The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
To get even one show to premiere in any given season that proves an instant favorite is a sad rarity. That there were two shows last season which swept me away is unprecedented, and should be seen as a sign of something. What, I have no idea. One of those shows is Community (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP), which has introduced a level of meta-surrealism and true ensemble storytelling not seen since the heyday of Newsradio. The first season set contains audio commentaries on ever episode, nearly an hour of outtakes, featurettes, and more. If you’ve yet to see this series, what in the hell are you waiting for?
Yeah yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “What am I thinking?”, you say… Well, I knew that you’d say that, too. You’re thinking, “Why would I ever need a flashlight that looks like The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver?” Well, you don’t really. But still, it is kinda nifty to have a Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver LED Flashlight ($12.99). It just is.
The other show that grabbed me by the collar is Modern Family (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) – Which I will state, in no uncertain terms, is the finest family sitcom ever produced. Hyperbolic? A little bit, but it really has managed to walk a tightrope of being grounded enough to be relatable but far enough out there to be exciting. And it’s brought Ed O’Neill back to comedy. We must celebrate that. The box set includes deleted scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($69.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
While some fell out of love with the 3rd season of 30 Rock (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), I’m still firmly in love with it, though. The 3-disc set contains extended versions of a pair of episodes, plus audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a photo gallery.
There have been a few attempts in the past to collect his incredible body of work in book form, but the one to finally make it out of the gates is The Art Of Drew Struzan (Titan Books, $34.95 SRP). Sadly, it’s not as comprehensive as some of the prior efforts, but it’s still a large, lovely overview of one of the most recognizable film poster illustrators…well, ever… whose work can be seen on everything from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Blade Runner to Back To The Future and An American Tail. The book is narrated by Struzan, who takes you on a guided tour of the pieces and the process behind them.
HBO’s Jonathan Ames created/inspired sitcom Bored To Death (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) is just as precious and cute as you would expect a project borne of Brooklyn hipster intellectualism to be, equal parts entertaining and painfully cooler than thou. The 2-disc set contains all 8 first season episodes, plus audio commentaries and featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition ($49.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
I can’t watch the ludicrously over-the-top Spartacus: Blood And Sand (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 SRP) without immediately thinking of Charlie Brooker’s brilliant take down of it, and illumination of its aforementioned ludicrous over-the-top nature. I mean, the blood isn’t just blood – it’s BLOOD. And lots of it. And maimings, and mutilations, and copious amounts of awkward nudity. Bonus features include audio commentaries and a clutch of featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition ($79.97 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
I think I may be tiring of How I Met Your Mother (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$38.98 SRP) and its increasingly off-putting avoidance of the its titular quest. For the first few seasons it was a cute mystery, but now we can’t invest on anything because there’s always a sense of an impending bait and switch. The 5th season set contains all 24 episodes, plus featurettes, music videos, and gag reel.
Taking an in-depth study of middle America – Munice, Indiana, to be exact – in 1982, the 6-part documentary series Middletown (Icarus, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP) is a brilliant snapshot of the culture, values, prejudices, hopes, and fears of an average American town. Give it a spin.
Taking a fictionalized look at the events that brought the infamous alien autopsy footage to the public eye in 1995, Alien Autopsy (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.98 SRP) is best when its two leads – Britain’s presenting duo Ant & Dec – are onscreen as the pals that found the “footage). Bonus features include an audio commentary, alternate opening, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
It’s quite a daunting – some would say foolish – idea to jump in and attempt to do an overview and analysis of the history of film comedy, but Saul Austerlitz’s Another Fine Mess: A History Of Film Comedy (Chicago Review Press, $24.95 SRP) is an admirable, enjoyable stab at doing just that. Fans of film comedy will enjoy it as a refresher course, as well as an introduction to some pieces they may have overlooked.
Joseph Campbell’s influential PBS series The Power Of Myth (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP) gets a new 2-disc special edition upgrade, featuring a conversation with Campbell, selections from host Bill Moyers’ interview with George Lucas, galleries, and a viewer’s guide.
In viewing it again after a quite a few years, the best way I can sum up how American Beauty (Dreamworks, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) feels is by saying it all feels so precious. I think it’s a kinder way of pointing how pretentiously artificial its middle class suburban drama feels, from Kevin Spacey’s midlife crisis to the high school kids’ fumbling flirting… Really, just all of it. The new Blu-Ray features an audio commentary, a featurette, a storyboard presentation, and a pair of theatrical trailers.
How many of you remember that the first live action film ever released by Dreamworks was the George Clooney & Nicole Kidman action thriller The Peacemaker (Dreamworks, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), in which the pair had to track do0wn a clutch of stolen Russian nukes before the thieves can do something really nasty with them. Newly on Blu-Ray, bonus features include deleted scenes, stunt footage, and the theatrical trailer.
I was shocked – SHOCKED – when Drea de Matteo arrived on Wisteria Lane harboring secrets. Secrets? On Wisteria Lane? Unheard of! And then a plane crashed on the lane, which is probably the most normal thing that’s happened there the entire series. Desperate Housewives: Season 6 (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) contains featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers, and a poorly-written set of interviews featuring the current Miss Piggy.
The folks at the Warner Archive dip into the vault for a pair of rarely seen George Pal productions sure to make completionists happy – Atlantis: The Lost Continent & The Power (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 each). The condition of the prints isn’t the greatest, but at least they’re available.
