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…)

It’s a true loss that Nat Hiken’s Car 54: Where Are You? (Shanachie, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP) only made it to two seasons, as it’s truly one of the most grossly underappreciated television comedies ever made. Thankfully, we now have both of those seasons on DVD, thanks to the fine folks at Shanachie. Go. Get them both, and watch the merry misadventures of Officers Toody and Muldoon.

Even if you’re not steampunky, it’s hard to resist the charm of the positively beautiful Solar Powered Turbine Fob Watch ($129.99). Styled in pewter and copper with many a steampunk accent – right down to the turbine-like inset on the lid – it doesn’t quite go all the way, featuring instead of mechanics a reliable battery-powered quartz movement.

I would say that Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP) is a pretty accurate title when it comes to Patton’s latest stand-up special, which certainly finds him at the top of his game , even if sweatpants don’t make it out unscathed. Bonus materials include an encore and a pair of featurettes.

The best way to describe the brilliant new stand-up special from the brilliant Paul F. Tompkins is that it’s an oral history of the career of comedian Paul F. Tompkins. Suffice to say, you would regret it for the rest of your days if you do not purchase Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP). Bonus materials include an audio commentary with a director, an encore, and an episode of his Pod F. Tompkast.

The dandy scribe behind Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, explores another slice of class warfare – this time historic – with the 4-part miniseries Titanic (E1, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), a much-better-than-James-Cameron look at the various societal and economic tiers at play on the doomed ocean liner.

Have a little Jackie Gleason-thon in high definition this weekend with the Blu-Ray arrival of the guilty pleasure comedy The Toy (Image, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP) and the much better Tom Hanks tearjerker Nothing In Common (Image, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$17.97 SRP). Both lack any bonus features, but who needs ’em when you’ve got Ned Beatty?

Fox has released another of their star-specific DVD collections, this time bringing together 10 films for the Frank Sinatra Film Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), featuring The Pride And The Passion. Kings Go Forth, A Hole In The Head, Can-Can, The Manchurian Candidate, Von Ryan’s Express, Cast A Giant Shadow, Tony Rome, The Detective, & Lady In Cement.

The fine folks at Mill Creek continue to re-release seasons of a handful of TV classics for staggeringly rock-bottom prices you’d be foolish not to take advantage of. Included this time around are 3rd Rock From The Sun: Season 3 & 3rd Rock From The Sun: Season 4 (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP each), That 70’s Show: Season 3 & That 70’s Show: Season 4 (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each), and Roseanne: The Complete Third Season & Roseanne: The Complete Fourth Season (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each). The great thing? The sets contain all of the bonus features from the original releases.

A movie lover who devoured old films, my grandmother would have loved if I had gifted her the dirt cheap, 12-disc genre sets Mill Creek has been releasing, mainly because each of those 12-disc sets – flicks of the 1950’s in The Nifty Fifties, Timeless Family Classics, & the crime/noir Dark Crimes (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP each)- contains 50 films. That’s right – FIFTY films.

How incredible are the artisans at Hot Toys? So incredible, that their latest DX 12″ figure of Jack Nicholson’s Joker ($264.99) from Tim Burton’s Batman is remarkably, creepily accurate. Not only is the facial sculpt perfect, but the elaborate costuming, right down to the overcoat The Joker wore during the parade near the end, is completely in-scale accurate. And props! This thing comes with guns (BANG and ludicrously long), a megaphone, a remote control, chattering teeth, cash, and more. Get this incredible piece from the fine folks at Sideshow, or regret that you passed up the opportunity to do so.

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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