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…)
Though it’s sometimes been derided by comedy purists who claim it’s a corpse-heavy lowbrow sketch show, but I’ll openly declare those unfortunate souls snobbish fools, because The Carol Burnett Show is one of the best comedy sketch shows ever to hit the small screen. It may not have been as intellectually clever as Monty Python, but the writing was sharp, the comedy was funny, and the performers – Burnett, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, & Lyle Waggoner – were a dream ensemble. Most of all, though, you got the sense that the main cast, and all of the guest stars who would pop up over the years, were genuinely enjoying the experience of performing this comedy together for the audience there in the studio and at home. And the only way to experience it is via the long overdue 22-disc box set The Carol Burnett Show: The Ultimate Collection (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$199.95 SRP), featuring 50 uncut episodes, episodes of the The Garry Moore Show (including Carol’s TV debut), rare comedy sketches, interviews (from the cast as well as guests & fans like Betty White, Carl Reiner, Bernadette Peters, and Amy Poehler), and 13 featurettes looking at specific sketches and more. Honestly, this is a set you should give your eye teeth for, but seeing as how you can buy it instead, do that.
First it was Star Wars, and we were all delighted. Then came Harry Potter and Indiana Jones, and we were all ecstatic. And Batman and Superman? Giddy. But I never anticipated that one day the fine folks at LEGO would give us brick versions of the Lord of the Rings films. I doubt Tolkien ever envisioned it, either, but here we are, with playsets aplenty featuring everyone’s favorite Fellowship. Right off the bat we’ve got some major highlights – Gandalf Arrives ($12.99), Attack On Weathertop ($59.99), The Mines Of Moria ($79.99), The Battle Of Helm’s Deep ($129.99) against the Uruk-hai Army ($29.99), and Shelob Attacks ($19.99). Can a LEGO Balrog be far behind? If it is, you can be sure Thinkgeek will stock it.
Tick another one of the list of classic Disney films that haven’t made it to high definition, as the Mouse House polishes up the glass slipper and drops Cinderella (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) in their patented never looked or sounded better fashion. In addition to a brand new Tangled short, most of the bonus features from the previous DVD Platinum Edition carry over, including an alternate opening sequence, featurettes, and more.
Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) would be a really wonderful movie if it knew what movie it wanted to be. Is it a comedy? Is it a farce? Is it a gothic horror? Soap opera? It’s all over the place, and it suffers, sadly, as much of Burton’s work has ever since Big Fish – his last truly wonderful film. Is it a nice looking film? Sure. Is there some fun to be had? Yes. But it could have been so much more if it had just hewn closer to adapting and streamlining the gothic soap opera of the original show. Bonus materials include featurettes and deleted scenes.
If there’s anyone that could hold the title of 5th Beatle, it would be the man who gets his own remarkable documentary in Produced By George Martin (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP). From producing the Goons in the 50’s to The Beatles in the 60’s to founding the legendary Air Studios, his story is a corker. The disc features an additional 52 minutes of interviews.
And speaking of Beatles-related documentaries, the great thing about the documentary Beatles Stories (Julukesy Films, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP) is that it captures how fandom is universal, as it features loads of interviews with celebrities who have had encounters with the Fab Four – with everyone from Brian Wilson to Henry Winkler providing their anecdotes.
I’m a sucker for the band Queen and its dynamic frontman Freddie Mercury, and Rhys Thomas has produced a pair of brilliant docs that should be on your viewing list – Queen: Days Of Our Lives (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP) and the Freddie-specific Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (Eagle Vision, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.98 SRP). Both are absolutely brilliant. Loving, unflinchingly honest, celebratory portraits.
Of all the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp teamings – and there have been some stinkers – my favorite by a mile, Ed Wood (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), finally makes its debut in high definition. In addition to a lovely transfer, we also get a carry over of all the bonus materials from the last DVD special edition, including an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a music video.
