LaserDisc was no medium for seventeen-year-old working part-time at Winn-Dixie in Texas. It was too expensive, the software was hard to find, and a 13″ CRT plugged into a free sharp stereo was no way to appreciate its powers.
Nevertheless, I was devoted to the format. The cost forced me to be more selective in what I bought, encouraging an interest in criticism (and get better jobs), the scarcity eventually drove me to online commerce—specifically eBay and Ken Crane’s—and—after replacing my monitor with a 25″ model—I got a job at Best Buy to upgrade the rest of the system. (I met my first love there, but that’s another story.)
Once again, thanks are due to Mr. Rogers, who introduced me to the format in my ninth grade history class—“We’re all Spartacus!”—and also to Charlie, who took the plunge just ahead of me. For a format that never enjoyed the dominance of VHS or DVD, it illustrated just how little the former had to offer and pioneered almost everything the latter would build its reputation upon.
It was a short but passionate affair.