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…)
All kudos, salutations, exaltations, hurrahs and huzzahs to Darrell Van Critters for assembling a long overdue and absolutely brilliant tribute and celebration of The Art Of Jay Ward Productions (Oxberry Press, $49.95 SRP). From Crusader Rabbit and Rocky & Bullwinkle to George Of The Jungle and Superchicken, it’s packed with artwork and information about the artists and the studio itself. Did I mention how brilliant this book is? Because it really is brilliant that such a wonderful tome now exists. So go get it. Quickly.
To say that Fruitvale Station (Anchor Bay, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is a sobering film is an understatement, as it dramatizes the tragic shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) by San Francisco BART officers on New Year’s Day 2009 – which was captured on cameras by his fellow passengers. Bonus materials include a filmmaker Q&A and a featurette.
After mainly focusing on shorts-based released for their DVD line – most likely due to ease of rights issues – the fine folks at Rifftrax have been increasing their feature-length releases, with a pair of brand new ones to ring in the new year. If you’re in the mood to extend your holiday celebrations, there’s the disturbing Santa’s Village Of Madness, or the somehow not quite as creepy Ghosthouse (Rifftrax, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95 each). Just get them both.
Fox has opened up their vaults again, going all the way back to the high definition debut of one of the very first Academy Award winners, 1929’s Sunrise (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), packing it with an audio commentary, deleted scenes, trailers, and featurettes. Also arriving in high def are 1967’s In The Heat Of The Night (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), with commentary & featurettes, and 1985’s A Chorus Line (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), with the original theatrical trailer.
The surprise announcement that his younger brother is getting married sets off a chain reaction of bitterness and recrimination between the long-divorced but still very angry parents of Carter (Adam Scott), a man who is still caught in the emotional maelstrom of that dissolution in A.C.O.D.: Adult Children Of Divorce (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). It’s a wry little comedy marked by a stellar cast, including Catherine O’Hara, Richard Jenkins, and Amy Poehler. Bonus materials include cast & crew discussions, PSAs, and outtakes.
Watching Kevin Bacon be Kevin Bacon is the real reason to watch the spotty The Following (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), as it finds him cast as a former FBI agent brought back into the fold when a serial killer he put away nine years earlier (James Purefoy) escapes from death row intent on revenge and with a loyal cult of followers spread far and wide dedicated to carrying out his master plan. Bonus materials include an audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
The perfect antidote to the grating US version is a dose of the original power trio in their latest season with Top Gear 20 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$18.98 SRP), which finds Clarkson, Hammond, and May racing against a yacht in New Zealand, blast across Spain, and seek the world’s fastest taxi. Bonus material includes Stig Cams and James May’s Greatest Moments in Top Gear History.
By the time we get to the third season of Enterprise (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP), any lingering franchise goodwill I had towards the show had long since evaporated in the face of a relentlessly mediocre offering, so the baby steps this season began taking to try and right the sinking ship very much smacked of too little, too late, but at least they were an improvement. Little did the show know, however, that this would prove to be their penultimate season of a voyage cut short. Bonus materials are, as with the previous Blu-Ray releases, where the real gems reside, with a brand new, wonderfully candid set of documentaries as well as new audio commentaries and all of the previous DVD features.
If you’re in the mood for a prestige mystery that manages to maintain it’s edgy drama throughout, try Top Of The Lake (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), which starts with a pregnant 12-year-old-girl who walks out into the freezing waters of a lake. She refuses to reveal who the father is, and then disappears from town… leaving behind more than one mystery for an inexperienced detective (Elisabeth Moss).
As the new episodes have slowed to a trickle, the Spongebob machine keeps on rolling by introducing a character-centric collection – Patrick Squarepants (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) – which brings together 14 episodes centered around everyone’s favorite be-shorted starfish.
Just in time for the debut of the fifth season (naturally) comes the complete fourth season of Archer (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP). From the Bermuda Triangle to the Vatican, it’s a globe-hopping clusterfuh of Archerian proportions. Bonus materials include Archer Live! and a featurette.
It’s largely disposable entertainment, but Runner Runner (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is fine as thriller, with engaging performances from Justin Timberlake as a Princeton grad student who believes he’s been swindled by a gambling tycoon (Ben Affleck), so he heads to Costa Rica and winds up gambling more than he anticipated in a high stakes game between the Tycoon and the FBI. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a featurette.
