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…
After his talk show went down in flames and was cancelled by the BBC, beleaguered king of the faux pas Alan Partridge finds himself with the last presenting job he can get – early morning DJ in rural Norwich. Separated from his wife, living in a travel lodge, and quickly running out of money, Partridge is desperate to get back on TV – even if it kills him (or anyone around him, including his even-more beleaguered personal assistant, Lynn). In the first series of I’m Alan Partridge (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), Steve Coogan injects even more uncomfortable pathos into his brilliant comic creation. The 2-disc set features all 6 episodes, plus in-character audio commentaries with Partridge & Lynn, audio commentaries with Coogan, writer Peter Baynham & writer/producer Armando Iannucci, deleted scenes, and a still gallery.
While Pixar’s Cars didn’t exactly float my boat, I really and truly dug Over The Hedge (Dreamworks, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP), about a group of animals who invade the suburbia that’s long been encroaching on their rapidly-diminishing woodland home, in search of food, glorious food.. Maybe that’s because – like Shrek before it – it wasn’t afraid to be out and out funny, which Pixar’s projects never seem to be able to sustain (or, granted, even try). Unlike Shrek, though, Hedge is a very nicely designed and animated flick – of course, it’s based on a comic strip whose art style I like a great deal, so it’s nice that they didn’t drop the ball in adapting it for CG. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, Dwayne’s “Verm Tech” infomercial, and more.
On the master list of shows that simply must come out on DVD, the 1960’s iteration of The Addams Family (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) was near the top. Well, the wait is over, as get a 3-disc first volume of the disturbingly funny family, featuring 22 episodes, audio commentaries, featurette, original drawings, and photos. My one disappointment? That Fox – MGM’s new distributor – is the last company still using double-sided discs for their TV releases. Please stop.
You would think the comedic novelty of using off-the-cuff interviews with the British public (about a variety of topics) delivered by animated members of the animal kingdom would wear off, but the geniuses of both Aardman’s claymation and the (unknowing) interviewees themselves is still powerfully funny. If you don’t believe me, check out the complete second season of Creature Comforts (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$24.96 SRP) – featuring over 2 hours of episodes – and see if I’m wrong. The 2-disc set also features a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes, an extended making-of, and the Christmas special.
While the second season the animated Justice League was a marked improvement from the rather stale premiere season, it wasn’t until the show morphed into Justice League Unlimited (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) that everything finally gelled, and the quality of writing began to equal the heyday of the Batman and Superman animated series. Technically, the 4-disc “Season One” set features the 26 episodes that were aired as two independent seasons, but comprise an incredibly intricate and well-realized story arc rarely seen on what is ostensibly kid’s programming, with themes ranging from the overreach of government authority to homeland security. It’s an amazing storyline, and worth viewing in its unbroken entirety. Bonus features include a pair of audio commentaries (on “This Little Piggy” and “The Return”), a featurette on revamping the show in the transition to Unlimited, and audio tracks.
And while we’re on the subject of the animated DC universe, also available is the often underappreciated Batman Beyond‘s second season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). What could easily have evolved into a gimmick – future Batman with a teenager behind the mask – instead became deeply woven within the already establish Batman: Animated mythos, and Terry McGinnis’ Batman never fell into the trap of becoming a teenage cliché. The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries (on “Splicers” & “The Eggbaby”) and an in-depth panel discussion with the show’s creators (Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, and Alan Burnett).
Just in time for the release of Tim Burton’s stop-motion masterpiece in 3-D form to theaters all over the country, Danny Elfman’s soundtrack Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, $18.98 SRP) gets a 2-disc deluxe treatment, the centerpiece of which is the remastered original tracks themselves. The second disc features a clutch of largely negligible cover versions by Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, and Fall Out Boy, but is saved by a quartet of Elfman’s original demos.
They’re cotton candy confections, to be sure, but there’s an endearing joi de vivre to the 10 films that comprise the 12-disc Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) – Flying Down To Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Top Hat, Follow The Fleet, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, The Barkleys of Broadway, Carefree, and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Fully remastered and as sparkling as Fred & Ginger themselves, the discs are packed with vintage featurettes, shorts, cartoons, commentaries, and more. If that weren’t enough, there’s the feature-length documentary Astaire and Rogers: Partners In Rhythm, and a bonus CD of the sings from the films – Oh, and deluxe reproductions of photos and promotional materials from the Warner archives.
