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 years of begging, pleading, and borderline groveling, Warners has finally answered all those pathetic pleas with the long-awaited first volume of Tiny Toon Adventures (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). They’re tiny, they’re toony, and they’re finally coming to our TVs with the first 35 episodes, plus a newly-produced retrospective featurette. Volume 2, now!
So, you’ve got a pair of computers and you want to transfer files between them quickly and easily. Sure, you could try and create a network connection, or send things over a instant messenger service in a pinch, but most ISPs are painfully slow on uploads, and you might not even have the option. No, the easiest piece of kit I’ve ever encountered is the Crossbox Data Transfer Device ($39.99), which connects to the 2 systems via USB ports, has built in drivers, and transfers data lightning fast. Brilliant.
It’s not nearly the groundbreaking revelation that was Scorsese and The Band’s The Last Waltz, but The Rolling Stones: Shine A Light (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.99 SRP) is still an incredible document of a defiantly energetic gig by the foursome, with guests Jack White, Christina Aguilera, and Buddy Guy. Bonus features include a quartet of additional performances and a behind-the-scenes featurette. A Blu-Ray edition (featuring the same bonus materials is also available.
The Blu-Ray train has reached Clancy station (yeah, I just typed that – I may need a vacation), and that means we’ve got a quartet of high-definition, stunning looking versions of The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear & Present Danger, and The Sum Of All Fears (Paramount, Rated PG/PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each). The bonus features all carry over from the standard editions, and include cast & crew interviews, an audio commentary on Hunt, commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes on Sum, and theatrical trailers.
Spawned from the same animated era that gave us Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, and Pinky & The Brain, I always thought that Freakazoid! (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) was a blast. Granted, I wasn’t a regular viewer, but every episode I ran across was a fun, madcap delight. Judge for yourself with the 2-disc first season set, featuring all 14 episodes, plus a retrospective featurette, launch promos, and a trio of commentaries.
Take the highway to the danger zone in gloriously crisp, high definition Tony Scott vision with the Blu-Ray edition of Top Gun (Paramount, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP). In addition to the uber-quality, you get the bonus materials from the recent special edition DVD release, including an audio commentary, making-of documentary, featurettes, galleries, music videos, and more.
Like most effortless surprise cult hits, the sequel to Harold & Kumar Go Two White Castle suffers from trying too hard. That’s not to say that Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (New Line, Not Rated, DVD-$34.99 SRP) – which finds our stoner heroes mistakenly on the wrong side of the law and locked up as terrorists – isn’t an enjoyable comedy. It is. It’s just that it doesn’t quite live up to the goofball charm of the original flick. The 2-disc unrated edition features audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, additional scenes, and a PSA.
Has it really been 10 years since Dark City? Before The Matrix, this underrated little gem brought us a fascinating but flawed piece of sci-fi noir, that deserves another look-see. There’s no better way to do that look-see than with the newly remastered Blu-Ray edition (New Line, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$28.99 SRP) featuring both the original theatrical and an extended director’s cut of the film, audio commentaries, documentaries, galleries, and much more.
It may be mired in its mid-80’s time period, but there’s a great ticking clock fun to War Games (MGM/UA, Rated PG, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which now has a 25th (!) Anniversary Edition. Bonus features (in addition to a nicely remastered picture) include a retrospective documentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the original theatrical trailer. Sadly, no Badham/Broderick commentary.
Fans (and Paul Sabourin) will rejoice in the fact that not only will they get to re-watch the stunning conclusion of the saga, but the fourth and final volume of Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3 – Fire (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP) features audio commentaries from the creators, cast, and crew.
Anglophiles wishing to get a wonderful primer on the sceptered isle’s history will want to pick up a copy of Simon Schama’s in-depth A History Of Britain (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 15 episodes, charting its earliest beginnings through Roman occupation, the Norman conquest, the rise of empire, and right through the 20th century.
Plunge back into the Fox vaults with a box set devoted to the 30’s George Clooney with the Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features Girls’ Dormitory, Love Is News, This Above All, Day-Time Wife, The Luck Of The Irish, Café Metropole, That Wonderful Urge, Second Honeymoon, Johnny Apollo, I’ll Never Forget You. Bonus features include spotlights on Power and his leading ladies, deleted scenes, a poster gallery, and more.
Start refreshing on the original before the new series launches this fall with the complete fifth season of Beverly Hills 90210 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). With Shannon Doherty gone, this was the season that saw the arrival of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who practically jetted right from Saved By The Bell. The 8 disc set features all 31 episodes, but not a single bonus features.
If getting the series in separate sets wasn’t appealing to you, you can now get the entirety of Robin Of Sherwood (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$99.99 SRP) in one easy package. The 10-disc set contains all 26 episodes, plus audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes documentaries, outtakes, and more.
In the annals of great cooking shows, a special place must be reserved for one of my favorites – Britain’s Two Fat Ladies (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), which brought together outsize chefs Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright and sent them traveling the country in a motorcycle and sidecar. It was fun and funny, and the two were engaging hosts. The 4-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus a documentary tribute to Paterson.
With season 7 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) hitting shelves, we’ve just about caught up with the current season. The 5-disc set contains all 22 episodes. Can I say how much the continued existence of this series delights me just because it keeps Richard Belzer’s Homicide character alive?
Spawned in the desperate post-Buffy bid to launch any kind of female action-hero series the networks could get their hands on, Witchblade (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$69.98 SRP) only lasted a single season. Which I’m perfectly fine with, as it was a lackluster adaptation of a comic book I really didn’t care for. Ah well. The 7-disc box-set features all 24 episodes, plus trivia, casting tapes, featurettes, and more.
Growing up, the name James A. Michener meant incredibly massive TV miniseries based on equally massive books set in some period of America’s past. Such is the Wild West tale Centennial (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which spanned 26 hours. The 6-disc set features also contains a retrospective documentary.
And now, we’ll close this week’s shopping guide with something you can’t buy in stores. In fact, the only way you can get it is by collecting 4 of the stickers featured in Hasbro’s line of 12″ Indiana Jones figures and mailing them in for what has to be one of the coolest looking mail-aways ever – a highly-detailed 12″-scale Ark of the Covenant. See for yourself…
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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Comments: 3 Comments
3 Responses to “Weekend Shopping Guide 8/1/08: We’re All A Little Looney”Leave a Reply |
August 1st, 2008 at 3:19 am
Freakazoid was a great show. A shining example of how a cartoon for kids could be smart and witty and still consist of extreme goofiness. The Huntsman? The Lobe? A pocket watch that turned beavers into gold? Classics. The Venture Bros. is continuing some of things that Freakazoid did years before.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:54 am
Well before Venture Bros was a twinkle in anybody’s eye, Freakazoid premiered a pilot for a Johnny Quest parody called “Toby Danger.”
“Toby Danger” was every bit as funny as the best Venture Bros episodes have been…
Let’s face it — there’s a LOT about Johnny Quest that’s worth mining for parody!
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
It really was a quality show. Especially the voice acting. Mo LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Ed Asner, Ricardo Montalban, Frank Welker, Craig Ferguson, David Warner. Those are some big names. And then Spielberg as producer?