Every once in awhile, The History Channel manages to set aside their godawful “reality” programming in favor of something truly enlightening and, dare I say, classy, like The Universe In 3D (History Channel, Not Rated, 3D Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), which brings their astronomical science series into the 3rd dimension.
Get your final fix of the period police drama Copper (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$59.98 SRP) with the second and final season, set in New York City on the brink of Lincoln’s assassination in a metropolis at war with itself. Bonus materials include set tours and featurettes.
The supernatural Three’s Company that is the US remake of Being Human (E1, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.98 SRP) rolls along with the release of the third season, which finds our vampire, werewolf, and ghost (plus Nora) struggling to keep their secrets hidden as things get more and more complicated. Isn’t that always the way? Bonus materials include featurettes, bloopers, and the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con panel.
Only a handful of releases of the long-running BBC series remain with the release of Last Of The Summer Wine: Vintage 2001 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), featuring the ongoing comic misadventures of Holmfirth’s pensioners.
When you can watch the story of a woman on the coast of Scotland who crafts fishing lures that are renowned the world over for both their efficacy and their beauty and be absolutely enthralled, THAT is the mark of the true power of a well-crafted documentary. So do give a spin to Kiss The Water (Virgil Films, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) and see if it lures you in as well.
It’s a new year, so howzabout a new round-up of soundtracks currently available for your listening pleasure? We’ve got Howard Shore’s The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (WaterTower Music, $18.99 SRP), Anchorman 2 (Universal Republic, $11.88 SRP), Marcelo Zarvos’s Reaching For The Moon (Lakeshore, $9.99 SRP), Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil’s I, Frankenstein (Lakeshore, $15.35 SRP), and Rolfe Kent’s Labor Day (Warner Bros., $18.47 SRP).
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
##
It feels a little odd to be writing about a children’s picture from Martin Scorsese, so it’s probably easier to understand when you realize that one of the key figures in 
If you’re looking for a purchase for both a Star Wars and a LEGO fan who may be too young for the more complicated sets, the 
With the release of 
Rowan Atkinson returns as the bumbling superspy in 
Written by the late Dwayne McDuffie, 
Take Buffy and mix in heavy metal and The Evil Dead and you’ll get the gonzo horror/comedy of 
It caused a controversy when it was released, probably because 
Tween boys with their eyes glued to Cartoon Network will probably want to pick up the first release from the adventure series 
For all its desperation to make itself a loving homage to Spielberg, Super 8 is a crass wannabe next to Nick Frost & Simon Pegg’s alien road trip 
Adding to the mystery presented to viewers all those years ago, the introduction of River Song in the episode “Silence In The Library” found the enigmatic Dr. Song in possession of her very own Sonic Screwdriver, given to her by The Doctor in the future and an advanced version, no less. Now you can own your very own 
If you tend to think of Mickey Mouse as nothing more than a bland corporate spokesman, prepare to be both fascinated and delighted by the incredible comic strip adventures of the 30’s by Floyd Gottfredson, collected for the first time in 
Oh, they’re coming fast & furious now. What, you ask? More classic Doctor Who adventures – this time the Tom Baker story 
Let’s all forget about the American abomination and just re-watch the from-front-to-back enjoyable 16th season of the original UK 
Although only one of them was made as a period piece, enough time has passed that both 
If you’re a big fan of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett’s post-MST3K endeavor Rifftrax, you owe it to yourself to partake of the heightened energy of a pair of recent live show releases that were originally beamed to theaters around the country – 
With the recent resurgence in popularity of Nickelodeon’s 90’s line-up – or, at least Nickelodeon’s acknowledgement that there is a fanbase out there – it should come as no surprise that those fans will now be able to pick up the complete first season of 
I’ve made no secret of my intense hatred – borne of even more intense disappointment – in 
If Pineapple Express was a stoner action flick, than the rather obviously named 
While Pixar and Dreamworks get most of the attention, let’s not overlook the equally enjoyable films from other studios that don’t get the attention, like Blu Sky Studios fun, funny tale of a domesticated macaw intent on returning to his roots in South America in 
I admit, there’s a fondness in my heart for 
Get your fix of manly-man movies in high definition with the release of both 
