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 Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
Even though I’ve read the entire story in its original run, I admit to waiting eagerly for the release of each new volume of Scholastic’s re-release of Jeff Smith’s Bone just to see it all in glorious color. We’re now down to the home stretch in the 9-volume series with the release of Volume 7: Ghost Circles (Graphix, Softcover-$9.99 SRP, Hardcover-$19.99 SRP). The story is heating up as the return of the evil Lord of the Locusts is imminent, and the Valley has been devastated by “ghost circles”. Will the Bone cousins and Thorn be able to save the valley? Check it out!
Dave Gorman has found other Dave Gormans, lived his life by the astrology page for a month, and went on a Googlewhack adventure. This time, though, he’s decided to tackle the United States – and see if it’s possible to cross the land of the free without stopping at a single chain restaurant, gas station, or hotel. Is it possible to make such a long journey while only patronizing Mom & Pop businesses? That’s the challenge Gorman faces in America Unchained (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99 SRP). Will he make it? Pick up the DVD and find out. Trust me – it’s worth it, if only for how engaging and thought-provoking Gorman makes it.
As calculated as it is, there’s still no denying the ability of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan to ingratiate themselves to a wary audience in You’ve Got Mail (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The newly remastered special edition features 2 new featurettes (now with Hanks and Ryan participation), an audio commentary, the HBO First Look special, an interactive New York map, a Carole King music video, and more.
Not content to turn in one stellar performance last year, Casey Affleck pulled off a twofer with his role as the titular coward in the historical drama The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$27.98 SRP). Brad Pitt essays the role of James in a flick that never quite seems to gel, but features performances that make the whole affair worth seeing. I must ask, though, wither the bonus features?
They’ve been absent from the shelves for a few months due to printing problems, but the latest issues of both Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories ($7.99 SRP each) – issues 371 & 686, respectively. Both are worth snagging, but extra recommendation goes for Scrooge, which reprints the Carl Barks classic Scrooge vs. The Beagle Boys tale “How Green Was My Lettuce”.
Not since the golden age of television has a radio show made the successful transition to television, but such is the rare case with Ira Glass’s This American Life (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Consider it a post-modern travelogue, as Glass travels the country finding ordinary folks and stories that are then brought together under a series of themes throughout the season. This set features all 6 first season episodes, plus audio commentary, and is currently a Borders store exclusive. Give it a spin.
It’s become almost cliché now – a Jodie Foster flick that casts her as an almost masculine action hero fiercely defending herself against a world out to get her and the ones she loves. In The Brave One (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP), that formula is slightly warped as Foster stars as talk radio host Erica Bain, who – after her fiancé is murdered and she nearly loses her own life – sets off on a path of vengeance against those responsible. As a thriller, it’s entertaining enough, though by no means a classic in the genre – really, you see it just to watch Foster do her stuff. Bonus features include additional scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Everything old is new again, which means it’s time for another edition of the modern comedy classic Groundhog Day (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$19.94 SRP). The film is exactly as you remember it (funny, natch), but the bonus features this go round include an audio commentary from director Harold Ramis, an interview with Ramis, a retrospective documentary, deleted scenes, and a spotlight on groundhogs.
Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) gets a much-deserved special edition – complementing a very nice restoration. Bonus features include an audio commentary from producer and film historian Bruce Block, a documentary, and a spotlight on Jack Lemmon.
As an interviewer myself, I’m always keen to dive into how other interviewers tackle a subject, which is why I always love reading the series of tomes collecting interviews with various personalities that the University of Mississippi Press puts together. Their latest trio of must-haves are Stan Lee: Conversations, Akira Kurosawa: Interviews & Art Spiegelman: Conversations (University of Mississippi Press, $20.00 SRP each). If you’ve yet to pick up one of the many volumes they offer, there’s no time like the present.
The epitome of the Brit “kitchen-sink realism” school of realism, This Sporting Life (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) gets the deluxe treatment from the fine folks at Criterion. The 2-disc edition sports a new high definition transfer, an audio commentary, interviews, documentaries, short films, the theatrical trailer, and more. Director Lindsay Anderson brings forth one of Richard Harris’s finest performances as a miner turned rugby player in bleak Yorkshire.
Inspiration for numerous jokes and references, the tale of a young American sentenced to a Turkish jail for attempting to smuggle hash out of the country, director Alan Parker’s Midnight Express (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$19.94 SRP) get s a new special edition featuring an audio commentary with Parker, a trio of retrospective featurettes, a photo gallery, and a copy of Parker’s personal production journal.
It’s not quite The Kids In The Hall, but there is plenty of humor to be found in The Whitest Kids U’ Know (IFC, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP), IFC’s new sketch comedy show. The 2-disc set features the complete 10 episode premiere season, plus commentaries, a WKUK featurette, and a sneak peek at season 2.
We’re now fully into the “every flick getting a special edition” territory when it comes to Disney’s animated films, and the latest to get the treatment is the marginal Aristocats (Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), which features a Wonderful World of Disney excerpt (“The Great Cat Family”), a spotlight in the Sherman Brothers’ tunes for the film, a deleted scene, and a scrapbook.
In the wake of 9/11, it seemed a no-brainer that there’d be a show like Third Watch (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which follows the police, fire, and paramedic services of New York that work the third shift. The complete first season set features all 22 episodes, plus a retrospective featurette and a gag reel.
The new 25th anniversary edition of that cross-dressing comedy classic Tootsie (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$19.94 SRP) – in addition to a new transfer – have managed to coax Dustin Hoffman and director Sydney Pollack into participating in a brand new retrospective featurette, which joins original screen test footage and deleted scenes in rounding out the new whiz bangery.
Long before his big-screen success, Clive Owen starred as scheming rogue Derek “Dex” Love in the Brit series Chancer (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), the second series of which is now available. The 2-disc set features all 7 episodes, but sadly not a single bonus feature. At least the show itself is still as fresh and well-crafted as I remember it being.
Cate Blanchett returns to the film role that launched her career in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP), which finds the virgin queen in full control of the burgeoning British Empire leading towards the showdown with the Spanish Armada that would launch the titular golden age. Unfortunately, it’s a case of diminishing returns, as the film doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor even though the actors – including the returning Geoffrey Rush and Clive Owen – bring their A-game. Bonus features include a quartet of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
Giving Warner Bros. and Paramount a run for their money, the Weinstein Brothers’ Genius Products has waded into the cinema classics on DVD field with their new “Miriam Collection” imprint, named after their mother. The first release is a 2-disc collector’s edition set of Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren’s El Cid (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), sporting an audio commentary, vintage radio interviews, newly-produced making-of and retrospective featurettes, still galleries, and a trailer gallery. In addition, the set also includes a reproduction of both the original 1961 souvenir program and the El Cid comic book adaptation.
If it’s a film with even a modicum of class about it, Criterion has given it a special edition. Add Swedish filmmaker Alf Sjoberg’s Miss Julie (Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) to the list, as they’ve bestowed a sparkling restoration upon it, as well as a documentary, interviews, a video essay, the theatrical trailer, and a booklet of essays about the film.
Harm and Mac are reunited in the fifth season of JAG (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP) when Harm makes his return to the JAG office. The 7-disc set features all 25 episodes, plus a gag reel.
For all we know about British sitcoms, American knowledge of Canadian sitcoms is virtually nonexistent. If you want a solid introduction into overcoming that ignorance, try the complete collection of Slings & Arrows (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), about an incredibly dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troop, starring Paul Gross, Mrk McKinney, Don McKellar, Stephen Ouimette, and Martha Burns. It’s offbeat and funny, and this box set features all 3 seasons, plus bonus features including interviews, deleted/extended scenes, featurettes, on-set footage, bloopers, and more.
Cut that hair, fix that hare lip, and a little rhinoplasty, and Vincent wouldn’t have to live in the sewers. Since he’s so adverse to a little nip/tuck, we get Beauty & The Beast (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$50.99 SRP) – where Vincent (Ron Perlman) fell in ridiculously romantic love with the beautiful Catherine (Linda Hamilton). This love comes to an end with the third and final season – the 3-disc set of which features the last 11 episodes of a love that could only be destroyed by an apathetic network… and a too small, though dedicated, fanbase.
It’s another round of accidents and casualties in the fourth season of the 70’s classic Emergency! (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 22 rife with danger episodes, but there’s not a single bonus feature to be found.
Cartoon Network’s animated Legion Of Superheroes hits its 2nd volume (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), featuring another quartet of episodes that will inevitably be collected in a full season set – so consider this release geared towards those in need of instant gratification.
I’ve long been singing the praises of Medicom’s series of Vinyl Collectible Doll’s featuring the Disney characters from their old school pictures. Sadly, Medicom is a Japanese company, and the import costs for these buggers has always been ridiculously prohibitive. Enter knight in shining armor Sideshow Collectibles, who now have a US distribution deal with Medicom – and I’m beyond delighted. In addition to the stunning Tinkerbell ($44.99 SRP) you see below, they’ve also got both Mickey and Minnie Mouse as they appeared in the black & white Two-Gun Mickey ($37.99 SRP each). Look at those sculpts! The VCDs average between 6-8″, and they’re well worth snagging as quickly as you can.