I promise not to turn this into a political statement, but with recent developments in Congress, I can only hope that people take a moment to watch a film like The Road To Guantanamo (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$24.96 SRP). Based on a true story, it finds a trio of British flying to Pakistan for a wedding shortly after the 9/11 attacks. A spur-of-the-moment trip into Afghanistan is unfortunately timed with the US attack on al Qaeda, and the three men are captured and sent to the US military detention center at Guantanamo Bay. What happens to them there, and their eventual fate, I leave to the viewer.
Until I saw the breadth of Pete Townshend’s solo work via his newly-remastered sans-Who albums, I never realized how prolific he’s been. Those albums – which include an impressive selection of bonus tracks – include All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, Deep End Live!, Scoop, Another Scoop, Scoop 3, White City, Empty Glass, Rough Mix, Who Came First, and Psychoderelict (Hip-O, $13.98-$22.98 SRP each). Also available is the DVD of Townshend’s Psychoderelict: Live In New York (Hip-O, $14.98 SRP).
I never really got into the Fox sitcom Greg the Bunny, but do think the indie film parodies that the puppet “cast” have been doing on the IFC Channel (along with meat puppet Seth Green) have been incredibly funny. Fourteen of those parodies are included in the 2-disc Greg The Bunny: Best Of The Film Parodies (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), along with audio commentaries, deleted scenes, a pair of featurettes, a gag reel, and photo galleries.
Join the crew of the deep sea submersible SSRN Seaview for more fantastical Irwin Allen adventure in the first volume of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea‘s second season (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 3-disc set features the first 13 episodes of the show’s sophomore outing, plus special effects footage and still galleries. My one complaint is that Fox insists on using the dual-sided discs that every other studio has abandoned. Come on, guys!
Without the work of Harry Smith, scores of folk tunes – many passed down from generation to generation – would most likely have disappeared from our collective cultural memory. A lifelong collector of the folk music of “old, weird America”, Smith’s work is a boon to us all – and is thoroughly celebrated by the 4-disc Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The first two audio discs feature the amazing concert that brought together the likes of Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, and Garth Hudson to perform those old standards live, with disc 3 being a DVD of the concert in full visual splendor. The final disc features the documentary The Old, Weird America, which celebrates Smith’s project, plus bonus music selections.
Although they tend to be wildly uneven, I tend to enjoy the projects that present a series of Stephen King’s short stories in their original form (such as Cat’s Eye), as opposed to some of the failed attempts to expand a short story into a long film (granted, there are exceptions – such as Stand By Me). Having said that, it should come as no surprise that I mostly enjoyed TNT’s multi-part Nightmares & Dreamscapes (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which adapted 8 short stories for the small screen (“Battleground,” “Crouch End,” “Umney’s Last Case,” “The End Of The Whole Mess,” “The Road Virus Heads North,” “The Fifth Quarter,” “Autopsy Room Four,” and “You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band”). The 3-disc set also sports behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and more.
By golly, how I love the Dick York episodes of Bewitched (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). By comparison, the Dick Sergeant episodes are like watching a Bizarro version of the show – the magic (yes, pun) just isn’t there. Luckily, York was still around in the show’s fourth season, which also featured the regular line-up of favorites (even Uncle Arthur). The 4-disc set features all 33 episodes, but not a single bonus feature. Where’s the magic in that?
Pete Townshend isn’t the only Who alum getting the remastered treatment, with Roger Daltrey’s solo albums Ride A Rock Horse, One Of The Boys, and Daltrey (Hip-O, $13.98 SRP each) also available, each containing the requisite complement of bonus tracks to round things out.
It tries desperately hard to acquire the same kind of endearingly b-movie schlock, but Slither (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) can’t help but feel like – believe it or not – a poor man’s Tremors. Maybe that’s because it’s so self-aware of its low-rent cult aspirations, coming off as nowhere near as earnest as Tremors. Still, there’s something to be said for a flick about slithery unknown creatures besieging and devouring the populace of the stereotypical small town. Bonus features include deleted/extended scenes, an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and more.
I know I’m in the minority, but really and truly do not know what all the fuss was about Napoleon Dynamite. I thought it was a poor red-headed stepchild of a riff off much better, much smarter, and much better realized material like Rushmore and Freaks and Geeks. It just left me cold. Regardless of my feelings towards it, though, I was at least intrigued by writer/director Jared Hess’s follow-up, Nacho Libre (Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP). Once I found out that Jack Black would be starring as a Mexican wrestler, my interest was naturally piqued. Unfortunately, what I found was more of the same aimless, lethargic filmmaking that brought Napoleon Dynamite down for me. Still, it does have Jack Black as a Mexican wrestler, so there’s that. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes, “Jack Black Sings!,” and more.
