The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

Sometimes, you run across someone that is so incredibly talented that you envy and admire their skills, to the point of wondering why they were so greedy at the talent pool, taking what surely must have been other’s shares of genius (like mine – I’m sure this bastard took what should have been my piano playing ability… ). But the ultimate insult is when they’re so damn good that you actually really and truly dig what they do… It’s hard to hate someone whose work has been on repeat since it arrived in the mail. Such is the case with Neil Cicierega (http://www.eviltrailmix.com) and his one-man band, Lemon Demon. Like a cross between They Might Be Giants, Harry Nilsson, Matthew Sweet, Jonathan Coulton, and every other bright, infectious songwriter you can name, Cicierega’s Lemon Demon is like a pop confection filled with witty nougat and intelligent caramel… And is nowhere near as awkward as my candy metaphor. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up all three Lemon Demon albums – Damn Skippy, Hip To The Javabean, & Dinosaurchestra ($10-$11 each) – via http://www.CDFreedom.com. Then you can begin hating his genius and talent, like me.

After wrapping up her inaugural season’s big mystery and clearing her father’s reputation, Veronica Mars starts her second season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) with a brand new case to solve, starting with a missed ride on the school bus (a bus which plummets off the side of a cliff minutes later). With the circumstances in doubt, you can bet Veronica’s hitting the bricks, and it proves to be a great sophomore effort that keeps the momentum from a wonderful first season. The 6-disc set features a pair of featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel (sadly, still no commentaries – here’s hoping another one will pop up on the net).

Presenting dozens of rarely to never-before-seen pieces of conceptual artwork, The Art of Disneyland (Disney Press, $49.95 SRP) is a stunning volume celebrating the 50th anniversary of Walt’s wonderland. Of all the amazing pieces presented – showing the development of the various lands and attractions – my favorite remains the work of animator Marc Davis, whose design sensibilities made rides like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion” the beloved character pieces they are to this day.

Who doesn’t love a Tommy pastiche that substitutes Nintendo for pinball and has Fred Savage as the svengali-like brother (a la Tom Cruise in Rain Man) of the titular character’s video game prodigy? Yes, I went to go see The Wizard (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$14.98 SRP) on the big screen in 1989, mainly to get a first glimpse at the then-hotly anticipated Super Mario Brothers 3 (remember those good ol’ days?). Did I think it was cheese, even as a kid? Sure. Did I still go giddy seeing a leaf-powered Mario take flight? You’re damn right I did.

Long before he conquered America as Dr. House, Hugh Laurie had earned his place amongst Britain’s comedic firmament alongside the brilliant Stephen Fry as the dynamic duo Fry & Laurie. After long years of waiting and hoping, the first two seasons of their sketch series A Bit of Fry & Laurie (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each) has made its way to DVD. While the bonus materials on the first season is technically limited to the rarely-seen pilot, the second season features the documentary Footlights: 100 Years of Comedy, featuring early Fry & Laurie material. If you’ve never seen the show, rectify that glaring oversight immediately.

There have been a surprising spate of Elizabeth I dramas to come down the pike the last few years (as well as a couple of documentaries), but none of them sucked me into to the drama of her reign quite like HBO’s Elizabeth I miniseries (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), starring Helen Mirren as the titular monarch and concentrating on not only her tempestuous time on the throne, but also her early love affair with the earl of Leicester (Jeremy Irons) but also his stepson the Earl of Essex (Hugh Dancy). Bonus materials include a making-of featurette and a look at the real Elizabeth.

It’s not the best of Britcoms (which is a pretty high standard, actually), but the complete first season of The Worst Week Of My Life (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) is still a goofily fun romp, chronicling the week before the wedding of Howard (Ben Miller) and Mel (Sarah Alexander). If things can wrong, they do. If misunderstanding can happen, they do. If family relations can prove odd and disruptive… well, you get the picture. Bonus materials include interviews with the cast & writers, and outtakes.

Hot on the heels of the disastrous Howard the Duck, the critical knives were sharpened for the George Lucas-produced Radioland Murders (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – which is a shame, because its all-star whodunit during the 1930’s-era of live radio is actually a fun, if slight, romp. It also stars the criminally underappreciated (and under-used) Brian Benben, who deserves boatloads of Emmy’s for his work as Martin Tupper in Dream On. Go on and give this flick another chance.

Martin Freeman follows up his turn on The Office with The Robinsons (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) where he play Ed – the recently-divorced black sheep of a family that plays like a middle class version of Arrested Development‘s Bluths. Add to that profound dissatisfaction with his job and a mid-life crisis at 32, the first season is a wonderfully dry slice of aging Gen-X comedy. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, outtakes, and commentary on all 6 episodes.

Celebrating his 80th birthday, Sony Legacy has released a clutch of pretty damn good Tony Bennett discs, spanning his entire career. The discs included – fully remastered, mind you – are I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Perfectly Frank, MTV Unplugged, Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits of the 50’s, and Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits of the 60’s (Sony Legacy, $11.98 SRP each).

Dismissed at the time as a lackluster return to TV, opinion has been turning the other way in regards to The Comeback (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), Lisa Kudrow’s single season spoof on a down-and-out actress’s return to the spotlight via a reality TV show. As the formerly A-list, now C-list, Valerie Cherish, Kudrow is a bag of neediness, ego, and eccentricities, and the 13 episode run is just as awkwardly funny and bitingly satirical as that other HBO show starring Larry David. The 2-disc set features an exclusive interview with Valerie, backstage at her appearance on Dancing With the Stars, and even audio commentaries.

