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…)
It’s not hard to believe that the folks behind the golden age of Rhino Records are behind Shout Factory, as their releases in the last year have further cemented them as the company bringing out the most brilliant catalogue celebrations that absolutely must be added to any right-thinking fan of pop culture’s collection. The latest? No Pryor Restraint: Life In Concert (Shout Factory, Not Rated, CD/DVD-$87.98 SRP), which brings together material from Pryor’s 8 albums, exclusive compilation tracks, previously unreleased material, and the concert films Live In Concert, Live On The Sunset Strip, and Here And Now. Get this set. Get it now.
If you’re life is as full of gadgets, computers, and doodads as mine, then chances are you use a lot of compressed air cans. Probably a ridiculous amount, really. So how about a solution that still provides a powerful burst of air but in a reusable fashion? That’s exactly what you get from the Hurricane 2 Canless Air System ($99.99), now available from the fine folks at Thinkgeek. It delivers a 200mph airflow and – best of all – is rechargeable. How nifty is that?
Growing up, our family had an RCA Select-A-Vision videodisc player. One of the massive videodiscs my father owned, and I remember watching, was the Paul McCartney & Wings concert film Rockshow (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), which I can now relive in pristine, non-analog form via the newly restored Blu-Ray. The concert itself features Macca & Wings at the height of their power with a blistering set, available for the first time in its complete form. Ace.
This month’s classic Doctor Who releases feature a pair of stories from the Jon Pertwee’s years as the 3rd Doctor – a special edition of Inferno (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) and the new-to-DVD The Mind Of Evil (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). Both are packed with the usual assortment of nifty bonus features, including new documentaries, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, galleries, and much more.
It doesn’t hold a candle to Warner’s legendary Wizard Of Oz (which gets a restored 3D upgrade and theatrical release this fall), but Sam Raimi’s prequel-ish Oz The Great And Powerful (Walt Disney, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP) is an enjoyable enough romp through L. Frank Baum’s merry old land with the newly-arrived carnival magician (James Franco) who prophecy states will be the powerful wizard that saves the land from the wicked witch. While the 3D edition is bonus free, the regular Blu-Ray release (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP) includes featurettes, bloopers, and a personal video diary from Franco.
Yes, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Paramount, Not Rated, 3D Blu-Ray-$54.99 SRP) is every bit the pulpy, mindless fun B-movie you’d expect given the premise is about the pair of former childhood witch hostages (Jeremy Renner & Gemma Aeterton) all grown up as bounty hunters tracking down witches. Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes.
Former CIA operative Michael Westen is in hot pursuit of his old nemesis Anson Fullerton in the 6th season of Burn Notice (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) as Fiona remains in prison and everyone from assassins to drug cartels are after him. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a featurette, and a gag reel.
Aaron Sorkin’s latest walk-and-talker, The Newsroom (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$79.98 SRP) suffers from many of the same ponderously bloated issues that felled his take on late night comedy, Studio 60 – which is a shame, because he knows how to bring together a great cast (here led by Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer), but then bogs them down with awkward platitudes in the most purple of prose. But hey, some love it, and if you want to see it in a TV newsroom, this is the show for you. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes.
This week also brings a new clutch of TV releases from the CBS vaults, including the first volume of the 9th and final season of Perry Mason (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$45.98 SRP), and the two volumes comprising the complete 6th season of Rawhide (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$45.98 SRP each), starring Clint Eastwood as trail foreman Rowdy Yates.
Picking up where Spielberg’s biopic ends, the historical reenactment of Killing Lincoln (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) details the secret plot which spurred actor John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and featurettes.
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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Join 
Episodes have been teased on prior DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Tim Burton’s original feature, but it took the fine folks at Shout Factory to deliver the complete four season run of the animated Saturday morning spin-off of 
In a gadget-filled life, things break. What makes repairing them awkward is that many companies have gone with proprietary fastening solutions for their gadgets and gizmos. However, Thinkgeek has got that covered with the ultimate gadget-fixer’s dream – the 
If you’re too impatient to wait for the complete season set later in the year (and really, who isn’t?), then you can get up to date on the adventures of the Doctor with 
Comedy releases this week? How about the CD/DVD combos 
Fans of historical trivia will have a lot to get exited about in 
I’m actually quite delighted that major studios have begun licensing some of their catalogue titles to other companies, including Fox’s recent pact with Anchor Bay that brings high definition releases of 
Robert Taylor stars as the titular mystery-solving western sheriff in 
I’m Ken Plume, and soon you’ll be listening to “A Bit Of A Chat” with me, Ken Plume.