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
##
After 6 seasons of awkward and painful comedy, the brilliant 
I’ve long been a fan of Monty Python alum Terry Jones’s series of historical documentaries, going back to his fascinating look at the Crusades. Jones presents the material with both a dramatic and affable flair, making intimidating subject matter as fascinating as it should be, while also illuminating oft misunderstood periods of history. His latest is 
We’re already up to the penultimate volume of DC’s 4-volume collection, 
The 4-part 
It’s taken 3 years, but my nephew has now been fully consumed by the SpongeBob virus, and has become Sqaurepantsed. With that in mind, I can guarantee that he will watch the new episode collection – 
The 8th season of 
Released in the late 70’s, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes (DC Comics, $19.99 SRP) was a multi-volume set of tomes presenting the histories of various comic book characters up to that point in the academic style of an Encyclopedia. Given full access to the DC library, author Michael Fleischer produced the first mainstream attempt at treating comics as an art form whose character histories were worth studying. DC has been re-releasing these long out-of-print editions, with the volumes on 
After whetting her appetite on The Shield, Glenn Close decided to jump into a TV series of her own with 
Through my nephew, I’ve been made aware of Nickelodeon’s CD version of Muppet Babies meets the Get-Along Gang, The Backyardigans. The multi-hued menagerie of backyard adventures have released a celebrity-studded album of songs from and inspired by the show, 
If you want a good lesson on how not to remake a film (and recent retake on The Stepford Wives wasn’t enough for you), then look no further than 
Oh, Aqua Teen. I once loved you, and thought you were the bees knees. The episodes contained in the 5th season set of the once funny 
The persnickety relationship between divorcees Oscar & Felix continues in the complete third season of the original 
Long the most artistically underappreciated of the Beatles, I’m tired of people slagging on Ringo Starr. Frankly, his albums have been the most consistently enjoyable and fun. Not every piece of music has to be an artistic opus, and Ringo always comes back to remind us that sometimes you just want a strong backbeat and a sing-along. There’s plenty of that to be found on his new album, 
Newly remastered and with new bonus materials, the 40th Anniversary Edition of Gerry Anderson’s 
I can give or take the modern colorization process, but I appreciate the fact that it requires an often pristine restoration of the original black & white print. Such is the case with the new 2-disc editions of Ray Harryhausen’s sci-fi classics 
As light as a bubble and just as dense intellectually, I admit that the modern teen comedy take on Snow White – 
Things are heating up as story elements begin to come together in the second volume of 
If catching a wave is unreasonable, at the very least you can catch the complete third season of 
It’s been years, but the second season of 
The clever cons of the UK’s 
Setting action pics aside, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) steps into the family comedy milieu in 
If you were expecting the soundtrack to 
Erudite and dryly, slyly witty, the British TV adaptations of Noel Coward have been brought together in one box via 
The next generation of Hong Kong action star arrives in the US in 
Not nearly the camp nightmare of the second film but not quite the gothic beauty of the comic in its golden period, the first season of 
As offbeat and passionate as the flick itself, the soundtrack to 
For the most part, I’ve enjoyed the relaunch of Doctor Who. I think it’s fun science fiction, even if it’s a bit hamfisted and plothole-ridden at times. With that in kind, was looking forward to the spinoff series 
I dig that the soundtrack to the upcoming 
Finally, if you want to make sure your weekend viewing contains a bit o’ culture, there’s the recent BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s 
As a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from “back in the day”, for years I’ve hoped for the return to performing of MST creator Joel Hodgson and writer/performer Trace Beaulieu (Dr. Forrester & Crow T. Robot). Though we’ll probably never see MST return for various intractable reasons, Both Joel and Trace have returned – along with fellow alums Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl, and Josh Weinstein – to form 
It’s been a long time coming – 20 years, in fact – but the history of Pixar has been laid down in print courtesy of 
Following close on the heels of it’s holiday wrap-up, you can pick up Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant’s 
Family Guy‘s big character-recast send-up of Star Wars gets a rather speedy DVD release courtesy of the uncensored 2-disc 
Swap Paul Rudd for Chuck Heston and The State‘s David Wain & Ken Marino for Cecil B. DeMille and you’ve essentially got 
Brian Froud is the man responsible for the visual look that defined both The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and for years his artwork detailing the world of Faeries has been collected in this book or that. The ultimate tome exploring his work is now available, titled appropriately enough 
As one of the many kids that absolutely loathed the demoralizing embarrassment of PE class, I found much that familiar about the enjoyable if marginal comedy 
Still a downer – albeit a classy downer – all these years later, Leo McCarey’s 
So far, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been the only castmember to chalk up a post-Seinfeld success on TV, and she’s done it with 
Often treated as an odd bastard child of his oeuvre, Martin Scorsese’s 
Every so often, a comedy aimed at teens also manages to pose some interesting questions about our society, wrapped beneath a funny wrapper. The indie comedy 
Also getting a special edition is Rob Reiner’s perennial Rom-Com, 
In an age where sci-fi has largely turned to crap (I’m looking at you, JJ), it’s nice that a flick like 
Although the flicks vary greatly in quality, it’s nice to know that there’s finally a 
Another remastered Peanuts special edition is here, and just in time for the holiday it addresses. 
James Garner’s ex-con-turned-P.I. Jim Rockford returns in the 5th season of 
Confronted with the marketing campaign for 
He may have celebrated his half-century mark with a private soiree, but Elton John decided that his 60th birthday bash would be done in front of an audience, and celebrate his incredible catalogue in style. 
No matter how many things I enjoyed about the latest Potter adaptation, 
After the bare bones release of just a few short months ago, David Fincher’s 
The second season of Caroline Aherne’s amazing Britcom 
As a semi-proud outcast myself, it’s always fun to see a flick that caters to the dejected, aimless, loveless outcasts of the world – and 
Maybe it was just charity concert fatigue, but by the time the 
Ian McShane’s be-mulleted antique dealer/sleuth 
Watching a remake is always a dangerous affair – made even more treacherous when the original flick is actually a classic. The classic remake in question is 
For far too long, Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) has been on a self-imposed exile from popular music, releasing the occasional religious-themed album but refraining from performing any of his classic catalogue or writing an album of new pop material. Thankfully, he’s reconsidered his stance and delivered a mighty fine concert live from London’s Porchester Hall, which can be found on the DVD 
Unlike last year’s lackluster season of 24, the latest season of what’s pretty much the British equivalent, 
Rejoice in the DVD debut of the Wonder Twins Zan & Jayna and space monkey Gleek with the release of season one, volume one of 
Like King Of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond before it, 
Celebrating the landmark album’s 30th anniversary, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ classic 
After the full release of the complete first season in one set, Paramount has decided to split up the 2nd season set of 
As much as I love Meat Loaf as a singer and a performer, I’ve got to admit that – for the past decade – his live performances have almost become someone doing a parody of his “style”. I don’t know if the increasingly wavering vocals – which were always in his performances, and used for emotion – were due to a weakening voice, as it’s recently come to pass that he’s had to cancel shows due to vocal chord problems, but the Meat Loaf of the 
After a couple of one-off releases, Nickelodeon has dropped the complete first season of 
Just narrowly missing the window to make it into our big holiday shopping guide is a must-have chunk of classic TV in the form of the 
As much as I wanted it to be as brilliant as the show’s glory days, 
It’s either the 3rd or 4th time that the original Wallace & Gromit shorts have been available on DVD, but a new year brings a new edition, this time titled 
When it came to music, Johnny Cash was no elitist. The musicians you’ll find featured on the all-too-brief two-season run of 
Who knew that you could get a relatively long-running cult TV show out of John Hughes’s sci-fi sex romp Weird Science? Maybe it’s because the small screen version of 
After the stellar 5th season, the general consensus was that the 6th season of 
Perfect for completists and those looking for a good laugh, 
Showtime’s attempt to sex up the reign of King Henry VIII by reimagining his court as Melrose Place yielded one of this past season’s wonderfully unintentional comedies, as you see if you check out the complete first season of 
Even 15 years later, 
Unfortunately, the big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s illustrated fable 
The second season of sleuthing magicians 
The main attraction of the new 2-disc special edition of 
No holiday weekend is complete without the tipsy travails of Patsy & Edina from last year’s star-studded Christmas special revisiting our favorite ladies who lush, 
On December 2, 2006, Kevin Smith hosted a special conversation between Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and the current (and controversial) Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada. That conversation has been released on DVD as 
Forget that horrid big screen version – it will be duly erased from your memory by the original TV adventures of Pete, Linc, and Julie – 
My emotions about 
The latest Modern Masters spotlight from the fine folks at Twomorrows turns its artist spotlight on 
I admit, I was hoping for the same kind of brilliance they bring to Reno 911, but I still found Tom Lennon and Ben Garant’s 
The one thing you don’t want to happen during a remake is to be constantly reminded how much better the original version was. Sadly, those were the exact thoughts running through my mind while watching Ben Stiller try and finagle his was out of an impending marriage while on vacation in Mexico with his fiancée in 
The tunes aren’t nearly as memorable as those found in The Producers, but the cast album of Mel Brooks’s latest Broadway adaptation – 
I can’t stand Brett Ratner. In fact, the only people I can tolerate less are JJ Abrams and Brannon Braga. It’s just the level of pure, unadulterated smug that’s so off-putting. The only thing that saves the third film in the 
Sega’s hyperspeed hedgehog with the voice of Urkel gets his third animated series released. 
Nicolas Cage’s unlikely (and borderline somnambulant) action hero adventurer Benjamin Franklin Gates will be back on the big screen this holiday season, so it’s expected that the very first 
Count ’em out and ride in the final 16 episodes of the sophomore season of 
In the annals of unnecessary movie, add the live action adaptation of 
Add Rob Zombie’s 
If the cold sparks a desire for a rather intense piece of filmmaking to warm things up, give a spin to 
In a repeat of the .5 edition of the first Jackass flick, 
Who’d have thought that, 3 flicks in, the Bourne franchise would be still be going strong – and, in some ways, even improving? 
Strike another one from the list, as the farcical escapades of the Dr. Crane and his family come to an end with the release of the 10th season of 
Space nerd that I am, I was geekily fascinated by 
Well gawwwwwlly, it’s time for another season of Jim Nabors as 
Years after the end of his much-missed Comedy Central series Insomniac, Dave Attell returns with a new HBO comedy special, 
The High School Musical phenomenon has completely passed me by. From what little I know, it’s some kind of crazy cult that’s been systematically brainwashing the youth of America. It’s only natural, then, that there’s a 
For many fans, the third season of 
After the revelation of their polygamist ways at the end of the first season, the second season of 
By the third season of 
It’s not a Wii, but if you want to get an easy-to-play Harry Potter game for the younger set, your best bet is the 
Courtney Cox’s first post-Friends TV role finds her starring as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of Hollywood’s most influential gossip mag in 
Straight from the Apatow factory comes the next in the line of his sweetly raunchy comedies, this time written Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. 
After 3-films and plenty of booty, the first of what I’m sure will be many trilogies starring Captain Jack Sparrow comes to a close with 
There comes a point about halfway through 
It may be pure chick flick material, but Scarlett Johansson is worth the price of admission to 
Everything hits the fan in the fourth season of 
Umbrella Entertainment in Australia has also released 
If you’ve been pining for the return of old school Cylons ever since the resurrection of Battlestar Galactica, then your prayers have been answered with the “prequel” movie 
Like ice ages, the arrival of 
I am in no way going to claim that 
Not nearly the disaster it’s been made out to be over the years, the new special edition of 
Dick Van Dyke’s sleuthing doc returns in the 3rd season of 
If you’ve never heard of the UK quiz program QI, you’re missing out on one of the funniest “educational” shows ever devised (the devisee being creator/producer John Lloyd, formerly of Blackadder, Not The Nine O’Clock News, and Spitting Image). The key to QI (which stands for “Quite Interesting”) is the central tenet of its philosophy – it’s not always being correct that counts, but interesting (and funny). The interesting nature of a given piece of information spurs conversation and debate, eventually leading round to the learning said informational nugget. Did you know that the Earth has more than one moon, for example? Or that otters kill crocodiles? Airing on BBC2 (and currently in its 4th season), it’s hosted by Stephen Fry and features a rotating panel of four comedians (one of which is mainstay Alan Davies) – and it’s one of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever seen… Honestly, you’ll laugh as much as you learn, and I still hold out hope a network in the US is smart enough to pick the show up uncut (Hello, Comedy Central! Hello, Discovery Channel! Hello, PBS! Somebody!). Until then, you can grab a copy of both the first (
I’m not quite sure what all the hubub was about regarding the star of Pixar’s latest cartoon opus, 
If you’re still in the mood for more Pixar this holiday season, then you’ll probably want to pick up the 
Put all the visions of the horrible live action version of Alvin & The Chipmunks by picking up some classic Chipmunk tunes courtesy of a newly remastered and expanded edition of 
Another holiday perennial – Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy soundtrack to 
Last year, there was a chance that the Mouse House’s beloved line of collector-friendly Walt Disney Treasures DVD releases were going to be discontinued… despite the fact that they had begun releasing The Chronological Donald (Duck, of course) as part of the series, and had only gotten two of the four volumes out the door. After a fan outcry, Disney has decided there’s life in the line yet, and this holiday season brings a trio of new releases – 
Over the years, Canada has gifted the world with many a comedy legend ““ most of them, in fact, were in the much-beloved SCTV. Thanks to SCTV and the aggravation of fulfilling Canada’s Canadian content rules, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis created the uber-Canadian McKenzie Brothers, Bob & Doug ““ fans of back bacon, bear claws, toques, and beer. They were also the hosts of the improvised “Great White North” segments that became a cultural phenomenon in the US ““ and also in the Canadian homeland they lampooned. Airing on the CBC, 
Give the gift of Disney comics this year with a pair of brilliant collections starring my favorite fictional character. 
