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…
Although I was somewhat lukewarm to the pilot, I’m glad that I gave Tina Fey’s 30 Rock (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) a second chance, because it quickly established itself as one of the best sitcoms of the season… and ever. In fact, if it were to never come back for another season, I’m quite secure in placing it within the pantheon of comedy classics, for its brilliant writing and spot-on ensemble cast – including Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracey Morgan, and the stealth genius that is Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the NBC Page. Bonus features include audio commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, web shorts, a gag reel, and more. Get this set. Now.
Diving into the new Office: Season 3 set (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) is like leaping into a comedy TARDIS. Not only do you get all 22 episodes, but there are enough deleted scenes to make a half-dozen more. If that weren’t enough to kill a viewing week with, there’s audio commentaries, promos, featurettes, wraparounds, videos, bloopers, and more.
On the scale of dry comedy, Demetri Martin would be a desert. But a very, very funny desert. Often featured on the Daily Show, I first became aware of his unique stand-up specials courtesy of the UK, where he’s been a staple of the Fringe comedy circuit for the past few years. With the DVD premiere of his special Demetri Martin: Person (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), the US can finally reclaim him for our own. Bonus features include commentary, deleted scenes, his Comedy Central Presents special, and extra footage.
Cheech & Chong’s first (and best) flick gets the red carpet special edition treatment, bot howdy. In addition to being fully remastered, Up In Smoke (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP) now sports an audio commentary from Cheech and producer Lou Adler, deleted scenes, a retrospective documentary, an animated music video, 2 vintage radio spots, and more. All that for a stoner classic? Groovy.
After her legendary britcom tour de farce as Hyacinth Bucket, Patricia Routledge took on the role of sleuthing housewife-turned-detective Hetty Wainthropp in the long-running Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, which teamed her up with a teenage sidekick played by Hobbit and castaway-to-be Dominic Monaghan. The entire run is now available in the aptly titled Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$149.99 SRP), featuring 27 episodes across 13 discs, plus the original pilot and an exclusive interview with Routledge.
As a freelance photographer in the 1960’s, Robert Altman snapped many an iconic photo of the latter half of that decade’s cultural zeitgeist. Many of those photos are collected in he hardcover tome The Sixties (Santa Monica Press, $39.95 SRP). From the hippies to the rock superstars and the establishment forces that were terrified of it all, it’s a great snapshot of a moment in time.
Just in time for the debut of its third season, the complete first and second season set of FX’s largely overlooked It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) hits DVD. It’s a shame that it doesn’t get more buzz than it does, since its portrait of the kibitzing patrons of the Philly bar Paddy’s manages to hit many a comic high note – and it also features the welcome return to television of one Danny DeVito. The 3 disc set features all 17 episodes, scenes from the original pilot, audio commentaries, a making-of featurette, outtakes, and more.
When Sherlock Holmes is placed under house arrest after being accused for crimes he didn’t commit, he employs a group of plucky youths to be his eyes, ears, and feet to solve the mystery of missing kids and poisoned policemen. Dubbed the Baker Street Irregulars, they’re the focus of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP), a great little drama which stars Jonathan Pryce as the master detective.
As peace has finally taken root in Northern Ireland, it’s fascinating to go back and examine the roots of the conflict that drove decades of conflict between the British and Irish nationalists – and those origins are captured vividly in Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes The Barley (IFC Films, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), starring Cillian Murphy as a doctor turned revolutionary in an country on the brink of all out civil war. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a profile of Loach.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Nip/Tuck has made it to a fourth season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), as it’s one of those wonderful trashy gumbos that occasionally come down the pike and implant themselves in the television landscape like a parasitic guilty pleasure. The 5-disc set features all 15 fourth season episodes, plus unaired scenes, a spotlight on the guest stars, a look at some of the real life basis for the stories, and a gag reel.
I’m not entirely sure why Paramount has moved to splitting up the release of the Spongebob seasons on DVD, but the show still delivers, regardless of only being half a season. The 2-disc Spongebob Squarepants: Season 5 Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP) contains 21 episodes, plus “Friend or Foe” shorts. I’d be lying if I didn’t wish there were more bonus materials, as the earlier seasons had. C’mon, Paramount! It’s Spongebob!
If intellectual exploits are on your weekend agenda, check out a pair of documentaries from PBS – China From The Inside (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) & The Living Weapon (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). China From The Inside is a 4-part exploration of the still mysterious, yet massive, country, while The Living Weapon tells the tale of America’s development of biological weapons in the 40’s and 50’s.
After a disastrous sophomore season full of creative missteps, creator Marc Cherry managed to right Desperate Housewives (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) before too many fans gave up the ship, by remembering that it was the dynamic between the housewives themselves – both dramatic and comic – that was the real engine. The complete 3rd season features all 23 episodes, plus a look at the season finale, Cherry’s favorite moments, deleted scenes, and more.
Though critically praised and beloved by a dedicated – though small – fanbase, I never got into the short-lived The Black Donnellys (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Now, you can get all 13 episodes of this drama about the fractured relationship of the four Donnelly brothers as they become swept up in the New York underworld.
The cross-dressing farce of Bosom Buddies (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$31.99 SRP) really doesn’t age terribly well. By the show’s second season, the already thin premise – of two guys desperate for an apartment who cross-dress to get one in a restricted women-only building – became harder and harder to pull off. Still, at least there’s great performances from Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, and Wendie Jo Sperber. The 3-disc second season set features all 18 episodes, plus a rare sales presentation.
Without a doubt, Georgia Rule (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is a “chick flick”. It features three generations of women – Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Lindsey Lohan – coming together and healing fractured mother-daughter ties. How much more feminine can you get? Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
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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