Disney has kept the new-to-hi-def catalogue floodgates open, dropping another clutch of titles that have been on the desired list… And some that I’m sure have fans. Definitely sure. So what titles are we talking about? How about the still-unsettling comedy-horror Arachnophobia (Hollywood Pictures, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), Dennis Quaid & Sharon stone in the thriller Cold Creek Manor (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), the psychotically naughty nanny classic The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (Hollywood Pictures, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), the still-disappointing-but-now-trumped Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd (Hollywood Pictures, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), and the family witch-flick Hocus Pocus (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.50 SRP), starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. Arachnophobia sports a pair of featurettes and the Venezuela sequence. and Cold Creek has an audio commentary, featurettes, an alternate ending, and deleted scenes.
Although already released on Blu-Ray, the new 25th anniversary edition of The Princess Bride (MGM, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) does add in a brand new 2-part retrospective documentary featuring the entire cast reminiscing on the film, in addition to the previously released audio commentaries and featurettes. Worth getting? Sure.
Go inside HBO’s hit adaptation of George RR Martin’s epic Game Of Thrones with the lushly illustrated and info-packed Inside HBO’s Game Of Thrones (Chronicle Books, $40.00 SRP), which will take you to Westeros and beyond, explaining how all of the players fit together into the larger story and how the show was produced.
Stephen Fry is brilliant as the titular country solicitor Peter Kingdom in Kingdom (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), who travels the Norfolk countryside solving cases all while contemplating the mysterious disappearance of his brother. Just check it out. The DVD also includes a bonus behind-the-scenes documentary.
Fans were left high and dry when only the first two seasons were released, but now you can get all 3 seasons of the beautifully odd Sarah Silverman Program ( Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$49.97 SRP), which is packed full of commentaries, featurettes, music, and more. See? Sometimes dreams do come true.
It’s not the best of the Stephen King adaptations, but there’s still enough creepy quality to be had in Pet Sematary (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$22.98 SRP), with the highlight being Fred Gwynne’s Jud Crandall. And now it’s made the transition to high definition with an audio commentary and a trio of featurettes.
Yes, it’s been 7 seasons, but we’re still no closer to finding out How I Met Your Mother (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). And yeah, it’s getting a bit frustrating. You can keep your relationship hoo-ha, your ducky ties, and your umbrellas – just finally, finally let me know the answer to the gimmick. Then I’ll keep watching I Met Your Mother. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
If you want to risk potential cute-blindness, take your chances and partake of the first season of New Girl (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), starring devastatingly cute Zooey Deschanel as a girl on the rebound who moves in with a trio of bachelors. Cute comedy ensues! Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, deleted/extended scenes, and a gag reel.
It’s always nice to come across a documentary that illuminates a little slice of history that is both crucial and largely overlooked, and such is the case with Whittle: The Jet Pioneer (Shelter Island, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), the story of Sir Frank Whittle’s invention of the jet engine during World War II.
Honestly, you don’t know what you’re missing until you see a very fine martial arts film like Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate (Vivendi, Rated R, 3D Blu-Ray-$29.93 SRP) in glorious 3D right in your very own home theater, and this Jet Li actioner has enough of a story to make the whole package enjoyable. Bonus materials include featurettes and interviews.
This week’s theatrical score pick brings Music From The Batman Trilogy (Silva Screen Records, $17.42 SRP), which finds the London Music Works performing selections from across the trio of Christopher Nolan’s Bat-films, originally composed by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard.
Still as delightfully deadpan as ever, Demetri Martin returns with his second standup special Demetri Martin: Standup Comedian (Comedy Central, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP), which is more of the same, but new. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, an audio commentary on the audio commentary, rejected concepts, joke variations, and The List.
After suffering many years in the crappy public domain release wilderness, you can now get a spiffy, official 2-volume set collection the entirety of Bonanza: Season 4 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$58.98 $RP), featuring all 34 episodes of Cartwright clannery. The sets also contain audio commentaries, original Chevy commercials, bumpers, and more.
If you’re new to the whole sex thing or just could use a few pointers, you might want to pick up a pair of 5-disc collections dedicated to just that – The Lover’s Guide: The Original Collection & The Lover’s Guide: The Essential Collection (True Mind, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP each). Focusing on everything from positions and orgasms to sex plan and masturbation, the whole lot can be found in these somewhat dated, but still practical guides.