It should come as no surprise that the main draw of Castle (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) is star Nathan Fillion, whose charisma managed to make even the mediocre Firefly almost watchable. The complete 2nd season set contains all 24 episodes, plus featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, and more.
A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost walks into a second season. You know, that sounded a lot better in my head. No, really, it did sound a lot better there. Seriously. Anyway, the second season of Being Human (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.98 SRP) is out, and it finds our three supernatural roomies are being hunted by a group of religious nuts bent on their destruction. Bonus features include a whole clutch of behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Explore the first family of NASCAR racing via the documentary Petty Blue (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), which looks at the four generations of racing Pettys – from Lee to Richard to Kyle to Adam – as they helped define a national pastime. Bonus features include featurettes, bonus interviews, and deleted scenes.
Their owner still won’t license them for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 DVDs, but the restored Gamera films continue to roll out with a new pair of double feature releases – Gamera vs Guiron/Gamera vs Jiger and Gamera vs Gyaos/Gamera vs Viras (Shout Factory, Not Rated. DVD-$19.93 SRP).
Witness a little bit of your soul die if you dare to partake of Disney’s latest awkward exploitation of their catalogue characters with Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), which is basically Peter Pan by way of Spice World – or Tink In The City. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, and a music video.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
-Ken Plume
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It’s not the tightest of flicks, but when it comes to the sordid history of films adapted from sketches on Saturday Night Live, 
If you’ve been looking for the perfect headwear to not only keep your noggin warm, but also show that you are a loyal officer serving the Empire, you’ll want to pick up your very own 
Got a Blu-Ray player? Like science fiction? Well, Warners has gotten a weekend filler for you, as they’ve unloaded quite an impressive stash of high-def catalogue releases appealing to those of the geek persuasion – titles like 
After a declining 4th season, 
While the US awaits the DVD release of Matt Smith’s first season of the Doctor, fans can fill the void with a trio of classic releases featuring a pair of Peter Davison adventures – 
Just as scathing and satirical as it was upon its release, Robert Altman’s comeback film 
Superman in everything that name, the creators behind 
If you’ve yet to pick up the 7 series comprising Helen Mirren’s tour de force as flawed Detective Jane Tennison, you can get the whole lot via 
Originally released years ago, 
For some reason it’s not a high definition release, but Oliver Stone’s original 
The main reason that I occasionally dip into 
The 3rd season of 
The adventures of the slightly older Ben continue in 
Put Deadwood & Big Love into a blender, throw the contents onto some Harleys, and you’ve pretty much got 
Dip into the heady days of 60’s counter-culture and the burgeoning 70’s easy-rock scene with 
Hey! Remember the Jonas Brothers? Those teen dreams that were banished to limbo upon the arrival of the one called Bieber? Well, they returned alongside costar Demi Lovato for the Disney Channel sequel 
The great war against Satan becomes a lot more complicated in the 5th season of 
If you’re needing a chick flick marathon in a box, look no further than the 
Instead of nice comprehensive sets, Nickelodeon continues to parcel out their new iCarly releases as single disc clutches of episodes, the latest of which is 
Hey, so you know how much you love the original Star Trek, and all of its wonderfully stylish props? And how you always wanted some of them for your very ownself, preferably at a reasonably low price? Well, you can get your very own light-up and sound-effect capable 
After a disappointing, featureless jump ahead to release the 20th anniversary season over a year ago, the proper, feature-laden thirteenth season of 
Doctor Grumpy McSourWooster returns in the compete 6th season of 
Chronicling a turbulent, deadly decade in Yorkshire England, the 3 films that comprise the 
When it comes to ABC’s new comedies last year, the one I liked the most was Modern Family. The one that left the least impression on me was 
In what must the 50th home video edition, Sam Raimi’s gory, goofy low-budget indie horror flick 
Its failure really isn’t surprising, as 
It was during the 4th season of 
Michael Caine returns to his touch as nails roots in 
It’s fine as it exits now, but watching the first season of 
With all of the undead glut of late, you might have forgotten that there’s another show about vampires that’s coming to DVD – the first season of 
Bundled together for easier fan purchase (and because the boys claim that there will be no more) 
Oh, I’m a sucker for a novelty instrument. I really am. It’s sad, really… I simply have no control when presented with a unique, goofy musical instrument. So what’s the latest object of my affection? The 
If you would like a perfect example of how now to end a series – and don’t have your copy of Buffy: Season 7 handy – be sure to dive into the awkwardly uneven and completely unfulfilling 6th and final season of 
Starting with Terry Gilliam’s 
I haven’t really taken in much of the new version of the franchise, but the single-disc release 
I’m always fascinated by documentaries that illuminate a slice of history that’s been largely forgotten, and such is the case with 
It’s an indie comedy through and through, but at least 
Fill this weekend’s musical needs with a pair of new releases sure to keep the energy level high – 
I guess someone, somewhere had a desire to abandon the Bruce Timm-Paul Dini Batmanverse and return the Dark Knight to his campy Silver Age period with 
A trio of History Channel series get season releases… But which ones are they? Well, there’s the complete second season of 
With 
The folks at the Warner Archive have dug up and remastered the Cary Grant drama 
Nickelodeon wants to which everyone a very 
High schools over but the drama keeps rolling along in the 3rd season of 
It’s been years – YEARS! – since fans were left in the lurch after the release of the third season, but the waiting game comes to an end with the release of 