I’m a big fan of Berkely Breathed’s children’s book 
During that period when Hanna-Barbera was just crankin’ out feature-length specials of just about all of their characters, George & Jane Jetson’s eldest daughter got her own, featuring a witch, a teen idol, aliens, and even Elroy. And the folks at the Warner Archive Collection have made 
Oh, the 80’s was just packed full of mediocre animated series that inspired dedicated fans who’ve grown up to have disposable cash and a desire to relive their rose-tinted memories – Which is why we have 
It’s still not The Hudsucker Proxy, but I’m still happy about the high definition arrival of 
Get your literary drama on with a pair of releases from A&E sure to delight the higher-brows amongst you. The first is the 
Curious how timing works out such that the 5th season of 
See Brits survive a post-apocalyptic wasteland and make the journey to a distant planet to make a new start in 
My nephews will be delighted to see another volume of the Frosty Freezy Freeze fans and crime-fighting duo back for another batch of episodes in 
Some are fascinating, but I’m not one for re-living that horrible day, but from a historical perspective the documentaries collected in the 
If I were to choose the giant robot cartoon that left the biggest mark on my childhood psyche (after Transformers), it would have to be Voltron. Watching the 7 remastered episodes contained in 
Putting to shame all of the holiday specials before, Steven Moffat hit it out of the park with 
Leave it to the Japanese to marshal the mighty forces of science and engineering in order to craft a novelty 
I am absolutely loving the rapid-fire release schedule of the beautifully remastered high definition seasons of 
Ignore the bastardized American version and dig into the only iteration worth watching – and the original, natch – with 
It holds absolutely no interest for me, but I’m sure there are plenty of Michael Jordan fans still lurking about out there who will be keen to pick up the 4-disc, remastered, high definition edition of 
The fine folks at Mill Creek Entertainment are continuing to release a slew of budget-priced kids titles under their Cookie Jar banner, including 
Mark my words – in 10 years, Rupert Grint will be one of our finest character actors. 
Another series wrapped, as the second volume of the fourth and final season of 
Runaway train, never coming back. Wrong way on a one-way track. That could pretty much sum up the remarkable boring runaway train actioner 
I have some issues with the picture being painted by 
Like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, the original 
Most geeks love pizza. Most geeks love Star Trek. Well, the fine folks at Thinkgeek have realized both of these truths and constructed an item which melds the two together – the 
It’s quite depressing to realize, while re-watching the DVD of the brilliant second season of 
It’s not as strong a comedic romp as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the Aldous Snow spin-off 
It seems to be taking forever, but slowly but surely the US DVD releases are catching up with the new episodes, so picking up 
The Warner Archive collection has been great about releasing some deep catalogue titles, but also some much-desired flicks that have limited commercial appeal because, to put it kindly, they weren’t that good. Of the fantastic deep catalogue material, we have something like 
It’s not the Blu-Ray set that some of us were hoping for, but 
While we’re all waiting for the release of the next full season set, let’s relive some of the finest adventures of South Park‘s most naïve little boy with 
If you’d like to see an absolutely superb performance by David Bowie, look no further than 
One would have hopes that the 
The 10th season of 
Soundtrack fans have a trio of new titles to fill out their collections this week, courtesy of the fine folks at Silva Screen Records. The newest is Ben Affleck’s 
I remember loving them as a kid, so I’m eager to show my nephews the animated adaptations of Beverly Cleary’s beloved stories included in the 
After the abysmal eighth season, I had some hope that the bonus, ultimately final ninth season of 
I’ve been less-than-impressed with the ever-changing visual style of the DC Universe direct-to-video animated films, but at least they’ve reversed a further negative in 
It’s easy to look back at it as a piece of soul kitsch, but the one thing you can say about 
I fell out of love with Family Guy years ago, so I really haven’t been enthused enough to dip into its spin-off, 
Leaving box stores behind but not abandoning fans, Warners has shifted the second season of 
Using CG recreations, both 
Ignore all of the pale-wannabes and unfortunate attempts to adapt it for other markets, and stick with the original UK edition of Top Gear, hosted by the madman trinity of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. If you don’t like cars, don’t worry – I could care less about cars, but love this show something fierce, and it all comes down to the energy, likeability, and humor of the presenters. Don’t believe me? Check out the newly-released 
