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…

Even after 30 topics – ranging from PETA to the Bible – Penn & Teller have still not run out of topics for their gloriously skeptical debunk-a-thon Bullshit! (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), adding another 10 targets to their hit list in the 3-disc fourth season collection. This time around, they set their sites on the Boy Scouts, prostitution, the death penalty, Ground Zero, pet love, reparations, manners, abstinence, cryptozoology, and the myth of the import of numbers in our spin-heavy society. Even though there’s not a single bonus feature to be found (unlike the bonus-heavy first season set), console yourself with the news that a fifth season begins airing in the near future.

Even at 2 hours, I found myself desperately wanting more stories, anecdotes, and rare footage from the excellent documentary The Second City: First Family of Comedy (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). Hosted by alums Dave Thomas, Scott Thompson, and Joe Flaherty, it features recollections from many who got their start treading the Second City boards, including Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, Harold Ramis, Ryan Stiles, and many more. Bonus materials include extended interview segments. A must-see for any comedy fan.

If The Illusionist was turn-of-the-century magician drama as Masterpiece Theater entry, than Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is a modern crowd pleaser of a flick. The plot, in a nutshell, involves the dangerously escalating rivalry between a pair of magicians (Christian Bale & High Jackman) after a trick gone wrong kills their act’s assistant, Jackman’s wife. What follows is a twisted path of bitterness, revenge, and one-upsmanship that includes Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, Ricky Jay, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. How can you not want to see that? Bonus features include a multi-part behind-the-scenes documentary and an art gallery.

Strike another “Why the heck isn’t it on DVD yet?” title from the list, as the first season of Family Ties (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) finally makes its way onto the little shiny discs. The 4-disc set features all 22 episodes in quite good condition (better than those hoary syndication prints we’ve been subjected to for years), but there are zero bonus features for fans… Not even a paint-by-numbers featurette.

Going all the way back to its founding a few years back, I’ve been banging the drum about all the amazing, must-have collectibles that former animator Tracy Mark Lee’s Electric Tiki design studio has been putting out largely as a mom & pop operation. In most excellent new, though, Electric Tiki has now partnered with Sideshow Collectibles, which throws an incredible amount of awareness and distribution muscle behind EC’s already-great releases. This week, I wanted to show off their trio of Woody Woodpecker “Teeny Weeny mini-maquette” releases. Each of the three maquettes represent a different period in Woody’s design history – 1940, 1947, and the modern 1950’s version ($69.99 SRP for 1947/1950, $74.99 for 1940). All three are beautifully designed by Tracy Mark Lee and sculpted by Ruben Procopio. Both the 1947 and 1950’s version are limited to an edition size of 500 pieces, while the retro version is a quite exclusive run of only 250. Get these while you can – you’ll regret it if you don’t.

It was rather a foolish notion, in 1950 – shortly after vinyl LPs revolutionized the music industry – for an independent music label to dare challenge the entrenched majors; Capitol, Decca, Columbia, and RCA. But a tiny label did mount a challenge, and it went by the name of Elektra. Starting as a label that fully embraced the emerging folk movement with artists such as Judy Collins and Fred Neil and eventually becoming home to the likes of The Doors, Eric Clapton, and The Stooges, Elektra’s storied history is celebrated in the 5-disc Forever Changing – The Golden Age of Elektra Records: 1963-1973 (Rhino, $69.98 SRP). Featuring over 100 tracks spanning that entire period, including some rarely heard tunes, it’s a glorious overview of an iconic little indie that could.

Beyond the issues of free speech and the fallout of singer Natalie Maines’s impromptu criticism of George Bush at a London concert on the eve of the war in Iraq, the documentary chronicling the Dixie Chicks’s journey from red state country stars to red state pariahs and to even greater success post-brouhaha, Shut Up & Sing (Genius, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP), is an even more engaging portrait of PR damage control in this age of media saturation. Pushed and pulled by flacks eager to minimize the damage of Maines’s comment and steer her towards disowning it, it’s wonderful to see the trio eventually come around to the realization that it’s more important to be honest and straightforward with the public and themselves, emerging as a reenergized group of artists in the process. My only question, though, is where are the bonus features?