You want not only the ultimate remote control, but also the ultimate wireless keyboard? You know, the kind of keyboard that allows you to do anything from a distance, in ridiculous comfort? Well, the 
While I didn’t dislike it, I was certainly disappointed in Ricky Gervais’s The Invention of Lying. It just never seemed to gel into the kind of transcendent piece he was capable of. Well, Gervais and co-writer/co-director Stephen Merchant have hit all the right notes with the elegant, elegiac 
I didn’t think I’d much care for it, but I was pleasantly delighted by Emma Thompson’s 
It’s the full text – a rarity in filmed form – and one can certainly say that Kenneth Branagh’s 
Claire Danes is wonderful as the lead in the biopic 
Never really watched 
Despite knowing the creators/showrunners, I’ve never been able to get into Courtney Cox’s MILF comedy 
Take a group of overweight Brits, dress them in period clothes, and make them participate in weight loss regimens commensurate with those periods. What do you have? The documentary series 
Saved from the ax by DirecTV, the 4th season of 
It’s been a slightly bumpy road the past few seasons, but everything course-corrected and ended exactly as everyone thought it would in the fourth and final season of 
I really could have done without the over-the-top violence, because I actually found the story behind 
In these dark, depressing, overheated days, there’s one thing that can still manage to bring a smile to even the most jaded countenance. I bet you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Why, I’m talking about 
It’s not often that you find a smart, funny kiddie comedy that’s just as enjoyable for the adults, and 
While The Nightmare Before Christmas gets all of the attention, director Henry Selick’s stop-motion follow-up adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 
Very rapidly, now, studios are cranking up their catalogue high definition conversions, which leads us to this week’s trio of releases from MGM – 
He made a lot of movies, but the most memorable ones are includes in the high definition 
It’s slight and really doesn’t maintain itself very well, but 
It’s not the films you generally think of when you hear his name, but there’s a nice look at the kind of films that sustained his career in the TCM Spotlight 
Want to know a lot about a certain subject in a fast, easy, and entertaining way? Well, the folks at The History Channel have marshaled their massive library into a new initiative of single-disc “Instant Expert” releases, each of which focuses on a single topic. The first batch to come down the pike include 
David Starkey dives deep into the history of Britain’s ruling class in the documentary series 
Film criticism has been condensed down to its purest form in the collected release of 
Having recently acquired the rights to release Roy Budd’s scores, Silva Screen launches right in with a sparkling release of Budd’s score to the original 
Long a favorite of tape-trading fans, the very lovely, little-seen 1984 documentary 
It seems awfully soon after the Brit-centric, Frank Oz-helmed remake of just a few years ago, but the American audience got its own version of 
So two volumes simply weren’t enough? Well, perhaps you’ll finally get your fill with 
It’s schlock of the utmost caliber, as Joe Dante rips off Jaws in the Roger Corman produced 
Did you know that Hawaii Five-O ran for 12 seasons? I mean, by the time you get to 
Thanks to Charlie Brooker’s brilliant deconstruction of this soap opera dramatization on the loves and lives of the 19th century painters in question, I can’t really take 
While it makes me feel achingly old to see it’s the 25th anniversary edition, it is nice that John Hughes’ 
Watch a once-promising show completely collapse under its own mismanagement and limp to a perfunctory demise via the 4th and final season of 
Proving that Sesame Street is all about following trends instead of setting them nowadays, their latest DVD release features Abby Cadabby in 
Oh, The 80’s. You gifted us with so much pop culture detritus that clogs every nook and cranny of the brains that lived through you. Included in that clutter is the short-lived TV series 
Calling back to the likes of Voltron, Robotech, and Battle Of The Planets, Adult Swim’s 
After teasing fans with a best-of collection a few years back, the complete, digitally remastered first season of 
I love bubbles. My nephews love bubbles. Who doesn’t love bubbles? Well, perhaps people who hate Lawrence Welk. Still – most people love bubbles. How about really big bubbles? Surely big bubbles equal big fun. And it’s true – big bubbles equal big fun. How can you make big bubbles easily? Why, with 
If you’ve yet to see the brilliant Stephen Fry’s equally brilliant journey across the United States in the 6-part documentary 
I never thought that I’d eventually get to watch a high definition version of 
Leave it to Warner Bros. to take an incredible legacy and talent base for their animated DC properties and continue to spin out neither here nor there direct-to-DVD features that recast already brilliant actors for the sake of gimmicky stunt casting. So it goes with 
The one thing I can say about the otherwise flat, lifeless, and sadly boring remake of 
Long available in the complete series set, high definition enthusiasts can now pick up the penultimate 3rd season of 
As Stallone’s big action flick The Expendables is right around the corner, it’s no surprise that there’d be a tie-in release of 
I suppose it must be a sign of soft sales at retail that the 3rd season of 
Just in time for the healthcare debate but ignored in theaters, 
Largely depressing but endlessly fascinating, 
After 7 seasons and years of releases, the DVD journey of 
Children of the 70’s and 80’s remember well the overly-earnest, deadly-dry, unintentionally laughable educational films and programs that were a regular staple of the classroom. Well, the brilliant Peter Serafinowicz & Robert Popper have taken that fertile ground and crafted a magnificently bent parody in 
Time to upgrade your trusty old lunchbox? Why not go with the 
If you’re only knowledge of the character is the equally underrated film, do yourself a favor and pick up the beautifully presented 
If you go into 
The term “classic” gets thrown about with abandon nowadays, and I’d certainly question its application I the “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” line of catalogue releases, but there’s no doubt that “cult” is more than applicable. The latest pair of additions to the line are 
