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…)
Picking up where Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine left off 20 years prior, Stephen Fry steps in for his good friend as he and Carwardine revisit species on the verge of extinction in Last Chance To See (BFS, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), 6 brilliant hours of exploration, education, conservation, and entertainment.
Everyone needs a good spork – and to have it be heat-resistant and made of a touch polycarbonate material? Well, that’s just icing on the sporky cake. In other words, pick up a 4-pack of Light My Fire Sporks ($7.99). You never know when it’ll come in handy.
Sparkling fresh and looking better than ever, Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion masterpiece Jason And The Argonauts (Sony, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$24.95 SRP) hits high-definition with a clutch of fanboy bonus features, including two new audio commentaries (one with Harryhausen fan Peter Jackson), interviews, featurettes, and storyboards.
If your only exposure to Life On Mars (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$79.99 SRP) is the awkward US version, please put that out of your mind and dive into the complete set of the UK original, about a modern-day police detective (John Simm) hot on a killer’s trail who gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Yes – you read that right. Is he a time traveler? In a coma? Delusional? This is a ride worth taking, so do so. The 8-disc set contains all 16 episodes, plus audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes documentary, featurettes, and an outtake reel.
At least Grover is present to balance out the furry red monstrosity in Sesame Street: Preschool Is Cool! ABCs With Elmo (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), in which the loveable blue monster plays the alphabet teaching professor to Elmo’s eager student.
Just as Matt Smith’s first year as the Doctor comes to a close, a quartet of classic Doctor Who adventures hit DVD for the first time. From the William Hartnell years, we get The Space Museum/The Chase (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), the Jon Pertwee years brings The Time Monster (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), and from the Tom Baker years we get both The Horns Of Nimon & Underworld (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each). All four are packed to the gills with the usual complement of bonus features, including commentaries, interviews, featurettes, and more.
We still haven’t seen them in their Mystery Science Theater iteration, but you can watch the original Gamera vs. Barugon (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.93 SRP) in restored form – which, really, is the only way to watch a giant turtle movie. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and galleries.
In A Single Man (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$27.96 SRP), Colin Firth more than earns his Oscar nomination as a college professor left cold after the death of his longterm partner in 1962 LA, as he struggles to find a reason to live again. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a making-of featurette.
After a long, long spell, Shout Factory has rescued another show that only got its first season released by Universal, delivering to fans Dragnet 1968: Season 2 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP). The 6-disc set contains all 28 episodes, the original 1966 pilot movie, a vintage trailer, and a featurette on Jack Webb.
It’s been a long, long road to get here, but with the release of ER: The Complete Thirteenth Season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), we’re down to the last 3 seasons to hit DVD. This season is notable for the departure of Dr. Weaver and the arrival of Dr. Gates. Bonus materials include unaired scenes and outtakes.
The Warner Archive continues to release TV shows on demand that would otherwise have too-limited an appeal to merit a wide release, this time making available the complete first season of the Dylan McDermott-starring cop drama Dark Blue (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.95). The 4-disc set contains all 10 episodes.
It feels like just yesterday that the last volume came out, but here we are with the 3rd volume of Squidbillies (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) with another 10 episodes, featurettes, bumps, art, music, and the 2009 DragonCon panel.
It’s nice that, after years of being neglected, Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer is enjoying a resurgence and being appreciated not only in its original comic book form, but also the in the form of the underrated big screen adaptation. Sideshow has done their part by producing a stunning – and fun – Rocketeer Premium Format Figure ($339.99). With an art deco base and standing 18″ tall, it’s pretty darn nifty – right down to the wad of bubble gum plugging the hole in the jet pack. The Sideshow exclusive edition also features a swappable Cliff Secord head.
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 |