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…)
Certainly, there was a fair amount of trepidation that despite the success of the Kickstarter campaign, the big screen Veronica Mars (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) would fail to live up to breezy noir fun of the original, dearly departed series. Well, kudos to show creator Rob Thomas for pulling off a film that, set 10 years later and reuniting the residents of Neptune California for a 10th high school reunion overshadowed by murder and intrigue, feels every bit as wonderful as the series it picks up the baton from. Here’s hoping for many more films to come. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Since they were originally shot on film, it was only a matter of time and money before CBS decided to give classic sitcom fans a triple-header of high-def delight with the fully remastered Blu-Ray debuts of I Love Lucy: Season One, The Andy Griffith Show: Season One and The Honeymooners: The Classic 39 (CBS, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP each). As if the stellar sound and video presentation weren’t enough, they’ve also gone the extra mile by loading these down with bonus features galore. I Love Lucy contains the original pilot, audio commentaries, 13 season one repeat episodes with alternate elements, on-set color home movies, bloopers, the I Love Lucy: The Very First Show special, and select episodes of Lucy’s radio show My Favorite Husband. The Andy Griffith Show sports the Danny Thomas Show episode that served as the backdoor pilot, home movies, original sponsor spots, the Person To Person interview with Griffith, and the Return To Mayberry TV movie. Finally, The Honeymooners features promos, an original Buick dealer presentation, the 60 Minutes profile of Gleason plus outtakes, a sketch from American Scene Magazine, both the 35th and 50th anniversary specials, and the Person To Person segment featuring Gleason. An incredible line-up, isn’t it? Now, if only Sgt. Bilko would get this kind of love from CBS, the world would be a happy place.
Everyone knows the immaculate 1/6-scale figures that the fine folks at Hot Toys produce, but fewer know that they’ve also been known to produce the occasional vinyl collectible. Featuring the same kind of exquisite attention to detail, the sculpt for their Monsters University: Mike, Sully & Archie (Sideshow, $149.99) is a spot-on recreation of the iconic characters from the Pixar sequel, clothed in their University jackets and measuring a healthy 9″ high. Here’s hoping this is the first in a series of these deluxe vinyl Disney pieces.
While it’s physically impossible to climb inside it, it is fun to finally get to fly your very own piece of Time Lord technology with the Doctor Who R/C TARDIS (Thinkgeek, $47.99). Coming in at 3″ tall, it’s capable of vertical takeoff and landing, and can hover about for an average of 6 minutes on a charge, which is delivered via the remote control (and runs on 4AA batteries). So, go fly a TARDIS already!
Carl Barks was a master of humor and economical storytelling, with an almost magical ability to present more narrative and comedy within a simple 10-page tale than most creators with 10 times the space. Once again, the gee-whizzers at Fantagraphics have released a must-have collection of classic Barks stories in their ever-growing Barks library with Donald Duck: Trail Of The Unicorn (Fantagraphics, $29.99 SRP), which features the titular tale plus a handful more, plus essays that put it all in perspective. KEEP THEM COMING, GUYS.
While you’re biding your time waiting for the next full season Blu-Ray release, snag the quick fix Adventure Time: The Suitor (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.82 SRP), collecting 16 episodes from the show’s 5th season, plus the “Little Did You Know” featurette.
It feels like an impossible wait until the 3rd and final Hobbit film, but fill the time with a lovely new tome that delves into the backstory and creation behind the monstrous worm under the mountain – Smaug: Unleashing The Dragon (HarperDesign, $19.99 SRP). Filled with art and designs and even an introduction by Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s an easy impulse buy.
Waiting for the new film and want to binge on some classic thunder lizard action? Look no further than the high-def debut of not one, not two, but 8 classic Godzilla films presented as 4 double feature releases in The Toho Godzilla Collection. Fully remastered, the films include Godzilla vs King Ghidorah/Godzilla And Mothra: The Battle For Earth, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah/Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS/Godzilla: Final Wars (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP each). Bonus materials include featurettes and original trailers.