If you’ve ever had the desire to live a Wodehousian existence and be as coddled and pampered as Bertie Wooster – or you just feel like being awakened in the morning by the mellifluous tones of Stephen Fry – then you’ll want to make sure the new 
It seems like every few years, a new version of Blade Runner makes its way out of whatever subterranean holding facility these things are held in. For the holidays, though, it seems Warners and director Ridley Scott are endeavoring to get all definitive on us by releasing a 5-disc 
Fans will have already picked up the Wal-Mart exclusive 2-disc edition of Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg’s Hot Fuzz, but you’ll probably want to donate that extra copy to a lucky friend and snag the 
Chances are, to most Americans, the names David Mitchell & Robert Webb mean very little… unless, of course, they have a friend, relation, or acquaintance by that name. I speak, however, of a pair of brilliant comedians by the sobriquet Mitchell & Webb who currently ply their trade in the sceptred isle of England. A cursory glance at the offerings on YouTube will bring you up to speed on Messrs. Mitchell & Webb – who, since their Cambridge Footlights days, have written and starred in Edinburgh Fringe productions, radio (That Mitchell & Webb Sound), a live tour, and a trio of sketch shows (Bruiser, The Mitchell & Webb Situation, and That Mitchell & Webb Look – the latter two of which are currently available on DVD). They’re also the stars of the Britcom Peep Show (about to begin its 5th season), the feature film Magicians, and were cast as PC (Mitchell) & Mac (Webb) in the British versions of the popular Macintosh ads. The DVD for 
And on the topic of Peep Show, if you’re a fan of The Office – or just offbeat British comedy in general (you know, the smart people) – you’ll probably dig 
Far a more surreal holiday viewing experience, I recommend 
For years, the Bloom County holiday special 
Last year, Master Replicas inaugurated their line of Muppet photo puppet replicas with everyone’s favorite amphibian, Kermit The Frog. This year, you can pick up the manic drummer of The Electric Mayhem, 
I was worried that last year’s gloriously uncut complete first season of Saturday Night Live was a fluke and that somehow it would live on as a tease for future seasons never to come, but my fears were, thankfully, proven unfounded as 
If that isn’t enough SNL for you, then there’s always the 10-disc Best Of Saturday Night Live (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) – containing the Best Of discs featuring Steve Martin, Chris Farley, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman, John Belushi, Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, Tom Hanks, and Adam Sandler.
I’ve been outspoken before about how cruddy I think Michael Bay’s designs for his big screen Transformers are – they’re a visual mess of metal shards and no character. Hasbro must have recognized this, too, because the toys try desperately to streamline it all into something approaching the streamlined, iconic look that made the original toys so popular. Nowhere is that more evident than in the massive, 15″ 
And while you’re at it – and since the movie version of Megatron was such a non-starter – why not give Bumblebee a real enemy to fight with the massive transformable 
For many cinemaniacs, the new 
After stumbling in the second season of its relaunch, the third season of 
History nuts – and those fascinated with World War II in particular – will have a field day getting lost in the 10-disc 
We’ve already seen a complete edition previously, but a remastered set of the Britcom classic The Young Ones is welcome – particularly when 
If your holiday viewing plans skew prehistoric, then the 
If you were still pining for the bizarre visual musicality of Tenacious D, look no further than the kiwi duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie – aka 
There’s nothing like extracting nuts with everyone’s favorite infant with matricidal tendencies, Stewie Griffen. The 
Not wearing nearly as many clothes, though, is the nearly-nude, singing & dancing 
If, perchance, a dancing Homer doesn’t satiate your geeky holiday wishes, then surely a 
The collected stories of Cicely, Alaska’s goofy residents have been packaged together in 
After individual releases of the first two seasons, Comedy Central has decided to show faith in one other their finest shows – and reward the fans – with a box set collecting all six seasons of 
Beatles fans have cause to celebrate this season, as their second feature film gets a fully-remastered, feature-laden release. 
Speaking of Beatles, Paul McCartney has released a comprehensive set of his prodigious music video output, 
Granted, the films of the late Ingmar Bergman wouldn’t immediately come to mind as being bright and cheerful holiday fare, but their stark, Nordic cinematography is definitely evocative of winter. There is no denying, regardless, that he’s made his fair share of contributions to cinema, and a quartet of those landmark films are featured in the 
A brand new addition to the Criterion collection is Terrence Malick’s lush period piece 
Ready-made for geek gift-giving, the limited edition 
Get your holiday kicks with the first volume of the inaugural season of 
Reformed wild and crazy guy Steve Martin has committed to paper a wonderful first volume of his autobiography. 
f you’ve avoided immersing yourself in the oddball world of Matt Lucas & David Walliams, then you can rectify your oversight with 
When the boss writes a book, you’d better believe I’d have to at least mention it in the holiday guide. Lucky for me and my conscience, I actually dug the contents of 
For far, far too long, comic books have been a bleak, barren territory for kids. The subject matter appropriate for “all ages” has largely vacated the “Big Two” publishers DC and Marvel, residing solely at Gemstone and their Disney comics renaissance. One of the few creators who know what an all ages book can be – in terms of excitement, character, and storytelling – is Jeff Smith. Few people expected him to follow up his landmark independent epic Bone with a gig at DC, but that’s exactly what he did with a new – and wonderfully refreshing in its old school flavor – take on Captain Marvel in the 4 issue mini-series 
Fans of Jeff Smith’s Bone, though, will want to get their grubby, Rat Creature-like mitts on the new 
If I were to name a definitive Spider-Man artist – or, at least, my personal choice – the honor would have to go to the legendary John Romita. After he inherited the art chores on Amazing Spider-Man from co-creator Steve Ditko, he drew the Spider-Man that entered into the pop culture lexicon in the late-60’s-early 70’s. Twomorrows has produced a beautiful tribute to the man in the form of 
In the age of super-articulated, exquisitely sculpted action figures, it’s a gloriously garish blast from the past flipping through 
Where Scrubs fails in trying to merge medicine and absurdity, the UK’s 
With the sole CD release long out of print and the original albums even longer so, I’m delighted to finally have a 3-CD set of the music from Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock, 
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones before them have gotten their definitive, first-person histories, and now Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have 
I’m not impressed with it in motion, but the design artwork featured in 
Speaking of which, Chronicle’s 
While American audiences will only know him largely from the U.S. version of the gameshow Distraction on Comedy Central, Jimmy Carr is actually one of the preeminent stand-ups currently plying the funny trade today. If you don’t believe me, pick up his third stand-up DVD, 
Kudos to Fox for dusting off the library and presenting a fully remastered presentation of the films of John Ford with the Ford At Fox Collection. Two absolute must-haves are 
Easily the funniest – and heaviest – recommendation this holiday season is the first in what I hope is an ongoing series spotlighting Mad Magazine‘s greatest artists, 
Last year saw the release of the first of 4 archival hardcover volumes collecting Neil Gaiman’s incredible comic opus, Sandman. This year brings volume 2 of 
Nobody does nature specials better than the BBC, and two of their landmark series have been bundled in one easy-to-snag set. The 
After teasing fans with the incredibly awesome first volume of classic (and actually entertainingly educational) Sesame Street, I worried that the grand experiment would only yield that single volume. Thankfully, my fears are allayed with the release of 
Long absent from the numerous reissues of Apocalypse Now, one of the most revelatory documentaries ever made about the production of a feature film finally sees the light of day in the standalone release of 
Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Stan, Kyle, Kenny, & Cartman, and that means that the compilation release 
Always on the lookout for ways to introduce my nephew to the world of comic book superheroes, there’s something loveably wrong yet endearing about the animatronic 
When a comedian decides – at the age of 32 – to write his autobiography, it’s understandable to be a bit wary. But when that comedian is Russell Brand – and the tome deals in large part with his years of heroin and sex addiction – my curiosity is piqued. The book itself – whimsically titled 
You know it’s not just another Spongebob release when the special guest star is David Bowie. The Thin White Duke plays the Lord Royal Highness in 
If you want to load up on the Nickelodeon releases this holiday season, there’s 
There have been numerous releases of the flick in the past (almost as many as Goldfinger), but I think we’ve gotten pretty much definitive with the 
Where George Lucas went overboard on his revisionist special editions, the high definition remaster of the original Star Trek gets it mostly right by sticking to the axiom that less is more. All of the special effects have been redone and the entire series has been remastered in high definition, which – while not replacing the classic versions – certainly provides a different viewing experience that’s largely worthwhile. By all means, check out the 
Fans of Huckleberry, Fred, Scooby, Jonny, Elroy, Birdman, Yogi, and Tom & Jerry will be absolutely giddy about the new 
And Jerry Beck’s been quite busy, as he’s also penned a retrospective of Nickelodeon’s animated history – 
Of course, Star Wars fans will want a deluxe memorabilia book of their own this holiday season, and those wishes are granted with 
A verbal comedian par excellence on Brit shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Have I Got News For You, Room 101, and Just A Minute, Paul Merton is also a tremendous fan of silent comedy. He’s poured that fascination into a comprehensive look at the evolution and stars of that early cinematic form in the tome 
Try as might, I can’t help but saying, “Thanks for the memories…” in regards to the 4-disc 
Also getting an uber-collection for the holidays is the King of Late Night, Johnny Carson. The 12-disc 
Every new set seems like a gift, so be sure to celebrate the season with the purchase of 
Perfect for your holiday decorating needs, McFarlane Toys has released the first wave of How The Grinch Stole Christmas toys (McFarlane Toys, $12.99 SRP each) based on Chuck Jones’s animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic. The sculpting work is spot on – particularly when you put the dioramas together and create the aforementioned perfect holiday decoration. The initial wave features “
The 
If the cold is getting you down and you desire a little sunshine, why not head down to Florida and hang with Crockett & Tubbs as they infiltrate the seedy, steamy, and well-soundtracked drug underworld of Miami with the complete set of 
Rightly considered one of the finest documentaries ever produced, D.A. Pennbaker’s portrait of Bob Dylan’s landmark 1965 tour, 
The third movie was a disappointment, but I’m a big enough sucker for “Art Of” books that I still got a kick out of all the development artwork jam-packed into 
