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…)
Universal continues to impress with their high definition100th anniversary celebration, leading off this week with a lovely restoration of The Sting (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), reuniting Robert Redford and Paul Newman as a pair of 1930’s conmen who plot revenge against the mob after their friend is killed. Also available is a pair of catalogue releases – Erin Brockovich (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) and the long-awaited Smokey And The Bandit (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP).
Here’s a fun one for the kiddies. Help them spruce up otherwise pedestrian LEGO creations with the LEGO-compatible Brick Brites ($9.99 SRP). Each package features a pair of standard-size bricks that are jam-packed with flashy LEDs. How’s that for a little punch?
The biggest crime perpetrated by John Carter (Walt Disney, Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) is that it forgot its pulp roots (as evidenced by the last-minute axing of the “Of Mars” in the title) and largely forgot to wrap up a fair share of the plot threads it starts. It’s a shame, really, because there was so much potential in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ tale of a war-weary Civil War captain who finds himself transported into the middle of a conflict on Mars. Even flawed, it’s still worth a watch, particularly in 3D. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers, and more.
Want to see a show properly blow itself up without going off the rails? Look no further than the brilliant fourth season of Breaking Bad (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$65.99 SRP), which does just that. In fact, I won’t even spoil it, suffice to say you should see it. Immediately. Bonus materials include uncensored episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
Available for the first time in widescreen and in high definition, as well, Hondo (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) stars John Wayne as cavalry rider Hondo Lane, who is designated to protect a homesteader and her young son against warring Native American tribes while her brutish husband is away. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and more.
See what Sookie and her sultry & sallow supernatural pals have been up to in balmy Bon Temps in the complete 4th season of True Blood (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$79.98 SRP). It’s basically fangs, butts, and boobs. But you probably knew that. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
Even though he said it was over, Larry David returned with an 8th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which found Larry living it up as a bachelor and living in New York City – and suffering from every possible faux pas you can imagine. Bonus materials include a roundtable discussion with the cast and a featurette.
You certainly couldn’t do the show today short of an all-CG affair, but I always enjoyed the offbeat Mod fun of the all-simian 60’s spy comedy Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp (Film Chest, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), which is getting a 3-disc release of all 17 episodes, plus bonus materials including interviews and even a documentary. It’s a fun romp.
Sometimes you need a nicely goofball series like Workaholics (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), about a trio of friends fresh out of college who share both a house and a workplace – a workplace in which they perform that most awful job, telemarketing. This set contains both seasons 1 & 2, plus commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
The fine folks at Mill Creek continue to roll out the Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures high definition catalogue releases with another clutch of mid-range titles for very low prices – this time including Eddie Murphy in Holy Man (Touchstone, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP), Gwyneth Paltrow & Huey Lewis in Duets (Hollywood Pictures, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP), Meryl Streep & Liam Neeson in Before And After (Hollywood Pictures, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP), Ellen Degeneres & Bill Pullman in Mr. Wrong (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP), and finally the immortal teaming of Danny Glover & Joe Pesci in Gone Fishin’ (Hollywood Pictures, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$9.99 SRP).
Fun and games for the kiddie set abound in Team Umizoomi: Umigames (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98SRP), the latest DVD release from the Nickelodeon series, which features an additional trio of bonus episodes.
