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 FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
I came rather late to the Adam & Joe appreciation party, but now that I’m here, I’d like to recommend you all pick up a copy of The Adam And Joe DVD (Channel 4, Not Rated, Region 2, DVD-£16.99 SRP), which gives a wonderful overview of all 4 series of low-budget comedy. There’s also a figurative ton of bonus materials. Just get this disc already.
If you caught any of the Red Nose Net charity marathon a few weeks back, you might recall that we used the USB Webcam Rocket Launcher ($49.99) quite a bit. Yes, it’s a USB rocket launcher that also has a webcam built in, giving you the launcher’s eye view of your target on your computer screen. How cool is that?
Long held up by music licensing issues, MTV’s Daria (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$72.99 SRP) has finally made it to DVD, and it’s a mixed bag. Gone is 99% of the original music cues, but at least the series is finally ownable (at least on an official basis). Diehards may be upset by the absent music, but they may rebound when they see the bonus materials, including the pilot, interviews, Daria Day intros, an animatic, and more.
Penn & Teller return to the 7th season of Bullshit (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) with a clutch of new topics, including stress, lawns, video games, lie detectors, the apocalypse, astrology, organic food, taxes, and even orgasms. There’s nudity in that one. Really.
As the remake makes its way to a theater near you, can relive your 80s love of Mr. Miyagi in full high-def via the collector’s edition boxset of The Karate Kid I & II (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP). While both films contain retrospective featurettes and a pop-up multimedia trivia track, the first film also includes an audio commentary.
If you didn’t have the cash to buy the big ol’ Mel Brooks Blu-Ray set that came out last year and want to pick-and-choose a few of his later flicks in high-def, you can now snag History Of The World: Part 1, High Anxiety, & Robin Hood: Men In Tights (Fox, Rated R/PG/PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP each). Bonus features include retrospective featurettes, isolated score tracks, and more.
The third season of Thirtysomething (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP) was probably its strongest, as the characters and storylines had fully gelled, and the audience was fully primed for its zeitgeisty take on making an adult life at the dawn of the 90’s. The 6-disc set contains all 24 episodes, plus commentaries and an introduction.
It’s not Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye, but Smithsonian Network’s SciQ (Infinity, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is still a fun little science series for kids, which you can now experience in its entirety via this 4-disc box set.
For anyone who was a fan of the BBC miniseries Edge Of Darkness and was hoping that one day a louder, shallower, star-driven movie would one day be made of that excellent thriller, than the new Edge Of Darkness (Warner bros., Rated R, DVD-$35.99 SRP), starring Mel Gibson as a Boston cop caught up in a conspiracy that involves the death of his daughter, than this is for you. Bonus materials include featurettes and alternate/additional scenes.
If you want some good old-fashioned swashbuckling action, Columbia has opened the vaults and found a quartet of little-seen Robin Hood flicks that are worth a spin – The Bandit Of Sherwood Forest, Sword Of Sherwood Forest, Prince Of Thieves, & Rogues Of Sherwood Forest (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$14.94 SRP each). Of particular note is Hammer Pictures’ take on the legend, Sword Of Sherwood Forest, which finds the great Peter Cushing in the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Charlie Brooker had it pegged when he presented Deadliest Warrior (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP) as a ludicrous, testosterone-filled fightfest that tries (and fails) to disguise itself by presenting “scientific” and historical information about various warriors, who they then pit against each other. If you’ve ever wanted to know who would win in a dramatic reenactment of an imaginary battle between a ninja and a Spartan, this is the show for you. The 3-disc set contains all 9 episodes, plus roundtables, post-fight analyses, and a season one wrap-up.
Yes, I’m getting a bit tired of all of the vampire films and TV shows, but at least Daybreakers (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP) does give a bit of a spin to things, as humankind has been transformed into vampires by a virus and actual humans for feeding are almost nonexistent, and the race is on to find a blood substitute. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette, and the theatrical trailer.
With grim determination and a hound dog expression in tow, the greatest defense attorney of them all returns in Perry Mason: Season 5 Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), which contains the first 15 episodes of the 5th season.
The 5th season of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) finds everyone from Will to Carlton finding love, as the show begins to wind down towards its 6th and final season. This 3-disc set contains all 25 episodes.
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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