From the first helicopter glory hot shot of the mammoth ocean liner representing the new, bigger Poseidon (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP), my spider-sense began to tingle. Surely, Wolfgang Peterson couldn’t find a way to make the already soap opera-ish disaster classic The Poseidon Adventure tackier, could he? Well, of course he can! Just about every cliché and archetype is dusted off and made even more extreme (can you imagine characters more cliché than the original?), and the increase in scale of the vessel itself does little to ratchet up the palpable tension the much smaller ship in the original accomplished so well… In fact, the gargantuan modern S.S. Poseidon actually makes things slightly more comical, if anything. Anyway, you know the only reason to watch it is for the boat flipping. The 2-disc set features a making-of documentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes (including an intern’s video diary), the theatrical trailer, and a History Channel documentary on rogue waves.

With Spike Lee’s devastating documentary about the national tragedy of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, now may be a good time to give a spin to The Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s elegiac and powerful remake of Marvin Gay’s What’s Going On (Shout! Factory, $18.98 SRP). I really can’t say much more than to go listen, and don’t forget.

Those who know Fred MacMurray solely from My Three Sons and The Absent-Minded Professor must drop everything and experience his turn in Billy Wilder’s Academy Award-winning Double Indemnity (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), playing the murderous lover of Barbara Stanwyck and co-conspirator in a plot to off her wealthy husband after he signs a lucrative double indemnity insurance policy. Will they get away with the crime, or will a suspicious claims manager (Edward G. Robinson) catch the nefarious couple? It’s noir at its best, and now-available as a 2-disc special edition featuring a brand-new documentary, commentary with Richard Schickel, commentary with film historian/screenwriter Lem Dobbs and film historian Nick Redman, and the 1973 made-for-TV remake starring Richard Crenna.

I’ve stated in the past what a fan I am of the Critical Review documentaries, which take an in-depth look at various bands with critical analysis, plus rare interviews and footage. The latest is the second volume on Queen, covering the period from 1980-1991 (Chrome Dreams, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP).

One of those certifiable sci-fi classics (so classic it even co-stars The Professor himself, Russell Johnson), This Island Earth (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) gets a newly-remastered release – but criminally, zero bonus features. What’s up with that? I want to know how those Metaluna Mutants were made! And what’s the deal with releasing this widescreen flick full frame? At the very least, can you finally re-release a special edition of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, which took aim at the flick?

Even though Just My Luck (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a harmless, generally amusing fluff of a film, every time I saw star Lindsey Lohan onscreen, I couldn’t help but thinking of the hard-partying chronic fatigue sufferer we’ve all come to know and love. All in all, it makes her perpetually lucky character’s role reversal with a perpetually unlucky young man an unintentional cautionary tale, as seeing Lohan dirty in the gutter doesn’t seem so far a stretch anymore. Bonus features include deleted scenes and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

The release of historical Montreux Jazz Festival concerts continues with James Brown: Live At Montreux 1981 (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), featuring not only the 14-song concert, but also a 10-track bonus CD of the performance.

After discovering a downed alien aircraft in the Atlantic, the government hastily assembles a team of experts in order to prepare for the possibility of alien invasion – a team christened Threshold (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP). It’s a relatively straightforward concept and featured a great cast – including Charles S. Dutton, Carla Gugino, and Brent Spiner – but the series never seemed to gel into anything close to its potential. Not surprisingly, the only threshold it crossed was cancellation. The 4-disc set features behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and an audio commentary on the pilot.

As much as I enjoyed the adaptations featured in the BBC’s original collection, I think my favorites are amongst those in the Charles Dickens Collection 2 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Loaded to the hilt with spectacular casts and spry staging, this 4-disc set features The Pickwick Papers, Dombey And Son, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Daniel Radcliffe’s first big break as David Copperfield (alongside Bob Hoskins, Dawn French, Ian McKellan, Maggie Smith, and Imelda Staunton). The set also contains a behind-the-scenes doc on Copperfield and Simon Callow reading from Pickwick.

Most surprise hit shows stumble in their sophomore seasons (see Desperate Housewives), but House (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) avoided that most destructive of pitfalls by remaining true to its core asset – Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Gregory House, a man whose bedside manner is virtually nonexistent, whose ego is massive, and whose sometimes unorthodox diagnoses and treatments are usually correct. The 6-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus alternate takes (you simply have to see), commentaries, “An Evening with House & It Could Be Lupus.. featurettes, and a blooper reel.

Another victim of the great network sci-fi slaughter of 2006, Invasion (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) focuses on the town of Homestead, Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Eve – which left not destroyed homes, but also a profoundly altered clutch of townspeople. Is it a natural occurrence? Is it a conspiracy? Is it aliens? The only thing for sure is it was cancelled, so this 6-disc set contains all 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes, a featurette on creator Shaun Cassidy, and a gag reel.

And finally, this week’s toy recommendation. If those atrocious images from the upcoming Transformers movie abomination have your mind reeling and your heart aching, pick up one of Hasbro’s new Transformers: Titanium Series die cast figures ($15.99 SRP each). Fully transformable and featuring a display stand, each die cast metal figure is closer to the classic characters we know and love than anything that’s come out of Michael Bay’s overblown big screen disaster in the making. Go get the figs and feel better.

So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

Comments: None