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…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
Just yesterday (well, last year), it seemed that RiffTrax was just a web concern, with nary a physical DVD release to their name. Now, the DVD releases are coming fast and furious, the latest being another two volumes of short subjects featuring riffsters (and MST3K alum) Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett – Wide World Of Shorts & Shorts-tacular Shorts-stravaganza (Legend, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95 SRP each). Both are excellent. Both should be on your shelf.
Want a little extra monitor space without all of the fuss and massive footprint? Look no further than the Mimo Mini USB Monitor ($219). Not only is this LCD monitor a manageable 7″ and easy-to-use USB, but it also has touch screen capabilities that allows for even more usability. Nice.
Hot on the heels of their inaugural release comes Transformers: Season 2 Volume 1 (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP), which collects the first 28 episodes of the show’s sophomore season. Sadly, there are no bonus features this time around.
Halloween is rapidly approaching, so Universal is using the holiday as an excuse to drop a few much-desired titles on Blu-Ray that make for perfect holiday viewing – An American Werewolf In London, Army Of Darkness, and Shaun Of The Dead (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP each), all of which feature the bonus materials found on the original standard releases (plus some extra goodies on Werewolf. Universal also used the excuse to unleash the miserable Van Helsing (Universal, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP), but I won’t hold that against them. Much.
Speaking of Simon Pegg & Nick Frost, their epic cop action/comedy Hot Fuzz (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) has also gotten the audio/visual upgrade to high-def, which ports over all of the bonus materials from the deluxe edition that came out a few years back.
If I had to name my favorite instrument, hands down (pun intended, sadly) it would be a piano. So much so that I was completely captivated by the documentary Note By Note: The Making Of Steinway L1037 (Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP), which follows from forest to finish the creation of a Steinway grand piano. The artisanship – and artisans – involved are fascinating.
Leonard & Sheldon both find a girl in the second season of The Big Bang Theory (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), which I’m sure comes as a shock to many of you. A shock! Regardless, it’s a funny sophomore outing for the comedy nerd set. The 4-disc set sports a pair of featurettes and a gag reel.
The fourth season of My Name Is Earl (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP) wasn’t its strongest, but I certainly didn’t expect NBC to cancel it – and leave stinkers like Parks And Recreation on the schedule. Either way, the show didn’t get a terribly satisfying resolution, which is the biggest disappointment. Bonus features include deleted scenes, a featurette, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($59.99 SRP) is also available.
I’m a bit disappointed that they’ve decided to break them up, but you can now get the most recent animated incarnation of Astro Boy (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$14.94 SRP each) across five individual volumes, the last of which contains a making-of featurette.
Where Torchwood fails in its belief that it’s more than it really is, Primeval (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) revels in its straightforward sci-fi/fantasy goofiness, as you’ll see in the second season of monster fighting adventures. The 3-disc set features audio commentaries and a pair of featurettes.
Fans have been waiting a long time for an official, snazzy-looking edition of the Boris Karloff-presented anthology series One Step Beyond (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP), and now they’ve got it. The 3-disc set contains all 22 episodes, plus an extended version of the pilot, promos, an audio interview with Don Mankiewicz, and more.
The long public domain nightmare is over – Bonanza has finally arrived on DVD in a beautifully remastered, fully official form. They really want people to know, so they’ve named the premiere releases Bonanza: The Official First Season Volume 1 & Bonanza: The Official First Season Volume 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP each), which are packed with archival interviews, promos, photos, and more.
It doesn’t hold a candle to the feature film, but at least at the start, the TV spin-off of Fame (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) tried to capture its gritty, warts-and-all look at the students of the New York City High School for The Performing Arts. You can now pick up a box set containing the first two seasons of the show, which also sports a “Then and Now” featurette.
While not as successful as her dip into fairy tales, Shelly Duvall’s Tall Tales & Legends (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) was still a fun collection of star-studded productions of tales ranging from Pecos Bill to John Henry.
Fox and MGM have dipped into their catalogues to put together a slate of high-def releases perfect for your October/Halloween viewing list – Misery (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99SRP), Child’s Play (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), Wrong Turn & Wrong Turn 2 (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each), and The Hannibal Lecter Collection (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$69.98 SRP), which contains Manhunter, Silence Of The Lambs, and Hannibal in one handy package.
Hot on the heels of the first two volumes, Volume 3 & Volume 4 of the 90’s X-Men animated series (Buena Vista, Not Rated, DVD-$23.99 SRP) are now available, featuring an additional 29 episodes but nary a bonus feature.
Its title led many to believe that Russell Davies might be pulling the trigger on the 10th Doctor’s regeneration a bit early, but last year’s Christmas special, Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) was instead a romp through Victorian England with David Morrisey playing a man who believes himself to be the Doctor, with the Cybermen fulfilling the role as the big baddies. As a bonus, there’s the Doctor Who At The Proms concert.
My sister loves Grey’s Anatomy (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP). Other women do, as well. I can’t stand it. It’s a nighttime soap, and a poor one at that. But I’m sure fans will snap up the complete 5th season, with its featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. In fact, they’ll probably pick up the second season of its spin-off, Private Practice (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP) as well, with its practically identical complement of bonus materials.
Amanda Tapping stars as Dr. Helen Magnus in Sanctuary (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), a sci-fi series about a group dedicated to studying and protecting bizarre, often terrifying creatures. The first season set contains all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, webisodes, featurettes, and outtakes.
Miramax has opened up the high-def floodgates with a quartet of Asian flicks sure to delight fans of Asian cinema – Hero (Miramax, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP each), The Legend Of Drunken Master, Iron Monkey, and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (Miramax, Rated PG-13/R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP each). Bonus materials include featurettes and interviews.
Essentially a PG-13, network version of Showtime’s Masters Of Horror (meaning no nudity, no gore), Fear Itself (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) was a short-lived anthology series featuring directors such as John Landis and Darren Bousman. The 4-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus director interviews.
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 a bit depressing, but 
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