We’re yet another step closer to completing the seemingly-infinite run of Roy Clarke’s Last Of The Summer Wine (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) with the release of the 1993 Vintage (season). The 2-disc set contains all 9 episodes, plus the 1993 special.
Hard to believe we’re already up to the fourth season of the new 90210 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$45.98 SRP), which finds everyone moving on from high school and right into a whole new set of catty dramas. Bet you didn’t expect that. Bonus materials include commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, a music video, and a gag reel.
While I do love the MEGO-style figures that they’ve been doing up to this point, I admit I had been secretly holding out hope that Biff Bang Pow would be able to make classic 3 3/4′ figures from the Venture Bros. license. And guess what? THEY HAVE! First out of the gate is the big man himself, Brock Samson (Biff Bang Pow, $9.99). The articulation is old-school Star Wars limited, but the sculpt is great, and it exists. My only real complaint is I wish the pain job was a little cleaner, which is hopefully something that can be addressed going forward. You also might want to snap up the Comic-Con Exclusive Brock ($14.99) while you can, as it features Samson in his blood-splattered white shirt. I can’t wait to see the rest of the cast.
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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Any time we can get fully remastered editions of the Studio Ghibli films, color me delighted – and that’s just we’ve got with new 2-disc special editions of 
Eliminate all of those excuses about it being far too difficult and time consuming to brew a proper mug of tea by picking up the 
Prior to starring in John Carpenter’s 
The market’s being flooded with any movie or special that ever bore the name, but what sets the 1966 BBC production of 
It’s a memorable book, but Maurice Sendak’s 
It’s a trippy, Teutonic mess of a children’s film (What can you expect from Wolfgang Petersen?), but thousands of viewings on 1980’s HBO endeared me to 
The Daleks get their due in a pair of classic Doctor Who releases, starting with the 4-disc 
Get your fill of good ol’ country lawyerin’ with the complete fourth season of Abe Simpson’s favorite show, 
If you’re a fan of The Sarah Silverman Program and have been endlessly wondering if they’d ever release all of the music featured in the show, you can now cease your endless wondering and simply pick up a copy of 
Calling 
The trailers for the movie have left me cold, but I’ve been an admirer of Chris Sanders’ artwork since Lilo & Stitch, so to see it pop up in the design for the titular beast in Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon was welcome, and I’m always a fan of pouring through books like 
The film itself lags in spots, but Robin Wright proves again how powerful she can be on screen as the titular middle-aged housewife and mother in 
I’m sure car nuts enjoy TLC’s reality series focusing on the refurbishment of old cars, 
It’s dangerous and sensationalistic, but for the footage of the storms alone, I’m always going to be entranced by a show like 
After releasing them as full seasons, they’ve decided to start the whole split-season thing with 
It’s not quite as consistent as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I certainly enjoyed 
Want to protect your oh-so-precious eyes from evil green lasers, all the while looking ridiculously stylish? Well, look no further than the 
Fans of the great Orson Welles will delight in this newly-restored edition of Omnibus, a television showcase featuring the arts, which in 1953 televised a production of 
Many have called the Coen Brothers’ 
History nerds (like me) will probably want to dive right in to 
After a massive wait, fans can finally wrap up the second season of 
Take a life-spanning love-affair and complicate it with a time-hopping lover who doesn’t know when he’ll disappear and when in his own timeline he’ll reappear, and you’ve got the unique relationship featured in 
Now that the full series has made its way to DVD, the single-disc themed releases are the focus, with 
Fox has bungled up the X-Men nicely, and Heroes has lost its way, but both can take a page from the series 
Featuring dozens of actors and musicians, 
He’s become a slab of a man, but you still get exactly what you expect from a Steven Seagal action flick in 
How about some catalogue titles coming to high-def this week? Fox and MGM back up the truck with a trio of modern classics – 
And since you’re always looking to upgrade those catalogue titles with spiffy new high-definition versions all shiny and bright, hitting Blu-Ray this week are the Richard Dawson classic 
One day, I’m sure a fascinating film about the life of landmark aviator Amelia Earhart will be made, Sadly, 
If you never got a chance to pick up the box sets a few years ago, your only chance to get their classic cartoons are though the single disc 