While collections have been available in the past, Fantagraphics has pulled out all the stops with their chronological collection of E.C. Segar’s 
And that’s not the only comic strip collection available this holiday season! I have immense respect for any cartoonist who can make a career out of single panel gags – particularly if they’re consistently funny. Long before Gary Larson made The Far Side into a prime example of this in the 80’s, Hank Ketcham’s Dennis The Menace was king of the single panels on the daily comics page. Not content with just their amazing Complete Peanuts and Popeye lines, Fantagraphics has also been releasing Hank Ketcham’s 
This holiday season, I intend to spend those cold winter nights holed up with hot chocolate, Little Debbie Christmas Trees, and – Would you believe? – the complete 5 season 
Ah, but there’s more classic TV in ridiculously large sets to be had! Packaged in a stylish briefcase, you can also own the complete 4 season run – 105 episodes over 41 discs, plus new interviews, featurettes, home movie footage from the set, and much more – of 
To get another iconic 60’s spy show, though, you’ll have to go a bit farther afield. To Australia, in fact. While the US has gotten scattershot releases of I Spy – starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as espionage agents Alexander Scott and Kelly Robinson. They’ve released the 
Resurrected from the abyss of Fox’s ignorance, Futurama makes the same Lazarus-like return of Family Guy before it with a brand new feature-length direct-to-DVD movie, 
If your little ones are a mite too young for Brain Age but you want to start them down the path of getting a little bit of recreational learning into their noggins, then there’s a pair of Scholastic releases you’ll probably want to make sure Santa places under the Christmas tree for them – 
Paul McCartney’s latest album, 
Those in search of a truly jazzy holiday will want to plug in to the 5-disc 
Of their output over the years, the only U2 album I love from start to finish is 1987’s 
After the his first lackluster big screen outing 10 years ago, I was curious to see if lessons were learned with the second Mr. Bean feature, 
It’s bittersweet success that 
If you’re still having withdrawal pangs from the sidelining of Real Time due to the writer’s strike, get your fix of the man himself with the DVD release of Bill Maher’s latest comedy special, 
Ignore the over-the-top fawning of host James Lipton, and you get a decent interview with the enigmatic Johnny Depp in his 
With the success of the SNL digital shorts, it was inevitable that Andy Samberg would follow in the footsteps of Chris Kattan and Jimmy Fallon with a starring vehicle of his own, 
Producer Garry Marshall’s accountant must be ecstatic, because third season sets of the legendary writer/director/producer’s TV legacy – 
For a very brief run in 1991, NBC combined two of their Nintendo animated series into a single half-hour time slot – 
In the second half of 
The hyperkinetic style of 
If you’d like to see a career self-destruct in real time, grab some Twizzlers and a soda and watch Lindsey Lohan flail about in the bizarre, sadistic flick 
With the advent of DVD, watching a concert film in your own home theater became a pure, unadulterated delight. Perfect sound and restored picture combined to reinvigorate legendary concerts, and the latest to get the full treatment is Led Zeppelin’s 
While you’re at it, make sure you pick up the new 2-disc greatest hits collection 
You could easily derail creatively when you decide to follow up such a lean, well-crafted flick as the original 28 Days Later, which reinvented the zombie genre with a indie grit and energy. Surprisingly, 
The sudsiest soap of the 90’s continues its march to DVD with the third season of 
It still plays like a saner, more blasé version of The Osbournes, but there’s still plenty of situational humor to be gleaned from the second season of 
The undersea adventures of the futuristic submersible Seaview continue in the second volume of the classic 60’s 
Warner’s 
The original iteration of 
Always a one-joke fairytale parody with poor animation and character design, 
If you were to somehow make HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me both funny and watchable – and transport it back to the early 70’s – you’d have the anthology series 
I love watching the original 
Long the star of movies from B to Z, I get a kick out of watching Peter Graves most memorable performance outside of A&E and numerous Mystery Science Theater episodes, as 
If Bob Dylan can get a top-notch documentary like Don’t Look Back, then surely an icon like Tony Bennett deserves Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP) – a career retrospective produced by Clint Eastwood, packed with rare footage and interviews with the man himself, interviewed by Eastwood. As a bonus, there’s a segment of Tony and Clint piano side, as well as a separate disc with Bennett’s performance from the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival.
After he was Perry Mason, Raymond Burr was San Francisco Chief of Detectives 
You can’t get any more self-descriptive than 
By now, the Santa Clause franchise is just an easy paycheck for Tim Allen and an amiable viewing experience. 
As shoddy as the script for 
After a contentious changeover in which the show’s creator and guiding force left the show, 
To say that the finale of the 9th season of 
Let’s just all forget the disappointment that was Ocean’s 12… You know, the one that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Luckily, 
The Disney Afternoon releases have been slow in coming, but we’ve finally got the penultimate volumes of two beloved series with the third volume of 
I don’t know why Paramount is still flogging the abominable colorized version of 
Raymond Burr’s square-shouldered defense attorney returns in the second volume of 
Another chapter in the cinematic saga of Tolkien’s epic closes with the release of Return Of The King: The Complete Recordings (Reprise, $74.98 SRP). The 4-disc set features the entirety of Howard Shore’s score, which is sure to be a hit with humans and Hobbits alike.
Halloween has just passed, but I still think there’s enough of a residual groove to dig on 
I’m not entirely sure why we have another (the fourth!) edition of 
I’m not quite sure what all the hubub was about regarding the star of Pixar’s latest cartoon opus, 
If you’re still in the mood for more Pixar this holiday season, then you’ll probably want to pick up the 
Why is it that The Daily Show got a multi-disc DVD set, but The Colbert Report gets only a single disc 
For years, the Bloom County holiday special 
Another year, another deluxe edition of the 
It’s inevitable, in this day and age, that just about every title will be revisited and granted a new, “improved” special edition DVD. Sometimes, they’re even worth it. Such is the case with Roman Polanski and Robert Towne’s 
After stumbling in the second season of its relaunch, the third season of 
If classic Who is more your cup of tea, then you’ll want to pick up the Peter Davison-starring 
Warner Bros. Marches forward with their wonderful line of signature collection catalog spotlights, this time with 
While many dismissed Fahrenheit 911 as a heavy-handed polemic, it’s much harder to find fault with Michael Moore’s latest, 
Find out why, 40 years on, the band is alright – courtesy of the documentary 
As a space buff, I really do wish I could have seen 
While I bide my time waiting for another live disc from They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies has been kind enough to make the wait less painful by dropping a live release of their own 
Available individually in the past, Chuck Jones fans can now get the whole lot of his independent animation specials – Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, The White Seal, Mowgli’s Brothers, Yankee Doodle Cricket, A Cricket In Times Square, & A Very Merry Cricket – in the 
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
Fly away with the complete fifth season of 
Put the cork in another TV-on-DVD release, with the arrival of the eighth and final season of guilty pleasure 
For years, I’ve been getting the scattershot collections of random Three Stooges shorts, wondering every time why we haven’t gotten a chronological release of their entire run. Well, someone at Sony must have heard the pleas of all those Stooge fans, because they’re finally doing that. 
Witness the evolution of a rock legend when a folkie dared to go electric courtesy of 
It’s been piecemealed and teased with half-hearted releases over the years, but patience is a virtue finally awarded with the definitive “Gold Box” edition of 
Round and round and round he goes, and wherever he stops, I’ll definitely be glued to the telly to watch, as a classic Michael Palin travel documentary finally gets a US DVD release. 
You know, I don’t care what anybody thinks – I actually enjoyed the end of 
I love a show like 
I still think that the writing is scattershot, but the second season of 
There haven’t been very many documentaries on the crisis in the Sudan, but 
It’s always a rather heart-wrenching affair when a show you loved suddenly derails creatively, and you’re left to helplessly watch the ensuing carnage. Such is the case with the 6th season of 
After promises that the long-running show was coming to an end, the end of The Vicar of Dibley – starring Dawn French as female vicar Geraldine Granger – has actually come to that conclusion with a two-part finale that find Gerldine walking down the aisle after years of chasing love. Those specials and the entire 3 series run can be found in the 5-disc 
The best thing about the seventh season of 
Like Bilko in the south Pacific, 
It took far too long for my personal comic book animation guilty pleasure to finally hit DVD, but I’ve finally got 
Say goodbye to another show’s journey to DVD, as the seventh and final season of 
And, after years of ridicule, the lord of the seven seas gets his due in The Adventures of 
Tooling around the backroads of Britain with Robbie Coltrane in a classic car, on the lookout for the real culture of the UK? That’s exactly the amiable, affable journey you’ll take with 
Just when you think there couldn’t possibly be any more footage to be found featuring the Fab Four, a release like 
The CSI of sunny climes and ginger lead – 
I think the nicest thing that I can say about 
Dismissed by many as a pale attempt at trying to do Pixar, 
My emotions about 
Halloween fast approaches, and what better way to kick back and mark the holiday than with a big bowl of candy corn and a reading of the manga edition of 
They say that a dog is man’s best friend, but 
Forty-nine issues in and the gloriously oversized 
The 3-disc 
It’s a shame that the 3rd (and final) season of 
Forever trying to put more distance between himself and Summer School, Mark Harmon is still front and center in the complete fourth season of 
For some reason, I was delighted that 
During the 60’s, Ken Mansfield was the US manager for a little pop act called The Beatles. You might have heard of them. In 
It’s always a fascinating journey when you see behind-the-scenes of any venture, and such is the case with 
James Gandolfini is a low-key presenter of the post-injury tales of 10 soldiers and marines who found their lives torn apart by combat and must sort out their futures in the documentary 
Sleuthing scribe Jessica Fletcher returns with the seventh season of 
Even if it’s largely unsuccessful, 
The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder, and I can think of no better time to dig into the second 
Make programming the music for those all-night make-out sessions much easier by picking up a copy of the 4-disc 
I have absolutely no taste for the torture porn of the Hostel franchise, but I know there are enough of you out there that this has somehow become a going venture. For you, then, there are the director’s cut editions of both 
I’m also no fan of gore or horror, but I know that Halloween is right around the corner and you’re probably looking for some bloody filler for your own private filmfests. 