After the untimely death of E.C. Segar only a few years into the life of his immensely popular strip “Thimble Theater”, the strip and its breakout star, Popeye The Sailor, were guided by Segar assistant Bud Sagendorff for over 40 years. But in 1986, King Features Syndicate was faced with having to find a replacement for Sagendorff, and they turned to a seemingly unlikely candidate – Playboy and National Lampoon cartoonist Bobby London. But they couldn’t have found a better choice, as you’ll experience for yourself in Popeye: Classic Newspaper Comics Volume One – 1986-1989 (IDW, $39.99 SRP), which collects the first half of London’s all-too-brief tenure of reinvigorated tales of the spinach-fueled sailorman and his eclectic supporting cast.
There have been many books that purported to present the definitive history of the original Star Trek. Much like Roshomon, many presented a perspective on the show’s genesis. But we’ve finally got the overview that incorporates all of those memories plus original memos, documents, and interviews and places them in a comprehensive context – These Are The Voyages (Jacobs Brown, $29.95 SRP), of which the second volume of what will eventually be a trilogy, each focusing on a season of TOS, is now available. Author Marc Cushman has done the if not impossible, then very nearly improbably feat of remaining neutral while presenting the facts, tales, anecdotes, and recollections behind one of the most enduring pop phenomenon of the 20th century – and beyond.
Coming fast and furious is an understatement when it comes to just how quickly the new direct-to-video animated DC Comics films have been hitting, as the latest comic book adaptation – Son Of Batman (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) – makes its debut. Based on the graphic novel Batman And Son, it finds the Dark Knight surprised by the revelation that he has a young son with Talia, the assassin daughter of his enemy Ra’s Al Ghul. With the League of Assassins and Deathstroke on the tail it’s not a bib surprise to find that Batman’s son Damian soon becomes the next Robin. Bonus materials include featurettes, a quartet of cartoons, and a sneak peek at the next animated feature Batman: Assault On Arkham.
Rescued from the mists of time, the classic newspaper strip adventures of the man of steel and the dark knight detective continue with Superman: The Silver Age Dailies 1961-1963 (IDW, $49.99 SRP) and Batman And Robin: The Silver Age Dailies And Sundays 1966-1967 (IDW, $49.99 SRP), which is the first of three volumes collecting the strip that was relaunched to coattail the success of the TV series. Oh, and while you’re at it, pick up the deluxe Superman: Sunday Pages 1943-1946 (IDW, $49.99 SRP), which are presented in all of their large format glory.
It’s odd to think they’ve been around for two decades, but that’s exactly the anniversary that’s being celebrated with the lavish and massive Art Of Dreamworks Animation (Abrams, $50 SRP). Of course, those first 10 years were filled with plenty of duds, from Prince Of Egypt to Shark Tale, but in recent years they’ve become a more surefooted powerhouse with the likes of their masterpiece How To Train Your Dragon. Explore it all with copious artwork and behind-the-scenes context with this tome.
In an age of ridiculous denial, Phillipe Squarzoni’s Climate Changed (Abrams Comicarts, $24.95 SRP) proves yet again the power of visual storytelling, as it presents the complicated science behind climate change in a streamlined, easily digestible fashion that hopefully even the simple-mined climate change deniers can understand. If not, well, there’s always puppets.
When you watch the virtually Shirley-less eighth and final season of Laverne & Shirley (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), you understand that it was only right and proper and merciful to end the series, as the magic of the show relied entirely on the dynamic between Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall, and once Williams left, well, best to end it all. Bonus materials include original episode promos and a gag reel.
Somehow, an entire decade has flown past, so do yourself a favor and celebrate the 10th anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) with a new high-def special edition packed with audio commentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes, featurettes, auditions, promos, and more.
It’s certainly a long way from even the limited 80’s quality of G1 cartoon, but completionists will still want to pick up Transformers Energon: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), which collects all 51 episodes.
