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…)
Criminally unavailable on DVD in any proper and suitably loving presentation until now, the loveable chaps at Shout Factory have released The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.93 SRP), which brings together 18 episodes of the legendary comedian’s television show not seen since their original broadcast over 50 years ago. As if the material itself weren’t brilliant enough, the episodes have also been fully restored. Bonus materials include interviews, bits from Benny’s television specials, and Hearst newsreels. If that weren’t enough Benny for you (such a thing is not possible!), if you order direct from Shout you get a special bonus disc of The Horn Blows At Midnight – the live TV adaptation of the feature film, starring Jack as the trumpeting angel sent to destroy Earth.
And what better Jack Benny chaser is there than Craig Ferguson: I’m Here To Help (New Wave Dynamics, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP), the late night wonder’s latest stand-up special. And if you only know Craig from The Late Late Show and haven’t seen his stand-up before, treat yourself to this outing, as it starts strong and never lets up.
The art of animation reduced down to its most primal level is the magic to be found in Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: The Flipbooks (Disney Editions, $60.00 SRP). The box set contains 9 squarebound flipbooks – each picking an iconic character or scene animated by Walt Disney’s legendary cadre of artists – Ward Kimball, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Woolie Reitherman, Les Clark, John Lounsberry, Eric Larson, Milt Kahl, and Marc Davis. They’re beautifully presented and deeply illuminating… So much so, that I’d love additional sets in an ongoing series.
While the show in many ways hasn’t aged very well with very uneven seasons, kudos must once again be paid to Paramount for the absolutely stunning restoration and high definition remastering job they’ve done for Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 4 (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP). It’s remarkable to see how different the show feels utilizing the original 35mm film elements rather than the video masters originally used for broadcast, plus the upgraded visual effects. To add to the package and the original DVD bonus features, they’ve again added a nicely candid trio of documentaries, plus deleted scenes, promos, a pair of audio commentaries, and a gag reel. And while you’re at it, be sure to pick up the single disc release containing both the season 4 cliffhanger finale and season 5 premiere, Star Trek: The Next Generation – Redemption (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which also adds a wonderful little documentary featurette on Next Gen‘s Klingon origins and legacy.
After the abomination of the first film, it’s with great relief that, while not a particularly good film, GI Joe Retaliation (Paramount, Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$54.99 SRP) scores a great deal of points in my book simply for trying to actually bring to screen visual elements and characters that made the original animated series such a mental mindworm in many a child of the 80’s… And yes, I mean Cobra Commander. So while it’s not great, it’s fun, and worth a spin for its move in the right direction. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Toddlers can take another ride on The Magic School Bus with a pair of new releases – The Magic School Bus: In A Pickle (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP), which focuses on microbes and molecules, and The Magic School Bus: Revving Up (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP), featuring 3 discs of construction, farms, and energy.
I guess it all had to end eventually. Sadly, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) brings to a pathetic close the last remnants of the Bruce Timm-era animated DC universe by ringing in the arrival of DC’s relentlessly imbecilic “New 52” universe with a bloody, gratuitous thud. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and bonus cartoons.
The budget-conscious folks at Mill Creek, mindful of just how precious your hard-earned money is, have dropped another clutch of reasonably-priced catalogue films and documentaries – the Charlton Heston narrated series Secrets Of War (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), the oil industry documentary The Prize (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), the organized crime documentary Gangster Empire: Rise Of The Mob (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), The Korean War (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), the 12-movie collection Flying Fists Of Kung Fu (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), the 12-movie collection Kickin’ It Shaolin Style (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), and the 4-movie Benji collection (Mill Creek Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP).
For many years now, the folks at Diamond Select Toys have been putting out some quite lovely prop, action figure, and ship toys from the classic Star Trek franchise. Now, they’ve upped their game with the newly introduced Star Trek Select line – deluxe 8″-scale figures featuring interchangeable parts and diorama sets. Star Trek Select: Captain Kirk (Diamond Select Toys, $24.99 SRP) features an additional Khan figure and section of engine room set from their classic showdown in the episode “Space Seed”. The Star Trek Select: Spock (Diamond Select Toys, $24.99 SRP) gives you the ability to recreate the legendary Vulcan’s mindmeld with a Horta in “The Devil In The Dark”. Here’s hoping they get to more vignettes featuring other members of the crew.
