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 bittersweet affair, listening to the audio commentaries on the Community: Season 3 (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) set and hearing creator Dan Harmon talk about all of the things the show would be tackling if they got a 4th season (which they have) just a few short weeks before he was informed by Sony that he was fired as showrunner. Still, the season is a fitting send off for his era of the show, containing all of the whimsy and sincerity that has made it beloved. The set is also loaded with bonus features, including audio commentaries on every episode, featurettes, deleted scenes, and actually funny outtakes.
As a kid, I was always fascinated by gyroscopes – particularly the ones that I bought just about every time I would visit a museum gift shop lo, those many years ago. And they were always a pain to get going. Ah, but the Precision Gyroscope ($11.99), with its pull cord, is so much easier to operate, and makes mucking around with one of those little wonders of balance the fun it always should have been.
There are plenty of new-to-Blu-Ray catalogue releases I’ve been looking forward to this year, and right near the top has been the near-unbearable anticipation for the fully restored and remastered Jaws (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP). And the work they’ve done on the film doesn’t disappoint. It’s become cliché to say a film has never looked better, but it’s absolutely true here, as film looks even better than brand new, considering the printing and projection shortcomings of its original release. As far as bonus features go, you get all of the features from the previous DVD special addition, plus the addition of the troubled documentary fan-produced The Shark Is Still Working, which has been floating around the festival circuit for years and finally finds a home here. So overall, yes – Yes, you must get this Blu-Ray. Now.
And while you’re on a Jaws kick this week, be sure to pick up the newly re-released and expanded edition of screenwriter Carl Gottlieb’s The Jaws Log (Newmarket Press, $16.99 SRP), his journals on the making of that landmark film. Just don’t ask him who wrote the Indianapolis speech.
I’m really starting to get spoiled, what with two classic Doctor Who releases coming every month – And this month is no different, bringing us a special edition of the very first adventure versus the Autons for Jon Pertwee’s 3rd Doctor in Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), and an Ace-era foray to the Psychic Circus for Sylvester McCoy’s 7th Doctor in Doctor Who: The Greatest Show In The Galaxy (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). Both are loaded with commentaries and featurettes, and both are worth picking up.
While The Smurfs And The Magic Flute (Shout Factory, Rated G, DVD-$14.83 SRP) may be the first feature film starring Peyo’s little blue creations, it bothered me when I saw it as a kid because none of the voices matched the ones then being heard regularly on Saturday mornings, as the film was actually produced overseas and later dubbed into English. This new release looks a heck of a lot better than the crappy VHS tape of the early 80’s, and there a clutch of bonus featurettes, as well.
It’s been awhile sing they’ve done an official release, but the latest biography to come down the pike from A&E’s Bio channel is Barack Obama: From His Childhood To The Presidency (Bio, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) – And the title pretty much covers its subject matter and timespan.
The fine folks at Shout Factory have really stepped up their classic TV releases in recent years, taking over for aborted efforts by studios like Sony and Universal, and wrapping the DVD releases of shows long after many of us had given up hope. The latest clutch of titles on glorious life support include the 5th and final season of Kojak (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), the second and final season of S.W.A.T. (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), the seventh and final season of Designing Women (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), the complete second season of The Rookies (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), the complete third season of Hazel (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$34.93 SRP), the seventh season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$49.97 SRP), and the complete second season of Fantasy Island (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.97 SRP). Heck, they’ve even picked up and released the third season of Diff’rent Strokes (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.93 SRP)!
And if that weren’t enough, Shout also continues to release the massive Nickelodeon catalogue, with the most recent being the 2nd volume from Cat Dog: Season 1 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.93 SRP), the 2nd volume from Danny Phantom: Season 2 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.93 SRP), and the 2nd volume of The Angry Beavers: Season 3 (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.93 SRP). Keep bringing it, Shout!
It’s a little late to the party, but Titanic: 100 Years In 3D (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP) is remarkable for featuring actual high definition 3D imagery of the infamous liner taken at the wreck site. Fascinating, fascinating viewing for buffs.
Parents might want to pick up the entire 52-episode set of the science-adventure series The Magic School Bus (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$79.95 SRP), featuring a teacher and the supernatural bus that takes her class just about everywhere you can imagine. Except Tijuana. It is a kid’s show, after all.
Collecting a trio of shows shot in London, Manchester, & Edinburgh, Jay & Silent Bob Get Old: Tea Bagging In The UK (Industrial Entertainment, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is essentially a pair of discs collecting the video versions of the duo’s previously released tour podcasts. But now you can both hear *and* see them. At the same time.
The show’s become a creative mess, but diehards will delight in the complete third season of Glee (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.99 SRP), which finds the Gleeks on the road to both the Nationals and their graduation., which means there’s plenty of fresh blood joining the group and plenty of hand-wringing. Oh, and singing. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Root around in America’s garbage with the latest releases from the “History” Channel – American Pickers: Volume Four (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) and Pawn Stars: Volume Five (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP). Neither contains any bonus features, and you’ll be heard-pressed to find history, either.
Sideshow has done an incredible job in bringing animated characters to the three-dimensional world via their 1/4-scale premium format line, with the most recent standout being the incredible Captain Hook added to a list that includes Snow White‘s Evil Queen and Sleeping Beauty‘s Maleficent. Well, now you can add their buxom and beautiful Jessica Rabbit ($324.99), which captures Roger’s wife in full-on nightclub sultry mode, dressed in her glittering gown and standing on a light-up base. As if that weren’t enough, you even get a separate penguin waiter from the Ink & Paint Club. Just look at how gorgeous this is…
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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