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 seems we were just celebrating the 25th anniversary of the denizens of the Satellite of Love, but here we are with the sheer delight of another brand new collection featuring Joel & Mike & The Bots from the fine folks at Shout Factory. 
While I don’t think it’s as brilliant as it’s massive box office take seems to suggest, I do think 
It’s not his best, but there’s an undeniable allure to Martin Scorsese’s latest stab at the Goodfellas formula of doomed yet despicably loveable criminals, 
As sketch comedy series go – and it’s not an easy form to be consistently good in – there’s much more gold than dross to be found in the 
While not as sparklingly brilliant as Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It, his team’s take on the US political machine, 
Following in the footsteps of the perfectly okay but not terribly much more than that Merlin comes the latest BBC stab at a genre fantasy, 
Idris Elba is just as incredible as you expect him to be playing the legendary South African freedom fighter in 
First loves and sexual awakening? Sounds like the perfect recipe for a foreign film sensation, and that’s exactly what you get with Abdellatif Kechiche’s 
Lucille Ball returned to prime time television twice after her legendary series I Love Lucy, and the third and final of these makes its it to DVD in toto with 
Wipe the memory of the horrid live action tale of Hal Jordan with the significantly more enjoyable 
Restored to the original broadcast length with vastly improved picture and sound, the first season of 
Mix Deliverance, Army Of Darkness, and Shaun Of The Dead and you get the loopy redneck zombie comedy 
While the movie itself is disposable fluff, Vince Vaughn proves yet again that he’s eminently watchable in 
Psychedelia is in full bloom in 
Bronies – Start counting your loose change so you can pick up 
The catalogue folks at Mill Creek have teamed up with TV Guide to release branded collections culling from the properties they manage into 2-disc episode themed releases under the TV Guide Spotlight banner. Hurtle back to Benson, Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes, and The Jeffersons with 
I’m not a big fan of horror and gore, but for aficionados of such entertainment, the DVD arrival of the complete 3 season run of Tales From The Darkside producer Richard P. Rubenstein’s anthology series 
Another week, another soundtrack round up! This week, we’ve got Marcelo Zarvos’s score to 
This really is a golden age for Doctor Who fans, as the DVD releases of classic storylines are coming fast & furious, with another quartet now available – the Peter Davison stories 
I’m a sucker for a specific task kitchen widget that also taps into childhood nostalgia, so you can imagine my delight at being able to put a homemade spin on corn dogs with the 
With the fourth volume of 
Prepare for Father’s Day with a pair of new-to-Blu-Ray catalogue classics from Fox – John Wayne in 
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 new live show releases, that were originally beamed to theaters around the country – 
I can’t remember the last time I was surprised by the end of a romantic comedy, as the resolution of the couple-to-be is pretty well set in storytelling cliché by now, so my enjoyment of a romantic comedy comes largely from the journey. 
