adding on as a ‘we're sorry’. Anyone who cancels, will get their credit and can order the set from anyone else they wish.” Several hundred customers did indeed cancel, some citing that with the lunchbox and bonus disc were not worth the difference in what Another Universe had charged compared to retailers such as Amazon.com
On October 10th, Rojek posted a breakdown of what pre-order customers should be getting to help make up for the delays. Everyone would get free shipping, a bonus disc and a lunchbox, but the first 2,500 pre-orders would get a different version of the lunchbox with a certificate of authenticity. The first 2,500 pre-orders would also get an MY SO-CALLED LIFE T-shirt and a $30 gift certificate for Another Universe. Anyone who ordered between June 18th and September 17th would also get an MSCL T-shirt and a $20 gift certificate.
MY SO-CALLED DEADLINE
As the month of October began, the continued delays in the MY SO-CALLED LIFE DVDs and associated bonus materials were taking a toll on customers, particularly those at MSCL.com. Some decided to report Another Universe to the Better Business Bureau for their poor customer service. Fans began demanding answers as to why the DVDs were being delayed. Eventually, Jason Rosenfeld began to suggest that the companies providing the discs and the lunchbox had not been paid. “[Ross] wasn’t giving me any positives to report, so all I could report was negative stuff,”Rosenfeld says. On October 11th, Rosenfeld posted, “I will present a simple fact. No expletives and no rumors. Ross says BMG was paid. However, BMG tells me that they still, unfortunately, have not been paid.”
Steve Cooper of BMG Special Products declines to comment on delays. “There’s been some bumps along this road,” Cooper says, “and it’s not something that we’re in the middle of, nor probably care to be in the middle of. Our issues are just to deliver what our customer wants. And what our consumers want to buy, ultimately.”
A message from “Robert,” later confirmed to be an employee of GWhiz Enterprises, also appeared at the MSCL.com forum October 11th. “I am the one that is in charge of manufacturing this lunchbox order. I will stick to the facts and let you come to your own conclusions. Our company policy, and this goes for most companies that deal with international markets, is to have 50% deposit to start and the balance of the order paid in full at time of shipment from China. I have pushed this order through to within weeks of possible completion. Keep in mind that I still haven't received the balance of the deposit yet.”
Under the circumstances, Rosenfeld decided to post an ultimatum for Another Universe. “If BMG is not paid in full by Wednesday, October 16, 2002,” Rosenfeld wrote. “I will email all of the petition signers, as well as any of the customers for whom I have email addresses. I will tell them that AU has not paid for the DVDs and I will recommend that they cancel their orders.”
In addition, on October 16th, Rosenfeld decided to sever ties with Another Universe. “I am packing it in. From the last week on this forum, you can tell that my relationship with AU cannot continue,” he wrote in the MSCL.com forum. “When the deadlines passed and payments hadn’t been made, even though they were to follow in the coming days,”Rosenfeld says, “I didn’t see how I could continue to market [this] product.”
Rosenfeld points out that the planned mass email never even went out. “I spoke with BMG and I extended the deadline,” he says. “All I really wanted was for everyone to get paid so that the DVDs could ship and we could all move on to new things.”
Rojek has declined to comment on any of Rosenfeld’s actions.
On October 19th, MSCL.com Project Team sent out an email to their DVD mailing list. The message confirmed Rosenfeld’s resignation and the non-exclusive status of Another Universe as a retailer of MY SO-CALLED LIFE. The message ended, “Please consider these facts carefully when deciding whether to place an order with AnotherUniverse. MSCL.COM does currently not recommend to do business with AnotherUniverse, but we encourage you to make your own decision based on these informations we provided in this newsletter and reports from other customers which you can read in our MSCL.COM forum.”
MY SO-CALLED DENOUEMENT
After a tense period of uncertainty, the MY SO-CALLED LIFE project was somewhat back on track. BMG confirmed payment for the discs on October 17th, and GWhiz Enterprises resumed production on the lunchboxes on October 21s. Some customers still complained they had not been refunded for double charges.
On the same day, Another Universe sent an email to customers announcing the pending shipment of the DVDs to Another Universe’s warehouse on October 25th and promising free freight worldwide. The message concluded, “We are genuinely sorry for the confusion and stress this has caused so many of you. We will diligently strive to make amends to all of our customers who have stuck with us this entire time. It is because of you, the fans, that we took on this project and because of your devotion to the show that you love that we will stick with this until we resolve every challenge put in front of us.”
