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…
Here we are at the fourth season of The Office (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), and I’m beginning to feel cracks appearing at the seams. Right from the start, the American iteration was always slightly more absurdist than the Brit original, but in this season, the writers began to lose their grip on the reality of the characters, instead opting for the easy joke. Here’s hoping there’s a course correction for the folks at Dunder Mifflin in season 5. The 4-disc set features all 14 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, “Rabies: The More You Know”, a summer vacation promo, Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin ad, and a blooper reel.
If you attended the quiz show that we did at DragonCon, you saw the raucous fun our contestants – including Doc Hammer, Dana Snyder, Paul & Storm, and Robert Llewellyn – had while racing the Atlas Mini 3-Channel R/C Helicopter ($49.99). They’re ridiculously easy to fly, and are more hoot than you can possibly imagine. Get one. Get two. Have a blast.
It seems like it’s taken forever to bring it to a close – and we’re not quite there yet – but at least we now have the penultimate 10th season of Cheers (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 4-disc set features all 25 episodes – including the classic guest-starring turn from Johnny Carson – but there still no bonus features. I guess they’re saving them for the eventual full series set, the bastards.
Fully remastered and ready to be viewed numerous times in the next month, the new edition of It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is definitely worth a re-buy. It comes with the bonus special It’s Magic, Charlie Brown, as well as a new featurette.
Although a comprehensive box set has long been available, the new Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet Special Edition (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$90.99 SRP) features a bucket-ful of new bonus materials, including the new PBS special “Life Lessons From Onslow”, plus “Comedy Connections: Keeping Up Appearances”, outtakes, “Funny Women” profile of Patricia Routledge, The Kitty Monologues, interviews, and more.
Regardless of the fact that we’ve featured their production blog, I’d still recommend Brian LaBelle and Tom Whelan’s stunningly beautiful tale of a young man’s journey through South America’s deadly Darien Gap (and his romantic hook-up), The Art Of Travel (First Look Studios, Rated R, DVD-$24.98 SRP). Check it out.
It truly is a golden age for Doctor Who on home video, as the classic releases are coming fast and furious – now with the Tom Baker adventures The Invisible Enemy and The Invasion Of Time (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP each). Both releases are absolutely loaded with bonus features (as we’ve come to expect) with Enemy including the original Sarah Jane Smith pilot, K-9 And Company.
Elvis fans – and music fans, for that matter – will want to snap out the comprehensive Elvis: The Complete ’68 Comeback Special (Sony Legacy, $49.98 SRP). The 4-disc set features completely remastered and restored discs containing the original album, both the first and second “sit down” and “stand up” shows, and both rehearsals. It’s a wealth of musical history, and a must-have document of the King’s return to relevance.
It took a little while (while that whole high-def war was sorted out), but fans can now snag the 2-disc Blu-Ray edition of Michael Bay’s Transformers (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Personally, I think the film is a giant, unintelligible piece of crap – and high definition doesn’t change my opinion – but I know there are plenty of fans who will snap this up. It’s 2 discs and full of the same basic bonus materials as the standard release, so have at it.
Recorded live at the KCET Studios in Los Angeles in 1971, A Classic Concert: Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman Live (MVD, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP) is a nice – albeit brief, at only 8 songs – document of Stevens at the height of his songwriting powers, and is well worth a spin.
Harry Potter‘s own Hermione Granger, Emma Watson, makes her first major post-Potter movie with the adaptation of Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes (Koch, Rated PG, DVD-$24.98 SRP), starring as one of a trio of orphans raised as sisters who seek to find their places in the world. It’s a nice little flick. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, an interview with Emma, and a excerpt from the audiobook.
I’d like to dedicate the release of Drake & Josh: The Best Of Seasons 1-2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$35.98 SRP) to the ultimate Josh Peck fan (and one half of Quick Stop’s own Cabin Fever podcast), Brian Fitzpatrick. He’s sure to delight in the 15 episodes going all the way back to when Peck was fat, before he became a thin, poor-speaking ass who perhaps partakes of too much “down time”. Sadly, there are no bonus features, Brian. Maybe next time.
Just when I was ready to count it out, Desperate Housewives (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) corrected course with a real corker of a 4th season, which also brought the great Dana Delaney into the Wisteria fold. The 5-disc set features all 17 episodes, plus commentary, deleted scenes, bloopers, and a look at how an episode is put together.
It still plays like a poor man’s Whedon, but who’da thunk that Supernatural (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) would have made it to a 3rd season? The 5-disc box-set features all 16 episodes, plus behind-the-scenes featurettes and outtakes.
Speaking of box sets from classic Nickelodeon shows, how about the complete first season of Hey Arnold! (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP)? The 4-disc set features all 38 episodes, but not a single bonus feature.
My mother adores Ghost Whisperer (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$63.98 SRP). Never misses it. Personally, I find it to be touchy-feely pap, only alleviated somewhat by the introduction of Jay Mohr into the mix – but even he’s had his edges sanded down by the show. Still, my mother loves it. The complete third season set features all 18 episodes, plus audio commentaries, webisodes, featurettes, an animated short, and more.
At the very least, The Big Bang Theory (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) should be applauded for giving Johnny Galecki a job. He deserves a steady gig – even if it is on a relatively amiable sitcom about a pair of nerdy physicists (Galecki and Bill Prady) whose cloistered world is rocked when a woman(!) moves in to the apartment across the hall. Yes… A woman! The 3-disc complete first season features all 17 episodes, plus a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Fast-forward four years as the students from Tree Hill High return to their North Carolina hometown in the fifth season of One Tree Hill (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), as we find out who accomplished their goals, who didn’t, and what the future may hold. The 5-disc set features all 18 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries, unaired scenes, featurettes, 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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