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…)

There’s a delightfully dada quality to Kristen Schaal: Live At The Filmore (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which finds the comedian with her first one-hour special – a special that would make Andy Kaufman proud. Bonus materials include her Comedy Central Presents special, her performance on John Oliver’s NY Stand-Up Show, and her favorite Daily Show appearances.

BBC Earth releases a trio of their brilliant and beautiful documentaries to high definition with the Blu-Ray release of The Blue Planet (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), Great Barrier Reef (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP), and the recent theatrical release One Life (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.97 SRP). All should be in your player, now.

I’m a sucker for “Art Of” books for animated films, meaning The Art Of The Croods (Titan Books, $34.95 SRP) – chronicling the development of Dreamworks Animation’s latest CG flick – is right up my alley. As you would expect, it’s packed with the usual complement of art and interviews.

Based on a long-running UK drama, The Sweeney (E1, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) hits the big screen starring Ray Winstone as the leader of London’s elite copper squad, detective Jack Regan, as his team tries to track down a master criminal bent on a major heist. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and more.

It doesn’t really hang together as a film, but Hyde Park On Hudson (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP) is worth a spin just to see Bill Murray playing Franklin D. Roosevelt in a tale about the First Couple entertaining the King & Queen of England in the first visit of a reigning English monarch, as war looms on the horizon. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes.

Brian Bonsall was moving front-and-center as Tina Yothers’ hair grew ever larger in the sixth season of Family Ties (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$45.98 SRP), as the cracks in the still-hit show begin to make themselves apparent, but it’s still worth a spin for the presence of Michael J. Fox’s comic gem Alex P. Keaton.

The kids can pile into the Magic School Bus with an all new eco-friendly release – The Magic School Bus: All About Earth (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP), featuring a trio of episodes covering the topics of seeds, volcanoes, and air pressure.

About as far from Frasier Crane as you can get, Kelsey Grammer returns as powerful and embattled Chicago mayor Tom Kane in the second season of Boss (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.97 SRP). Bonus features include audio commentaries and a featurette.

There are few comedies as gut-bustingly funny as The History Channel’s miniseries The Bible (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.99 SRP). Not since Airplane! has the ludicrous been presented in such an over-the-top yet sublime manner. The only thing it’s missing is Leslie Nielsen. Bonus materials for this hot mess include a clutch of featurettes and a music video.

Leave it to the fine folks at Medicom Toy in Japan to make something as wonderful as a 3″ tall Two-Gun Mickey ($9.99), colored in the same black & white as the classic 1930’s Mickey cartoon from which it’s pulled, and imported into the US by the fine folks at Sideshow Collectibles. Do get yourself one.

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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