Looking Back...

It seems that I came across DVD Town and became a member, in 2003. In just that short amount of time I've seen a lot of changes here (all good ones I must say), and made some good friends as well. I'm curious about the changes that have come since DVD Town was first online back in '97. Henning may be the only one that can answer this, but if you've been around that long, let's hear it!

I'm also curious about the most famous/infamous bans, or most annoying posters, or spammers. Hey... if it's me... I'll just go sulk in a corner. ;) :D


- Josh

I joined the staff about a month after the site opened in 1997. That was at the very beginning of the DVD era. The several other reviewers at the site at that time have long since dropped out of the picture (although I still see the name of one of my old contemporaries showing up here and there for various other sites).

At the time I joined DVD Town, there were only about three or four sites devoted exclusively to DVDs, and the other sites have, to my knowledge, gone out of business. I guess that makes DVD Town the oldest site currently active that's devoted exclusively to DVDs. Today, there are literally thousands of DVD Web sites, but we're proud to be the oldest of the bunch and probably the biggest in terms of overall traffic. Look up any DVD review at Google (quote the movie title and add the words DVD review), and you'll almost always find our review listed among the top five sites in the search results, often in the number one spot.

At the time I joined DVD Town, there were also several sites devoted to Laser Discs and VHS tape, but they, too, have long since faded from the scene.

In the beginning we had only a few, brief DVD reviews, a message board, a little behind-the-scenes news, and, uh, that was about it. Since then Henning has added everything else, many items of which have been copied by other sites.

Our most infamous ban, I suppose, was of the character calling himself by various names, "geeky guy" being the one I remember best. We kept deleting him (permanently, we thought), and he kept coming back and re-registering under a new name and, apparently, a new ISP address. Persistant fellow and quite obnoxious.

John

Thanks John! Wow, it sounds like DVD Town has been through a lot since the beginning.

How did you hear about DVD Town to start on so quickly after it's inception?

While I'm sure there are other DVD sites out there, I personally haven't found a reason yet to leave. DVD Town is as about as comprehensive as they come.

It seems like DVD Town's membership is growing weekly. I'm sure that's a good thing for Henning and the rest of the staff, but how does this change things for the members? Will the staff grow? Will we see less staff participation on the message boards? Can we expect more interviews with famous people like Eddie's with Mr. Takai? And finally, what major changes, if any, can we expect in the near future?


- Josh

Josh,

John recently wrote up an excellent interview with the editor of "Finding Neverland". The guy is not "famous" per se, but still, he is an Oscar nominee. Incidentally, he was John's student several years ago. :)

- EXTERNAL LINK -

Eddie

"How did you hear about DVD Town to start on so quickly after it's inception?" --Josh

When DVDs were first introduced I could sense they were going to be the next big thing. I had been reviewing classical music on CD for the previous twenty-odd years (and still do), and I loved and taught film, so the next logical step was to review movies on DVD.

I did a search for DVD Web sites and came up with only a few. After looking at all of them, I thought DVD Town looked the best and submitted a review to Henning. I've been here ever since.

But, as you say, the membership has grown enormously since those early days, and the staff has grown along with it. Still, I hope there remains the the sense of a small family about the whole enterprise, with the staff and readers all a part of the same community.

John

Eddie,

Thanks, I'll read John's interview. As of late, I haven't had much time to devote to reviews, let alone the boards. No one ever said it was going to be easy to be a student. 8)

John,

I do hope no matter the size this site grows, we're able to keep that "small town" feel. ;)

It sounds as though you've been able to "live the dream" John. Doing what you love, AND getting "Z" toys that go with it! ;) Ya lucky dog ya!

- Josh