Like most of the current crop of Adult Swim fare (minus the brilliant Venture Bros. & Lucy, Daughter Of the Devil), I get very few laughs from the self-indulgently bizarre 
I didn’t think it was possible, but the third season of 
Its place in film history as the first “talkie” firmly established, Warners has given the full-tilt special edition and restoration treatment to 
For Disney fans – and fans of Disney ephemera – 
While I wish they’d just release full season sets, I guess I should be happy that we’re getting any 
It was a good ride while it lasted, and the end of 
As much as I dug the extended version of Quentin Tarantino’s half of the Grindhouse equation, I couldn’t get into Robert Rodriguez’s ode to John Carpenter, 
For the first time in a very long while, I got a glimpse of Angelina Jolie truly sinking deep into a character – and she couldn’t have picked a better venue than as Mariane Pearl, the wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, in 
I was curious in a “Can they possibly screw this up again” kind of way when it came to 
Though it’s one of those flicks destined to remain cult due to its inside-the-industry nature, for those that do have an inkling about what goes on behind-the-scenes of making a prime time television series, 
If you’re a bona fide recluse who never appears in public and speaks with no one but a select group of handlers, I suppose it was only a matter of time before a clever con man would take advantage of that. Such was the case with famed tycoon Howard Hughes, who fell victim to just such a con man – one Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), who sold a manuscript he claimed was the authorized autobiography of Hughes. The story of his scam – and attempts to prevent its discovery – are the focus of 
If I had a glove in hand and the opportunity, I’d slap Michael Bay across the face. Then I’d sucker punch him and kick him a few times. Why, when you have a concept as simple as “giant robots with the ability to transform into everyday vehicles bring their intergalactic war to Earth”, do we get the poorly designed, badly scripted, ineptly overdirected, live action big screen version of 
I try, and try, and try, but I just don’t find much funny in 
If you can get past the intense, almost greasy smarminess of James Lipton, there’s plenty of interesting conversation and the occasional insight in the latest 
Now that TV has become fertile waters for movie stars wishing to settle in for long runs, it was inevitable that James Woods would eventually take the plunge – and you can’t find a better vehicle than 
The genre of films about predatory hybrid aliens intent on mating with unsuspecting human males owes its existence to the original 
In many ways more sweeping than the original landmark miniseries, I found a certain spark missing from the sequel, 
If the first 8 seasons of 
Before celebrity went straight o her head and her ego began a mediocre recording career, an unaffected Jennifer Lopez was pretty darn good as the Latin pop star 
As innocuous as it is, I really don’t think that the Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday flick 
As much as I loved Home Movies and wanted to follow Brendon Small to his next project – 
If you were to plunk down your heard-earned cash on just one tome this weekend, the only patriotic thing to do is try everything in your power to secure one of the sure-to-be-scarce copies of Stephen Colbert’s 
Seuss fans will delight in 
If that weren’t enough Seuss for you, be sure to pick up the recently revised and spruced up editions of classic tales like 
It’s a great shame that the US version of Aardman Animation’s wonderful claymation comedy, 
It seemed like only yesterday that the first Film Crew release – reuniting MST3K‘s Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett – was released. Now we’re already to the fourth and final flick that the trio produced – at least until more are commissioned – 
Hot on the heels of their success with Planet Earth, the BBC has gone back and revisited their previous wildlife epic 
I remember the second season of 
Twomorrows notches up another great entry in their fantastic Modern Masters series of in-depth artists profiles, this time turning the spotlight on 
For the longest time – due to the well-known controversy over the on-set accident during the filming of John Landis’s segment of the film – it seemed that we’d never get a nice DVD edition of 
Even though I’ll never forgive Joseph Campbell and his treatises on myths for making a supreme prick out of George Lucas, I still find his lecture tours – collected in the 2-disc set 
If you’re eager to get the BBC’s recent, wretched new take on Robin Hood out of your mouth, start with 
Just last week, I praised the space-related output of Apogee Books, and I’m happy to continue to do so. I’m an avowed space geek, so I dove right into 
If only for the new transfer, the 25th anniversary edition of 
The Halloween season is full of all kinds of stories about ghosts and vampires and witches and more, but I prefer the History Channel’s 
Speaking of Halloween, the spooktacular (yeah, I just used that) themed issues of 
Gary Sinise & co. return in the third season of 
Many times while watching 
If you fancy a hearty laugh at the expense of a bunch of dead-serious kooks, try the supernatural buffoonery that is Britain’s 
If you’ve been holding off on buying the long-available seasonal box sets of 
You can keep your blood and gore – give me an old-fashioned frightfest like 
At first, I was leery about 
One of the last Disney classics to make it out of the DVD gate with a deluxe special edition (after a limited release as one of Disney’s first discs), Walt’s last personally supervised film finally gets its time in the sun. Besides a snazzy restoration, the 2-disc edition of 
As a kid, one of my favorite nighttime reads was 
One of the exclusive club of internet fan saves, the first season of 
Encompassing all of the various versions of the film – from the truncated 90-minute cut to the extended hardcore bacchanalia –the 3-disc 
Though not a favorite of mine – I’ve often felt it was overproduced and largely miscast (Keanu) – there are plenty of fans out there of Francis Coppola’s 
If you’re still in withdrawal about Mandy Patinkin’s bizarre, abrupt between season departure, then remember the good ol’ days with the complete second season of 
Put a little bit o’ soul in your weekend with the 3-disc 
After a half-dozen epics and a relatively unchanging style, I think I’m finally growing weary of the “Ken Burns” style of documentary. It hit home while watching his 7-part focus on WWII, 
Also available is the 4-disc soundtrack from Ken Burns’s 
It’s not a magic bag of tricks, but there’s plenty of surprises in the 
I’ve praised the space-related output of Apogee Books in the past, and I’ll do so again with their latest must-have tome for space nuts like myself – 
From their grungy roots to toplining heights, the 2-disc 
Even 50 years later, Audrey Hepburn glows in 
Schlock till you drop with Warner’s 
In a world of slick softcover trade paperbacks collecting classic comic book stories, kudos must be paid to DC for presenting all four volumes of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus (DC Comics, $49.99 SRP) on rough, high quality paper that preserves all of the four color bombast of Kirby’s sci-fi master-epic. The visuals are nothing short of eye-popping delights, and the storytelling is as giddily loopy as I remember. Volume 2 has just come out (Get the first volume – NOW!), featuring an introduction from Walt Simonson and an afterword by Mark Evanier. I can’t wait for the final two volumes.
After loving the first season so much, I was leery that they’d somehow drop the ball in the second season of My Name Is Earl (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Thankfully, my concern was quickly dismissed as soon as the season unrolled, and it proved to be as well-written, loony, and beautifully performed as the previous year (what other show would cast Norm MacDonald as the son of the character played by guest star Burt Reynolds?) The 4-disc box set features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentary on select episodes, web cam footage, bloopers, Earl as a telenovela, and more.
Say what you will about the growing cult of Apatow, but the man does know how to put together a funny flick with a heart. Heck, I’d even go back as far as The Cable Guy with that assessment – which was long before the critical and financial success of 40-Year-Old Virgin. Apatow has managed it again, this time with partner-in-crime and star Seth Rogen (a schlubby Tom Hanks is as an apt description as any). Rogen stars as the developmentally arrested father-to-be in Knocked Up (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$30.98 SRP), whose condom-less one night stand with an E! on air host (Katherine Heigl) leads to a rocky road to becoming an adult. The 2-disc unrated extended edition is the way to go, featuring an audio commentary, deleted/alternate scenes, featurettes, video diaries, gag reels, and more.
There’ve been any number of albums that have gotten deluxe treatment in recent years, but I’m ecstatic that Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True (Hip-O, $29.98 SRP) has joined their ranks. The fully remastered album is loaded with 12 outtakes and demos, plus a bonus disc with a live performance from 1977 at the Nashville Rooms, as well as a 5 track soundcheck. Sweet.
The cat and the mouse are back with the 3rd volume of the Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), featuring 35 classic duels – 15 of which are in CinemaScope widescreen – all of which look fantastic. Bonus materials include a featurette on the duo’s history, plus Joseph Barbera’s final Tom & Jerry short, The Karate Guard.
I’ve waited years for Steven Wright to do another comedy album, and I’m happy to say that I Still Have a Pony (Comedy Central Records, $12.98 SRP) finds the low-key master in fine form. More, I say!
Who knew William Friedkin still had it in him? While it’s no Exorcist, Bug (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is a disturbing character piece about an abused young waitress, fearful of her ex-husband, who begins an association with a drifter… Which leads to a psychological nightmare of disturbing proportions. Bonus features include an introduction, audio commentary, and interview with Friedkin.
Long before he was intoning over unsolved mysteries, Robert Stack was gangbuster Elliot Ness in The Untouchables (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). The second volume of Season 1 is now available, featuring the final 14 episodes of the legendary show’s premiere, digitally remastered. The 4-disc set also features a bonus Lucy Show episode, “The Gun Moll”.
If you’re in an anime mood this weekend, why not check out Tekkon Kinkreet (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$26.96 SRP), which is based on the manga Black & White, about a pair of street urchins who defend the city of Treasuretown from various evils, including Yakuza and aliens. Bonus features include an audio commentary, interviews, and a making-of documentary.
I don’t know who I like more in the FBI meets mathematicians procedural Numb3rs (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$54.99 SRP) – David Krumholtz as the nerdy crime-solving mathematician alongside his FBI agent brother (Rob Morrow), or Judd Hirsch as their lovably eccentric father. The jury’s still out in that, and what’s also out if the complete third season – featuring all 24 episodes, plus commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a blooper reel, and more.
What Tracy Ullman was to the 80’s, Catherine Tate is fast becoming in the new millennium. A master of character work, her Catherine Tate Show (SRO, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) features characters that border on the grotesque (particularly foul-minded, elderly Nan), but the sketches are quite a laugh. The disc features all 6 episodes comprising series 1, but sadly no bonus materials.
Like Raymond before it, its sister (brother?) show must also eventually come to end, and so it does with the complete 9th season of King Of Queens (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP). The 2-disc box set features all 12 episodes, but not a single bonus feature in sight.
We all knew it was coming, and so we get the 2-disc special edition of the Oscar-nominated culture clash Babel (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$34.99 SRP), containing a feature-length production video diary from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Fewer and fewer people are aware just what a funny comedian Robert Klein was in his prime when his comedy specials practically ruled cable. Rediscover Klein in the comprehensive box set Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005 (SRO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP), which collects 8 specials across 4-discs, with a newly recorded Klein interview as a bonus.
Thousand-year-old invisible dogs, double agents, wicked twins, the cast of Laugh-In, and more can be found in the complete fourth season of I Dream Of Jeannie (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP). The 4-disc box set features all 26 episodes, but there’s no magic to be found in the lack of bonus materials.
Fans can experience the Jam live in concert direct from Italy courtesy of Pearl Jam: Immagine In Cornice (Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). There are no bonus materials, but certainly plenty of music.
If you’ve got the yearning to put on a show but none of the drive, then why not sit back and watch the plucky cinematic duo of Mickey & Judy do it for you with enough energy a town in the 4 films contained in the Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.92 SRP). Fully remastered and as sparkling fresh as their stars, the four flicks are Babes In Arms, Strike Up The Band, Babes On Broadway, and Girl Crazy – and wouldn’t you know, they’ve all got introductions from Rooney, commentaries, radio shows, and more. In addition to a portfolio of photos, the set also contains a hardbound collector’s booklet with a bonus DVD containing additional goodies.
Take another trip to visit the tenants of Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) with the complete second season of Craig McCracken’s still-fun and still-imaginative kid comedy. The 2-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus promos, a music video, a gallery of friends, and end of episode gags.
If you were to make Friends a dramedy and relocate it to LA – and make Ross into Barry Watson – you’d pretty much have What About Brian (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), The complete two season run is available in one hand 5-disc box set, featuring audio commentaries, featurettes, and an unaired episode.
