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…)
Recalling the good old days of Paramount’s rapid, clockwork release of the Trek series on standard DVD, the remastered high-def edition of Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP) has arrived and, if anything, puts the first season set to shame. As before, you get both the original 60’s version of each episode, plus the recent remastered featuring brand-new effects work. In addition, there’s a disc devoted to the Tribbles (with both the DS9 and Animated Trek episodes that contained the furry creatures, plus commentary), featurettes, and more.
Ever since they first came on the market, I’ve been ridiculously entranced by digital picture frames. Just the space-age idea that you could have shifting photos within a traditional-looking picture frame makes the 7-year-old me go “Cool.” Sad? Maybe – but the 15″ Gigantor Digital Picture frame ($149.99) is still a great addition to any wall, and very easy to use.
A few years back, Warner Bros. released a positively revelatory special edition of The Wizard Of Oz on DVD. The picture had never – ever, even in its theatrical release – looked and sounded better. Well, with the release in high-def of The Wizard Of Oz: Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Warner Bros., Rated G, Blu-Ray-$84.99 SRP), they’ve managed to top even that stellar release. It is absolutely stunning. If that weren’t enough, Warners continues to set the benchmark for truly special collector’s editions, porting over not only the original bonus features, but adding a new profile of director Victor Fleming, the John Ritter biopic The Dreamer Of Oz, the 2007Hollywood Walk Of Fame salute to the Munchkins, and the documentary MGM: When The Lion Roars. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a reproduction of the original 1939 campaign book, a 52-page commemorative book, a replica of the original movie budget, and a limited edition 70th anniversary watch. Pretty impressive, no?
For all of the comedy and loopy fun that Dreamworks puts into the films CG-animated they release, they really can’t make a visually appealing flick to save their lives. Look no further than Monsters vs Aliens (Dreamworks, Rated PG, DVD-$34.98 SRP), which is exactly as its title describes, has plenty of laughs, but looks like it was designed by a low-rent rip-off studio for direct-to-video. Shame, really. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and sneak peaks of future Dreamworks releases. Also available in the initial release is a bonus DVD with the new 3-D adventure B.O.B.’s Big Break. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
It’s nice that, every once in awhile, a comedy will come down the pike that remembers how enjoyable humor based on character can be – and such is the case with Away We Go (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a young couple who decide to trek cross-country prior to the birth of their first child in hopes of finding the perfect place to put down roots, encountering a bizarre clutch of family and friends along the way. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a pair of featurettes.
The playing field is littered with the bodies of many serials that attempted to make a go of it on the net, but one of the few actual success stories gets a DVD release with The Guild: Seasons 1 & 2 (New Video, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP). The 2-disc set contains all 22 episodes starring Felicia Day as a woman who, after hitting rock bottom, immerses herself in online gaming that transitions into an awkward real world meeting between her fellow players. Bonus features include interviews, audition footage, commentaries, featurettes, and a gag reel.
Ah, but that’s not the only History Channel program that benefits from a bump up to high-def – also add the complete 3rd season of The Universe (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.95 SRP), which combines history and astronomy into one breathtaking exploration of, well, the universe and all of its phenomena. The 3-disc set contains all 12 episodes.
Color me stunned that we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original UK miniseries Traffik (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), whose intertwined story on the international drug trade was eventually adapted for the big screen by Steven Soderbergh. The new edition features an interview with writer Simon Moore.
Making holiday viewing that much easier this year, Disney has put together a standalone release of the still-great Mickey’s Christmas Carol (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) as the 7th volume of their Walt Disney Animation Collection line. The disc also sports The Small One, Pluto’s Christmas Tree, and Santa’s Workshop. Also being re-released in a 10th anniversary edition on DVD is Winnie The Pooh: Seasons Of Giving (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), complete with a packed in Pooh stocking.
Of all of the direct-to-video animated DC Universe titles to come down the pike, the one that’s gotten the most right – in tone, character, and execution – is Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which adapts the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness about Luthor’s rise to the presidency and the outlaw position it puts our dynamic duo in. The 2-disc special edition features featurettes, sneak peeks, and a pair of bonus cartoons presented by Bruce Timm. A Blu-Ray edition ($29.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
I love when companies finally remember that they’ve left us dangling with abandoned classic TV releases and restart the process, as Paramount has done in giving us the penultimate 4th season of Taxi (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The season is just as much fun as I remember it being, as the full cast is firmly in place and everyone is having a ball.
Hugh Jackman – I understand that the success of the first abysmal film gave you a Hollywood career, and the second and third abysmal films cemented the studio’s belief that you were the key to their success, but do you think you could get, oh, I don’t know, a second reader to tell you what a crap script your solo foray as Wolverine (Fox, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP) is? Could you? Please? Because it was a joke. A painful, painful joke. The 2-disc set contains audio commentaries, a conversation with Stan Lee & Len Wein on the origins of the character, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted/alternate scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
With the rather blunt title of Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years (S’More Entertainment, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), you can pretty much guess that this box set contains the quartet of telemovies that were made long after the show went off the air. In addition to the programs, bonus features include interviews on each disc.
Compiled to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first show, The Secret Policeman Rocks! (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP) pulls together over a dozen performances from the various Secret Policeman’s Balls benefiting Amnesty International, and featuring the likes of Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Kate Bush, Sting, and more.
We finally – FINALLY – get a production with the Muppets playing themselves, and it turns out to be a dull, misguided affair that forgets that the Muppets are supposed to be funny and interesting. Sadly, A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP) brings an unnecessary and awkward human element into it, that does nothing but bog things down with a treacle coating. So very sad. The DVD contains a featurette and deleted scenes.
It’s a shame that TV executives felt it was necessary to re-do the UK’s brilliant version for the American Life On Mars (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), particularly since the short-lived iteration failed to ever capture the magic of the original. Still, you can judge for yourself, as the 4-disc set contains the entire run. Bonus features include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
I could have done without the re-enactments, but the disturbing history repackaged in the documentary Manson (History, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) still holds all of the trainwreck fascination that have defined the infamous murders – and the mad mastermind behind them.
The only thing remarkable about the seventh season of CSI: Miami (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$71.41 SRP) is that anyone would expect anything remarkable out of the by-the-numbers, auto-pilot procedural. It’s not going to reinvent the wheel, people – it’s like Hamburger Helper. Reliable. Predictable. Passable. Bonus features include a pair of audio commentaries and a quartet of featurettes.
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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