Tongs? Who wants use tongs when you’re cooking hot food! Heck, if you use tongs, you probably use oven mitts, too! Well, join the future and start on your journey to become more machine than man by getting a pair of 
Jumping ahead of about 7 unreleased seasons, Springfield’s first family celebrates two decades on the air with the release of 
I don’t know how much work he actually did on it besides lending it his name (or if he’s even read it), but 
If you’re not yet aware of the work being done by the fine folks at La-La Land Records, let this be your wake-up call. They’ve been quietly releasing a whole slew of limited edition, much-requested soundtracks to classic flicks, and the latest to get their treatment is 
I’m always game when someone shakes up the chat show format with a unique take – made all the better when it’s hosted by someone that you actually want to spend time with. Such is the case with Elvis Costello’s 
Combine an anniversary of an evergreen title with rather unfortunate recent events, and you get a 10th anniversary special edition of the Shakespeare in high school 
In the late 80’s when it made its debut, 
It’s often overlooked as the odd period between Cheers and his recent renaissance on Damages and Bored To Death, but 
From the editors of McSweeney’s comes 
You can feel the creak beginning to set in as we enter the 12th season of 
Bring the classic run of the series to a close before the lackluster post-movie, set-in-the-future episodes with the release of 
Don’t let the often cornball series keep you from seeing the original feature 
They’ve become cable classics over the years, despite their last-gasp, 80’s style over-the-top action cheese, but my do 
Lionsgate is releasing handful of their music & musician-centric feature films in a series their calling “Music Makers”, all of which come packed with a sampler CD featuring a track each from the musicians highlighted in the films (with an additional cut from Bobby Darin). The films in question are the Darin biopic 
Maybe it’s in films like 
I never really cottoned to the BBC’s recent slick & shiny take on 
You only have to view the unedited, unadulterated, original episodes of the UK’s Top Gear to understand why the idea of making an “American edition” and jettisoning hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond is such a pig-ignorant idea. For one, it’s their interplay that makes the show – not the car talk. Secondly, it’s foolish to think it doesn’t translate to the US in its original form – because it does. Which is all to say that I highly recommend you pick up 
Sometimes, life is about the simple pleasures. Sometimes, those simple pleasures have been shrunk down and conveniently made USB-powered. Such is the case with the 
DC continues to deliver top-notch collections of the post-Marvel work Jack Kirby did for the company in the 70’s with the release of his ragtag group of war heroes fighting at the height of World War II, 
Unlike most of Ron Howard’s filmic output, which often suffers from being uninspired and drab, I thought his adaptation of (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) succeeded in translating the energy and performances that made the stage version such a success to the big screen. Maybe that’s because it takes a lot of effort to stamp out the skill that Michael Sheen and Frank Langella bring to their performances as David Frost and the disgraced but defiant Richard Nixon. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, a look at the Nixon Library, and footage from the actual Frost/Nixon interviews. A 
If you were to take the wonderfully candid wrestling documentary Beyond The Mat and fictionalize it, you’d have the story of broken down wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a former superstar up against the ropes in 
Although the bulk of it doesn’t really hold up (the 90’s references shoveled throughout certainly make it less than timeless), I still have some affection for the episodes featured in 
The second season of the ADD 
Ian McKellen is truly incredible in the recent RSC production of 
Yes, I admit it – I watch 
Peter Bogdanovich fans can get not only the director’s cut of his Last Picture Show, but also the new-to-DVD release of Nickelodeon in a two-disc 
I’m no fan of rap and only marginally aware of the various rifts within its community, but I found 
I thought Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller’s adaptation of Miller’s 
Having moved on from saving the planet, Elmo is back to promote literacy with 
If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the return of hillbilly squids, then you’re prayers are answered with the arrival of 
Ewing Oil was left a shambles at the end of season 10, but the eleventh season of 
If the leaked Wolverine workprint hasn’t extinguished your enthusiasm for all things hairy mutant, also being released is the animated 
We’ve made it to the halfway mark with the release of 
The Stuart Little animated series is an innocuous, affable affair that managed to hold my nephews’ attention (no small feat). Two volumes are now available – 
The rich socialites of 