There’ve been a few odd episodic releases, but fans can finally lay their hands on the complete first season of Cartoon Network’s Ed, Edd n Eddy (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus an interview with the creator, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a look at how to draw Eddy, and promos.
While some despise their overblown bombast, I’ve always loved that over-the-top orchestral pretension that could only come from The Moody Blues. Two of their landmark albums – Days of Future Passed & In Search of the Lost Chord (Deram, $26.98 SRP each) – have been fully remastered , each containing a bonus disc packed with alternate mixes, demos, and B-sides. Nights in white satin, riding see-saws on a Tuesday afternoon – that’s some good listening.
You know, with a special appearance by Jermaine Jackson, it’s almost an embarrassment of riches in the third season of The Facts Of Life (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP), but at least this is still the era of Charlotte Rae’s Mrs. Garrett. No offense to Cloris Leachman, but she doesn’t hold a candle to Rae.
The man who gave Q-Tips, rubber bands, and aspirin dozens of new uses wraps up his DVD run with the release of the seventh and final season of MacGyver (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). Of course, as with any long-running adventure series, things went decidedly bizarre as it wound to a close, with not only a voodoo priest, but also a bit of time travel.
In the early 80’s, Nickelodeon’s programming day was stocked largely with shows acquired from abroad, such as You Can’t Do That On Television and Danger Mouse. One of the shows I used to watch was The Adventures of The Little Prince (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), the lone inhabitant of asteroid B-612 who learns how to hitch rides on passing comets and explore the far ends of the galaxy. The 4-disc set features 26 episodes from the series, and I can’t wait to show them to my little nephew.
I’ve never been a fan of the Mission: Impossible film franchise. It always struck me as far too gimmicky – like a poor man’s Bond – and the third installment in the series (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP) dips even further into the recent Bond playbook, giving our hero Ethan Hunt an exploitable weakness in a wife (Michelle Monaghan) at the mercy of a sadistic arms dealer (a schizophrenic Philip Seymour Hoffman). And, I admit, Tom Cruise’s recent public lunacy played a pretty large part in turning me off to the flick – I just couldn’t take him seriously with visions of him couch-jumping like a madman dancing in my head. The 2-disc special edition features an audio commentary with Cruise and director J.J. Abrams, 9 behind-the-scenes featurettes (focusing on everything from special effects to the story development), deleted scenes, an interview with Cruise & Abrams, and more.
You can take your fancy-pants (and increasingly monotonous) C.S.I.s in all its procedural permutations – give me the BBC’s Waking the Dead (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which focuses on the sleuthing abilities of the “Cold Case” Unit. Check out the complete first season set and see what I’m on about.
Okay, as a music fan, I definitely was swept up in Beat The Intro (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) – an interactive game containing over 3,000 questions based on song intros, lyrics, pics, and history. Yes, an hour had gone by, and I didn’t even know it. I did, however, kick ass.
Listening to Waylon Sings Hank Williams (YMC Records, $13.98 SRP), it reminds me just how much I miss Waylon Jennings as a performer and as a voice. Covering iconic Williams tunes like “Hey Good Lookin'” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” the songs are unmistakably Jennings, elevating the already classics songs.
It was during the third season that already suspicious fans of The OC (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$69.98 SRP) – following the declining quality of season 2 – had their worst fears borne out as the once-clever show seemed to be imploding into a mess of overwrought stories and annoying characters. Which is a shame, because it burned quite brightly in its first season. The 7-disc set features all 25 episodes plus selected-scene commentary, a featurette on “The Party Favor,” behind-the-scenes of the Subways video, “What’s In A Name?” featurette, and bloopers.
How about a bit of a Brit-TV round-up? Now available are the complete seventh series of the Britcom classic Only Fools and Horses (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), Monarch of the Glen: Series 5 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), and the second series of Hamish MacBeth (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), starring Robert Carlyle as the no-nonsense sheriff of small-town Lochdubh.
I’m no fan of the bloody horror pics, and even less of a fan of the goretastic sado-masochism found in the Saw franchise. But far be it from me to not at least acknowledge that there is a healthy (if somewhat unfortunate) fanbase for the twisted morality exercises of Jigsaw and his special puppet friend. Saw II: Special Edition (Lionsgate, Unrated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) is pretty much a rehash of the first Saw, with the obligatory increase in the blood and gore. The new 2-disc special edition features audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, director Darren Lynn Bousman’s short film Zombie, a tribute to producer Gregg Hoffman, and the theatrical trailer.
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
Leave a Reply |