On October 25th, Rosenfeld sent out his own email to purchasers of MY SO-CALLED LIFE. The message reiterated much of the MSCL.com email, adding, “Although I have withdrawn support for the retailer, I am committed to remaining engaged in this project until all overcharged customers receive a refund.” Rosenfeld directed customers to a request form at Drygrass.com/mscl. “My company will continue to pressure Another Universe until all customers receive the necessary credits to their accounts,” Rosenfeld wrote.
On October 28th, Another Universe issued a press release for their Collector’s Edition of MY SO-CALLED LIFE and began running banner advertisements on The Internet Movie Database (us.imdb.com). Rosenfeld has decried Another Universe’s advertising as “sleazy.” “I think that it is wrong to be promoting a set and not telling people that the product does not ship with the lunchbox or bonus disc,” he posted at MSCL.com.
Another Universe also issued a mass email detailing the expected shipping scenario. The message, signed by Ross Rojek, said, “We are still on track to begin shipping this week. I will actually be picking up the DVDs from the factory this Wednesday and driving them back to California. We will begin shipping some to customers as early as this Thursday and Friday, with the bulk of the shipment going out the following week.” Rojek has indicated that Another Universe will be detailing his “MY SO-CALLED LIFE Road Trip” on a special site.
Meanwhile, Rosenfeld has been surveying customers who submitted refund requests at drygrass.com. The survey went out to those who had their requests marked “processed” by Another Universe. Rosenfeld’s numbers show less than 11% of these customers actually received a refund for an overcharge or cancellation. Rosenfeld is recommending customers who have been waiting more than two weeks for a refund to file a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center “Although I have filed a complaint, I am not alleging fraud, and it is not my place to do so,” Rosenfeld notes. “I am, however, alleging suspiciously poor customer service, and that hundreds upon hundreds of customers have been double or triple billed.”
MY SO-CALLED FUTURE
With DVD sets nearly in the hands of the fans, a major aspect of this so-called story is reaching an end. However, there are still unanswered questions and concerns for many of those who have been following this project since February.
Another Universe will need to ship a lunchbox and bonus DVD to the customers who have placed orders with them so far. “I think we've worked out all the problems with the bonus disk and with the lunchbox,” says Rojek. “We should be able to ship both in early December.” On the lunchbox, Robert from GWhiz Enterprises confirms, “The project is currently under production and moving forward without any anticipated delays.”
The eventual contents of the bonus disc are only partially confirmed at this time, however Rojek had posted early in October that they hoped to include the interviews by Dan Fowlkes with the creators of MY SO-CALLED LIFE, interview footage from the Museum of Television & Radio (detailed in part two) and possibly original footage of the actors from appearances on MTV while the network was repeating MY SO-CALLED LIFE. Another Universe is listing the first two items on their website.
Jason Rosenfeld is working on several new DVD projects as a consultant. He is keeping a customer service form at drygrass.com available until December 15th, but promises to help customers receive refunds for overcharges or cancellations from Another Universe even after this date.
Ross Rojek is also preparing a new DVD project, though nothing has been announced publicly.
The fans, supporters and customers are still part of this saga as well. You can follow their stories in the “So-called Forum” at MSCL.com.
Meanwhile, the “stripped-down” MY SO-CALLED LIFE set has been in the top 100 items by sales rank at Amazon.com for most of October and has even climbed into the top 40 as of October 29th. “We’ve seen more interest on this than we’ve seen on a number of bigger projects. There’s just a passion that this thing has,” says Steve Cooper of BMG Special Products. “People in our office are so psyched that there’s that many people that still remember the show, that are excited about the show, that are passionate about the show. That’s what it’s all about, it’s about getting it out there so that people are still excited.”
“I’m hoping that once it does hit the stores, everybody just enjoys it for what they remember it to be and we just kind of move on to the next thing,” Cooper says. “I know there’s been some bad blood, and I’ve read some of these chat boards, and the going back and forth, and I just hope that once it hits everybody’s hands and they’re holding it, and they feel it, and they watch it, that they’ll all kind of get over the anger and the bitterness.”
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