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…)
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 Snakedance and Kinda (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP each) and the Jon Pertwee stories Terror Of The Autons (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) and Planet Of The Spiders (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP). All of them are TARDIS-full of bonus features, including commentaries, featurettes, trailers, interviews, and more.
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 Corn Dog Factory ($24.99), which is an easy-to-use widget to make – you guessed it – corn dogs. Isn’t that fantastic?
With the fourth volume of Bloom County: The Complete Library (IDW, $39.99 SRP), we fully entered the golden age of Berkely Breathed’s legendary strip, as it contains many of the strips and satire that firmly placed Opus & friends into the pop culture landscape. Hopefully you’ve been picking up these volumes – and if not, why not? GO! GET!
Prepare for Father’s Day with a pair of new-to-Blu-Ray catalogue classics from Fox – John Wayne in The Comancheros and Paul Newman & Jackie Gleason in The Hustler (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP each). Both look better than ever, and sport audio commentaries and featurettes galore. Oh, and both are must-haves.
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 – Rifftrax Live: House On Haunted Hill Riffed Live From Nashville 2010 & Rifftrax Live: Reefer Madness Riffed Live From San Diego 2010 (Legend Films, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP each). Heck, the Nashville show even has a special set from special guest Paul F. Tompkins.
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. No Strings Attached (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) is an enjoyable flick due largely to the unexpected chemistry between Aston Kutcher and Natalie Portman as the inevitable couple whose lifelong crossed paths culminates in an agreement to become casual sex partners and nothing more. You can guess what happens from there. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
In the 4th season of The Lucy Show (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$42.99 SRP), Lucille Ball’s Lucy Carmichael ups stakes and moves to sunny California, which means the guest star quotient increases even beyond its usual level, in including Bob Crane and Mickey Rooney. Bonus features include clips, promos, vintage openings & closings, and more.
I wish it weren’t the case, but the eighth season of Penn & Teller: Bullshit (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$31.99 SRP) isn’t nearly as strong as the earlier seasons, which owes largely to the feeling that the duo are scraping the bottom of the topic barrel and delivering material they don’t feel quite as passionately about.
I am not the audience for Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (Paramount, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), the bubblegum hair popper’s concert film. No, I’m most definitely not. But for the audience of pre-teen girls still enamored with his inoffensive tunes and robotic stylings, this special edition is sure to be tops on their must-have list.
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 Twilight Zone: Season 4 (Image, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$99.98 SRP), featuring all 18 episodes plus more bonus features than you can shake a cord of sticks at. Not only do you get all of the bonus materials from the original release, but also 13 new audio commentaries and a vintage audio interview with DP George Clemens.
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 Beverly Hills Cop (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP) on Blu-Ray. Bonus materials include an audio commentary from director Martin Brest, featurettes, a location map, and the theatrical trailer.
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 – The Terminator (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), The Manchurian Candidate (MGM, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), The Usual Suspects (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), Dead Man Walking (MGM, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$44.95 SRP), Leaving Las Vegas (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP), Hotel Rwanda (MGM, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), and Some Like It Hot (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP). All of the discs port over the special features from their most recent DVD editions, including commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and more. They’ve also thrown in a pair of westerns – The Horse Soldiers (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$16.99 SRP) and The Misfits (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) – for good measure.
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 Wartorn: 1861-2020 (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). The disc also contains a post-premiere panel discussion at the Pentagon.
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 Soldier In The Rain (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.95) available. It’s actually a pretty strong dramedy, anchored by its leads, that had the misfortune of being released the same week as the Kennedy assassination.
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 Search For The Great Sharks and The Greatest Places (Inception, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP each) both fit the bill, with one taking you under the sea and the other taking you around the rest of the world.
Now that we’ve got the full run of the Six Million Dollar Man on DVD, it’s left to The Bionic Woman (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) to catch up, and with the release of the 2nd season, it’s one step closer. The 5-disc set contains all 24 episodes, plus audio commentaries, a featurette, a pair of Six Million Dollar Man crossover episodes, and a photo gallery.
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 Old Dracula (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98), Rita Hayworth & Rex Harrison in The Happy Thieves (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98), Charlton Heston in The Call Of The Wild (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98), and Michael Caine & James Mason in The Destructors (MGM, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98).
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 Thor: Tales Of Asgard (Lionsgate, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which finds the him on a seemingly harmless treasure hunt which turns deadly dangerous right quick. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a featurette, and an Avengers episode.
Universal drops a pair of newer TV shows on DVD this week, including the debut season of the Piper Perabo-starring CIA procedural Covert Affairs (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) and the second season of the blue blood doctor series Royal Pains (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). Both sets sport audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and gag reels.
The Warner Archive Collection continues to roll out long-forgotten animated oddities from the Hanna-Barbera library with the release of Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.95), which is truly the gift that keeps on giving.
If Flashpoint (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$42.99 SRP) has one thing going for it, it’s star Enrico Colantoni as the lead negotiator for his police department’s Strategic Response Unit. The 4-disc season 3 set contains all 16 episodes plus featurettes and deleted scenes.
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 The Rite (New Line, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP), which finds a seminary student questioning his faith who’s sent to understudy a legendary exorcist priest played by Anthony Hopkins. Bonus materials include an alternate ending, a featurette, and additional scenes.
