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…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
Graham Linehan – with Arthur Matthews – is one half of the creative team behind the legendary britcom Father Ted. With The IT Crowd (MPI, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), he’s done for tech support nerds what Ted did for Catholic priests… In other words, he’s made a surreal, sublime, goofily funny show that only gets better as it goes along. The series focuses on the world of corporate IT drones Roy (Chris O’Dowd) & Moss (Richard Ayoade), whose male clubhouse deep in the basement is upset by new boss Jen (Katherine Parkinson). The second season brings in the wonderful Matt Berry as the new head of Reynholm Industries, Douglas Reynholm. Just do yourself a favor and pick up the set, featuring all 6 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
You can add realistic graphics and motion sensing to your heart’s content, but my heart will always hold the Nintendo games of my youth closest of all. So, in the age of the Nintendo DS, how can one bring some high quality handheld gaming to those vintage games? Well, with the Pocket Retro Game Emulator ($99.99). If you know about ROMs, then you know what to do with this wondrous piece of kit that feels like an old school NES controller (with those added SNES buttons). But that’s not all! It also can play music, videos, radio, and even has built in speakers and a video out. JOY.
Transplanting Ferris Bueller from the big screen to the small screen was a bit of a disaster. Well, a complete disaster, actually. The show that did manage to pull off a high school comedy about a teen who knew exactly how to navigate the pitfalls and perils with smart scripts and a great cast was Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), whose first season FINALLY makes its DVD debut. The 4-disc set contains all 26 episodes, plus audio commentaries and a retrospective featurette with the cast.
After all of those recent, wonderful album remasters, it was only a matter of time before we got the remastered single-disc hits album George Harrison: Let It Roll (Capitol, $18.98 SRP). It’s a nice overview that also contains a couple of album cuts and exclusives, including the original demo of “Isn’t It A Pity”.
I would not be disappointed if the 5th season of Entourage (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) were the show’s last, as the fire has gone out. Maybe that’s because Vince Chase’s storyline in the series finds our once popular star on the slide after a disastrous Cannes screening. Bonus features include a trio of audio commentaries and cast & crew interviews.
Female comedians are a rarity compared to the number of male comedians, and female comedy troupes are even rarer. It’s a damn shame on both counts, and it means one should support those that are out there – including the stars of the Channel 4 series Beehive (Channel 4, Region 2, Not Rated, £19.99 SRP), a silly-fun sketch series that’s worth a look.
Another TV show heretofore absent from DVD that Shout has gained the rights to and dropped a first season release on is Designing Women (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP). You can now own all 22 episodes, plus a reunion featurette.
Get a unique view of the moon landing via the coverage from the across the pond on Apollo 11: A Night To Remember (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP), which contains archival footage from the BBC of that landmark event.
Often overlooked, Rod Stewart produced a few classic albums in his day, and a pair of those have been revisited for deluxe editions. The first is the hit-laden A Night On The Town (Rhino Records, $24.98 SRP), featuring “Tonight’s The Night”, “The First Cut Is The Deepest”, and the worth rediscovering “The Killing Of Georgie”. The other album is Atlantic Crossing (Rhino Records, $24.98 SRP). Both 2-disc editions contain bonus tracks, including demos and early editions.
Still Spike Lee’s finest outing, the still powerful Do The Right Thing (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) gets its day on Blu-Ray, porting over many of the bonus materials found on the last standard DVD special edition, plus a newly-produced retrospective documentary and deleted scenes.
Nobody pulls off upper-class white trash like Danny McBride, and that’s more than evident in the uneven but occasionally brilliant first season of Eastbound & Down (HBO, Not Rated, $29.98 SRP), in which he plays a former Major League pitcher whose hard-partying lifestyle destroyed his career and lands him on his brother’s couch and a job teaching gym at his old North Carolina middle school.. Bonus features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, outtakes, and more.
Time for another round of comic shenanigans in Hooterville’s Shady Rest Hotel, with the release of the complete second season of Petticoat Junction (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 36 episodes, plus episode intros, an interview, and a photo gallery.
It was never as good as its parent show’s best seasons, but by the fifth and final season of Stargate: Atlantis (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), the show was a life raft for genre actors who needed a job, including the wonderful Robert Picardo. The 5-disc set features all 20 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, galleries, and more.
I have absolutely nothing to say about Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP). It’s them. In 3-D. The fans know who they are, and know if they want it. Only available in 3-D on Blu-Ray, the 3-disc set features an extended cut, bonus songs, a featurette, and a standard DVD of the film.
Action? Sure. A big heist gone bad the brings revenge down on the head of a New Orleans Police Detective? Check. The cop is John Cena? Yeah. The movie? 12 Rounds (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Bonus features include audio commentaries, an alternate ending, featurettes, and a gag reel.
Because I know you demanded it, you can now partake of the live action Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) in full-on high-def. The 3-disc set features a bonus animated comic movie, an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, galleries, and more.
Disney extends their corner on the Princess market with their Disney Channel original Princess Protection Program (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), starring Disney teen star Demi Lovato as a princess forced to enter the titular program and live with an everyday girl (fellow Disney star Selena Gomez). Bonus features include a pair of featurettes and a music video.
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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