What do you get one a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost shack up together? The supernatural Three’s Company dramedy that is the BBC’s 
It’s gut level humor and certainly not high-brow, but its base nature is probably why my nephews got such a kick out of 
The residents of the Springfield Retirement Castle will be delighted at the release of 
You know, I kind of dug 
Get all goofy with Batman, Superman, and all the rest down at the Hall of Justice with the second volume of 
Fear for the future of civilization after viewing even one minute of 
Shout Factory has settled into a pleasantly clockwork schedule of releasing new sets, but I still greet 
When I was a kid, I always wanted the 5 transformable lions that would join to form the mighty battle robot Voltron. Sadly, I never did wind up getting it back then. As an adult, however, I have gotten the 
Relive the great legacy of Sesame Street back in the days before the show went down the tubes with the DVD release of 1989’s 
If you’re keen for a massive tome that takes a backstage look at the genius behind the concepts, designs, and implementations of their theme parks, look no further than 
Tide yourself over for the next season release with 
You’ve probably purchased them in the past, so what’s the incentive in buying the new editions of 
It’s hard not to be enthralled by the images on display in 
If you’re curious what Reality Bites would look like at middle age, look no further than 
Warners continues to mine their deep library of noir films with the 5th volume of the 
Post-MASH, Robert Altman decided to cash most of the goodwill audiences had in with the bizarre, daft 
In the early days of Nick at Nite, one of the shows I watched night after night was My Three Sons, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s because of star Fred MacMurray, as single parent Steve Douglas (sadly, sans Flubber). Or maybe it was just the lovably crotchety presence of William Frawley. Either way, both the 
Paramount continues to undercut the public domain cheapie market with the welcome release of the complete second season of 
I was never a fan of 
Since you can’t introduce your kids to the superheroes you loved as a kid via comic books anymore (dark, violent aberrations that they’ve become), pick up 
Picking up where Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine left off 20 years prior, Stephen Fry steps in for his good friend as he and Carwardine revisit species on the verge of extinction in 
Everyone needs a good spork – and to have it be heat-resistant and made of a touch polycarbonate material? Well, that’s just icing on the sporky cake. In other words, pick up a 4-pack of 
Sparkling fresh and looking better than ever, Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion masterpiece 
If your only exposure to 
At least Grover is present to balance out the furry red monstrosity in 
Just as Matt Smith’s first year as the Doctor comes to a close, a quartet of classic Doctor Who adventures hit DVD for the first time. From the William Hartnell years, we get 
We still haven’t seen them in their Mystery Science Theater iteration, but you can watch the original 
In 
After a long, long spell, Shout Factory has rescued another show that only got its first season released by Universal, delivering to fans 
It’s been a long, long road to get here, but with the release of 
The Warner Archive continues to release TV shows on demand that would otherwise have too-limited an appeal to merit a wide release, this time making available the complete first season of the Dylan McDermott-starring cop drama 
It feels like just yesterday that the last volume came out, but here we are with the 3rd volume of 
After a pair of, to be blunt, piss-poor films from Michael Bay, the Transformers franchise has finally been beautifully redeemed in video game form with 
It was only a matter of time, really, before we got a 3-D webcam, allowing you to stream in red/blue anaglyph, as well as take still photos. And guess what? The 
As much as it’s been talked up, I had high expectations for 
Comics fans will delight in the rare and rarely seen artifacts to be found in 
Interested in how the planet we’re living on came to be? Sure you are! Find out more via 
I’m sure fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of 
The main reason for watching 
The new film is right around the corner, but let’s travel back to the days of Arnie fighting an alien deep in the jungle with the high-definition arrival of 
The wonderful parts don’t quite make for a transcendent whole, but there’s plenty of fun to be had in 
War may be hell, but sometimes war is just tedium. So what do you do when that tedium takes place on a distant world, and it’s not even real? You use the animation of the game Halo and create the online viral sitcom 
I’m sure the books are a cracking good read and the concept of a teenager who learns he’s the son of the Greek god Poseidon is fun, but director Chris Columbus manages to bring his flat direction and visual style to 
If you’ve ever been interested in how the planet we live on has shaped human events, look no further than the documentary 
SyFy series fans will have a pair of new sets to pick up – the complete first season of 
It’s been a few years since the wonderful Tom & Jerry collections were released, so it’s a pleasant surprise that there’s a new “greatest hits” set – 
Like most of the items they offer, you really don’t know you need a borescope until you get one, and then you wonder what you ever did without one. Thinkgeek’s literally named 
Just in time for the M. Knight thing, the original 
The Roger Corman “classics” continue to pour out in fully restored, better than they’ve ever looked form with the release of 
The gimmick of 
When it comes to high definition restorations of their classic library, few companies are doing work as magnificent to behold as Warners. Case in point is their new special edition of the Judy Garland/James Mason 
We’re now 6 seasons into 
Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren grab hold of the screen in 
A creepy horror film about a magician, an accident, a murder, and an inheritance starring Cesar Romero, Dean Jones, and Connie Stevens? Sure, I’m there. The Warner Archive Collection pulls another overlooked catalogue title from the vaults with the remastered 
If films like Psycho and Jaws proved anything, it was that horror that’s plausible is much more resonant in an audience. Though it’s got rough edges, 