If you want a unique love story this weekend, check out the Middle East complicated lovers of Torn Apart (City Lights Home Entertainment, Rated R, DVD-$26.98 SRP), starring Adrian Pasdar and Cecillia Peck.
Get some great tunes on the cheap via Universal Music’s new “Number Ones” line of releases (Hip-O, $13.98 SRP each), which feature over a dozen tracks spotlighting either an artist, genre, or period. The initial batch includes Hard Rock, Classic Disco, Kool & The Gang, Modern Rock, 60’s Soul, 70’s Soul, 80’s Soul, 90’s Soul, 60’s Pop, 70’s Pop, 80’s Pop, and Stevie Wonder. Heck, they even come in nifty Earth-friendly packaging, for all of you music-loving tree-huggers.
It’s not Stephen King’s finest cinematic moment, but there have been far worse outings than Cujo (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which gets a 25th anniversary edition featuring an audio commentary and a 3-part making-of documentary.
Docurama’s DVD-based film festival returns for another convenient bout of quality documentary viewing with a trio of new titles. Plagues & Pleasures On The Salton Sea (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP) focuses on the eccentric characters that make their lives around California’s infamous inland ocean, with bonus interviews, audio commentaries, shorts, and more. Building Bombs (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP) shines the spotlight on the sleepy South Carolina town of Aiken, which is home to America’s nuclear bomb-making apparatus – bonus features include interviews, rare archival films, a gallery, and a featurette on the film’s censorship by PBS. Finally, there’s The Panama Deception (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP), about the reasons behind the 1989 invasion of Panama, featuring bonus interviews, featurettes, and more.
Karl Malden & Michael Douglas return in the second volume of The Streets of San Francisco‘s first season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP), featuring the final 13 episodes of the duo’s TV exploits as a pair of homicide detectives on the beat in the city by the bay. Where’s my Douglas commentary?
When the boss writes a book, you’d better believe I’d have to at least mention its release. Lucky for me and my conscience, I actually dug the contents of My Boring-Ass Life: The Uncomfortable Candid Diary Of Kevin Smith (Titan Books, $14.95). The book collects over a year-and-a-half’s worth of Smith’s blog postings at 
While the members of the troupe have planted themselves firmly in the modern comedy scene, the little TV show that helped launch an improv comedy revolution on both coasts is finally getting its second season released on DVD. Of course I speak of Comedy Central’s Upright Citizen’s Brigade (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.99 SRP). The 2-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus live audio commentary recorded at the UCB Theater, regular audio commentary, an audience Q&A, deleted scenes, and early live performances.
Sublime doesn’t even begin to describe the exquisite chemistry between William Shatner and James Spader, both still going strong in the 3rd season of Boston Legal (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). Add Candice Bergen, Rene Auberjonois, John Larroquette, and the underappreciated Gary Anthony Williams to the mix, and you have the best dramedy to come down the pike in ages. The 7-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus a pair of featurettes.
While it’s unfortunate that the mega-set release of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s experimental Grindhouse isn’t being offered in its original form in the near future (due, most likely, to lackluster box office), at least we get a 2-disc extended and unrated edition of Tarantino’s segment Death Proof (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) – which just so happens to my favorite of the two. Maybe it’s just because it stars Kurt Russell as a sociopathic stuntman who picks the wrong ladies to stalk one fateful night, and the result is a balls-to-the-wall car chase and stunt spectacular that plays like a mashup of Pulp Fiction and Duel. The 2-disc edition features behind-the-scenes featurettes, spotlights on Kurt Russell and the stunt work, trailers, and more.
Greed must be very, very good, because we’ve now got a 20th anniversary edition of Oliver Stone’s monument to the 80’s decade of avarice, Wall Street (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The 2-disc set features an audio commentary from Stone, an in-depth documentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
They’re not up to the same fun standards as the songs from the earlier seasons, but the 3rd collection of tunes from The Simpsons – Testify (Shout! Factory, $18.97 SRP) – contains a fair number of toe-tappers from the last 9 seasons. At the very least, it’s worth it for the inclusion of 4 previously unaired tracks, and Ricky Gervais singing “Lady”.
In these difficult times, it’s comforting to know that we can all own our own copy of The Ultimate Counterterrorist Home Companion (Santa Monica Press, $12.95 SRP). Any guide that bears the subtitle “Six Incapacitating Holds Involving A Spatula And Other Ways To Protect Your Family” is an essential addition to any library.
What better way to ring in the fall hunting season than with a deluxe edition of that classic male bonding on the river flick, Deliverance (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.97 SRP). The new edition features a 4-part anniversary documentary with brand new cast & crew interviews, an audio commentary from director John Boorman, a vintage featurette, and the original theatrical trailer.
For 58 episodes between 1969 to 1971, Johnny Cash hosted a wonderfully eclectic number of musical guests on the titular Johnny Cash Show (Sony Legacy, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) – a 2-disc best of collection of which is now available. With musical acts including Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, CCR, James Taylor, Pete Seegar, Derek and the Dominos, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and more – including Cash himself – it’s a must-have time capsule.
Reel Talent: First Films By Legendary Directors (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is pretty self-explanatory, featuring the first films – mostly student films – of filmmakers including George Lucas, Stephen Sommers, Robert Zemeckis, Richard Kelly, Kevin Reynolds, Richard Bare, Jon Turteltaub, James Foley, and Shawn Levy. Bonus materials include interviews with Lucas, Zemeckis, and Bare.
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson On Film (Starz, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is a star-studded documentary celebrating the life and work of the original gonzo journalist, featuring interviews with Johnny Depp, John Cusack, Tom Wolfe, Ed Bradley, Gary Busey, Sean Penn, and many more.
Ah, Silver Spoons (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) – back when Rick Schroder was Ricky Schroder (and before he became all crazy conservative), he was every kid’s wish-fulfillment fantasy as the son of millionaire toy mogul Edward Stratton III (Joel Higgins), who had an assistant played by the gorgeous Erin Gray. Flashback to the 80’s, when money was cuddly and fun, and every kid wanted to be a preppy kid with a miniature train going through their living room. The 3-disc first season set features all 22 episodes, but nary an audio commentary (not even on the MR. T episode!).
The air begins to chill, the leaves begin to fall, and the nights lengthen as we march towards one of my favorite holidays of the year – Halloween. Why not begin planning your macabre film viewing festivities by pocking up the 7-film Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Contained in the set are Tales Of Terror, Twice Told Tales, Theater Of Blood, Madhouse, Witchfinder general, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and Dr. Phibes Rides Again!. There’s a bonus “disc of horrors” packed with featurettes and rarities.
While that’s a hefty bunch of Halloween titles, it’s not nearly enough to fill a month, so you might as well pick up the 8-flick Roger Corman Collection (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which sports Gas-s-s-s!, The Trip, The Young Racers, The Wild Angels, Bloody Mama, A Bucket Of Blood, The Premature Burial, and X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes. My only regret is that MGM has gone with those loathsome double-sided discs.
And before we drop the Halloween thing this week, allow me to clue you in to the release of more chucks of glorious cinematic effluence as part of MGM’s Midnite Movies Double Feature Collection – The Beast Within/The Bat People & Tales From The Crypt/Vault Of Horror (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
Take the Producers arc of Curb Your Enthusiasm – in which Larry was cast as Max Bialystock on Broadway – and condense it into a feature film mockumentary starring Jeff Goldblum (as himself) setting his sights on what looks to be an increasingly disastrous out-of-town production of The Music Man, and you have Pittsburgh (Starz, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). Is it fun? Yes, it is. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a trailer.
Does Hong Kong action fit into your plans for the weekend a little more? How about a flick that features both Sammo Hung and Michael Biehn? What is the flick? Dragon Heat (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP). How can you go wrong with that?
Join inquisitive glutton for punishment Mike Rowe on 24 adventures in another man’s shoes in the first collection of the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP). The 2-disc set also features the “100th Dirty Job Special”, packed with clips and bloopers.
It’s unfortunate to visit an old friend that you just can’t seem to relate to anymore. That’s the feeling I get when I watch the episodes features in the 5th volume of Family Guy (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). I dug the show’s original run something fierce, but since it made its comeback a few years back, it seems the spark is gone. I don’t know if it was due to the staff they lost when the original shut down, but the jokes seem tired, and the stories flat. The 3-disc set features 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, a trio of animatics with optional commentary, deleted scenes, optional censored audio, and featurettes.
While it’s not the original Criterion release, the new 2-disc anniversary edition of Robocop (MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$22.98 SRP) just about replaces the memory of it – particularly with sparkling new transfers of both the original theatrical release and the extended cut. The 2-disc set is no slough in the bonus department, either, featuring an audio commentary, 6 behind-the-scenes and retrospective featurettes, storyboards, a TV spot, the theatrical trailer, and more.
Bored this weekend? A bit sadistic? Pick up a copy of Pete Firman’s Tricks To Freak Out Your Friends (Chicago Review Press, $14.95 SRP). The title is self-explanatory, and the tricks are sure to make many a friend think twice about inviting you over again.
Elvis fans will probably want to snag a copy of Elvis: Viva Las Vegas (RCA, $ SRP), a collection of over a dozen newly remastered live tracks from The King.
Soon we shall have ever Hanna-Barbera cartoon series on DVD – and to prove my point, you can now get the complete Josie and the Pussycats (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP). The sole bonus feature is a much-deserved profile of the late Dan DeCarlo.
Brothers And Sisters (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) is one of those shows that premieres with a concept that turns out to be too specific, but eventually relaxes and let’s the organic chemistry between the cast members dictate where things should go. Such is the case with the story of the Walker family – a sprawling bunch of conflicting personalities who come together under matriarch Sally Field when their father passes away suddenly. The first season set features all 23 episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, bloopers, and the original pilot.
Just in time for her big screen Golden Age, Cate Blanchett’s original turn as the virgin queen Elizabeth (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP) gets a re-release of its special edition, featuring an audio commentary, making-of featurettes, and a look at Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
Check another TV series off the list, as the 3rd volume of The Addams Family (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) wraps up the run of that mysterious and ooky clan. The 3-disc set features all 21 episodes, plus audio commentary, trivia, and more.
The movie made little impact at the box office, but I’m sure the feature film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust will be quite the cult hit on home video. It’s a visually rich flick, which makes perusing Stardust: The Visual Companion (Titan Books, $24.95 SRP) such a treat. Check it out.
The best way to describe Hex (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP) is the BBC’s take on Buffy, replete with Brit atmosphere, pacing, and storytelling pace. If you were to make Buffy into a boarding school student who becomes aware of the supernatural world around her, gains powers, and battles… Well, you know the story. Still, it’s a nice jaunt from across the pond, and worth checking out. The 3-disc set contains all 10 first season episodes, plus deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.
I think by the sixth season of Smallville (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), the producers began to realize that the whole “Clark isn’t Superman yet” thing was beginning to wear a little thin. However, instead of making the daring move – of moving the show to Metropolis and going for broke – they instead decided to keep bringing everyone and their brother in the superhero universe to small town Kansas. Way to push it, guys. The 6-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus unaired scenes, webisodes, featurettes, and more.