As nearly every extant Doctor Who story has made its way onto DVD, the BBC has decided to dip back into their original DVD releases and remaster/expand them into special editions, the latest of which is a story from Peter Davison’s 5th Doctor era – 
The fine folks at Thinkgeek know you can never have too many figural representations of Doctor Who‘s faithful robotic canine companion, so they’re offering an exclusive Mego-scale 
Now that the announcement has come down, the 7th season of 
Oh, 
I don’t watch it as religiously as I once did, but when the trio of Clarkson, May, & Hammond are on their game, as they are through most of 
If you want to see Charlie Sheen have a quirky meltdown in a film that feels like a pale Wes Anderson flick, look no further than the second directorial turn from Anderson’s frequent co-writer Roman Coppola, 
The folks at Scholastic continue to put out brilliant little animated adaptations of charming children’s books with their Scholastic Storybook Treasures line, the latest installment of which is 
This week’s kid-friendly release is a brand new volume of Nick, Jr.’s Team Umizoomi, 
Over forty years on, and 
Though we caught a glimpse of them at the beginning of The Motion Picture, it wasn’t until Star Trek III: The Search For Spock that the Klingons were place front and center as the cinematic baddie, with the main heavy, Kruge, being played by the legendary Christopher Lloyd. Also making its debut was the design for their ship, the 
I haven’t quite figured out their release methodology, but I’m delighted all the same that Fantagraphics has added another volume to their growing Carl Barks library with the release of 
It’s been so long since they came out that I’d forgotten just how much I liked the amiable East Meets West comedies starring Owen Wilson & Jackie Chan – 
The battle to overthrow the Observers begins in the 5th and final season of 
You have to dig through a lot of reality show crud in order to see them still operating under their name, but when something like the wonderful 
Well, the best I can say about 
You’ve got Brainiac, the miniature Kryptonian city of Kandor, and Supergirl in the latest DC Universe Animated movie 
What’s great about the Guillermo del Toro-produced 
With Baz Luhrmann’s big screen adaptation hitting screens, now’s the perfect time to partake of the BBC’s documentary 
In a bizarro move facilitated by the odd way in which the BBC once treated the creation of characters for Doctor Who, the character of K-9 is a free agent, which allowed for the creation of a kid’s show titled, appropriately enough, 
CBS continues to roll out their classic TV westerns, wrapping up the adventures of Paladin with the final season of 
And hey, for this week’s soundtrack releases, we’ve got E.C. Woodley’s score to 
If the first two years were awkward and the future brought diminishing returns, the 3rd season of 
And speaking of the season 3 finale, Paramount is also releasing 
Best known as a correspondent for The Daily Show, comedian Al Madrigal gets his first full-length stand-up special with 
The Warner Archive Collection continues to be a source of catalogue titles that would probably otherwise never see the light of day, but whose limited run availability delights a small but interested fanbase. Case in point is the complete first season of the 1960’s medical drama 
You could tell when watching The Sopranos that creator David Chase was a lover of music, and he gets to explore that affection with a love letter to those who share his passion in his directorial debut, 
Baz Luhrmann’s kinetic technicolor celebration of dance comes to Blu-Ray with the high definition release of 
Disgraced NYPD officer turned PI Mark Wahlberg takes on a case to follow the wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) of the mayor (Russell Crowe) who believes she’s cheating on him in the crime thriller 
Who could have predicted that the patron saints of stoner comedy would make their triumphant return in animated form, but that’s just what has come to pass with 
In years past, TV shows would rarely consider the afterlife of their run beyond a sale into syndication. The idea of a home video market for popular shows? Unheard of. With that in mind, music licensing deals were only ever made short term, which has left many a show in quite the deep financial pickle when the idea of bringing them to home video with their music intact. Years ago, the music was just changed to far cheaper tunes – leading to fan backlash. Eventually, though, companies decided to try and clear the hurdles – the first most famous example was Shout Factory’s Herculean handling of Freaks & Geeks. And now, the gents a Time Life have actually undertaken their own Herculean task and succeeded in clearing nearly all of the vintage songs (Dylan, Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and more) contained in the beloved Vietnam War drama 