If Robert Pattinson ever wakes up and remembers he’s supposed to be acting in a film – and maybe choose his projects a bit better – he might actually be worth watching. Otherwise, he’ll keep doing yawners like 
It’s the last of their live recordings from November’s run of shows in Los Angeles, but they’ve certainly saved the best till the end – Cinematic Titanic’s 
Want to be able to put your cellphone or Flip camera just about anywhere? Well, you pretty much can using the incredible gripping ability of the 
The latest in the line of must-have production art books from the fine folks at Pixar and Chronicle is, of course, 
Fans who have been wondering when Universal would finally bring their spiffy remastered edition of 
It’s been a long, long, LONG wait, but fans can now pick up the complete 3rd season of 
I’ve been a big fan of the Playing For Change music project since I first heard about it last year, as most people did, via the brilliant viral video of artists worldwide doing a jam session on “Stand By Me”. The latest release from the project is 
Now that the series has been released in its entirety, it’s only left to mop things up and release 
When all else in the world is uncertain, one can always rely on the complete, unadulterated, glorious crapfest that is 
Backfilling your TV series collection in HD is obviously the new thing to drain your wallet dry, and with that in mind I’m sure fans will be picking up 
I don’t know why last year seemed to bring out the post-apocalyptic flicks, but 
Really, the only reason for watching the otherwise toothless romantic comedy 
OD on animated sitcoms from Seth MacFarland by picking up not only the 8th volume of 
Harrison Ford as a reclusive medical researcher? Sure, I’ll buy that. Brendan Fraser as an idealistic dad desperate to find a cure for his children’s rare genetic disorder before it’s too late? Okay. Is Harrison Ford awake in 
It’s been awhile since his last comedy special, but Black is back with a new album – 
It doesn’t have quite the budget of Primordial, but 
I think it was during 
Leave it to that good ol’ golden retriever to make sure he gets in on the sports action with 
Really, the only thing that makes the fourth season of 
Adults (and even kids) have been eagerly awaiting the next installment from their trippy friends who dance around to music and stuff, and now they can pick up 
Always one of those inoffensive, rather forgettable WB shows, I could never bring myself to watch 
You wouldn’t think a comedy like 
Who wouldn’t want a radio controlled robot you can fit in the palm of your hand? I know! Well, the dream you never thought you had has come true with the line of 
Launched in the wake of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and clearly playing in the same ’30s adventure sandbox, 
It’s only in hindsight that you realize the entire season you spent watching 
It’s a shame that we can only get it divorced from the Jim Henson Hour, within which it was originally presented, but it’s worth picking up 
While most of the attention went to Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, the other magician film, 
Abandoning the 2-disc half-season sets in favor of the single disc episode collection familiar to fans of Spongebob, 
Many doubted it would happen, but it turns out that Larry David did return for a 7th season of 
For those keeping score, the 
Proving once again that their purpose is to really dig into the vaults and release titles that otherwise wouldn’t get a DVD release, the Warner Archive has added the 
On the heels of the success of Hercules and Xena, Warners waded into the fray with 
How many of you remember that 
Tween & teen girls are the intended audience for the extended edition release of the Disney Channel movie 
Talk about a show that just limped along to the end – you can now own the 6th and final season of 
As a follow-up to the equally stunning Planet Earth, the BBC’s 
So you want a stapler, hole punch, one meter ruler, precision scissors, ballpoint pen, screwdrivers (+/-), screwdriver socket, staple remover, and storage space for paper clips, all in container the size of a deck of cards? Well, the 
I was worried that something would come along and derail Sony’s release of the complete theatrical shorts, but with 
If you’re beginning to jones for more Rifftrax shorts DVDs, you can get your fix from not one, but two new releases – 
There was a time when a Tim Burton film meant a fair deal of whimsy with a surprisingly strong core of emotion at its center. 
Not only do you get the much desired original in high definition, but 
Originally available as part of last year’s big Clint Eastwood box set, you can now get the Richard Schickel produced documentary 
They’re not quite up to the same snuff as the classic specials of the 60’s, but there’s still plenty of fun in the 
Oh, History Channel – you’re not even bothering to do anything to do with hard history even more. You’ve become MTV, eager to throw up the next reality series, which you have with the garbage combers of 
Fans jonesing for a hit of Meatwad, Frylock, and Master Shake can get their fix from 
I really hoped you would be able to pull it off, Joe Johnston. I mean, you had Benicio Del Toro as your lead, and a strong mythology behind it, but your new take on 
When a shallow size zero supermodel dies in an accident and finds herself given the body of the recently-deceased Jane – a plus-sized attorney – you get Lifetime’s 
Recovering from some lost momentum, the third season of 
Insects are the order of the say in the new Sesame release 
While the first volume could be a bit rough going, as the strip was still finding its footing and voice, 
It may seem a bit pricey, but considering what a real pain it can be to keep monitors and TV screen clean and dust-free, finding a solid product that quickly and effectively does that cleaning with no fuss certainly makes the cost worthwhile. So what is this great product? The 
Forged in the fire of the Writers Strike of 2008, released on the internet to rabid fan acclaim, and long available on that selfsame net, you can now get Joss Whedon’s online musical, 
It’s an uneven affair, but 
New to Blu-Ray from the fine folks at Criterion is 
It’s nice to see that IDW is continuing to give love to John Byrne’s creator-owned venture all these years later with the 2nd volume of their 
It’s big 50’s filmmaking at its finest, it contains one of the most memorable sequences ever set to film, and I’m delighted that 
Admittedly, it’s squirm-inducing car wreck TV, but I can’t help but be riveted by 