If you want a clear example of how to start a big concept series with a resounding thud, look no further than the stillborn Falling Skies (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP), which never managed to muster much enthusiasm for its should have been interesting concept of a crippled Earth trying to pull itself back together after an alien attack. Sad, really. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
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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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 
Those fans that have only experience the butchered editions of weird and wonderful 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 The Mighty Boosh seasons 1-3 that have now been collected into the massive 
During my mother’s recent cancer battle, she spent her final week at home. While at home, I set up a pair of 
After 10 years spent off the air, wandering the wilderness of feature film development, the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf return for a brand new adventure in 
The most brilliant parodies always come from a place of deep understanding – and often affection – for the particular thing being parodied. Such is clearly the case with Peter Kay’s brilliant send-up of reality talent competitions whose full title – deep breath – is 
The Warner Bros. Archive Collection does it again, this time releasing 
Really, the nifty on-demand catalogue service The Warner Archive Collection is the only way we’ll get the short-lived and rather mediocre but fascinating sci-fi series 
I was one of the Disney fans who marveled at the clarity that the restored Platinum Edition of Snow White revealed, making the film look like it was made in the last 10 years – not 70 years ago. Well, the new high definition Diamond Edition of 
You can have your fancy, expensive, often bizarre, more faithful, Tim Burton-directed version of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, but I will always, always love and prefer 
I’ve gotta say – I really & truly love the amazing, unique, and altogether nifty pop art books that Abrams Comicarts have been putting out – their entire selection of which is worth a look see. Case in point is the new 
Oh, and also from Abrams, have a look-see at 
Originally created for IMAX theaters, 
After a lapse in copyright that allowed it to move from Warner Bros. to Paramount, 
Slowly but surely, we’re catching up on the releases of Gordon Ramsay’s excellent cooking show, 
You know, I’m not entirely sure it hasn’t been forever since the last season release of the still-classic, still-hilarious 
I have nothing against the Shannon Doherty years of the low-rent “reality” candid camera frightfest 
Even though I find the show the dramatic equivalent of beige paint drying, I still find Patricia Arquette watchable in 
Reflect on an incredible body of work by a much-missed actor with the new 
It’s quite rare when I actually enjoy a romantic comedy, only because the plot developments are as obvious as a truck on the side of your ear, so it really comes down to a decent enough script and a good clutch of actors to pull the whole thing off. With 
Does anyone actually enjoy 
As you might expect, the soundtrack to Drew Barrymore’s roller derby flick 
I really have no other ammunition with which to recommend the CG-animated special 
At the end, the show was a shadow of its heyday high, but the cast of 
Sam Raimi decided to abandon the tepid Spider-Man movies and return to form with the schlock-happy horror of 
Will Ferrell’s big screen take on the schlocky Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning classic 
I can’t tell you just how much I really, really don’t like the live action 
I think the final product has been a mixed bag, with none shining too terribly brightly, but if you’re keen on buying the recent animated direct-to-video movies starring your favorite Marvel Comics superheroes, you can now get the whole lot in the 
It’s frustrating that 
I’ve never been a fan of Oliver Stone’s violent social commentary 
Before you gawp at the live action flick, take in the classic animated version of Maurice Sendak’s 
Do people still watch 
If you’re not able to drop the cash for the more expensive Spotlight collections, or just want a nice sampler, then you’ll want to check out 
I tried desperately to avoid obvious swimming metaphors to talk about this title, but in the end, I lacked enough willpower to refrain from saying you should dive right in to the 
Sensing it had been far too long since a new release and that brand awareness might be slipping, MTV has dug through the hall closet to scrape up enough material to fill 
I certainly tried, but I could never find enough of a toe-hold to get interested in 
It’s a shame that Gordon Ramsay is mostly known for the over-produced Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares when his UK output is so wonderfully engaging. Case in point – and well worth checking out – is his celebration of food, 
I should have spotlighted this last week with the re-released Back To The Future DVDs, but as there’s no time machine currently available, I’ll just have to let you know now about the pretty darn nifty 
One of the few shows I actively miss is Showtime’s late, lamented piece of macabre humor, Dead Like Me, about a group of “Reapers” tasked with delivering the souls of the just-about-to-be-deceased to the afterlife right before their often grisly deaths. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, the best way to go is the brand new 
Some have attacked it as “snarky” or “one-sided”, but I’m not entirely sure what film they were seeing, as I found Bill Maher’s 
Sleuthing angel of death Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) returns to her suspicious ways in the complete ninth season of 
Another week, another high definition catalogue upgrade – this time it’s the still great 
The fifth season of 
I know it’s been praised and it has quite a pedigree, but I found 
It’s not one of his better films, but there’s enough Friday-night popcorn thriller energy to Ridley Scott’s 
Barbra Streisand’s directorial opus 
Equal parts Losin’ It and American Pie, 
They’re certainly not his finest or most memorable films, but Warners has decided to dip into the vaults for what its branding as the “Paul Newman Film Series”. The five films being released are 
The High School Musical hubbub leaves me cold, but I know there are easily dozens of teens that will eagerly snap up the big screen iteration of the quickly aging teens’ tuneful adventures, 
I really wanted to like the adaptation of Toby Young’s 
The Clampett’s adventures in the land cement ponds continues in the full, official, and sparkling release of the complete third season of 
We’ve finally caught up with the current season with the release of