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…)

As sketch comedy series go – and it’s not an easy form to be consistently good in – there’s more gold than dross to be sound in the first season of Key & Peele (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$22.98 SRP). The set sports audio commentaries, outtakes, an interview, and more.

Ever had the urge to play old school vinyl records in the middle of nowhere, without having to worry about lugging a bulky turntable with you? Well, the Crosley Portable USB Turntable ($14.95) is the answer. Essentially, it’s boiled down the turntable to just the arm and holding the album in place, with battery power and an FM transmitter to really free you up.

Kenneth Branagh returns as the Nordic detective who tackles the toughest of cases in Wallander 3 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), which features a trio of new feature-length mysteries. It remains a beautifully shot series and more Branagh is always welcome.

I don’t think Frank Miller’s heralded tale has aged terribly well, but the first part of the animated adaptation Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) is an enjoyable take on the material, and is mostly successful in updating the more dated elements of the very 1980’s tale of an aged and battered Bruce Wayne’s last hurrah. Bonus materials include featurettes, a digital comic, and bonus cartoons.

It’s an amiable series and it’s a shame that rights issues make it unlikely we’ll ever see full-series releases, but there is still plenty of fun to be had in Russell Howard’s Good News: The Best Of Series 2 (Channel 4, Not Rated, Region 2 DVD-£12.99 SRP). Bonus materials include unseen bits & pieces, and an unseen mystery guest.

Not only does Family Guy: Volume 10 (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) contain another 14 episodes, but many are uncensored, as well. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, animatics, and more.

Composer Nathan Johnson has certainly crafted the perfect sound for a hard-boiled mind trip like Looper (La-La Land Records, $19.98 SRP), and it’s one of those lovely scores that hold up well as a listening experience outside the theater.

Guest-star-studded and still bizarre, the second season of Portlandia (VSC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.95 SRP) has arrived with 10 episodes of Fred Armisen & Carrie Brownstein’s skewed view of Portland. Bonus materials include audio commentary, featurettes, a deleted scene, and an excerpt from their new book.

You know it’s time for a series to come to an end when the storylines have finally arrived at the point where your main characters have crossed over to murder, and so it is that after 8 seasons, Desperate Housewives (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) ends with the fallout over the housewives’ involvement in the offing of Gaby’s stepfather. Bonus materials include an audio commentary on the finale, deleted scenes, a featurette, and a gag reel.

It’s unfortunate that the show incorporates elements of the awful feature film, because there’s a lot to like about GI Joe Renegades (Shout Factory, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.97 SRP), which find a Joe team on the run after a spy mission against Cobra goes awry. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Every so often, the Brits will export an affable, low-key dramedy filled with top-flight actors that can’t help but win you over. The latest booster shot is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) that finds a group of seniors deciding to make their limited retirement funds stretch by relocating to an Indian resort. Bonus materials include interviews and featurettes.

If spending your weekend investigating dead bodies for clues is your cuppa, then pull up a chair and dig into the 12th season of the original CSI (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$63.98 SRP), the 8th season of CSI: New York (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$55.98 SRP), and the final season of CSI: Miami (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$55.98 SRP). All 3 are packed with commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reels, and more.

While you’re marking time until the next live action feature, the CG Resident Evil: Damnation (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$30.99 SRP) fills the gap with a European tale of Bio Organic Weapons being used in war and a bit of a cover up. Bonus materials include featurettes and a gag reel.

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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