# Netflix question (multi-disc sets) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563 "2009-01-29T16:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/1 "2009-01-29T16:12:40Z")
I’ve got Season Four of _Project Runway_ at the top of my queue. They’ve got the availability of the four discs listed as follows: Disc 1: Now Disc 2: Long wait Disc 3: Now Disc 4: Short wait They wouldn’t skip disc 2 and go straight to disc 3, would they? Or would they? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/2 "2009-01-29T16:13:29Z")
They would. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/3 "2009-01-29T16:25:07Z")
Assholes. So my best bet is to take #3 and #4 out of the queue? or just move them down to the low 200s? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/4 "2009-01-29T16:44:02Z")
I dunno about that. Currently at the top of my queue are the four discs of _Smothers Brothers: Season 3_. Disc one is listed as “Long Wait”; the others say “Now.” (It’s always been like that for as long as the set has been out, which seems fishy to me.) So far they have twice skipped over all four and sent me the fifth item from the queue. ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/5 "2009-01-29T16:56:33Z")
Wow, this exact same thing happened to me only a week ago with this very show. I went ahead and watched disc 3 anyways even though I had not received disc 2. It really sucked to be spoiled on what happened during those episodes that I missed, but my only other choice was to hang on to disc 3 until Netflix eventually got around to sending me disc 2. I always thought that Netflix would not send series discs out of order, but apparently I was wrong. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/6 "2009-01-29T17:11:16Z")
It is possible I was talking out of my ass. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/7 "2009-01-29T17:26:41Z")
> [@Morgis](#): > > Wow, this exact same thing happened to me only a week ago with this very show. I went ahead and watched disc 3 anyways even though I had not received disc 2. It really sucked to be spoiled on what happened during those episodes that I missed, but my only other choice was to hang on to disc 3 until Netflix eventually got around to sending me disc 2. I always thought that Netflix would not send series discs out of order, but apparently I was wrong. ☹ Good to know. I absolutely don’t want to watch them out of order – and since I’m on a one-at-a-time plan, hanging onto it isn’t an option. I think I’ll watch the first disc, then leave disc #2 at the top of the queue and move the others to the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![ProfessorX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@ProfessorX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProfessorX)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/8 "2009-01-29T17:34:20Z")
They indeed will skip and go to the next thing on your queue. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/9 "2009-01-29T17:36:40Z")
Yes. What they said. **Jayjay** and I used to order seasons of Babylon 5 and they did the same exact thing to us too. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/10 "2009-01-29T17:49:24Z")
That is so dumb. It would be so easy to rewrite their queue program to avoid that, since I’m sure about 99% of the time people don’t want to see a series _except_ in order. Thanks for the info, all. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/11 "2009-01-29T17:59:44Z")
I monitor my queue very closely for just this reason, but I can see how people who wander more than a few feet from their computers would have problems. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/12 "2009-01-29T18:00:37Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > That is so dumb. It would be so easy to rewrite their queue program to avoid that, since I’m sure about 99% of the time people don’t want to see a series _except_ in order. > > Thanks for the info, all. Even better would be to put in dependencies, so you can prevent yourself getting disk B until after disk A. I’m going to watch the Bourne movies, and I clearly want to see them in order. Multi-disk sets you add all of can have this set by default. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/13 "2009-01-29T20:19:09Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > That is so dumb. It would be so easy to rewrite their queue program to avoid that, since I’m sure about 99% of the time people don’t want to see a series _except_ in order. > > Thanks for the info, all. You’ve already got the answer to your initial question but to this post: For many older series it does not matter if the discs for a season are seen out of order. I’ve been watching \*Get Smart \*with my kids and we’ve had the discs come in out of order and it made no difference. The same is true for most TV before 1980 I think. I am not saying you could watch season 3 then season 1 but within a given season the order did not matter as much. This remained true for many shows into the 90s. Even \*Northern Exposure \*was not harmed by watching the shows out of order. I like \*\*Voyager’s \*\*idea of dependencies though. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/14 "2009-01-29T20:26:08Z")
I have to say this about Netflix though. The “watch instantly” feature for some TV series ROCKS! My bf Dewey has a laptop wired in to his TV, so we were able to watch the whole season of the new Doctor Who in like, one weekend. It was . . .Fantastic! If you don’t watch Doctor Who, smile at the “Fantastic” reference anyway. Trust me. What annoys me is that Netflix SAYS they have Farscape, but when I look on my queue, it’s listed as “Saved” not - in queue. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/15 "2009-01-29T21:52:17Z")
One of the first things I had rented on Netflix (nearly a year ago) was the first season of _Rome_. When I received disc IV it was damaged so I returned it, then was told that there would be a wait for a new copy to be shipped (I can’t remember it was a long or a short wait). They didn’t send me any of the other discs in the series until after I got disc IV about a month later. In the meantime, I went though about twelve other discs in my queue… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/16 "2009-01-30T00:32:45Z")
From what I remember, this used to be a problem, but they fixed it a year or two back. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/17 "2009-01-30T03:35:40Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > From what I remember, this used to be a problem, but they fixed it a year or two back. Apparently not: > [@Morgis](#): > > Wow, this exact same thing happened to me only a week ago with this very show. … ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/18 "2009-01-30T07:16:26Z")
I actually didn’t have a problem with them shipping discs out of order until this year. They’ve done it to me twice in the last three months. The last time they pulled this on me they sent me disc 4 of a drama series before they even sent me disc one. The episodes have a very clear story arc and have to be watched in order. We held onto the disc and just waited for 1-3 before watching it. It was very annoying to have to do though. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/19 "2009-01-30T14:00:32Z")
My experience has been that they will handle a theatrical release that requires two discs properly (send them together or in the correct order) but they treat each disc of a TV series as a separate item. It appears that the “now”, “short wait”, “long wait”, etc. ratings are only a general estimate. Thinking about their business model, it probably is based on the number of copies and the number of people with it in their queue. But if a “very long wait” DVD is returned, someone is going to get it mailed to them. If you are the only person with the movie in your queue who returned a DVD that day you will get it despite the “very long wait” classification. Of course, I have no way of knowing if a movie that is “very long wait” in my queue is marked the same way in someone else’s queue. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563/20 "2009-01-30T14:20:17Z")
It does seem odd to me, though, that the availability estimates for the four discs for this particular show should be so disparate – presumably they bought full sets of the show, and presumably most people watch all four. Perhaps it’s like the pig going through the snake, and the clog that existed previously for Disc 1 is now occurring at Disc 2? Well, they’re shipping Disc 1 today, we’ll see what happens from there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-question-multi-disc-sets/483563.md?page=2)