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…)
Matt Stone & Trey Parker show no signs of flagging in the seventeenth season of South Park (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), as it contains the truly epic “Black Friday” trilogy, which is the show at its social pop commentary best, The 2-disc set contains all 10 episodes, plus the standard clutch of mini-commentaries and deleted scenes, plus a new #socialcommentary feature, with behind-the-scenes tweets from the official @SouthPark account.
The soul stealers at Hot Toys continue their magical miracles with their latest take on Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (Sideshow, $189.99), this time portrayed with her updated look in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While the costume has seen only minor changes over the course of her three figures (dating back to Hot Toys’ take from Iron Man 2), the biggest change is in both her maturing head sculpt and different hairstyle, accomplished once again by astonishingly well-realized rooted hair rather than a sculpt. The figure has the usual complement of extra hands and wrist gauntlets (featuring her “widow’s bite” lasers), plus a pair of pistols ad a cell phone. And did I mention again how eerily realistic she is?
Some of the freshest, funniest sketch work being done on TV can be found in the third season of Key & Peele (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), as the duo tackle everything from paintboobs to PB & J. The 2-disc set contains a best of seasons 1 & 2 special, “The Van & Mike Show”, and a gag reel.
It seems the US is taking a page from the UK’s longstanding policy of quickly releasing episodes to home video prior to a big season box set with the drop of Doctor Who: Deep Breath (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP), which sports the feature-length debut of modern Who‘s 8th season and Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. To make the impulse purchase a little sweeter, the BBC have added in a behind-the-scenes featurette, a prequel, “The Real History Of Science Fiction: Time” documentary, and last year’s live special in which Capaldi was announced as the Doctor.
If there’s one reason and one reason alone to watch the BBC’s The Musketeers (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.96 SRP), it’s to catch the mighty Peter Capaldi in his turn as Cardinal Richelieu. And really, isn’t that enough? Bonus materials include a quartet of featurettes.
A landmark science fiction anime gets the high definition treatment it deserves with the 25th anniversary edition of Ghost In The Shell (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which means if you’ve never seen its mind-blowing craziness, now is the perfect time to do so.
It definitely grew on me, and by the end of its first season, I was looking forward to spending time with the crack ensemble of Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP). The 3-disc set contains all 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes.
Sure, it’s not the Belushi/Aykroyd black comedy I was hoping for, but the Seth Rogen/Zac Efron Neighbors (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP) still has its comedic moments, many coming from Rogen aging into the role of one-half of a young couple (with Rose Byrne) whose quiet suburban life in their new home with their newborn child is ruptured when a college fraternity moves in next door, fronted by frat boy Efron. And then they go to war. Of course. Bonus materials include an alternate opening, deleted/alternate scenes, featurettes, and a gag reel.
It’s as lowbrow as most Chuck Lorre comedies, but there’s no denying the appeal of leads Allison Janney and Anna Faris in Mom (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$44.98 SRP), which finds Faris as a newly-sober single mom thrown up against her own mother (Janney) as comedic sparks fly. The sole bonus feature is an often-funnier-than-the-show gag reel.
For those of you who still watch the seemingly neverending pandering emptiness and truly wasted ensemble cast of Big Bang Theory (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$44.98 SRP), the seventh season is more of the same, including a decided increase in guest stars and wacky t-shirts. Bonus materials include a clutch of featurettes, the 2013 Comic-Con panel, and a gag reel.