It’s a rare gift to peer into the mind of a genius, but that’s exactly the gift that 
Hard to believe, but with the release of 
It’s an iffy proposition when a beloved classic gets a latter-day 3D treatment, but the team behind the multi-dimensional re-do of 
Rather surprising – pleasantly so – that the recent Art Of The Hobbit book has been followed up with a companion volume of sorts, in the form of 
For a book to get a foreword from David Letterman, you know it’s got to be special – and 
Mill Creek’s catalogue distribution deal with Sony continues to pay dividends for anyone in the market for a whole clutch of titles at rock-bottom prices, as they release both 
This week’s soundtrack round-up brings Lorne Balfe’s score for the videogame 
I run hot and cold on Quentin Tarantino, and while I think it’s overlong, I really enjoyed his spaghetti western homage 
David Tennant returns in the high stakes espionage thriller with 
If This Is 40 is a loud, tone deaf look at relationships, 
If you’ve yet to experience the fun to be found in 3rd Rock From The Sun, now’s the perfect time to do so, as the fine folks at Mill Creek have just released the final two seasons of the show – 
And speaking of Mill Creek, they’ve also released the second season of 
I could care less about sports, but I’m a sucker for a sports movie that makes you care about its characters, and that’s probably why – even 20 years after it was released – 
The BBC digs into their classy archives for the DVD release of their 1964 adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s 
Proving that they can go just in deep in pleasing fans as the already-established MOD Warner Archive Collection, Fox’s Cinema Archives drops 7 never-before-released catalogue titles starring Jane Withers – 
This week’s soundtrack spotlight falls on a pair of BBC productions – one nature, one science fiction, and both great. First up is Roger Limb’s complete score for 
It’s certainly not Pixar or even Dreamworks, but 
Running for a remarkable 28 years, we’re so very close to entering the last decade of seasons with the release of 
Find out the fate of Camelot as Morganna and Modred plot its destruction in the fifth and final season of the BBC’s 
Beyond the broad strokes, the man that was Abraham Lincoln has largely been replaced by the myth, which has overshadowed the nuts and bolts politicking needed to govern during a time of immense turmoil. The human accomplishment is fully illuminated by Steven Spielberg’s most engaging film in years, as Daniel Day-Lewis brings 
In an age where the original Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark can look like brand new films, it’s odd to see just how much grain is present in the high definition release of 
There probably hasn’t been enough time to put the events in their proper context, but there’s no denying the power behind the methodology presented in the hunt for the world’s most wanted man in 
By today’s standards, 
It’s always wonderful to see classic noir films hit Blu-Ray, as the high definition really drives home the beautiful cinematography to be found in many, and that includes the new edition of Elia Kazan’s harrowing 
While not as sparklingly brilliant as Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It, his team’s take on the US political machine, 
Very few things in life are completely dependable, but danged if Shout Factory hasn’t proven just that with their continued (and regular) releases of the original riff-fest via 
Looking to increase your knowledge about a given pop culture topic? Then you’ll probably want to snap up a trio of titles newly releases by Applause books which provide a myriad of answers to frequently asked (and even infrequently asked) pop culture topics. First out of the gate in what I can only hope is an ongoing series are the 
It’s hard to top the 2003 editions of his films, but Criterion has been doing just that with another film from the Charlie Chaplin library, the latest being his controversial black comedy 
If you’ve yet to experience the quirky joy of the cases of country solicitor Peter Kingdom (Stephen Fry), rectify that oversight with the complete collection of 
Beloved and much-missed, the late legend Levon Helm was remembered with the appropriately powerful 
Howzabout a bit of a UK TV-on-DVD round-up for all of you Anglophiles out there? What’s odd is that our first UK release is actually the American version of a UK show, which makes its home video debut in the UK – MTV’s remake of 
Lego irreverence returns to a galaxy far, far away with 
The cases of Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle make their way to DVD in 
The fundamental problem with 
