Well, the July 22nd date is more plausible than the "June" date that has also been attributed to TVZone, but I'm still dubious. No one is taking pre-orders for this allegedly announced disc, and there haven't been any stories in the DVD press about it on either side of the Atlantic as far as I can tell. Maybe TVZone got a scoop, or an early leak, or maybe they've just picked up a rumor or some tentative plans. If the disc is being released the later part of July Warner Bros. will have to notify retailers so they can book orders soon - like in the next week. Once they do that the specs will be all over the internet, a press release will likely go out and on-line dealers will start offering it for pre-order. Until all of this happens, I class this as just another rumor.
And this probably doesn't tell us anything one way or the other about a possible U.S. release. U.S. TV movies are often released on home video in the U.K. before they air over there. In the U.S. the situation is reversed. Warner Home Video may not be allowed to release the film on home video until The Sci-Fi Channel has aired it "x" number of times, or until 2003, 2004 or whatever the contract says. It all depends on the terms of their original deal. (With more and more TV product going to home video on DVD, contracts now often stipulate a delay in DVD release for each season until after a specified syndication window has passed - one reason it took us so long to get Buffy in the States. The same thinking may now apply to TV movies.)
Regards,
Joe
