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…)
Due to its relatively low production budget, The Muppet Movie (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$26.50 SRP) is never going to look pristine, but the new high definition restoration has the film looking and sounding far better than it ever has, and for that – and the fact that it’s finally out – I’m terribly happy. The bonus materials are limited, but the extended version of the original camera tests for the film (a truncated version was available on the previous DVD release) and the uncut production footage of Doc Hopper’s commercial are much appreciated.
When I first heard that those producers of to-scale miracles, Hot Toys, were looking to begin creating vehicles for their already-stunning line of 1/6-scale figures, I thought they were mad. When you’ve got a figure that already stands a foot, how in the heck are they going to do – and release with anything resembling a reasonable price – something that would have to be simply massive? Well, in a slap to my foolish doubt, they’ve done just that. And, in person, the 1/6-scale Batmobile ($629.99) from the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film is simply incredible. The details and accessories are incredible, from the grappling hook and machine guns to the bat discs and LED lights for the headlamps, engine, and dash, this is the perfect accessory (if you can call something so massive and intricate an accessory). To make the display that much more perfect, the appropriate Michael Keaton Batman figure – which Hot Toys released last year – fits perfectly into the cockpit. This is an iconic film vehicle, and Hot Toys has done right by it. And guess what? It comes shipped with a protective cover – which just happens to be perfectly sculpted to represent the armored version of the Batmobile seen in Batman Returns. So yes, head over to Sideshow and get this while you can. Here’s hoping Hot Toys eventually releases a Buckaroo Banzai line.
If there’s something that Thinkgeek excels at, it’s offering up items you never thought you needed. Case in point is Twiddle ($9.99), which is… Well, I don’t know quite how to describe it. It’s a jointed length of plastic that you just mess around with. Endlessly. And it comes in different colors, because, of course. A great little stress reliever.
Kick your celebrations of Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary into high gear with a trio of releases, starting with the very first high definition release of a classic Doctor serial with Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP), the inaugural story of Jon Pertwee’s 3rd Doctor. And it looks and sounds amazing. Bonus materials include a pair of documentaries on Pertwee and companion Caroline John, a look at the restoration process, and title sequences.
Keep the Who party going with a new special edition of the 3rd Doctor story with the space maggots, Doctor Who: The Green Death (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), which adds to all of the usual audio commentaries and featurettes with the inclusion of the 2-part Sarah Jane Adventures adventure guest-starring Katy Manning & Matt Smith, and a wonderful documentary with Russell T. Davies on the machinations behind the show’s return in 2005.
And finally (until next month, anyway), there’s The Doctors Revisited: One To Four (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which brings together a representative story from each of the first four incarnations of the Doctor – “The Aztecs”, “The Tomb Of The Cybermen”, “Spearhead From Space” and “Pyramids Of Mars” – and pairs them with a documentary retrospective of that Doctor’s tenure.
A few years back, William Shatner produced a wonderful little documentary called The Captains, in which he had candid conversations with the other actors who have held that rank in the Star Trek franchise. To follow that up, he’s gone back and cut extended versions of those interviews with Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, and Chris Pine – plus himself – for the expanded The Captains Close Up (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). And the result? Still wonderful. In fact – More, please.
After being unceremoniously cancelled, it seems rather fitting that HBO is only giving a non-high definition release to the second (and now final) season of Enlightened (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), Mike White and Laura Dern’s sublime dramedy about a post-rehab corporate executive eager to expose her own company’s sins. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and featurettes.
The second season of Girls (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) is where Leah Dunham’s already-soapy dramedy moves fully into guilty pleasure territory, as it cranks the absurd emotional pendulum all the way to 11. And yet I can’t stop watching. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted/extended scenes, interviews, featurettes, and more.
Raymond Burr takes his final cases in the second volume of the 9th and final season of Perry Mason (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$45.98 SRP) – at least until he’d return decades later in TV movies. The 4-disc set contains 15 episodes or courtroom drama, plus an introduction to the episode “The Case Of The Twice-Told Twist” with Barbara Hale.
I gave it the ol’ college try for its first few weeks, but I could never get into the groove of The Mindy Show (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) – which is unfortunate, because I find Mindy Kaling both a funny performer and writer, but the show just never seemed to gel. Maybe I’ll give it another go for its second season, and hope for the best. Bonus materials include deleted scenes.
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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