Man in the High Tower

LongBlade · November 23, 2015, 05:19:29 PM

A couple of days ago Amazon ran a banner across their site advertising a new in-house production called The Man in the High Tower.

It's an alternative history post WWII show where the Allies lose the war. I've watched the first two episodes and think it may entertain several folks here. It's free if you have Amazon Prime.

Would recommend you check it out.

Gusington · November 23, 2015, 05:59:49 PM

"Man in the High Castle" - based on Philip Dick's novel of the same title. Will be watching this with The Wife starting tomorrow night. Has got some decent reviews online too.

Wes · November 23, 2015, 06:06:00 PM

This is on my 'must see' list.

Amazon has made a tradition of putting the pilots for its original series online for the public to rate and review prior to ordering them to series. The Man in the High Castle is the service's highest-rated pilot in its short history.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/20/what-if-the-nazis-won-inside-amazon-s-the-man-in-the-high-castle.html

Gusington · November 23, 2015, 06:31:23 PM

^Nice.

Staggerwing · November 23, 2015, 06:55:39 PM

I plan on watching the series soon. The book on which it is based is a must-read. It will be interesting to see how the producers have handled the original story.

Wes · November 23, 2015, 07:02:16 PM

With Isa now running the show I have a feeling we need not worry about 'I, Robot' syndrome running amuck.

LongBlade · November 23, 2015, 07:53:41 PM

I have no idea how revenue models like this work. Netflix, HBO, et al all offer these top shelve series for free. How do they make money?

Staggerwing · November 23, 2015, 08:07:10 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on November 23, 2015, 07:53:41 PM
I have no idea how revenue models like this work. Netflix, HBO, et al all offer these top shelve series for free. How do they make money?

You have to be a Prime member, at $99/yr, to watch. These shows are designed to encourage subscriptions.

Wes · November 23, 2015, 08:37:32 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on November 23, 2015, 07:53:41 PM
I have no idea how revenue models like this work. Netflix, HBO, et al all offer these top shelve series for free. How do they make money?

Most people don't realize that retail is not their real business anymore. Their prices have gotten so high on things I used to buy I've started going back to brick and mortar shops whenever I can.

Their two real businesses are payment processing and data storage. They make way more off that than retail stuff. And I don't know if they plan on releasing DVD, Blu-Ray, etc of these series but that is a whole other revenue stream.

BanzaiCat · November 23, 2015, 08:38:45 PM

You can sign up for Amazon Prime for free for a month. Just set a calendar reminder and cancel it if you want.

LongBlade · November 23, 2015, 08:52:30 PM

Quote from: Staggerwing on November 23, 2015, 08:07:10 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on November 23, 2015, 07:53:41 PM
I have no idea how revenue models like this work. Netflix, HBO, et al all offer these top shelve series for free. How do they make money?

You have to be a Prime member, at $99/yr, to watch. These shows are designed to encourage subscriptions.

I find $99/year is a bargain. We do most of our Christmas shopping there and we shop periodically throughout the year.

Gusington · November 23, 2015, 08:56:24 PM

Like it's said above Amazon Prime isn't free...it's not expensive but it's not free. Same thing with HBO and Netflix. By far the highest quality shows right now are coming from HBO.

BanzaiCat · November 23, 2015, 09:01:57 PM

It's free for a month. I got it for free earlier this summer but canceled it after I made several Amazon purchases with it.

LongBlade · November 23, 2015, 09:03:28 PM

Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2015, 08:56:24 PM
Like it's said above Amazon Prime isn't free...it's not expensive but it's not free. Same thing with HBO and Netflix. By far the highest quality shows right now are coming from HBO.

I get that it's free, but $99 isn't infinite money. Even if they're only paying $10/package (which, depending on size, is either over or under, but probably average) then after ten shipments I'm making money. I guarantee I ship ten times a year. Which means that producing this show isn't being paid for by the $99.

I get it, Amazon is making money. But they only started breaking even a couple of years ago. I'm just not seeing it.

Maybe the show is designed to pull in the Staggerwings of the world who don't have prime but can't live without the free movies?

But then that gets back to the free shipping...

Fine. I'll do some searching and try to figure this out.

Staggerwing · November 23, 2015, 09:06:45 PM

Quote from: LongBlade on November 23, 2015, 09:03:28 PM

Maybe the show is designed to pull in the Staggerwings of the world who don't have prime but can't live without the free movies?

Eh? I've been a Prime subscriber since Day One. ???