It’s one of the few recent successes in hour-long drama, and 
Just when the Sci-Fi Channel (I refuse to call it that other… thing) was getting too far up their own… yeah… they go and launch a new Stargate that manages to evoke the engaging fun of the original with 
I’ve been a fan of his going back to Action, but I’ve yet to find the same kind of pleasure in Jay Mohr’s formulaic sitcom 
Of course, you can never have too many adaptations of Jane Austen’s 
I could say that the latest Cinematic Titanic offering, 
When I travel, I always have far too many electronics, far too many cords, and not nearly enough USB ports on my laptop to charge things. It’s always nice to have a backup plan, and the 
I’d say that reaching the 10th volume of the still-must-have collection of Charles Schulz’s groundbreaking strip is certainly worth celebrating – particularly when 
It seems that Criterion is systematically going back and revisiting some of their more popular catalogue titles and giving them rather stunning new high-definition transfers and some new bonus features, and the latest title to get the A+ treatment is Robert Altman’s 
Some may be watching slasher flicks this Halloween, but I will be celebrating All Hallow’s Eve by taking in the new Blu-Ray edition of Mel Brooks’s 
George Lucas managed to extend his death grip into another beloved franchise, clutching Steven Spielberg in one claw and Indiana Jones in the other, and managing yet again to produce a lame monstrosity instead of what should have been a triumphant return of a cinema hero. Such was the travesty of 
All of the focus is on his stellar performance in Iron Man, but another of Robert Downey, Jr.’s great turns is getting a new special edition DVD – his starring role in the life of The Little Tramp, 
I don’t think it was as strong as the first season, but I still enjoyed the second season of 
In the wake of the Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney Vault titles – those wonderful collections of text and reproductions of rare ephemera – we now get 
I’ll be perfectly honest with you – I was not a huge fan of The Matrix. I enjoyed the flick for what it was – a minor mind-f*** whose special effects and energy thankfully cancelled out most of its banal, overcooked pseudo-philosophizing and messianic overtones. But then came the sequels, which both – in quick succession – managed to top each other on the “Someone actually wrote this crap?” scale. Declining box office was proof enough – a fair number of fans who though The Matrix was the second coming (make your own jokes) left the theater feeling betrayed by creators who obviously had their grip locked firmly on something besides the story. Originally released in on standard DVD – and then the now-defunct HD-DVD – the 6-disc 
Packaged in a handsome lucite slipcase, the 
I caught an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! the other day, and if any show can rightfully claim the mantle of “Kiddie Show Beloved By Stoners”, it’s this intriguingly bizarre combination of music and costumed characters, If you doubt me, check out 
While you’re pining for the next Spongebob season set, get a quick fix of recent episodes with 
In the VH1 series 
In these troubled, troubling times, I recommend anyone with an open mind should check out the wonderful documentaries of Richard Dawkins, conveniently collected in 
Easily the film that cemented William Hurt as an actor to be reckoned with – and a bizarre one, at that – was his turn in 
Sweeping and epic in the most glorious, classic sense of the word, the foreign language 
If you’re the head of NASA’s multi-million dollar manned mission to Mars and you find out that to send the astronauts would result in disaster, what would you do? Well, if you were the head of the mission in the cult classic 
It was truncated due to the writer’s strike, but the eighth season of 
It may not be brilliant, but there’s certainly something loveable about any show that casts both Patrick Warburton and David Spade. 
I’ll be honest with you – the only real reason that I ever watched an episode of 
Indulge your schlock horror bone with the brand new Ghost House Underground imprint, formed by Ghost House Pictures founders Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, which debuts with 8 titles full of terror and gore aplenty (Lionsgate, Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP each). The launch titles include 
It could have been a hokey mess – and there is still some hokinees about – but 
His time in office may be fast coming to an end, but you can still watch the second season of 
Science nerds (like me) can geek out to the complete second season of 
It has been a long, long time since the release of the second season, but fans and interested parties can now partake of 
Terence Malick’s epic tale of Captain John Smith and the Jamestown settlement’s relations with the Native American populace,