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 Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)
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 The Mighty Boosh: Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3 (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP each). The sets are loaded with bonus features, from featurettes and commentaries to bloopers and oddities.
Some may call it kitschy. Some may call it corny. Some may call it Shirley. The fine folks at Thinkgeek call it the Infamous Drinking Bird ($4.99). Yes, it’s goofy fun. No, it’s not magic. Or is it?… No… It’s not magic. Don’t know why you thought that.
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 Coraline (Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$34.98 SRP) would be like. Would it live up to the book? It certainly did. Would the 3-D presentation be more than just a gimmick? It was. Sadly, the home video edition doesn’t have the superior lenticular 3-D of the cinema, but the R/G 3-D is okay. The 2-disc DVD features an audio commentary, but the real way to go is the Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP), which looks magnificent and contains not only the commentary, but additional featurettes.
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 Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II (Adult Swim, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) – and it’s more of the funny same. Bonus materials include an extended cut of the special, featurettes, blogs, animatics, and more.
Another quirky show still going strong (and also a network-mate of Monk is Psych (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP), which sees its 3rd season released. The 4-disc set features all 16 episodes, plus audio/video commentaries, podcast commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
I once chatted with John Hodgman about the importance of supporting a film like Watchmen (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) at the box office – if it had failed, it would have given studios an excuse not to back attempts at faithful adaptations of genre material. I agree with the idea of supporting it for that reason, even if I thought Zack Snyder wound up with a failed take on Alan Moore’s seminal comic – from awkward acting to poor make-up, and a frankly unengaging directorial style that was like a ham-fisted, hyperactive 5-year-old. The one true highlight, as has been mentioned numerous times before, is Jackie Earle Haley’s Rorshach. The DVD features Snyder’s extended director’s cut, plus a making-of documentary, featurettes, video journals, and a music video. The Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) adds a guided video feature that allows Snyder to take viewers on a behind-the-scenes journey during the film.
Truly a leader in John Hodgman’s vision of a nerdier America, Ira Glass’s This American Life (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP) returns with its second season. The disc features all 6 episodes, plus an extended cut, audio commentaries, and a live theater presentation.
Spongebob makes a momentous decision about his very identity in the latest single-disc release, Spongebob Squarepants: To Squarepants Or Not To Squarepants (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$16.99 SRP). The disc contains a total of eight episodes, plus an animation art gallery.
Like many a quirky, innovative show before it, Pushing Daisies (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) was axed after the close of its second season, proving that death won out over Papen County’s pieman after all. The 4-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus a quartet of featurettes. A Blu-Ray edition ($49.99 SRP) is also available, with identical features.
Years after defining the television sitcom and becoming a cultural icon, a now-single Lucille Ball returned with The Lucy Show (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), which proved to be a hit in its own right. Playing a widower with kids who lives with her best friend (Vivan Vance) and her young son, Lucy’s still in good form, if a little bit looser. The 4-disc set features all 30 episodes, plus interviews, vintage openings & closings, commercials, network promos, a gag reel, and more.
In a nature mood? The Smithsonian has a quartet of new documentaries that may help with that. Explore the massive blue whale in The Big Blue, track a legendary reptile in Wanted: Anaconda, see the world through the eyes of an eagle in Sky View, and take an up-close look at Pandas In The Wild (Smithsonian Networks, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP).
Hey! Fans of Homestar Runner! Get your DVD fix with a pair of new Strong Bad DVDs – Strongbad_Email.EXE: Disc 6 & SBEmails’ 50 Greatest Hits (Harmless Junk, Not Rated, DVD-$12.00 SRP each). They are positively packed with audio commentaries, extras, and more.
It’s completely mind-off entertainment, but at least you can say that the techno-thriller Echelon Conspiracy (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) sports a cast with Ving Rhames, Ed Burns, and Martin Sheen. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP) is also available.
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 The Color Of Magic (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP), starring David Jason as the bumbling sorcerer Rincewind and Sean Astin as the tourist who gets caught up in the machinations of the evil wizard Trymon (Tim Curry).
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, Stargate SG-1: Children Of The Gods (MGM, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), and relive the magic and fun. Bonus features include an audio commentary and a featurette.
By the time the fourth season of Charlie’s Angels (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) rolled around, Farrah Fawcett had already departed the show that put her on the map. She did, however, return for a trio of episodes reprising her character of Angel Jill Munroe. The 6-disc set features all 26 episodes, but no bonus materials.
James Brolin and Connie Selleca star in Aaron Spelling’s land-based equivalent of The Love Boat, Hotel (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The 6-disc set features all 22 first season episodes, packed with all of the soapy revelations you’d expect in a Spelling production.
I’ve long been a fan of Ben Edlund’s The Tick, so I was delighted when I found out that the fine folks at Electric Tiki and Sideshow Collectibles would be making a big ol’ polystone statue of The City’s defender ($149.99) . Standing over a foot tall, it’s an impressive piece that will find a home on any shelf in your home, as long as the shelf is well-supported.
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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