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…
Last year, Paramount released the first season of the remastered original Star Trek series as hybrid standard DVD/HD-DVD discs. As we all know, HD-DVD was roundly defeated in the high definition format wars by Blu-Ray, which left the future of the remastered releases a bit muddled. Well, Star trek: The Original Series Season 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$84.98 SRP) is now available as just a standard edition DVD set. There’s no word on a Blu-Ray edition. The 8-disc set features all 26 episodes, plus the second part of the behind-the-scenes “Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest”, the “More Tribbles, More Troubles” episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and the “Trials And Tribble-ations” episode of Deep Space Nine. For some unfortunate, inexplicable reason, Paramount insists on presenting this set as double-sided DVDs stored in such a fashion that the discs have rub marks and scratches. Can’t we finally get rid of these bastard discs? Come on, Paramount – treat Trek with some class.
Why does it always seem that when my car’s battery decides it’s time to die, it’s always when it’s pouring down rain. It never fails. Also, after a childhood arcing incident, I’ve always been paranoid about opening up the hood and attaching the leads to the battery. Well, those days are done and gone with the Closed-Hood Car Jump Starter ($19.99). The beauty of this little doohickey is that you can jump your car simply by placing one end in the lighter socket of the jumping car, and the other end in the lighter socket of the car needing the jump. No popping of the hood required. Isn’t that great? I loves me some technology.
Although his smarmy, opportunistic, and ultimately destructive behavior became cartoonish in his last years as prime minister, it’s a film like writer Peter Morgan and director Stephen Frears’ The Deal (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$24.96 SRP) that shows that Tony Blair was always a little Machiavelli. The film details the rise to power of Tony Blair, on the back of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown – from the broken Labour Party of the 80’s to their triumphant return in the 1990’s, and the understanding that Blair would step aside after a second term… which, obviously, he did not. Michael Sheen reprises his role as Blair, and David Morrissey is pitch-perfect as Brown. It’s a fascinating piece of political drama that is still having repercussions today. The DVD contains an audio commentary, as well as a conversation with Frears, which puts the events in context for an American audience.
As we approach the Beijing Olympics, why not take an unprecedented look across the cultural and geographical breadth of that nation with the documentary Wild China (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). It’s a fascinating journey from the heights of the Himalayas to deserts, valleys, jungles – well, you name it. The 2-disc set features all 6 programs, plus a making-of featurette.
It’s not the first time its been released on DVD, but I’m safe in saying that the new 2-disc special edition of Lonesome Dove (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is the definitive. Completely remastered and presented in anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 surround, the bonus features include a making-of documentary, original set interviews, sketches, and interview with author Larry McMurty, and an interview with director Simon Wincer.
After over 20 years, watching the fourth season of Family Ties (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is like putting on a well-worn pair of pajamas. It’s almost like pop culture comfort food. This is also the season that brought junkyard artist love interest Nick into the fold. The 3-disc box set features all 24 episodes, plus the movie of the week, Family Ties Vacation.
It was only a matter of time before somebody did a comedy with 64-bit videogame animation, and G4’s Code Monkeys (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is it. Revolving around the bizarre misadventures of a pair of video game programmers working for the fictional 1980’s company GameAvision, the complete first season is now available. The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus a behind-the-scenes featurette, pranks, commercials, tips, games, and more.
In the category of “there had to be a documentary on him eventually, and here it is” comes Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song (Genius, Rated PG, DVD-$24.95 SRP), which examines the life and influence of the iconic songwriter who inspired generations to write about the world around them, with an eye towards illumination and change. Paying homage are the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, and more. Bonus materials include additional scenes and 6 short films from the Seegar family.
The second season of the BBC’s Robin Hood (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP) still contains all of the bizarre contemporizing and oddball casting choices that made the first season of this Tudors in Sherwood rethink. Thankfully, I think they’ve begun to understand that the show isn’t capable of great drama, but certainly is capable of great kitsch. The 5-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and character spotlights.