In the 4th season of 
I wish it weren’t the case, but the eighth season of 
I am not the audience for 
While we’re still not to the season that contains my absolute favorite episode, if you’ve yet to pick up the stellar high definition sets of Rod Serling’s classic anthology series, you can at least start with the newly-released 
While Trading Places and 48 Hours remain the greatest of Eddie Murphy movies in my estimation, it’s a welcome addition to the high definition library to get 
While many studios have been dumping sub-par catalogue releases in massive Blu-Ray waves, MGM has decided to release a wave of many films buffs consider must-haves – 
More insidious than wartime physical injuries, the effects of what has been termed everything from shell shock to post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers is explored in the documentary 
Did you know that Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen did a film together in the 60’s? Co-written by Blake Edwards? No? Neither did I, until the Warner Archive Collection made 
It’s always nice just to have a disc that you can put in and show off your fancy a/v setup at home – One that looks and sounds pretty darn spiffy. The high definition IMAX documentaries 
Now that we’ve got the full run of the Six Million Dollar Man on DVD, it’s left to 
MGM continues to drop almost a literal ton of catalogue titles via their new MOD (Manufacture On Demand) Limited Edition Collection program, including the David Niven sex romp comedy 
If the big screen live action outing of the Norse god of thunder has whet your appetite for more adventures look no further than the animated feature 
Universal drops a pair of newer TV shows on DVD this week, including the debut season of the Piper Perabo-starring CIA procedural 
The Warner Archive Collection continues to roll out long-forgotten animated oddities from the Hanna-Barbera library with the release of 
If 
It may just be the Atheist in me, but I’m tired of films about priests regaining their faith in the face of demonic presences. It’s like demons are God’s hitmen. So yeah, I was less than interested in 
I know there are many people I love and respect who love 
Hey! Doctor Who fans of both Tom Baker’s 4th Doctor and the Daleks can pick up a pair of action figure sets spotlighting the classic Baker stories 
Shout Factory has settled into a pleasantly clockwork schedule of releasing new sets, but I still greet 
When I was a kid, I always wanted the 5 transformable lions that would join to form the mighty battle robot Voltron. Sadly, I never did wind up getting it back then. As an adult, however, I have gotten the 
Relive the great legacy of Sesame Street back in the days before the show went down the tubes with the DVD release of 1989’s 
If you’re keen for a massive tome that takes a backstage look at the genius behind the concepts, designs, and implementations of their theme parks, look no further than 
Tide yourself over for the next season release with 
You’ve probably purchased them in the past, so what’s the incentive in buying the new editions of 
It’s hard not to be enthralled by the images on display in 
If you’re curious what Reality Bites would look like at middle age, look no further than 
Warners continues to mine their deep library of noir films with the 5th volume of the 
Post-MASH, Robert Altman decided to cash most of the goodwill audiences had in with the bizarre, daft 
In the early days of Nick at Nite, one of the shows I watched night after night was My Three Sons, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s because of star Fred MacMurray, as single parent Steve Douglas (sadly, sans Flubber). Or maybe it was just the lovably crotchety presence of William Frawley. Either way, both the 
Paramount continues to undercut the public domain cheapie market with the welcome release of the complete second season of 
I was never a fan of 
Since you can’t introduce your kids to the superheroes you loved as a kid via comic books anymore (dark, violent aberrations that they’ve become), pick up 
Those fans that have only experience the butchered editions of The Mighty Boosh that have been running on Adult Swim need to run – not walk – to their favorite DVD emporium and snag copies of the new-to-the-US unexpurgated editions of 
Some may call it kitschy. Some may call it corny. Some may call it Shirley. The fine folks at Thinkgeek call it the 
As a fan of both the Neil Gaiman book and the previous work of director Henry Selick, I was eager to see what the stop-motion cinematic adaptation of 
Spurred on by the fun they had with their original foray into a galaxy far, far away, the Robot Chicken team decided to jump back in with 
Another quirky show still going strong (and also a network-mate of Monk is 
I once chatted with John Hodgman about the importance of supporting a film like 
Truly a leader in John Hodgman’s vision of a nerdier America, Ira Glass’s 
Spongebob makes a momentous decision about his very identity in the latest single-disc release, 
Like many a quirky, innovative show before it, 
Years after defining the television sitcom and becoming a cultural icon, a now-single Lucille Ball returned with 
In a nature mood? The Smithsonian has a quartet of new documentaries that may help with that. Explore the massive blue whale in 
Hey! Fans of Homestar Runner! Get your DVD fix with a pair of new Strong Bad DVDs – 
It’s completely mind-off entertainment, but at least you can say that the techno-thriller 
It’s not a terribly great adaptation of the Terry Pratchett book, but there is a measure of fun to be had in the made-for-TV 
Even as Sci-Fi… err, Syfy… is on the verge of launching a new, neutered series, Stargate fans can pick up a newly recut, refurbished version of the original series pilot, 
By the time the fourth season of 
James Brolin and Connie Selleca star in Aaron Spelling’s land-based equivalent of The Love Boat, 
