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…)

If the first two years were awkward and the future brought diminishing returns, the 3rd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP) is arguably the show’s high water mark, as sea legs were finally attained and stories like “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and the “Best Of Both Worlds: Part 1” cliffhanger could happen. After a lackluster effort by an outside firm with season 2, the remastering of season 3 returns to the in-house wizards responsible for the sparkling 1st season restoration/upgrade, which means the high definition picture and sound are pretty damn snazzy. Bonus features include a stellar in its candor Writer’s Round Table (featuring Ron Moore, Brannon Braga, Naren Shankar, & René Echevarria and hosted by uber-fan Seth MacFarlane), audio commentaries on select episodes, a 3-part season retrospective, a tribute to Michael Piller, a brand-new gag reel, and all of the bonus features from the previous DVD releases.

And speaking of the season 3 finale, Paramount is also releasing Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best Of Both Worlds (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which contains both the cliffhanger episode that wrapped season 3 and its resolution in the premiere of season 4, both of which are fully restored and remastered for high definition – Perfect for those who simply can’t wait for the eventual season 4 release and just want to watch both back-to-back. The set also features an audio commentary, documentary, and a gag reel taken from the filming of both episodes.

Best known as a correspondent for The Daily Show, comedian Al Madrigal gets his first full-length stand-up special with Al Madrigal: Why Is The Rabbit Crying? (Comedy Central Records, Not Rated, CD/DVD-$13.99 SRP). Bonus material include Al’s Comedy Central Presents special with audio commentary, Shorties Watchin’ Shorties shorts, and Al’s favorite field piece from The Daily Show.

The Warner Archive Collection continues to be a source of catalogue titles that would probably otherwise never see the light of day, but whose limited run availability delights a small but interested fanbase. Case in point is the complete first season of the 1960’s medical drama Dr. Kildare (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.99), starring Richard Chamberlain as the titular MD who learns the ropes at Blair General Hospital.

You could tell when watching The Sopranos that creator David Chase was a lover of music, and he gets to explore that affection with a love letter to those who share his passion in his directorial debut, Not Fade Away (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), about a young man who drops out of college in the 1960’s to pursue his musical dreams and is met with the harsh realities of the industry. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.

Baz Luhrmann’s kinetic technicolor celebration of dance comes to Blu-Ray with the high definition release of Strictly Ballroom (Lionsgate, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$11.99 SRP), looking and sound snazzy and porting over the special edition DVD bonus features, including an audio commentary, featurettes, a gallery, and a deleted scene.

Disgraced NYPD officer turned PI Mark Wahlberg takes on a case to follow the wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) of the mayor (Russell Crowe) who believes she’s cheating on him in the crime thriller Broken City (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). Bonus materials include a documentary, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

Who could have predicted that the patron saints of stoner comedy would make their triumphant return in animated form, but that’s just what has come to pass with Cheech & Chong’s Animated Movie (Fox, Rated, R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), in which the duo’s classic routines come to life. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and featurettes.

Seeing as how the fine folks at Big Chief Studios have already given us an ace 12″ figure of Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor, it will delight Doctor Who fans no end that they can now complement it with a delightful 12″ Amy Pond (Big Chief, £149.99), featuring a clutch of accessories including her cell phone, the carved apple from “The Eleventh Hour”, the paper TARDIS, her blue enveloped invitation from The Doctor, a doll, and the photo of her with her newborn baby. Now, if only there were a 12″ Rory…

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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