Long one of those classic shows that has been absent on DVD, the complete first season of 
If you’ve been ensnared by the bayou vampire drama 
The modern day Robin Hoods of 
Made for the UK’s ITV, both 
Oh yes. It’s that time again. Are you ready for it? Are you sure? Because you have to make sure you’re ready for a new David Cross comedy special, and 
Wil Wheaton brings his evil, evil presence to the 3rd season of 
For anyone interested in exploring the origins of the amateur literary jam session that is The Bible, take a look at the impressively researched documentary series 
The History Channel packages profiles of history’s most naughty rulers in the 2-disc 
While the MST3K version is still near and dear to my heart, it is fun to see the restored original 
Matt Smith’s tenure as the new Doctor on Doctor Who isn’t the only change that producer Steven Moffat has wrought – there’s also a brand new 
One of the things I eagerly await is the arrival of a new volume of classic Charlie Brown & co., and 
You know what other book always delights me when it arrives? A new installment in the wonderfully awkward misadventures of dim-witted detective Frank Burly, courtesy of author John Swartzwelder (writer of 59 episodes of The Simpsons). The latest is 
There’ve been plenty of young actresses tackling vintage royalty in recent years, but a gold crown to Emily Blunt’s portrayal of a young Queen Victoria in the appropriately named 
There’s many a stand-up release that comes down the pike where I merely shrug my shoulders and say, “Eh.” And then there’s the new release from Reggie Watts, 
With 
It’s by no means a bad film – in fact, 
I still haven’t figured out what I think of 
A trio of cryogenically frozen astronauts return to an asteroid-devastated, rough-and-tumble post-apocalyptic Earth 150 years in the future in Gene Roddenberry’s 
What doe Tom Selleck, Yul Brynner, Leonard Nimoy, and Sam Elliott have in common? They all star in at least one of the three movies contained in Warners 
If you were to make the It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World of romantic films, it would be director Garry Marshall’s 
You know the Warner Archive is dedicated to fulfilling every obscure nostalgic wish when they release Kid ‘N Play’s 
I came rather late to the Adam & Joe appreciation party, but now that I’m here, I’d like to recommend you all pick up a copy of 
If you caught any of the Red Nose Net charity marathon a few weeks back, you might recall that we used the 
Long held up by music licensing issues, MTV’s 
Penn & Teller return to the 7th season of 
As the remake makes its way to a theater near you, can relive your 80s love of Mr. Miyagi in full high-def via the collector’s edition boxset of 
If you didn’t have the cash to buy the big ol’ Mel Brooks Blu-Ray set that came out last year and want to pick-and-choose a few of his later flicks in high-def, you can now snag 
The third season of 
It’s not Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye, but Smithsonian Network’s 
For anyone who was a fan of the BBC miniseries Edge Of Darkness and was hoping that one day a louder, shallower, star-driven movie would one day be made of that excellent thriller, than the new 
If you want some good old-fashioned swashbuckling action, Columbia has opened the vaults and found a quartet of little-seen Robin Hood flicks that are worth a spin – 
Charlie Brooker had it pegged when he presented 
Yes, I’m getting a bit tired of all of the vampire films and TV shows, but at least 
With grim determination and a hound dog expression in tow, the greatest defense attorney of them all returns in 
The 5th season of 
The epic films of David Lean are an essential part of any cinematic library, and the first to make the transition to high definition is the sweeping 
Robots are cool. So is brushing your teeth. Go with me on this… When you combine a toothbrush and a tiny little motor, you get the uber-cool 
I’m always leery of a new take on 
It’s been a few months and the new series has been hitting our shores, so hat means it’s time for another clutch of classic [Doctor Who] DVD releases. This time, we get a pair of Jon Pertwee adventures – 
Using the Poppinsonian maxim of a spoonful of sugar, Paramount has dipped into their catalogue for a trio of new-to-Blu-Ray releases, the first of which is the aforementioned sugar – 
Presented by Sir John Gielgud, 
While the new Blu-Ray edition of 
The comedy isn’t terribly nuanced, but there is a sucker punch level of laughs to be had from Leigh Francis’s grotesque creations in 
Universal dips into the vaults for the latest in the Backlot Series, 
You remember [The Santa Clause]? Where Tim Allen assumes the mantle of Santa Claus and family-friendly, heart-warming hilarity ensued? Well, replace Allen with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and make the former wrestler the titular mythical creature of 
Their marriage may not have been the happiest, but there’s no doubt that both Carole King and James Taylor knew how to write a song, which is evident on their recent reunion concert disc 
The films are good, but Universal’s new Blu-Ray/DVD flipper discs are still an unwelcome abominations – which is a shame, since the trio of catalogue titles – 
Recently re-released as a Blu-Ray special edition, the Colin Firth version of 
David Lynch’s adaptation of 
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where technology has failed and mankind is living by a thread after a plague sweeps the land, 
Featuring rare footage from his own personal collection, 
In the mood for a mildly entertaining romantic comedy with likeable actors that won’t cause upset and will quickly wash off after it’s all over? Well, then 
Remember that surprisingly chilling horror film a few years back about a team of female spelunkers who are hunted by subterranean creatures during an expedition gone wrong? You know, [The Descent]? Well, now it all gets a bit naffer with 
I’m not a fan, but there are plenty of kids who adore the little red monster and will probably happy tap along with 
A surprising and welcome arrival on DVD is the second volume collecting 
While not as funny as some of their previous television incarnations, there’s still plenty of fun to be had in the second season of 
Cross Doo Wop with [The Sunshine Boys] and you have 
It’s a bit disconcerting as you try and process the age difference in the 70’s-filmed [Honeymooners Specials], which brought the cast back together for one last spin as The Kramdens and The Nortons, but once you get into it, the old magic is there. 