I know there are many people I love and respect who love Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), but I’m not one of them. I don’t subscribe to the school that weird automatically equals funny, and find their constant bizarre antics grating. Still, fans will enjoy this season 5 set, sporting 10 episodes plus special features.
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 Genesis Of The Daleks and Destiny Of The Daleks ($54.95 SRP each). Both sets contain episode-specific costume variations of the 4th Doctor, Davros, and a pair of Daleks. As usually, the 5″ Doctor Who figure line features impeccable sculpts and fan-friendly choices. So yeah, support the line and get ’em while you can.
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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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 
While my favorite remains The Great Dictator, there’s no denying that 
Kids love to spill drinks. I don’t for a minute think it’s an accident – I believe it’s all premeditated. You can undermine their evil plans with the 
Hot on the heels of the first season’s arrival comes the second season of 
Warner Bros. has done another spectacular restoration job on one of their catalogue gems, this time with the high definition edition of 1935’s 
As CGI and flash have come to dominate content in documentaries in recent years, there’s still something timeless and powerful in the direct, unvarnished simplicity of presentation in the seminal (and massive) 
Let us all take a holiday journey into the uncanny valley with Robert Zemeckis’s latest unfortunate excursion into motion capture awkwardness, 
A few years back, a rather unique and wonderful little animated series called Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted on Nickelodeon. It was full of adventure and populated by strong, interesting characters living in an expansive world and caught up in an epic story. Sadly, all of these wonderful elements were lost in translation to the live action 
While you’re busy waiting for the next season to come out on DVD, you can tide yourself over with 
Fully remastered, another holiday perennial makes is available this season with the release of Rankin Bass’s 
I’m still not exactly sure why the travesty that is Troll 2 has been gifted with a celebratory documentary, 
The books of Beverly Cleary were a favorite when I was a kid, and while some of the spirit has been toned down, there’s still some life in 
It’s not Blu-Ray, but 
Seeking to make the viewing experience a bit more interactive, Disney has developed the “Mickey Mote” accessory for use with their newest preschool DVD releases. Essentially, it’s a kid-friendly, Mickey Mouse-shaped remote that them to answer questions when in “Discovery Mode”. The first DVDs out of the gate – 
In March of 2010, musical theater’s best & brightest assembled to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, recorded for posterity on 
One of Nipsy Russell’s finest roles (and one of Diana Ross’s most age inappropriate) comes to high definition with the release of 
It’s an interesting score, to be sure, but I can’t help but feel that composer Alexandre Desplat is just marking time with his score to 
It’s about time a tribute was put together for one of the landmark comedians of the last 30 years, and 
How about a whole bunch of TV series wrapping up their DVD releases? You’ve got 
Let me be perfectly blunt – History Channel… If you continue to produce unsubstantiated dreck like 
Now that we’ve reached 
Remember those deluxe, ultra-desirable, completely definitive Twilight Zone DVD releases from a few years back? Well, turns out they weren’t nearly as definitive as we thought, because Rod Serling’s classic series arrives in high definition with a ridiculously heightened amount of bonus features. In addition to all 36 episodes plus all of the original bonus content of the old sets, 
There are some things that are instant triggers for geeks to rip out their wallets and plunk down the cash necessary to own. It’s safe to say that the newly released 
Another landmark cinema classic makes its way into high definition with the arrival of Milos Forman’s iconic 
After running under the radar for its first two years, it was during the 3rd season of 
It’s not quite the old Criterion Blu-Ray release, but Lionsgate has done a fine job assembling their own high definition special edition of Carol Reed’s classic 
It’s a hoary metaphor to compare the analysis of comedy to the dissection of a frog, but I’d like you to ignore that metaphor (which I won’t even bother to complete) and recommend you read Stewart Lee’s brilliant 
It’s certainly not the Blu-Ray restoration I would have hoped for, but seeing as how it still retains its red-headed step child status within the Disney catalogue, I suppose I should be happy that the 25th anniversary re-release of 
Did you know that a feature film version of 
It’s decidedly diminishing returns as you go along until the most recent flick pulls things out of the cess pit they’d gotten into, but at least the high definition presentation of all 6 films in 
If you’re looking for a sprawling, one-stop primer on the history of the United States, look no further than The History Channel’s 
I always thought it was a beautifully designed and executed show, so to be able to peruse those designs via the handsome 
Explore the majestic 
School is back in session, so hunker down with the release of a trio of classic film adaptations of literary masterpieces – John Steinbeck’s 
Long derided as one of the most z-grade laughable of the many Star Wars rip-offs that littered cinemas in the late 70’s, Roger Corman’s Italian-produced mess 
I still, to this day – despite friends who have fallen fully under its sway – remain unmoved by 
Everyone’s favorite sponge drops a greatest hits disc featuring… Well, the title pretty much sums it up – 
I love Patrick Warburton and I generally like sitcom-based David Spade, and I really have tried to like 
It’s not the recent lackluster live action fare, so fans of the Mystery Inc. gang will probably like the new feature-length animated movie 
It’s not the Kevin McCarthy original, but the remake of 
I think 
The original cast is gone, but the 3rd season of 
They’ve come out in about a half-dozen different iterations over the years, but the latest batch of Saturday Night Live best-of releases adds over 20 minutes of additional sketches and outtakes, with the latest to get the treatment being 
I’m as surprised as anyone that 
Speaking of stillborn, that’s the best way to describe the still pointless