Sadly out of circulation for nearly 15 years, there’s nothing that stirs up good memories of a much-missed television show quite like a beautifully produced book, which certainly applies to Babylon 5 At Twenty: A Visual Celebration (B5 Books, $134). Running at 256 pages and measuring 12″x12″ on museum-quality paper, the slipcased hardcover contains 753 behind-the-scenes production images detailing everything from sets and costumes to make-up and candid moments. All with running commentary from creator J. Michael Straczynski. I’m not going to wade into the whole B5 vs Star Trek debate, because I love both series dearly, but what becomes abundantly clear – and what this incredible tome displays so well – is the remarkable world Babylon 5 was able to convey on a relative pittance compared to the much larger budgets of Trek. If you act quick – and I do meant quick – you can head over to B5Books.com and snag what remains of the first printing at a ridiculous discount that you’ll be kicking yourself later if you’re fool enough let pass by. So yes – Go get it. And then revisit one of the finest serialized science fiction shows ever to grace the pop culture firmament.
I’ve long beat the drum for the brilliance of The Thick Of It (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP), recommending it to my fellow Americans as a rare slice of satirical brilliance brought to life by a stellar cast. And the timing of the long-awaited US release of the entire series just so happens to coincide with the announcement that star Peter Capaldi – who plays the foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker – just so happens to be the new Doctor in Doctor Who. Ah, coincidence. Regardless, pick up this set and watch it all. Twice. Then again, for good measure. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, outtakes, and more.
Having become used to gritty, grimy VHS versions and only slightly better DVD versions over the years, to see the absolute, sparkling clarity Disney has accomplished with their new high definition catalogue restorations of The Sword In The Stone, Robin Hood, and Oliver & Company (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$36.99 SRP each). These truly are the definitive versions of these films – the restoration is just that impressive. All 3 carry over the bonus features from their DVD releases, while also managing to add some newly found alternate opening, finales, and storylines.
With the documentary West Of Memphis (Sony, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), filmmaker Amy Berg presents the powerful story behind the fight to save an innocent man from Arkansas’ death row, uncovering new evidence surrounding the murder of three boys and the trio of teenagers wrongfully imprisoned for the crime. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, Toronto Film Festival footage, deleted scenes, and more.
It gets campier as the years go by, but there’s still a B-movie charm to Wes Craven’s big screen adaptation of DC Comics’ green avenger, Swamp Thing (Shout Factory, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.99 SRP). The new high definition edition gets loaded with bonus features, including audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, the trailer, and galleries.
When you view the brand new high definition restoration of Cleopatra (Fox, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) and see in glorious detail the visual excess on screen, it’s not surprising that the epic very nearly bankrupted the Fox studio. In this modern age of computers making anything imaginable an easy reality, to see the old-school physical scale on display is truly a marvel, even if the film itself is a bit of a dud. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, archival footage, and more.
No matter how much I try, even by its 3rd season, I just can’t understand the appeal of Top Gear USA (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). The trio of hosts have none of the wit and quirky charm of the UK originals, which makes the whole affair feel terribly artificial. But hey, there must be fans, or it wouldn’t still be on, right? Bonus materials include audio commentaries, interviews, extra scenes, and featurettes.
It’s back to the backwoods with the 3rd season of Duck Dynasty (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), as the real life soap opera of the Dallas of duck calls keeps on rolling. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, webisodes, mash-ups, and music videos.
The releases seem to be coming fast and furious as we get Gunsmoke: The Ninth Season – Volume 1 & Volume 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP each). Both 5-disc sets contain 18 episodes of James Arness’ marshal Matt Dillon doling out the frontier justice.
With the rambling Beat nature of it all, it’s damned hard to realize an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road (IFC, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP), but Walter Salles makes a decent go of it with Sam Riley & Garrett Hedlun taking on the roles of Sal & Dean, and Kristen Stewart adding another emotion as Marylou. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a trailer.
Bronies the world over will be planning a movie night with the release of the first feature-length pony outing My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (Shout Factory, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.97 SRP), which recasts all of the pony characters into oddly disturbing humanized versions in an alternate dimension. Yup. Bonus materials include a featurette and karaoke songs.
Fans of a good ol’ British mystery? Look no further than the seemingly lovely villages of Midsomer County to find a thinly veneered undercurrent of murder in Midsomer Murders: Set 22 (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The set contains a quartet of cases, plus a behind-the-scenes conversation.
