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…
Unless you’re a comedy insider, you probably don’t know the name Del Close. However, if you’ve seen Saturday Night Live, or SCTV, or Upright Citizens Brigade, or Mr. Show, or The Colbert Report – any show, really, that’s pulled from the ranks of the improv scene – then you’ve felt the importance of the man who made the teaching of improvisation an artform. He was also a mercurial genius who could alienate and ingratiate at the same time, and whose life was more mythic than average. Author Kim “Howard” Johnson has done a wonderful job of capturing lightning in a bottle with The Funniest One In The Room: The Lives and Legends Of Del Close (Chicago Review Press, $24.95 SRP), a fascinating portrait of a legend whose legacy lives on, and whose name deserves to be known.
I’ve waited years for Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) to make its way to DVD. I’ve long been a fan of the Python’s explorations into history, going all the way back to his deciphering of the true satirical nature of Chaucer’s Canterbury “Knight’s Tale” in his book Chaucer’s Knight. Medieval Knights deconstructs the misconceptions that we have about the lives of Medieval archetypes in a quick-witted and engagingly fascinating way that I’ve come to expect from Jones. The 2-disc set also features a bonus documentary – Gladiators: The Brutal Truth.
It’s no easy task to try and bring Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks, Rated R, DVD-$34.99 SRP) to the screen, but leave it to Tim Burton to attempt to bring the macabre musical to celluloid life – and he largely succeeds. No one’s going to call the story of the demon barber of Fleet Street a feel good flick, and Burton, to his credit, doesn’t try to soften its rather sharp edges… Even if that means that the blood flows fast and furious. The 2-disc set features quite a few making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and more.
I certainly hope you’ve been picking up DC’s deluxe hardcover collections of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World run in the appropriately titled Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus (DC Comics, $49.99 SRP). The fourth and final collection has just been releases, wrapping up Kirby’s original 70’s run as well as including the Hunger Dogs graphic novel, the final chapter of his epic saga. The volume also contains an introduction from Paul Levitz, an afterword from Mark Evanier, and Who’s Who entries.
If the live action scatological modernization of Alvin, Simon, & Theodore aren’t your cup of tea, you can rock it old school with the new re-release of their first big screen outing, The Chipmunk Adventure (Paramount, Rated G, DVD-$16.99 SRP). The new edition contains a bonus disc of the film’s soundtrack (ay yi yi!). Also available on the same day is Alvin & The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Funny, We Shrunk The Adults (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP), which collects a trio of latter-day episodes from their 80’s TV run.
Another staple of my 80’s Nick At Nite viewing has hit DVD in the form of Father Knows Best: Season One (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP). The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes starring Robert Young as the very epitome of the 50’s TV family man. Bonus features include new cast interviews, rare home movies and behind-the-scenes color footage, a special episode created by the US government, and the pilot episode of Robert Young’s 1960 follow-up series Window On Main Street.
It’s never easy for an iconic TV star to find another vehicle after a long-running success, and it looked like Ted Danson would be lost down that rabbit hole. Then came Becker (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.98 SRP), which found Danson playing ornery doctor John Becker, who runs a small medical practice in the Bronx. While nowhere near the quality of Cheers, it still manages to be a fun, amiable little sitcom. The 3-disc set features all 22 first season episodes.
Celebrate Bette Davis’s 100th birthday with the 3rd volume of Warner Bros.’ Bette Davis Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). This 6-disc set is really diving deep into the vaults to pull out some rarely seen titles – Deception, Watch On The Rhine, In This Our Life, The Great Lie, All This, And Heaven Too, and The Old Maid. All of the films are remastered, and bonus features include audio commentaries, cartoons, featurettes, shorts, newsreels, trailers, and more.
Continue your celebrations with Fox’s own Bette Davis Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), which sports five flicks from her long career in newly remastered form. Those five films are All About Eve, Phone Call From A Stranger, The Virgin Queen, Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte, and The Nanny. Bonus features include audio commentaries, featurettes, Fox Movietone features, TV spots, trailers, and more.
