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…)
I have been waiting ages – AGES – for Steven Spielberg’s epic misfire 1941 to make its way to a proper high definition release. Heck, considering the old DVD wasn’t even anamorphic, even that would have been a better treatment of a film that, for all its messiness, I truly enjoy. Just when I was about to give up hope, along comes the new Steven Spielberg: Director’s Collection (Universal, Rated PG/PG-13, Blu-Ray-$199.98 SRP), which brings together eight of the director’s Universal Pictures films into one must-have set. Along with the previously available special editions of Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, this set marks the high def debuts of Duel, Sugarland Express, 1941 (both the theatrical and far superior extended cuts), and Always. All this plus a 58-page book. So is this set worth it? By all means, yes. Yes, it is.
Although the story is rather flat and doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny, Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$36.99 SRP) is the one Disney film that I watch just to admire the visual design (due largely to designer Evinyd Earle) and the incredible 2:55 widescreen canvas. The new Diamond Edition is sparklingly clean and pops like a champagne cork. Bonus features include a never-before-seen alternate opening sequence, deleted songs, a making-of documentary, an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and much more.
Of all of the action figures and merchandise that have been released in the 2 years since the most recent incarnation of the show debuted on Nickelodeon, none have come close to capturing Ciro Nieli’s brilliant designs like Diamond Select Toys’s set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bust Banks (DST, $22.99 SRP each). Standing an average of 5″ tall with articulation at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and heads, the sculpts are exceedingly accurate to the show’s designs, putting all other versions of the heroes in a halfshell out there to shame. In fact, my only disappointment is that they’re only busts and not full figures. Maybe that’s something they can rectify in the very near future. Here’s hoping, anyway.
It’s been over 10 years since the release of Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller’s definitive oral history of Saturday Night Live, years featuring plenty of new castmembers and scores of new sketches. With that in mind, as well as the show’s 40th anniversary, a newly updated and expanded edition of Live From New York (Little Brown, $30 SRP) has arrived, and contains enough new material for owners of the previous edition to justify upgrading. And if you don’t own a copy? It’s a must-have purchase.
Every bit as pulpy as the name implies, the first season of Penny Dreadful (Showtime, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$48.99 SRP) managed to be a gory Victorian cavalcade of familiar literary characters recast into a monstrously entertaining narrative. Bonus materials includes a clutch of featurettes, plus the first two episodes of fellow Showtime show Ray Donovan. Sadly, not a crossover.
While the special is fun in the same manner of their first go round with the legendary comics universe, Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains In Paradise (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) really shines beyond the 21 minute special, with the hours of bonus materials, including featurettes, commentaries and more.
In one of those, “Wait, this wasn’t out on Blu-Ray yet?” moments, the Farrelly Brothers’ Kingpin (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP) makes its high definition debut in both its theatrical and R-rated forms, plus an audio commentary and a brand new featurette.
The eleventh season of Two And A Half Men (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP) has eliminated the titular half man after the young actor’s public meltdown, so what we’re left with is the wacky misadventures of Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher. Plus Amber Tamblyn. Which, if you’re into the kind of thing, is fine. I guess. The 3-disc set contains a bonus gag reel.
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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Like chocolate and peanut butter, Tim Minchin is one of those rare breed of stand-ups that have hit upon the sweet combination of comedy and music, and over the last few years he’s brought his nouveau-cabaret act to audiences that have explosively grown in size and loyalty in both Britain and his native Australia. He’s set his sights on the US next, so be the first on your block to be hip to a wonderful performer I can best describe as combining equal parts theatricality, musicianship, and glorious bombast. Minchin is the Meat Loaf of comedy. For an easy primer, pick up both his most recent DVD – 
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Humor in mainstream comics is a rarity, so it’s nice to be reminded of one of the genre’s truly funny classics with the Showcase release of Keith Giffen’s 
Someone described 
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Erasure fans will be a half dozen kinds of giddy with the release of the 
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Most of the classic MGM musicals library resides over at Warner Bros. – and they’ve been doing a fine job of releasing deluxe special editions of those titles – but there are a few that still remain with MGM, and a trio of them are getting a release – 
Go behind the walls and delve into its past with the Smithsonian Channel’s 
Buy your ticket for the eighth and final season of 
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