How much do you love the 80’s? A lot? Well, Paramount has taken a batch of their 80’s classics and rebranded them with “I Love The 80’s”, and included a bonus CD collecting a clutch of 80’s hits (A-Ha, anyone?). The flicks included in the rebranding are Pretty In Pink, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Top Gun, Footloose, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Paramount, Rated PG/PG-13, DVD-$14.99 SRP each).
In my fondest dreams, I’d hope that the release of soundtracks from the animated direct-to-DVD Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo and Batman: Gotham Knight (La-La Land Records, $16.98 SRP each) would give us premium albums of the music from both the Batman and Superman animated series, as well as Justice League Unlimited, but those are just dreams at this point. For now, snag these two… And dream.
Get up to snuff on this year’s presidential nominees with the A&E Biography of both Barack Obama and John McCain (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP each). Take a gander, find out a little about their pasts and careers, and make an informed decision this November.
Joanna Lumley stars as woman whose retirement dreams with her husband are thrown into turmoil after tragedy strikes in the series Sensitive Skin (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). Lumley’s turn as a woman adrift and discovering her way in the world at age 60 is a revelation for anyone only familiar with her work on AbFab. The 2-disc set features both the first and second seasons, but sadly no bonus features.
Robson Green and Simone Lahbib return as Dr. Tony Hill and Detective Inspector Alex Fielding in the fifth season of Wire In The Blood (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), based on Val McDermid’s best-selling novels. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and crew.
Soapier than a bar of Irish Spring, the Brits manage to bring an air of trashy class to their own little spin on Las Vegas, Hotel Babylon (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Featuring Brit-level guest stars and tales of rivalry, lust, and 4-star ambition, it’s a guilty-pleasure way to pass a weekend. The 3-disc set features all 8 episodes.
The animated adventures of come to a close in Ben 10: The Complete Season 4 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), as our hero faces off against the evil Vilgax with the fate of the galaxy in the balance, before being face with a return to school and the decision of whether to reveal his identity to his family and friends. The 2-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus featurettes and deleted scenes.
Flash back to 2004 with Sheryl Crow’s episode of the live performance show Soundstage (Koch, Not Rated, DVD-$ 19.99SRP). And yes, she does sing “All I Wanna Do.” You knew she had to.
Sir David Attenborough turns his cameras toward the slithery, slimy, and pebbled with Life In Cold Blood (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) which – interestingly enough, explores the cold-blooded creatures f the world, from turtles to snakes to lizards, and more. Bonus features include a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette on each of the 5 episodes.
Let’s close out this week with a look at the Sideshow Collectibles 12″ “Smuggler” Han Solo ($64.99), costumed as he appeared in the very first Star Wars. Every time Sideshow unveils another of their figures – with its exquisitely tailored scaled-clothing and “Hey, that actually LOOKS like the actor!” head sculpts, I can’t fully express just how delighted I am that Hasbro isn’t the only one producing these. After years of Hasbro’s mangling at this scale, Sideshow’s work is a breath of fresh air. Here, now, is a look at the rogue, who’s available in a Sideshow exclusive edition featuring the cantina blaster pistol…
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: 1 Comment
One Response to “Weekend Shopping Guide 8/8/08: Boldly Buying”Leave a Reply |
August 8th, 2008 at 3:54 am
A couple things:
1) “As we all know, HD-DVD was roundly defeated in the high definition format wars by Blu-Ray,”
Both formats had stagnant sales. Their asses were handed to them by DVD and digital distribution (Microsoft may not have HD-DVD to sell, but their Live Video Marketplace on the Xbox 360 puts both HD disc formats to shame). The real cause of the un-win was the gobbling up of studio contracts, not Blu-Ray quality or sales (which were questionable, at best).
The whole thing was a pointless hype war over formats that no one cared about and the majority of consumers couldn’t even use. The same with the cable/sat HD television provider war. The level of “THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL BUY” was upsetting. It wasn’t so much a case of the consumer driving the market as the market trying to force expensive, practically obsolete new formats down our throats.
2) Hehehe. “12 inch smuggler”.