Translated from its smash Broadway run and bringing Andy Griffith and Don Knotts together on screen for the first time, 
With Memorial Day right around the corner, Warners has dipped into the archives for some manly men classics to release as part of their TCM: Greatest Classic Films Collection. The first, 
By the time we reach the 
Tony Stark becomes a teenage superhero in Nickelodeon’s 
See a man do some incredibly foolish things to his body in the name of adventure in 
It’s another quarter of episodes to entertain the kiddies with 
It seems like there’s been a couple hundred editions released, but the new special edition of 
It’s slow and steady, but as a character piece about a broken down country star living on dive bar and bowling alley gigs who finds a shot at redemption both personally and professionally, 
With the 
Stripped of its lush, immersive, big screen 3-D and viewed on a much smaller, decidedly 2-D home TV screen, 
For all of the waiting and hoping, Peter Jackson’s adaptation of 
I’m become a bit tired of him as an actor, but it’s in rewatching a film like 
Similar to their recent attempt to present a younger, hipper version of Robin Hood to simpletons with a short attention span, the BBC tackled the legend of 
Slowly but surely, we’re catching up on the releases of Gordon Ramsay’s excellent cooking show, 
Journey back to the crazy days of local television genre hosts – from kiddie to horror programming – via the documentary 
As both Dallas and Dynasty wind down their DVD releases, it was only a matter of time before we got 
I was never a fan of the show, but it had enough of a fan base to last quite a few seasons, and those fans are surely the target audience of 
Often overlooked in favor of the The Little Mermaid, I’d say that the Disney animation renaissance began with the still-fun 
I don’t know about you, but every once In awhile I remember to fear whatever creepy crawly organisms might be living in the bristles of my toothbrush. Or at least I used to fear them, before I got the 
It’s a button-pusher to be sure – as all Richard Curtis films are – but I’ve got admit, I did like his love letter to the illegal, ship-based rock broadcasters of late-60’s Britain in 
I’m not a terribly big fan of Ron Howard as a filmmaker, but the story of 
They shine with a pale, pale light compared to the classic MGM short subjects, but if your kids absolutely have to have more cat & mouse adventures, then there’s 
Coming out of the theater with my 5-year-old nephew, I could tell that How To Train Your Dragon (available for 
Put memories of Platinum Dunes blah remake out of your head with the high-definition arrival of the original 
Since selling off The Muppets, the Jim Henson Company has been chopping and packaging the material they have left for DVD releases. 
In one of the slowest turnarounds ever, you can now pick up the 2-disc special edition release of 
I’m so happy to live in a world where a documentary has been made that looks at the fascinating – and odd – world of ventriloquism, which is called “venting” by its practitioners. 
Let your impressionable children plunk themselves down in front of the 2-disc 
Every thing you can imagine hits the fan when J.R. Ewing reaches the 13th season of 
Let your kids go on a bilingual jaunt around the world with 
I had no expectations and little knowledge of the first season of 
Do you have far, far too many items requiring a USB port and far, far too few of them to accommodate all of the gadgets and gizmos you’ve accumulated? Well, the fine folks over at Thinkgeek have heard you crying in the night (to be honest, we all did) and have brought you the mighty 
I’ve spoken many, many times in the past about the wonderful work being done by the fine folks at Twomorrows – those perfect purveyors of pure comics appreciation fun. Well, they continue their relentless drive to release must-have books, and I’ll start with the latest editions of their Modern Masters series of artist spotlights – this time featuring 
If you’ve ever been a fan of Love & Rockets, you must, with all due haste, pick up a copy of 
If you’d like a textbook example on how to take a cheesily fun flick and turn it into a plodding, pointless remake, look no further than Wolfgang Petersen’s 
For those impatient for Lord Of The Rings in high definition who aren’t willing to wait to get the extended cuts in a few year’s time, the 
Though I’m sure he was trying his best to make a faithful, impressive adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive epic, Ralph Bakshi’s animated 
One of the standouts of Playing For Change’s beautiful music documentary Peace Through Music was New Orleans own Grandpa Elliott, who gets an equally beautiful debut album in the form of 
Lionsgate has jumped into the catalogue Blu-Ray release pool with a trio of new-to-high-def discs, including David Caruso in 
Warners unleashes another pair of catalogue titles to their Warner Archive Collection sure to satisfy someone’s cult cinema desire – one good and one not-so-good. The not-so-good is the Shaquille O’Neal superhero flick 
Spend some time with the likes of Peter Cushing in the 
True story – as a kid, I used to think 
It’s pure 80’s sci-fi schmaltz, but the performances by the geriatric cast is what makes 
If you didn’t have the cash to pick up the complete series set and are instead going at it a season at a time, then you’ll probably want to pick up the complete second season of 
Since every Stephen King story must eventually be adapted into a film, it was only a matter of time before they got to the short story 
A series featuring a female private detective who finds an unlikely partner in a 450-year-old undead vampire, that complicates not only her professional life, but also her long-time relationship with her detective ex-partner sounds like a slam-dunk in these vampire obsessed times, right? Well, sadly for 
Jerry Seinfeld cites it as the primary influence for his own show, and anyone who views 
You know, sometimes work is dragging your spirits down, you’re sitting at your desk tired and dejected, and you know there’s only one thing that could possibly lift your spirits – Drumming. And with the 
