My Star Wars Blu-ray collection just got a little larger yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon, FedEx dropped off the latest addition to my already-substantial treasure trove of Star Wars Blu-rays: the 18-disc 1080p Blu-ray-only edition of Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Like the larger Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) and Lucasfilm Ltd. Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, this is a box set that collects the nine films that comprise the story of the Skywalker family, set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away amid a backdrop of galactic strife that begins with the rise of Sheev Palpatine to power and ends with the ultimate confrontation between the forces of good and evil in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy.
From a young Anakin Skywalker’s descent into the dark side to the rise of the Resistance and their struggle to restore peace in the galaxy, the story that electrified a generation comes to a striking conclusion. The saga will end. The story lives forever. – Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga publicity insert.
Released simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday, April 20, this 18-disc set is a smaller and less expensive (with an MSRP of $129.99) version of BVHE and Lucasfilm’s larger and pricier Best Buy-exclusive Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga set, which has similar Death Star-themed packaging but includes a collectible DigiBook disc-holder, the 4K UHD Blu-rays of Episodes I-IX, an insert with the Movies Anywhere codes to download or stream the digital copies, and a letter, suitable for framing, by actor Mark Hamill.
Back in February, this was the set I intended to buy; I have a 4K UHD and various peripherals for it, including a soundbar and a 4K Blu-ray player, but because they have not been set up yet, I didn’t think I needed to get the Best Buy version, which has a retail price of $249.99 plus state and local sales taxes.
So, in a convoluted sequence of events, as soon as I learned through Blu-ray.com (my go-to source for news about upcoming releases and price cuts on existing titles) about the Walmart option, I went to walmart.com (without logging on to my account) and ordered the 18-disc set.
Then, when I received my order confirmation in my main email account, I tried clicking on my order link. It led me nowhere…the site showed me a “Sorry, We Can’t Find the Page You’re Looking For” prompt. Thinking the order was lost in the ether, I then logged on to my account and ordered another set.
A few weeks passed. My girlfriend then informed me that in case she had to work from home due to Florida’s COVID-19-related orders to observe strict social distancing rule, she was also going to reorganize and redecorate the master bedroom, a project that includes setting up the new 50″ 4K UHD TV set and its peripherals.
This, of course, encouraged me to change my mind about the 27-disc Best Buy version of Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. I figured that if the new TV was finally going to be set up and put to use, I might as well cancel the Walmart order and order the box set which included the 4K UHD discs instead.
So that’s what I did in the last week of March. I canceled the second order I’d made while logged on to my Walmart account, then went to Best Buy’s website and ordered the 27-disc Best Buy exclusive set, which I received on my doorstep on April 1.
Thing is, though, that even though I had canceled the order I’d made while logged on to my Walmart account, the original “lost in the ether” one was still, as far as Walmart was concerned, active. So on Monday I was notified that my order of Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was shipping soon.
There wasn’t any way, short of calling Walmart on the phone, to cancel, so I decided to do nothing and just add the 18-disc set to my already well-stocked Star Wars Blu-ray collection. It arrived yesterday, and even though I’ll have to shell out $141 to MasterCard, it turned out to be a welcome addition to my Blu-ray collection.
I’ll be reviewing the box set tomorrow, so stay tuned!
A Certain Point of View, Too 
I can’t tell you how many duplicates I’ve ended up with either because I forgot I ordered something or because another special edition came out. It’s frustrating sometimes.
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This was, in a way, a blessing in disguise. On the one hand, yeah, I spent $141 on something I already have. And yeah, it seems like overkill; I already have noodles of either George-era or Kathleen-era Blu-rays.
Thing is, though, that the design of the DigiBook for the Best Buy set (the pricier of the two) is nice to look at but the discs are difficult to extract from their “pages” without smudging or even scratching the playing surface. The smaller “Walmart” set (which is the Brit set imported to the US) doesn’t have that issue.
I’ll probably review this set tomorrow.
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If it’s anything like the book I have with the originals and the prequels, that’s pretty much he same way. as far as getting the discs out.
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The concept is essentially the same, but the orientation of the discs is not. Rather than being stored on the outer side edge, the discs are tucked into pockets on the top edge.
I will get used to that when I use the 4K discs. But I’m glad I got the smaller set, too.
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