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…)
Jon Pertwee’s 3rd Doctor finally escapes his banishment to Earth and travels into space in the new-to-DVD adventure Doctor Who: Colony In Space (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). Okay, so he doesn’t really escape – more like the Time Lords who banished him there in the first place decide they need his help to stop The Master from getting his hands on a master weapon, so they send the TARDIS (with The Doctor and companion Jo Grant) to a bleak planet in the 25th century to stop him. Bonus materials are plentiful, including an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted footage, and more.
When I was a kid, so very long ago, hand-propelled paper airplanes were perfectly fine. For today’s kids, something more is needed – such as Power Up ($19.99), which provides a battery-powered propeller to those simple paper planes. How great is that? GREAT.
I love how the DVD revolution has made it possible for just about every TV show you can imagine to wriggle out of the woodwork and get a release. Case in point – the complete run of It Takes A Thief (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$199.98 SRP), a late 60’s show about a suave cat burglar-turned-spy (Robert Wagner), who travels the globe playing his trade in service of the US government. Bonus materials include an extended version of the pilot, interviews, coasters, a repro 35mm film cell, and a collectible booklet.
I think the announcement of its arrival in a definitive high definition collection was both a surprise and a delight to diehard fans, but I’m sure the latter outweighs the former now that they can lay their grubby little paws on their very own copy of Farscape: The Complete Series (A&E, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$199.95 SRP). As if all 88 episodes in high-def weren’t enough, the 20-disc set ports over all of the commentaries, deleted scenes, profiles, featurettes, and promos of the original Starburst editions, PLUS adds a brand-new retrospective documentary and the much-desired Farscape Unleashed special. Are you a fan? You want this set, and you want it now.
One of the most iconic movie musicals ever produced makes its high definition debut in grand style, as West Side Story (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) looks and sounds absolutely pristine. As if the restoration weren’t enough, this new edition ports over all of the great bonus features found on the DVD collector’s set from a few years back.
It’s flawed in many ways and suffers from an inadequate budget for its lofty concept, but there’s quite a bit of charm that makes Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) worth watching in this new 15th anniversary edition, which features a new audio commentary and introduction in addition to the bonus features from the original DVD release.
It was brilliant seeing League Of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton in the grim and gritty crime drama Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which finds a copycat killer stalking London’s East End in the 21st century.
Celebrate its 25th anniversary with a brand new special edition of Sam Raimi’s classic schlock horror film Evil Dead 2 (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$14.99 SRP), newly available in high definition and packing in a clutch of new featurettes and an audio commentary.
If you’re a history buff, you’ll probably be as fascinated and gripped by the remarkable color footage you’ll find, presented for the first time in high definition, found within the WWII In HD Collector’s Edition (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.95 SRP). The 4-disc set contains a view of the second World War that few have seen. Bonus materials include a pair of feature-length specials, featurettes, and character profiles.
For the kids in your life, this week brings Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), which finds Mickey & friends blasting off and exploring outer space. What’s better than Donald Duck in space? Not much, my friends. The disc also includes a never-before-seen bonus episode.
MGM has dipped into their library for a trio of titles to get the high definition treatment, including the original, much much better version of The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), Tom Selleck in Quigley Down Under (MGM, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), and Gregory Peck & Charlton Heston in Big Country (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP).
And speaking of MGM dipping into their library, they’ve also unleashed a new clutch of titles from their MOD Limited Edition Collection, including the Morey Amsterdam comedy Don’t Worry, We’ll Think Of A Title (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98), Joe Don Baker & Burgess Meredith in the suspense thriller Golden Needles (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98), Charles Durning in Where The River Runs Black (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98), and Barbara Eden in the biker flick Return Of The Rebels (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP).
It doesn’t hold a candle to the original UK series, but the first season of the American Being Human (E1, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.98 SRP) is enough if a quirky, fun adaptation to at least warrant a look. Beyond that, it’s up to you. Bonus materials interviews, featurettes, and the San Diego Comic-Con panel.
Underappreciated in its day and largely overlooked today, if you’ve yet to see the short-lived Michael Mann series Crime Story (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), this complete series box set is the perfect way to dive into this gritty world of the Chicago Police Major Crime Unit in 1963, starring Dennis Farina as the hardened lieutenant Mike Torello. The set also contains the 2-hour pilot episode.
It was only a matter of time before History Channel fond a way to make a spin-off from their popular Pawn Stars, and the one they chose was to focus on the gent that show had doing restorations on the antiques brought to the show. So with American Restoration (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), you get to see Rick Dale and his crew cleaning up the rust and rot on many an item.
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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