I’m not a fan by any stretch of the imagination, but my mother loves Ghost Whisperer (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$72.99 SRP). Don’t ask me why – I think it’s a saccharine heir to Touched By An Angel. Still, she loves it. The 6-disc second season set features all 22 episodes, plus behind-the-scenes featurettes, webisodes, and more.
The second season of Prison Break (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) – considering the events of the first season’s finale – really didn’t have much to do with a prison. Instead, it found brothers Michael and Lincoln on the run after the big break out, leading a cadre of fellow prisoners on the run. The 6-disc box set features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and a spotlight on the theme.
I don’t know about you, but for years after it ended, I wondered what Raj, Dwayne, Shirley, Dee, and Rerun were up to. Finally, the late 90’s answered the long-festering question What’s Happening Now? (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) by reuniting the entire cast (sans mama). Hey – this is the series that gave us Rerun as TV pitchman Swami Stubbs. That, sirs, is gold. The 3-disc set features all 22 first season episodes.
Remember the good ol’ days when the governor of California was a mere action star, blasting his way across the screen in Commando (Fox, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP) with the new special edition – featuring both the original theatrical and extended director’s cuts, an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
By the seventh season of Married With Children (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), the once-risqué Bundy clan had become a sitcom cliché, with the introduction of a precocious kiddie to the cast. I guess it had to happen eventually. The 3-disc set features all 26 episodes, and not a single extra.
Not as refined and surprisingly, less well-written, the animated Legion Of Superheroes (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) is an attempt to cash in on the success of Teen Titans by bringing the futuristic superteam to the small screen. The first volume features 4 episodes, plus a featurette on translating the Legion from comic to cartoon.
I must be all triumphant sports movie-d out. The formulaic We Are Marshall (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$28.98 SRP) – which tells the true story of the rebuilding of the Marshall Football program after an air crash killed their entire team – didn’t even raise a blip on the gut-level, even though it pushed all those rah-rah buttons that everything from Hoosiers to Rudy have slapped us with in the resent past. Ah well, maybe I’ve just developed an immunity. Bonus features include a featurette on legendary coaches who overcame adversity, and the theatrical trailer.
All things must end, and so it has with the release of the 9th and final season of Everybody Loves Raymond (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). The 4-disc set features all 16 episodes, plus 8 audio commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, and bloopers.
If you’ve got that dancing on the ceiling feeling, then two brand new special editions should fulfill all your toe-tapping needs. Not only is there a brand new edition of Flashdance (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP), but a 30th anniversary edition of Saturday Night Fever (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP). Flashdance features 5 behind-the-scenes/retrospective featurettes and trailers, as well as a bonus CD with 6 tracks from the film. Fever features commentary with director John Badham, a 5-part documentary, a dance lesson, and more. Be a dancing fool this weekend.
If you want a sad example of executive interference in a franchise, look no further than the animated adaptation of Superman: Doomsday (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Under the ignorant guidance of WB animation honcho Sander Schwartz (the Avi Arad of Warners), the Bruce Timm designed animated DC universe was dismantled in favor of stunt pictures like this, with lousy recasting of voices and a bastardized character design. Typical, and sad. Bonus features include a documentary on the whole Superman death and rebirth stunt, audio commentary, a featurette on the voice casting, and a look at the upcoming Justice League: New Frontier.
As Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers once so aptly put it, the waiting is the hardest part – particularly when it comes to the now yearly release of another full season set of Jim Henson’s classic Fraggle Rock (HIT, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). We’re now up to season 3 which – depending on how they handle the release of the short 4th and 5th season – may be the penultimate Fraggle set. The denizens of the Rock are firing on all cylinders this season, with a well-defined world, great songs, and quite a bit of character development. And, most importantly of all, it’s a FUN show. Bonus features include many behind-the-scenes interviews, plus a packet of designer Michael Frith’s original conceptual drawings.
If you’re a child of Jim Henson and the Muppets like I am, then you’ll probably love the documentary Stories of the American Puppet (Mazzarella Media, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which chronicles the history of puppeteering in America, including the creations of Bill Baird, Shari Lewis, Buffalo Bob Smith, and many more luminaries who brought an ancient craft into American’s homes.
Those still jonesing for more Mystery Science Theater can get another fix courtesy of the newest addition to the Film Crew library – Wild Women of Wongo (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) – featuring the riffing of MST3K alums Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett. Bonus features include the ability to make the Crew dance, and a “Wongo-style” goodbye from the guys.
It’s taken years of a criminally bare-bones edition before we finally get the long-awaited special edition of The Graduate (MGM/UA, Rated PG, DVD-$24.98 SRP). The 2-disc 40th anniversary edition features an audio commentary with Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross, second audio commentary with Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh, 4 featurettes, the original theatrical trailer, and a CD contains a selection of Simon & Garfunkel’s songs from the film.
Fans who have been holding off buying the individual releases can now unload their accumulated cash on Avatar: The Complete Book 2 Collection (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 20 episodes, plus an exclusive bonus disc with interviews, featurettes, shorts, and more.
Congrats to David Boreanaz for scoring a post-Angel hit with Bones (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), whose second season is hitting DVD with a feature-laden bang. If you’re not familiar, Boreanaz stars as FBI agent Seely Booth alongside Emily Deschanel’s Dr. Temperence “Bones” Brennan in a cross between CSI and The X-Files. The 6-disc second season set features all 21 episodes, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
It’s goofy high-octane action schlock, but there’s still charm to be found in John Woo’s Face/Off (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP). I don’t know exactly if it warrants a new 2-disc special edition, but now there is one, replete with audio commentaries, deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), a making-of featurette, a spotlight on Woo, and the original theatrical trailer.
The witchy Halliwell trio bow out in the eighth and final season of Charmed (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), with 22 episodes of the same basic formula that made the show a cut-rate Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 6-disc set features a 2-part documentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentaries, and a look at the show’s fanbase.
To me, evolution is fact, and the statements of those whose belief lies in “intelligent design” that are interviewed in scientist/filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson’s Flock of Dodos (Docurama, Rated PG, DVD-$26.95 SRP) are equal parts delusional and funny. Olson, however, does allow them to present their case – and also explores the frequent difficulty for scientists unskilled in public speaking to present the scientific reality of evolution when faced with a coordinated effort of theological spin. Olson presents the scientific principles with east to understand animation that should be a required viewing in high school science classes nationwide. Bonus features include deleted scenes, interviews, additional animation, and more.
I’ll be honest with you – I’ve never watched an episode of Two And A Half Men (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP)… That is, until I caught a few in the complete first season set. It may not be my kind of sitcom, but I can see how its amiable, classic sitcom quality – like the similar stealth powerhouse, According To Jim – would be appealing to middle-of-the-road viewers turned off by fare like The Office or 30 Rock. The 4-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus behind-the-scenes featurettes and a gag reel.
Try as I might (and admittedly, I haven’t been trying *that* hard), I can’t bring myself to like Grey’s Anatomy (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP). Well… I can’t even like it. Frankly, I can’t even tolerate it. But I now its soapy, predictable, ogling storylines about McDempsey and crew have their fans, and more power to them. I’m sure they will devour the extended dreaminess found in 7-disc 3rd season set, featuring expanded cuts of the episodes, plus audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more. Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.
Of the two adaptations of Nora Roberts novels hitting DVD – Carolina Moon & Blue Smoke (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$24.96 SRP each) – I’ll have to say the enjoyment factor of Blue Smoke was made entirely by the presence of both Alicia Witt and Scott Bakula (who I still haven’t fully forgiven for Enterprise. Still… Alicia Witt…
The fourth season of Las Vegas (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) marked the end of James Caan’s run on the show, but what a memorable season it was, even featuring a crossover with Crossing Jordan. The 4-disc set features all 16 episodes, plus a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a season 3 recap.
The princess of power returns in the second and final season of She-Ra (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). The 6-disc set features all 2 episodes, plus a pair of audio commentaries, interviews, galleries, trivia, and more.
Although I was somewhat lukewarm to the pilot, I’m glad that I gave Tina Fey’s 30 Rock (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) a second chance, because it quickly established itself as one of the best sitcoms of the season… and ever. In fact, if it were to never come back for another season, I’m quite secure in placing it within the pantheon of comedy classics, for its brilliant writing and spot-on ensemble cast – including Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracey Morgan, and the stealth genius that is Jack McBrayer as Kenneth the NBC Page. Bonus features include audio commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, web shorts, a gag reel, and more. Get this set. Now.
Diving into the new Office: Season 3 set (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) is like leaping into a comedy TARDIS. Not only do you get all 22 episodes, but there are enough deleted scenes to make a half-dozen more. If that weren’t enough to kill a viewing week with, there’s audio commentaries, promos, featurettes, wraparounds, videos, bloopers, and more.
On the scale of dry comedy, Demetri Martin would be a desert. But a very, very funny desert. Often featured on the Daily Show, I first became aware of his unique stand-up specials courtesy of the UK, where he’s been a staple of the Fringe comedy circuit for the past few years. With the DVD premiere of his special Demetri Martin: Person (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), the US can finally reclaim him for our own. Bonus features include commentary, deleted scenes, his Comedy Central Presents special, and extra footage.
Cheech & Chong’s first (and best) flick gets the red carpet special edition treatment, bot howdy. In addition to being fully remastered, Up In Smoke (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$14.98 SRP) now sports an audio commentary from Cheech and producer Lou Adler, deleted scenes, a retrospective documentary, an animated music video, 2 vintage radio spots, and more. All that for a stoner classic? Groovy.
After her legendary britcom tour de farce as Hyacinth Bucket, Patricia Routledge took on the role of sleuthing housewife-turned-detective Hetty Wainthropp in the long-running Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, which teamed her up with a teenage sidekick played by Hobbit and castaway-to-be Dominic Monaghan. The entire run is now available in the aptly titled Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$149.99 SRP), featuring 27 episodes across 13 discs, plus the original pilot and an exclusive interview with Routledge.
As a freelance photographer in the 1960’s, Robert Altman snapped many an iconic photo of the latter half of that decade’s cultural zeitgeist. Many of those photos are collected in he hardcover tome The Sixties (Santa Monica Press, $39.95 SRP). From the hippies to the rock superstars and the establishment forces that were terrified of it all, it’s a great snapshot of a moment in time.
Just in time for the debut of its third season, the complete first and second season set of FX’s largely overlooked It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) hits DVD. It’s a shame that it doesn’t get more buzz than it does, since its portrait of the kibitzing patrons of the Philly bar Paddy’s manages to hit many a comic high note – and it also features the welcome return to television of one Danny DeVito. The 3 disc set features all 17 episodes, scenes from the original pilot, audio commentaries, a making-of featurette, outtakes, and more.
When Sherlock Holmes is placed under house arrest after being accused for crimes he didn’t commit, he employs a group of plucky youths to be his eyes, ears, and feet to solve the mystery of missing kids and poisoned policemen. Dubbed the Baker Street Irregulars, they’re the focus of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP), a great little drama which stars Jonathan Pryce as the master detective.