Relive the good ol’ days of fun comic books with Showcase Presents: Booster Gold (DC Comics, $16.99 SRP), which collects the entire run Dan Jurgens’ series featuring the 25th century conman-cum-20th century hero in all of his glory. Perfect reading for those rainy April days.
By the time the eight season of That 70’s Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) rolled around, it was clear that the show was limping toward its finish. Anchor Topher grace had left at the end of the previous season, and the show foundered without its everyman center, treading water with slapstick until the end. The 4-disc set features all 22 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, and episode promos.
By the time we get to the 8th season of Murder She Wrote (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), Jessica Fletcher has left a trail of death stretching from Cabot Cove to Antarctica. The sleuthing novelist remains the textbook case for a Jekyll & Hyde persona, often pinning her crimes on innocents and effectively allaying any suspicions that might come her way by sheer dint of being portrayed by Angela Lansbury. Very clever, Ms. Fletcher. The 5-disc box set contains all 22 episodes.
Always the cream of the crop, the 2-disc David Attenborough Wildlife Specials (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) collects 6 of the famed documentarian’s nature programs, featuring the polar bear, the crocodile, the leopard, the eagle, the humpback whale, and the wolf. The set also features the bonus documentaries Great Natural Wonders Of The World and Greatest Wildlife Show On Earth.
If that isn’t enough nature to ensure a packed viewing schedule for your personal Earth Day celebration, then be sure to pick up The BBC Natural History Collection (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$199.98 SRP), which collects the box sets for Planet Earth, Blue Planet, The Life Of Birds, and The Life Of Mammals into one honkin’ uber-box.
Eventually, we’ll have every TV appearance ever made by a Beatle available on DVD. Mark my words. The latest release is John, Paul, Tom, & Ringo: The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). As the title implies, the 2-disc set features 3 full episodes from Snyder’s Tomorrow Show featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. Unfortunately, no George.
And speaking of The Beatles, also worth checking out is “We’re Going To See The Beatles!”: An Oral History Of Beatlemania Told By The Fans Who Were There (Santa Monica Press, $16.95 SRP). As the title makes crystal clear, it’s an inside view from the screaming sidelines of the Fab Four’s cultural revolution.
I could care a tinker’s whit for sports, but Bull Durham (MGM/UA, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP) is one of that select group of sports flicks that I actually enjoy. Even after 20 years – which this new special edition celebrates – the film still holds up. Bonus materials include a pair of audio commentaries, a quartet of retrospective featurettes, and a Kevin Costner profile.
Meloni and Hargitay are on the case in the 6th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Universal, Not Rated., DVD-$59.98 SRP), which continues to be the L&O with the most awkward subject matter to watch. The 5-disc box set features all 23 episodes, plus the cast’s special appearance on – I kid you not – Sesame Street.
You can’t help but thinking – as you watch David Milch’s truncated, cancelled, and boring John From Cincinnati (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) – “They cancelled Deadwood for this?” Now you can ponder that question with the 3-disc set collecting the entirety of its brief run. Maybe you’ll care about mysterious John… or surfing… or something. Bonus features include a pair of audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
As jaded as I’ve become in recent years, it takes an awful lot of coolness for a collectible to wow me anymore. Almost an inordinate amount of coolness, really. The Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Figure of the Fantastic Four’s The Thing ($324.99 SRP) reaches that high level of coolness with a fair amount of coolness to spare. Standing over 20″ tall and in full on “clobberin’ time” pose, he’s a dynamic representation of one of the most iconic characters ever to grace the comics page. As always, the Sideshow exclusive edition is the way to go, as it contains an extra head with a closed-mouth sculpt. With en edition size of only 750, get this one while you can (or risk the gouging of the aftermarket).
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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SModcast is the meandering palaver of a pair of dudes whose voices are so dull, they don’t deserve to be on the radio (and, hence, aren’t). Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are SModcast.
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