The problem with 
The fine folks at Mill Creek continue to release a broad mix of titles and beyond reasonable prices, with new releases including TV titles like 
If for no other reason, watch the second season of 
Sure, it came in the wake of Pokemon madness, but every children’s series has a fanbase, and that includes one that will be thoroughly excited by the release of 
Based on the novels by Kerry Greenwood about a thoroughly modern Melbourne woman in the 1920’s who happens to be a lady detective, 
For your modern TV choices this week, how about the complete first season of 
Alan Silvestri supplied some of the most memorable scores of the 80’s – including those for the Back To The Future films – and he returns to score Dreamworks Animation’s new animation hit 
And speaking of soundtracks, this week’s soundtrack round-up includes Alex Heffes’ score for 
It’s always been an awkward little film that doesn’t quite work, but like many of its 80’s film brethren, it holds a special place in that generation’s hearts largely by dint of endless repeats on cable – and now 
It’s a shame that 
We’ve gotten so close to having all of the extant adventures of the Doctor on DVD that we’re starting to see more and more special editions of previous DVD releases, upgrading the mastering on the episodes themselves, plus adding in more bonus materials than were available over 10 years ago. Both new releases are special editions – 
Push the awful Sylvester Stallone abomination out of your mind, as 
Anthony Hopkins never really pulls off his performance as the great 
While not in the upper tier of Disney classics, you can tick off another pair of modern Disney animated features (and their originally direct-to-video sequels) from the list of unreleased in high definition titles with the now-released 
And, as traditionally animated Disney classics go, it’s not one of their better efforts, but 
I know 
Another lovely little Scholastic Storybook Treasures volume drops with the 
A young woman’s relationship with her husband and her family is pulled into focus when her heavy drinking jeopardizes her job as a school teacher, leading to rehab & revelations in 
I’m not a fan of the pretension inherent in Cirque du Soleil, but there’s no denying some of the beautiful acrobatics and choreography that goes into their shows, all of which is fully on display in three dimensions with 
The BBC is unleash the thunder lizards with a trio of documentaries sure to delight kids and adults alike – 
TCM proves yet again what a bastion of film history they are by putting together the 
Jumping on the same bandwagon as Warners, Sony, and Universal, the fine folks at Fox have premiered their very own in-house MOD program to make their deeper catalogue titles available, all under the banner of the “20th Century Fox Cinema Archives”. The debut batch of titles include everything from musicals and comedies to drama and noir, and include 
There once was a show about a priest and a nun who solve crimes. And it ran for three seasons, starring Tom Bosley. You can now own the 3rd and final season of the 
Jay & Silent Bob – well, Jay Mewes & Kevin Smith, actually – take the stage in the land of blarney for 
Football fans can re-live the big event with 
I admit that there was some worry that the second season of 
There are plenty of ways so outrageous a true story as the CIA actually creating a cover story involving the production of a fake Hollywood film in order to smuggle diplomats out of Iran after the revolution could have gone wrong – from being too ham-fisted to too light – but 
Timed to coincide with the release of the sequel Monsters University, Pixar’s recent 3D conversion of the original 
Based on Michael Dobbs’ best-selling political thrillers and brilliantly adapted by screenwriter Andrew Davies, the original UK 
In what I can only hope is a precedent that starts a trend, the missing episodes of the William Hartnell 1st Doctor story contained in the new release of 
Nicholas Meyer’s superbly written pairing of Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud in 
The easiest way to describe 
It’s a classic TV bonanza – which is rather fitting considering one of the shows getting another season released this week, namely 
I’m still not a terribly big fan of retrofitted 3D, but when it comes to a big, flashy 80’s popcorn flick like 
Jean and Laurent De Brunhoff’s king of the elephants makes his feature debut in 
The folks at the Smithsonian Channel have released a new pair of documentaries, covering both the natural world and the world of pop culture. On the pop side, you’ve got 
Fox rolls out the next in their line of prestige “20th Century Fox Studio Classics” with the high definition release of Otto Preminger’s legendary noir 