It’s got its flaws, but I did enjoy Guy Ritchie’s amped up but still faithful take on 
Granted, there’s something inherently underwhelming about watching footage intended for IMAX presentation on a home theater setup, but there’s no denying that there’s some beautiful footage to be found in the self-explanatorily titled 
I’m not going to claim it’s a good film – or even that it’s not mostly boring – but yes, the original 
It’s not the next season set, but iCarly fans can spin a collection of two TV movies and a pair of episodes contained in 
The 5th season of 
I was a fan of his work on Newsradio, but I’ve never really gotten into Joe Rogan’s stand-up comedy. For those who have, he’s released a brand new DVD – 
Criterion continues to release classic flicks that you don’t even know you want in your collection until you sit down to view them. One such impressive flick is Nicholas Ray’s 
If your kids walked out of the theater eager for some mighty Viking dragon-training action, you can let ’em get into to early onset cosaplying with the 
You’d be wrong if you dismissed the documentary 
No, I should not be surprised that, after the massive financial success of the first film, there would be 
Even when they’re not brilliant, I still enjoy a Nick Hornby film, and I enjoyed 
With the release of the 8th season of 
You wouldn’t think that a series about the legal maneuvering of a maverick High Court judge would be very appealing, but it is in 
Did you know that Steven Seagal is a deputy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana? Yes – that Steven Seagal. Well, if you’re still doubting me, take a look at 
The penultimate 6th season of 
While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth is the one most-remembered, the detectives that populated the works of other contemporary writers are presented in the second volume of 
For the pre-schoolers in your life, there’s a pair of new Nick releases sure to keep them occupied while you try and get a moment of peace – 
Originally intended as its swan song, the strong viewer numbers of 
Still with the single disc, no-set releases, fans can now pick up 
Watch as a family grabs hold of a tragedy and rides it back into the limelight as 
Want to see what the girls of Jersey Shore will turn into in 20 years time? Pick up the crass, clueless 
Sadly, you don’t get the 3-D experience of their recent theatrical re-release, but the high definition versions of 
There have been diecast replicas made in the past, and while I miss the replacement of the stainless steel body for plastic, it is pretty damn cool to have a 
It’s Christmas at Easter as those nifty chaps at Rifftrax bring you a DVD release of their holiday 
When Mr. Fox (George Clooney) takes his thieving ways a bit too far, the wrath of the local human farmers is brought down around the heads of his friends in family in We Anderson’s delight, stop-motion animated 
I think a comedic take on sword & sorcery epics has been a long-time coming, and I just wish that Comedy Central’s take on it – 
The 3rd season of 
It’s not nearly the mess that some have made it out to be, but as satirical films about the illogic of war and the military go, 
It never quite lived up to the fun and adventure of its predecessor, but by the end of 
For all those (including myself) who have accused Steven Spielberg of being an emotional button-pushing, saccharine filmmaker, watch 
I think the quicker we can forget that the AMC remake of the brilliant 60’s series ever happened, the better, because this take on 
Fans of low-budget, direct-to-video horror will want to pick up the “8 Films To Die For” comprising the 4th edition of the After Dark Horrorfest – 
Overshadowed by the arrival of Mike Tyson, Robert Townsend’s 
If you’d like to partake of a brilliant, fascinating documentary snapshot of what seems like a distant age – even though it’s only 40 years ago – take a look at 
The 3rd volume of 
Celebrate Easter with a pair of new-to-DVD specials, the first of which is 
Remember Ken Wahl? Remember Wiseguy, the show in which he starred as the FBI deep cover agent Vincent Terranova, out to take down the mob from within. Now you can get all 4 seasons in one handy set. 
Well, now we know that while Jeff Bridges was filming the role that would earn him an Oscar, his brother Beau was co-starring in a direct-to-video sequel with Bindi Irwin – 
I admit – besides just being a fan of the show and being delighted that another volume has arrived – I’m even more delighted by the release of the 
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of wimpy flashlights. I want a flashlight that looks like it came right out of The X-Files… You know, with that wildly improbably beam that illuminated an entire wooded area with a powerful white light. Well, fantasy has become reality with the 
I had little expectation going in, but to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the new CG-animated adaptation of Tezuka Osamu’s 
I wish Disney’s grand return to traditional animation hadn’t been a by-the-numbers princess film, but at least there’s enough fun and spirit in 
The 13th season of 
The second half of the film doesn’t live up to the first half, but 
While it’s not quite the revelation that some tried to make it out to be, 
Well, 
Why, exactly, did USA decide to cancel 
It doesn’t take long into the second season of 
Are you a teen or a middle-aged person desperate to fantasize with the unique ability to turn off the portions of your brain able to assess the quality of script or acting? Well, then the latest installment of the cinematic Twilight saga, 
Explore the history behind the big screen with a pair of History Channel documentaries whose big-screen counterparts are apparent – 
Mill Creek returns with a clutch of fan favorite titles repackaged and offered at rock bottom prices. Their latest batch includes 
While watching 
Bide the times until the next full season set with the single-disc collection 
Produced by the Wachoski Brothers, 
To dismiss 
As part of their in-house plan to continue releasing shows that may not have the sales to go a more traditional big-box route, fans can now pick up the complete second seasons of both 
John Krasinski takes David Foster Wallace’s 