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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Yes, I know I’m a little close to the material – but you know what? I’d still recommend you pick up a copy of 
The miniaturization of video cameras is beginning to frighten me. This terror is completely overridden by the geek delight in holding a digital memory camera that’s only slightly larger than a chapstick tube. The camera I speak of is the 
Sadly, we’ve now reached the limit of the currently produced episodes of 
I’ve seen the episodes a half-dozen times each (I often replayed them while working), but it’s the mark of a classic show that I’m looking forward to digging into the 3rd season set of 
Yes, it really has been 100 episodes since the squarepanted sponge of Bikini Bottom first made his way onto our TV screens. How do I know this? Because there’s now an uber-deluxe box set titled 
They’ve been released what seems like a half-dozen times by at least three different companies, but this is the first time that 
Abrams is fast becoming a real juggernaut with their incredible Abrams ComicArts imprint, as they’ve been releasing some absolutely top-notch tomes that belong on your shelf. Like, now. First up is a loving, in-depth tribute to 
Much like Pineapple Express, those going into 
Have I mentioned before just how much I’m enjoying Warner Bros.’ On-Demand DVD service at WarnerArchive.com? I have – numerous times – because it’s great to see a company find a way to make smaller catalogue titles available to fans when economic realities prevent a full-fledged commercial release. Case in point are a trio of new titles that have been added to the site – King Vidor’s 
Does anyone still watch 
Serial womanizer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey finds his plans to bed a bridesmaid at his brother’s wedding is derailed by the supernatural guidance of his departed uncle (Michael Douglas), who originally instructed him on his boorish ways, to mend his ways and find true love (in the form of Jennifer Garner) in the tolerable rom-com 
Comedy Central may have killed their much-missed show, but at least there’s still live performances to keep The State alumni David Wain, Michael Showalter, & Michael Ian Black together, as you’ll see on 
Despite further muddying already cloudy waters with divergent continuity, the biggest drawback of the axed 
When his wife and child are murdered by a serial killer, a celebrity psychic renounces his conning past and devotes himself to using his observation and analysis skills to bring killers to justice in 
It may not be the best sitcom that ever came down the pike, but I still love me some 
It pretty much sums itself up in the title – 
When a killer begins copying the murders found in novelist Rick Castle’s stories, the author is enlisted by the NYPD to help bring the murderer to justice in 
Really, the only purpose that 
It seems Warners believes that audiences were simply dying for an origin prequel to their middling live action Scooby-Doo franchise, which means we know have 
I can’t have been the only one not surprised that 
Oh, Disney Channel – why are your tween/teen comedies just so unrelentingly bland? It’s no wonder iCarly is kicking your ass in the ratings – one has only has to look at the episodes featured on the inaugural DVD release of the new Jonas Brothers sitcom 
I’m awesome. I wrote a book. It’s got little to do with movies. 
Now, first things first: Is there any among you living in Arizona who believes in the redemptive power of empty action?
When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.
This is one of the most progressive things to happen in the home entertainment market. Say what you will about the battle between whether we’re all going digital or whether it’s better to stay safely in the DVD or Blu-Ray camp because Disney has just released last year’s BOLT, featuring the vocal stylings of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, in handy Blu-Ray/DVD combo packs.
Good, but not great. If you’re being honest and your crap detector is plugged in anyone watching the new film, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS, should have some kind of reaction along these lines.
There have been rather frothy retrospective celebrations of Sesame Street and Jim Henson in book form in the past, which were all well and good – as a child of the 70’s and a fan, I’m all for celebrating both. But it wasn’t until Michael Davis’s heavily-researched and completely candid 
If you’re like me (and you know, in your heart, you dearly want to be), then you have literally tons of old cassettes and records you’d like to import into your computer for use on various portable mixing devices. It’s often been a chore to hook up your cassette deck or turntable, particularly with the need for a pre-amp. Well, with the 
If there was any doubt that Shout! Factory would stick to an aggressive release campaign for new MST collections, let it be erased by 
It’s been years since the release of the first season, but the patient are finally rewarded with 
A landmark role for Peter Sellers and his last great film (sorry, Fu Manchu), 
Overlooked in the theater during its unfortunately timed (and marketed) Halloween release, hopefully 
Also getting a high definition release is Kevin Smith’s 
