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…)
Hell has finally frozen over and swine fly through the skies, as The State (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP) has FINALLY hit DVD. After years of clearance issues and studio delays, the complete 4-season run of the groundbreaking MTV sketch show can now be yours. And what’s probably most surprising – pleasantly so – is that the sketches hold up, with only rare dips into dated material. The 5-disc set features audio commentaries on every episode, interviews, outtakes, the original pilot episode (with commentary), unaired sketches (with commentary), special appearances, promos, and outtakes. Go forth, and buy.
Sometimes, I love gadgets that are completely and utterly useless to me personally. As I don’t work in an office, or in a cubicle, the Cubivalier Cubicle Doorbell ($11.99) is a device I can’t use as it’s intended. Still, I’ve had a lot of fun with its 12 different sound settings (everything from knocks and meows to ducks and… uh… a doorbell). What can I say? It’s fun.
When I wasn’t playing with Transformers in early 80’s, I was usually playing with the dozens of GI Joe figures I had hounded my parents incessantly for. Yes, that means I also was a daily viewer of the episodes contained in GI Joe: Season 1.1 (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), the first collection from Shout! Factory of those classic episodes. The 4-disc set contains the trio of miniseries that launched the show (“The M.A.S.S. Device”, “The Revenge Of Cobra”, and “The Pyramid of Darkness”) plus an additional 7 episodes, as well as n interview with writer Ron Friedman, PSAs, toy commercials, and the original 1963 Toy Fair presentation.
Twomorrows’ always wonderful artist spotlight series turns its eye towards yet another worthy illustrator with Modern Masters: Chris Sprouse (Twomorrows, $14.95 SRP). Not only is it loaded with rare artwork and sketches spanning Sprouse’s career, it also contains an in-depth interview. Keep these gems coming, guys…
Amongst the many documentaries hitting DVD to tie in with the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, near the top of the “must watch” list is the new high definition transfer of filmmaker Al Reinert’s documentary For All Mankind (Criterion, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP). His portrait of the 24 men who wound up traveling to the moon is a gem, and looks and sounds better than ever. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a new making-of documentary, interviews, NASA footage, and more.
Most shows suffer in their sophomore season, but it’s always nice when a program bucks the trend and turns in a stellar outing – and such is the case with Mad Men: Season Two (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP). Will Don Draper make it out the other side the same man? The 3-disc set features all 13 episodes plus commentaries, featurettes, and a music sampler.
If you’re keen on quick, easy, one-stop shopping to get all of the classic Peanuts specials you remember so well, I urge you to snag a copy of Peanuts: 1960’s Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 2-disc set contains A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown’s All-Stars, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, You’re In Love, Charlie Brown, He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown, and It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown, plus an all-new featurette on composer Vince Guaraldi.
There are over 16 hours of vintage ads contained in 1001 Classic Commercials (Mill Creek Entertainment, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – and I watched every single one of them. I couldn’t help but watching them, as it pushed all of my pop culture obsessive buttons. Check it.
The 11th season of the now-departed ER (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) was monumental as it marked the departure of the last remaining cast member from the show’s inauguration, Noah Wyle’s Dr. Carter. The 6-disc set features outtakes and deleted scenes.
It was never must-see TV for me, but whenever I’d see Andy Griffith as lawyer Ben Matlock, it felt like hot cocoa and a warm, almost smothering blanket. Fans can lay their hands upon Matlock: The Third Season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), sporting all 20 episodes but nary a bonus feature in sight.
Just in time for the porous yellow one’s 100th episode festivities comes the CD release of Spongebob’s Greatest Hits (Nickelodeon, $13.98 SRP), featuring 14 tracks culled from the series and the feature film, plus a pair of celeb tracks and a holiday tune.
Yes, I admit to being a person who occasionally gets sucked into The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week celebrations. But what to do the other 51 weeks of the year? Well, now you can dive into the 2-disc Shark Week: The Great Bites Collection (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which pulls together 9 specials from week’s past, including episodes of Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs.
The penultimate adventure for young Harry Potter (well, in the books, anyway – there’s still two more films to go) finds events becoming much darker, and Nicholas Hooper’s score to Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince (New Line Records, $15.98 SRP) certainly reflects the storm clouds that hang over the story. The CD also includes free access to a web download of a 5.1 surround version of the score, plus a bonus track.
Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange tackle the roles of “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale in the engaging adaptation of the now legendary documentary revealing their sad, eccentric, privileged lives, Grey Gardens (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). Bonus features include an audio commentary and a featurette comparing the film to the documentary.
The first season of the TNT original Leverage (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) arrives on DVD, starring Timothy Hutton as insurance investigator Nate Ford, who turns into a master thief after the insurance companies he once recovered millions for allowed his 8-year-old son to die. Leading a team of con artists and computer experts, think of it as a Robin Hood story. Bonus features include featurettes and deleted scenes.
Tick another show off the list, as we get the release of the eighth and final season of Bewitched (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). The show’d run its course by this point, and certainly didn’t fit into the 70’s TV landscape. The 4-duisc set features all 28 episodes.
Get over the laughable “based on a true story” tag, and The Haunting In Connecticut (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) is an engaging little horror flick that owes much of its power to the genre pics it borrows heavily from for its tale of a haunted Victorian home and the young family it terrorizes. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.
I have no emotional attachment whatsoever to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$92.95 SRP). Sure, the visuals were impressive, but the film itself was… well… eh. For fans who want to glory in its high-definition pop, though, the idea that they can only get it right now in a 3-film bundle with the Blu-Ray editions of House Of Flying Daggers and Curse Of The Golden Flower may be a bit hard to swallow. Bonus features remain the same as those found on their standard edition counterparts.
You know what? Between you and me, the less said about Van Wilder: Freshman Year (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), the better. Bonus features include an audio commentary, featurettes, and bloopers.
It’s nice to know that we live in a world where a quirky show like Monk (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) can make it all the way to a 7th season, and still be going strong. The 4-discs set features all 16 episodes (including the 100th), plus video commentaries and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
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
##
Comments: None
Leave a Reply |