After their successful formula bore very funny fruit with Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, and A Mighty Wind, I was eager to see if Chris Guest and Eugene Levy could shine their absurd mockumentary spotlight on the movie industry as brilliantly as they had tackled their previous subjects. Sadly, though enjoyable, there’s just something not quite right with For Your Consideration (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP), about a small indie film whose status – and the egos of the actors, director, producers, and studio involved – goes suddenly off the chart as soon as the “O” word (Oscar!) is mentioned. It’s almost as if Guest & Co. are too close to the subject matter to be as objective as they have in their previous flicks. It’s a shame, because there really is a need for the movie industry equivalent of Spinal Tap. Bonus features include an audio commentary with Guest & Levy, additional scenes, a poster gallery for the fictional film Home for Purim, and the theatrical trailer.

On the surface, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints (First Look, Rated R, DVD-$26.99 SRP) is like any other “return to the old neighborhood” flick – you’ve got the guys that got out, and the ones that weren’t so lucky, or smart. So it goes when Dito (Robert Downey, Jr.) returns after 15 years to his old stomping grounds in Astoria, Queens when his father (Chazz Palminteri) falls ill – and finds many of the ghosts he’s left behind still waiting. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, and more.

Back to the vaults now for a quartet of knucklehead classics with The Three Stooges: Hapless Half-Wits (Sony, Not Rated DVD-$24.95 SRP). Fully restored and presented in both glorious black & white and colorized, the disc features two rarely seen Curly classics (“Beer Barrel Polecats” and the follow up to “You Nazty Spy,” “I’ll Never Heil Again”), plus a pair of Shemp-isodes (“Dopey Dics” and “Brideless Groom”). When are we finally going to get our all-out Stooges box-sets?

Of all the remastered, expanded Electric Light Orchestra releases coming down the pike in the last year, the one I was most looking forward to was Out Of The Blue (Sony Legacy, $11.98 SRP). Happily, it doesn’t disappoint in the least, featuring clear, crisp sound and one of my favorite songs of all time, “Mr. Blue Sky” (which sounds absolutely fab here). There are a trio of previously unreleased bonus tracks to round out the disc.

The witchy adventures of the sorcerous Halliwell sisters is nearing its conclusion with the arrival of the seventh, penultimate season of Charmed (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). Not only does the trio become bickering teenagers, but also get slapped with an aging curse (forcing them to find the Fountain of Youth), lose their powers, get inhabited by ancient Indian gods, encounter Lady Godiva, try to keep Pandora’s Box sealed, go head-to-head with an evil 25-year-old Wyatt, and wind up the season sacrificing themselves. The 6-disc box set features all 22 episodes, but nary an extra.

The adventures of the Seaview continue in the second volume of the second season of Irwin Allen’s Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). There’s ghosts, U-boats, dinosaurs, fire in the sky, and much more to keep the crew on their toes. The 3-disc set (double-sided crap discs from Fox again – thanks, guys!) features interviews with David Hedison and still galleries.

Jumping into the catalogue game, Fox has released a 4-film set celebrating one of Hollywood’s best-loved actresses of the 30’s and 40’s. The Alice Faye Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) contains remastered editions of Lillian Russell, On The Avenue, That Night In Rio, and The Gang’s All Here. Bonus features include deleted scenes, documentary featurettes, audio features, and more.

Based on the new soundtrack album alone, I’m more than intrigued to see the new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (Nonesuch, $20.98 SRP), whose swinging, untethered lech of a leading man I thought would be moored in the 70’s ethos that spawned it. The songs still stand up, and here’s hoping the production does as well.

Peter Lorre returns as J.P. Marquand’s Japanese detective Mr. Moto in the second Mr. Moto Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), containing Mr. Moto In Danger, Mr. Moto’s Gamble, Mr. Moto’s Last Warning, and Mr. Moto Takes A Vacation. Bonus features include interviews, featurettes, restoration comparisons, and the feature The Return of Mr. Moto (with commentary).

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…

-Ken Plume

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