Long under the thumb of various occupying forces, Estonia spent much of the 20th century controlled by the Soviet Union. Despite all of these various oppressive occupiers, the Estonians were able to maintain their national identity through song – a story that’s told quite well in the documentary 
I’m still not entirely sure what the Martini Movies imprint is all about (though I know it has something to do with a game), but any excuse for a cable staple/guilty pleasure like 
It’s a little creaky here and there, but it was certainly a treat to watch the remastered edition of Douglas Trumball’s virtual reality flick 
Paramount has re-branded another clutch of titles under the “I Love The 80’s” banner – 
Harry Anderson continued to slum it in safe sitcom hell with the second season of 
Through Warners’ TCM imprint, those wanting an easy to pick up primer on some legendary flicks in their Greatest Classic Films Collection releases (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$27.98 SRP each). The 2-disc sets feature 4 films apiece, packed with bonus features including audio commentaries, featurettes, trailers, and more. The 
I’m not a fan of slasher flicks, but I’m sure fans will be delighted that the by-all-appearances naff remake has at least spurred Paramount to release new special editions of the first three – 
Explore the cinematic history of that awful day on the calendar and the hockey mask-wearing killer behind all the mayhem in the documentary 
Outside of House, you’d be hard pressed to find a more bad-tempered doctor than Ted Danson’s 
Things were stretching a bit thin by the time you get to the seventh season of 
Things had begun to get nice and developmentally awkward by the time the fourth and final season came along, so it was probably best that 
Talking dogs. In space. That is 
There’s nothing more depressing than finishing a good novel. Perhaps the absolute was a bit much, I admit, but it is with a sense of disappointment that one finishes a good novel and must leave its world. I felt that sense of loss upon completing Neil Gaiman’s 
He’s avoided taking the plunge into many a feature film (besides small roles in Stardust, For Your Consideration, & A Night At The Museum), so there must have been something special that Ricky Gervais saw in 
While it’s not exactly the continuing adventures that some fans have been clamoring for, JK Rowling dipped back into the Harry Potter universe to bring to life the magical book of fairy tales that played a role in the 7th and final Potter installment. The only catch was that she originally crafted those books as a clutch of handmade tomes distributed to those who had helped make the Potter series a reality, plus one edition that was sold at auction for charity. That edition sold to Amazon.com, and through many a winding path and all for charity, the general public can now get their own copy of 
It was dismissed by many, but I got a kick out of Joel & Ethan Coen’s spy comedy 
I wasn’t sure, going in, whether or not I’d enjoy 
It didn’t make much of a blip at the box office despite a strong showing on the festival circuit, but here’s hoping home video will give a second life to the made-for-cult status comedy 
John Hodgman has been hounding me to give it a second chance, and now that I have the penultimate 
It’s light, it’s frothy, but the real reason to watch 
Strip away some of the self-aware smarm of Juno and throw it on TV with Molly Ringwald playing the mother to the pregnant teen and you’ve essentially got the ABC family series 
Everybody’s favorite sociopath makes his Blu-Ray debut with 
Less meets the eye in the second visually off-putting season of 
From Doctor Who companion to woman for hire, Billie Piper stars in 
The students of Cyprus-Rhodes University are back in class for the second season of ABC Family’s 
Known for his work on Battlestar Galactica, composer Bear McCreary has also been tackling the score for 
Soft-spoken Monika Hertwig has a horrible family legacy that she has spent her whole life trying to reconcile – that her father was the monstrous Nazi Officer Amon Goeth, commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp that was portrayed on screen in Schindler’s List. In attempting to come to terms with that legacy, she meets up with Helen Jonas, who lived as an enslaved servant under Goeth’s roof. This struggle – and the meeting of these two women – is chronicled in the fascinating documentary 
Will the secret past of bellybutton-less Kyle finally be revealed in the second season of 
Obnoxious sarcasm has a name – and a species – and it is 
From the Pang Brothers, 
No matter how much my Irish friend Brian sings its praises, I just don’t enjoy 
So you’ve got state of CGI and a bunch of theories about the hunting techniques of the dinosaurs. What do you do with all of this and get today’s audience to watch? Why, 
Showtime’s sudsy pseudo-historical drama 
In many ways the Seventh Heaven of its day, the eighth season of 
Seeking to recapture his Riddick heyday, Vin Diesel stars as the unfortunately named Toorop in the turgid sci-fi actioner 
Considering they cost next to nothing, I suppose the recent spate of parody movies really don’t need to make much at the theater and home video to be considered a massive success. It’s good that the threshold is so easily attainable, considering just how awful the latest,