As far as a box with all the stuff and bonus discs, I say phooey! They should not do that. That would be a huge insult to those of us who bought these sets as we've gone along. Anything that should be included must be a part of these box sets and not some huge set that's coming out later.
C'mon now, you KNOW that is coming (unfortunately) once they are done with the individual releases.
Look what Sony has done thus far prior to these chronological releases not to mention some of their other product. They continually double dip things and stick it to their consumers. Hey, I fall for it because like many of you I'm not sure if the current release is going to be 'the one' to have and I have to support the product to ensure they continue to release more of it.
Take All in the Family for instance. They release the first 6 seasons with no bonus features. Then they come out with the 'Norman Lear collection' which has season one of AITF (along with the first seasons of many of his other productions) AND it includes both pilots that they shot for the show. If you are a fan of AITF and wanted to get these pilots, you have to shell out $150 (retail price) or something like that. Then Sony released a 'fan favorite' disc of AITF of 3 or 4 episodes. Yet the shelves remain bare for the remainder of the series.
While I applaud Sony for the wonderful job they've done restoring these, they still drop the ball on so many other things. I for one totally expect a complete collection when all is said and done. It wouldn't even surprise me to see some fan favorite discs down the line ('best of' Curly, 'best of' Shemp) as well. I asked one of my friends if he was going to pick up any of these collections and he said that he would prefer to wait for the complete set. Smart man.
That being said, a complete set with the solo films, Time Out for Rhythm (which IMO is their best feature film showcase during the Curly years) and maybe some of the Screen Snapshot segments would be pretty cool and I must admit would be a purchase for me.
While it is too late now, they could've taken a queue from some of the TV shows that have been released (Get Smart, Man From Uncle, Alley McBeal come to mind). Release the whole thing FIRST. There are many diehard Stooge fans that would've snapped up the entire 190 film catalog right off the bat. THEN start releasing these individual sets for those who may just want the Curly years, the Shemp years etc.
Just my thoughts...