If at justwatch you go to other Apple TV shows that are available on DVD/BR, the “Where to watch” section will say something like “Besides streaming, you can also buy the series on DVD from Amazon DVD / Blu-ray and on Blu-ray from Amazon DVD / Blu-ray, Barnes & Noble.” So, since it doesn’t list DVD/BR as an option, according to justwatch it isn’t available on those formats. That might be right, that might be wrong, but that’s the sort of thing they keep track of.
I just asked Google’s AI and it says
There are no widely released, authorized physical DVDs or Blu-rays for the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses. While box sets (Seasons 1-5) are frequently listed on sites like eBay or Walmart, these are unofficial, bootleg, or illegally produced sets.
Also, every image of the seasons 1-5 collection box I could find says the copyright is “Warner Bros. Entertainment & Universal Television LLC.” The show is not produced by Warner Bros or Universal.
Slow Horses is produced by See-Saw Films (neither their name nor logo is on the DVD boxes I saw) and Flying Studio Pictures in association with Apple TV. They had some sort of affiliation with Sony Pictures Television Studios in the first season.
What does your box cover say about the copyright? Can you post a picture? What site did you buy it from?
If you want a look at the box, it’s probably easiest just to look at Blockbuster DVD UK and check out the one with Lamb with his feet up and socks with holes in them. They also have a different set of seasons 1-4 with a different cover. The copyright does say Warner Bros. etc. If it really is bootleg, I’m surprised Blockbuster is carrying it.
Anyway, it’s too late for me to do anything about it, bootleg or not. I wonder if it’s possible that the DVD rights were sold to Warner Bros, etc. since those other production companies may not have as much experience making and marketing DVD sets. Just spitballing, really. These things always seem very complicated. Since the authenticity is in doubt, I promise not to sell it to anyone else, but I’m still going to watch it in lieu of signing up for Apple TV.
Also, FWIW, I’m not like trying to pick apart your story or anything. I don’t think you did anything wrong. It’s just that my Spidey-sense is tingling in the direction of bootleg.
Well, that site is not Blockbuster of video rental store fame. It’s BlockbustersDVD. They are apparently just trying to trade on the genuine Blockbuster name. Their email isn’t even their own domain, they use a gmail address. That’s the kind of site that, to me, screams less than legit.
See-Saw Films has been around for almost 20 years and has produced about 40 films/tv shows, including Oscar winner The King’s Speech, so I think they are familiar with the ins and outs of home video distribution.
Again, I don’t think you did anything wrong, but yeah it’s a bootleg.
Some of it was filmed near me a couple of years ago and I watched the next season about 6 months later expecting to see local landmarks. But no, they turned up in the one after that. So some of the next season is filmed before the current season even starts.
Season 6 is coming up, starting September 16th. 2-minute preview on IMDb.
My plan is to wait until all the episodes are available, which is October 21, and then join Apple TV on a free test week and binge-watch. It’ll be a good time-killer while I recovery from hip replacement surgery.
Thanks for the update. Jackson Lamb is the best TV character of the past 20 years.
Absolutely YDY, but I find for shows like this the anticipation between episodes actually increases enjoyment. Of course, I’m glomming on my daughter’s Apple TV account, so I’m not making the decision of paying for 2 months or not for a single show. Good luck with the surgery.
It wasn’t clear to me, watching the first episode of the sixth series, whether it was a surprise to Diana Taverner that the Slow Horses were deleted from the database and no longer being paid. I thought it might have been news to her. Also, was she responsible for the murders of the former Slow Horses?
I think it was clearly a surprise to her, and no, I don’t think she is responsible for the naughty thing you reference. (But I think it was a pretty jerk move to mention the thing about the thing even if she really thought you know who already knew about it.)
I agree that it’s as much a surprise to her as anyone, but wouldn’t go so far as to say she doesn’t care just yet.
She just learned about a major breach of security under her watch. It might, not unreasonably, be seen as a sign of weakness on her part. She is all about saving face if anything, so naturally she’s not going to acknowledge the scope of such a potentially catastrophic failure on her watch (because if they can do this to the Slow Horses, they can do it to anyone).
Right now, she’s in shock and she went with her typical knee jerk reaction to delay and deny any sign of vulnerability so as to protect herself from scrutiny. She’s not going to be vulnerable in front of Lamb if she can avoid it, especially at a funeral attended by… what is that slimy politician guy, an MP? Anyway, just as soon as she can get somewhere secure with people who live in fear of her to do her bidding, I expect she’s going to throw more than a few loud what the fucks!? around.
Bar minimum, she needs to figure out how her IT systems have been compromised, even if right now it’s only affecting people/things she detests, so it doesn’t happen next to someone or something she (or worse, her government overlords) care about.
One of the most consistent themes of Slow Horses is abuse of public office for personal gain. She might not care about the Slow Horses being purged from her databases and murdered for their sake, but she will absolutely care about what it could say about her leadership if it comes out that it’s happened/happening. She will seek to do what is right for her career. Whether her taking steps to shield herself will be good or bad for the Slow Horses writ large, or Lamb or River specifically… well, that is the story of the series, isn’t it?
Episode 6x02 was pretty good, but it would have been better if in the shocking last-second cliffhanger I had recognized or remembered the character last seen in episode 1x02 4 and a half years ago and I didn’t have to google an explanation.
I’m wondering something; did whoever wiped the Slow Horses from the payroll and the database do so in an attempt to protect them from the assassins? That may explain why Damien Cantor (the right-wing media mogul) hired Frank Harkness who then paid Andrew Nesmith (the recently fired Dog) to steal the paper file with their contact information. Perhaps Sid Baker (the person River saw at the end of the episode and who was shot in the head and believed to be dead during the first season) was the one to wipe them from the record? It’s still not clear if Damien Cantor was responsible for the assassinations.
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