As peace has finally taken root in Northern Ireland, it’s fascinating to go back and examine the roots of the conflict that drove decades of conflict between the British and Irish nationalists – and those origins are captured vividly in Ken Loach’s The Wind That Shakes The Barley (IFC Films, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP), starring Cillian Murphy as a doctor turned revolutionary in an country on the brink of all out civil war. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a profile of Loach.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Nip/Tuck has made it to a fourth season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), as it’s one of those wonderful trashy gumbos that occasionally come down the pike and implant themselves in the television landscape like a parasitic guilty pleasure. The 5-disc set features all 15 fourth season episodes, plus unaired scenes, a spotlight on the guest stars, a look at some of the real life basis for the stories, and a gag reel.
I’m not entirely sure why Paramount has moved to splitting up the release of the Spongebob seasons on DVD, but the show still delivers, regardless of only being half a season. The 2-disc Spongebob Squarepants: Season 5 Volume 1 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.99 SRP) contains 21 episodes, plus “Friend or Foe” shorts. I’d be lying if I didn’t wish there were more bonus materials, as the earlier seasons had. C’mon, Paramount! It’s Spongebob!
If intellectual exploits are on your weekend agenda, check out a pair of documentaries from PBS – China From The Inside (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) & The Living Weapon (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). China From The Inside is a 4-part exploration of the still mysterious, yet massive, country, while The Living Weapon tells the tale of America’s development of biological weapons in the 40’s and 50’s.
After a disastrous sophomore season full of creative missteps, creator Marc Cherry managed to right Desperate Housewives (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) before too many fans gave up the ship, by remembering that it was the dynamic between the housewives themselves – both dramatic and comic – that was the real engine. The complete 3rd season features all 23 episodes, plus a look at the season finale, Cherry’s favorite moments, deleted scenes, and more.
Though critically praised and beloved by a dedicated – though small – fanbase, I never got into the short-lived The Black Donnellys (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). Now, you can get all 13 episodes of this drama about the fractured relationship of the four Donnelly brothers as they become swept up in the New York underworld.
The cross-dressing farce of Bosom Buddies (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$31.99 SRP) really doesn’t age terribly well. By the show’s second season, the already thin premise – of two guys desperate for an apartment who cross-dress to get one in a restricted women-only building – became harder and harder to pull off. Still, at least there’s great performances from Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, and Wendie Jo Sperber. The 3-disc second season set features all 18 episodes, plus a rare sales presentation.
Without a doubt, Georgia Rule (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is a “chick flick”. It features three generations of women – Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Lindsey Lohan – coming together and healing fractured mother-daughter ties. How much more feminine can you get? Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
When Lost‘s third season showed itself to be full of narrative stumbling and became mired in its own mythology (Hello, X-Files!), thank jebus Heroes was there to pick up the sci-fi slack with a storyline that incorporated the best of comic book mythology (Ordinary people becoming superheroes! Evil villains! Kick ass cheerleader in jeopardy! Time travel!) and a storytelling style that doesn’t leave viewers frustrated chasing smoke monsters and mirrors, hoping for a revelatory morsel. Check out the complete first season (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) for yourself and see what all the fuss was about. The 7-disc set features all 23 episodes, plus the original pilot, 50 deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, featurettes (on the stunts, special effects, and score), audio commentaries, and a profile of artist Tim Sale.
While not as bizarrely out there as Dodgeball or grounded as Caddyshack, Blades of Glory (Dreamworks, Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.99 SRP) is definitely part of the long lineage of sports comedies that date back to that links classic. In this opus, the spotlight is on figure skating, and two skaters in particular, actually – the pampered wunderkind Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) and the grizzled, boozing veteran Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell). When a post match brawl gets them banned from solo skating and leave them on the skids for 3 years, the discovery of a loophole allows them entry back into the sport that defined their lives – but only if they become a figure skating pair. It’s amiable and fun, and definitely worth a spin on the ice. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Alternate takes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
In a time when Queen Elizabeth I has been revitalized onscreen, finally a biography comes along that captures her fierce spirit and a fascinating period of her long reign. The Pirate Queen (Harper Collins, $26.95 SRP) details the brilliant financial and logistical mind that built the foundations of a globe-spanning empire, and the merchant-adventurers in her employ that found ways both daring and heavy-handed to span that globe.
He’s now part of the comedy pantheon, but after he debuted on Spaced and before Shaun and Hot Fuzz, Nick Frost co-starred on a britcom called Manstrokewoman (BCI, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), a very funny sketch comedy show about relationships. Snap up the US debut of the complete first season, featuring audio commentaries and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The battle of the bachelors continues in then complete second season of The Odd Couple (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD=$38.99 SRP), which brought not only Felix’s ex-wife Gloria and Oscar’s secretary Myrna & ex-wife Blanche to the cast, but also the beloved Murray the Cop. You even get a flashback to when Felix first met Oscar. The 4-disc set features all 23 remastered episodes.
Although she claims it’s the last time she’ll fill the role of Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, I’m not quite ready to believe Helen Mirren’s last turn in Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) is the end. Maybe it’s just because it’s such a powerful performance that I have trouble letting go of the character, and can only hope she reconsiders.
And if Mirren’s claims that Tennison’s time was at an end weren’t blow enough, Robbie Coltrane takes his final turn as Detective Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald in Cracker: A New Terror (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). Hard living Fitz returns to England after a decade as an ex-pat is swept into the hunt for a murderer in a post-9/11 landscape far different from the one he used to operate in. Brilliant stuff. Bonus materials include a brand new retrospective documentary detailing the history of Cracker.
It was very hard to resist not saying “she turns your DVD player on with her smile”… And, I guess I failed to resist it. Of course, this must mean that the complete third season of Marlo Thomas as That Girl (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP). The 4-disc set features all 26 episodes, plus a featurette on the creation of the show, a make-up test, and audio commentaries from Thomas and creator Bill Persky.
I admit, I care nothing for sports. The only sports I’ve developed an affection for are those featured on the other end of my Wii controller. So, it goes to follow that a show like Friday Night Lights (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) – about the high school football, and soap opera storyline, obsessed denizens of Dillon Texas – would not be my cup of tea. And it’s not, but it is a rather well put together show that spent most of last season on the cancellation bubble. Now you can pick up the entire first season and see if it’s up your alley, before the new season launches. Yes, the fate of the show may be in your hands. The 5-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes.
The release of a new volume in Fantagraphics’s beautiful presentations of the The Complete Peanuts is greeted with both joy and impatience, as I can’t wait to tear into each new entry and view strips that – 9 times out of 10 – I’ve never seen before. Not to mention the ability to watch Charles Schulz’s strip grow and evolve, as characters are introduced, and mainstays are mere babes of innovation. The latest volume, covering the period from 1965-1966 (Fantagraphics, $28.95 SRP) introduces a pair of landmarks – Snoopy’s epic doghouse battles with the Red Baron, and a lass named Peppermint Patty. Brilliant reading, and a must have.
With the release of the complete 10th season of South Park (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), the DVD sets have finally caught up with the first run airings, as we’re currently halfway through the show’s 11th season. The 10th season featured the kids’ memorable addiction to World of Warcraft, the brutal death of Chef, the skewering of Family Guy, the mystery of the urinal deuce, hell on Earth, and more. The 3-disc set features all 14 episodes, plus the usual mini-commentaries from Matt & Trey.
It may be hard to justify the purchase of yet another release of Jim Henson’s 80’s classics The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$24.96 SRP each), but they have managed to sweeten the pot to a degree that another purchase certainly is in order. First and foremost, both films are treated to brand new high definition transfers (if only Disney would get off their asses and give us that with Henson’s Muppet movie library). In addition, Brian Froud has been brought in to do new commentaries for both flicks, and there are brand new documentaries to supplement the vintage documentaries that have been ported over from the previous releases. All in all, a worthy upgrade.
It’s taken its sweet time coming to DVD, but comedy fans can rejoice now that Rowan Atkinson’s still-hilarious Rowan Atkinson Live! (A&E, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) has finally arrived on the little shiny disc. Not only do we get the special itself, but 3 additional bonus sketches to boot.
No matter how dowdy, bespeckled, bespectacled, and braced they make America Ferrera in Ugly Betty (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP), I still think she’s the most beautiful thing on screen. Maybe it’s because her Betty has a genuine personality, and it shines through in this – for all intents and purposes – TV version of The Devil Wears Prada. Check out the complete first season and see if you don’t agree with my assessment. The 6-disc set features all 23 episodes, plus audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Hugh Laurie’s Dr. Gregory House returns in the 3rd season of House (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which arrives with a whole bevy of rare and exotic diseases and maladies to make even the dysfunctional doc delighted at all the challenges he’s able to tackle. The 5-disc set features all 24 episodes, plus commentaries, featurettes on props and the soundtrack, a breakdown of the episode “The Jerk”, a look at the production office, a gag reel, and more.
HBO’s epic journey back to the politics and intrigue of ancient Rome (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP) reaches a too-quick conclusion with its 2nd (and final) season. It’s a shame that such an epic canvas as this was scuttled – along with Deadwood – in favor of overly-pretentious, unintelligible fare like John From Cincinnati. Still, take your final toga turn with this 5-disc set, featuring all 10 episodes, plus audio commentary on five episodes, historical and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and more.
Criminally overlooked when it hit theaters a few months back, Unaccompanied Minors (Warner Bros., Rated PG, DVD-$28.98 SRP) deserves a second chance. Directed by Paul Feig, the creator of Freaks and Geeks, it’s a fun little tale about a group of minors left unattended when a snowstorm closes the airport they’re in, mid-transit. Just trust e – check it out for yourself. Bonus features include an audio commentary, additional scenes, featurettes, and more.
I’m really not too big fan of procedurals, but I know there are plenty of fans of the cases undertaken by the lawyers of the military’s Judge Advocate General courts, dramatized in – you guessed it – JAG (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP). The 6-disc fourth season set features all 24 episodes, plus a gag reel.
After being booted by the band, Monkees producer Don Kirshner was brought in to pick songs for another fully fictional band – only this time, there was no chance that the artists would rebel. That’s because Kirshner was recording Archie and Jughead for their Saturday morning animated soon-to-be-hit, The Archies (Classic Media/Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP). Their first radio hit was “Sugar Sugar”, and you can view the original context in this complete collection of The Archie Show, with interviews, galleries, an interactive jukebox, and more.
Dexter (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is easily one of the most unique shows on TV, as it follows the life and work of Dexter Morgan who – after being orphaned as a young boy – is adopted by a police officer who recognizes homicidal tendencies in young Dexter, and decides to teach him how to channel those tendencies into tracking down and killing the perpetrators of heinous crimes who have slipped through the cracks. As an adult, Dexter is a member of the police force, using his access to lead a double life – all the while creating a façade as a caring human being in his day job, expressing emotions he doesn’t feel. Truly a fascinating concept, and worth a spin. The 4-disc set features all 12 first season episodes, plus behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentaries, and more.