Every once in awhile, you have to cleanse your blockbuster-heavy cinema palette with a lovely little character piece like 
There may be eight million stories in the 
While the catalogue releases aren’t coming as fast & furious as they were at the end of last year, we’re still getting high definition upgrades of modern classics like 
The Cohen Media Group has launched into a broad restoration project of some true cinema classics, the latest of which is a beautiful high definition presentation of 1924’s 
This week’s kid-friendly quota gets fulfilled by a pair of Nickelodeon titles perfect for the preschool set – 
Try as I might, I still find the US version of 
Celebrate the anniversary of the James Bond film franchise with an exploration of its more iconic elements via 
It’s not a great show, but 
As a story, 
Ron Moore’s remake has its last hurrah with 
I’m not entirely sure why 
If you’re keen on watching a clutch of back-bayou folks bang around hunting gators, then look no further than 
Mill Creek and their kid-friendly Cookie Jar imprint have released another batch of family titles from their immense catalogue – 
Audiences shrugged when the first part was released, but that massive failure surprisingly didn’t derail 
Though Character Options had a go at it a few years back – the [Doctor Who] universe has been largely absent from all of the utterly fantastic 12″-scale figures that have been coming out from the likes of Hot Toys and Sideshow. Finally, though, the good Doctor has arrived on the scene in truly fine fashion thanks to the folks at Big Chief Studios, whose initial offering is a 
The TARDIS really is the workhorse of [Doctor Who] merchandising. You can do just about anything with it, and licensors have. Why don’t we taker a look at some of the permutations currently available this holiday season – starting with the 
I don’t know if I’m quite ready to wear one, but you can take your Who-fandom to bed, bath, and beyond with a TARDIS bathrobe($69.99), made of super-soft 100% cotton terry cloth, with embroidered details.
Of course, when you go to bed, you can rest assured that you can ward off complete darkness with the 
But what if you can’t sleep? THE TARDIS HAS YOU COVERED. You can pop yourself up and reach over to turn on your very own 
And if you still can’t seem to get some shuteye, you can head off into the kitchen and fix yourself a bit of relaxing tea, which you can then serve in your very own ceramic 
If you want to fill that free time with even more geekiness, you can take notes in the still available 10th Doctor’s 
But what if you just want to leave yourself a reminder? GOT YOU COVERED. Covered with 
When traveling through time (as we all do, albeit in a linear fashion), it helps to know when you are, which is why you can hang the special 
And if you might need to keep more detailed track of your day-to-day affairs while celebrating the 50th Anniversary, then the 
But if you’re into old school Who, then you can jot down your itinerary in the Doctor’s 
Keep warm in classic 4th Doctor style with a replica of his trademark neckware via the 
Speaking of style, let’s fast-forward to the 11th Doctor, because you can now replicate a slice of his sartorial panache with the 
Save a little scratch (now that you’ve spent most of it on all of these products) by packing your own lunch in your very own modern-style 
Though if you’re having some friends over, you might want to crack out your set of 5 
And once you’ve nogged, would you believe you can practice good oral hygiene with an actual battery-powered 
With 100% of the royalties going to support Alzheimer’s Research UK, it’s easy to justify the decision to pick up a copy of 
When the box blurb explains that the product is “An epic struggle for the balance of taste in the universe!”, how can you not pick up a 
Oh, hey! I almost forgot that for all of you retro Whovians, they’ve got a classic 
Place all of the small [Who] doodads and whatsits you’re gifting (either to others or yourself) this holiday season in a 
I wish the design of the bricks made them hold together as well as LEGOs, but at least we have a close approximation for [Doctor Who] fans with the sets from Character Building, with the latest being the sure-to-delight 
The next blast from the past comes from 5th Doctor Peter Davison’s era – literally the start of that era, with the 
And our final classic release propels us forward to Colin Baker’s 6th Doctor as featured in 
Okay, maybe not quite our final classic release, as Underground Toys has decided to help out fans frustrated by trying to find standalone Daleks that are either no longer being produced or are just in larger themed sets. So what have they done? They’ve plussed the whole affair by bringing out episode-specific 
Layabout over the holiday break like a Time Lord with your own very incredible 
