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…)
I admit that there was some worry that the second season of Game Of Thrones (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$79.98 SRP) would drop the ball after a pretty stellar first season, as the movement into George RR Martin’s second novel greatly increases the number of subplots and locations and could have been a compromised mess. Thankfully, although there are plenty more changes from the books this go round, what has wound up on screen is still a tight, enjoyable journey into Martin’s world, and merely whets the appetite for the events to come in season 3. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and a lovely clutch of animated pieces illuminating the histories of the characters and events referenced.
There are plenty of ways so outrageous a true story as the CIA actually creating a cover story involving the production of a fake Hollywood film in order to smuggle diplomats out of Iran after the revolution could have gone wrong – from being too ham-fisted to too light – but Argo (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP) manages to sidestep all of those pitfalls and instead present a brilliant re-creation of a so-bizarre-it’s-true tale. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a PiP feature integrating actual eyewitness stories, and a handful of featurettes detailing the history and its cinematic translation.
Timed to coincide with the release of the sequel Monsters University, Pixar’s recent 3D conversion of the original Monsters, Inc. (Disney, Rated G, 3D Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) arrives on home video, looking every bit as snazzy as their other recent 3D conversions, and loaded with not only all of the bonus features from the original Blu-Ray special edition, but adding the new Toy Story Toon “Partysaurus Rex”. Now hurry up and give us Wall-E and The Incredibles in 3D!
Based on Michael Dobbs’ best-selling political thrillers and brilliantly adapted by screenwriter Andrew Davies, the original UK House Of Cards (BBC, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) gets a remastered special edition to coincide with the recent US remake. Bonus features on this new edition include audio commentaries, an interview with Davies, and a tour of Parliament.
In what I can only hope is a precedent that starts a trend, the missing episodes of the William Hartnell 1st Doctor story contained in the new release of Doctor Who: The Reign Of Terror (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) have been brought to life via newly-animated episodes utilizing the still-surviving audio, which means that fans can finally experience both sound and vision for the numerous stories – many of which are during Patrick Troughton’s 2nd Doctor run – for which the original film was foolishly destroyed by the BBC. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, galleries, and more.
Nicholas Meyer’s superbly written pairing of Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (Shout Factory, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.99 SRP) finally gets the beautiful high definition presentation is deserves, along with a new interview with Meyer. If you’ve never seen this flick, do so.
The easiest way to describe The Thieves (Well Go USA, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) is to think of it as a Hong Kong Ocean’s 11, with 10 master criminals assembling to pull off the heist of their lives – a 318-carat diamond locked away in a casino. It’s a nifty little pic, natch. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes and a trailer.
It’s a classic TV bonanza – which is rather fitting considering one of the shows getting another season released this week, namely Bonanza: The Fifth Season Volume 1 & Volume 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP each), featuring all 34 episodes of the Cartwright clans 5th year. Also arriving is the second volume of the 7th season of Gunsmoke (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$36.98, containing 17 episodes, plus preview trailers and sponsor materials. Finally, we get Matlock: Season 8 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99, starring the late Andy Griffith as the folksiest of folksy southern lawyers.
I’m still not a terribly big fan of retrofitted 3D, but when it comes to a big, flashy 80’s popcorn flick like Top Gun (Paramount, Rated PG, 3D Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP), I’ll relax my aversion enough to go along with the ride, as that’s entirely what the experience amounts to – in all the good ways. The film has also received a visual and audio upgrade to go with the 3D, meaning it’s never looked or sounded better. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a making-of documentary, featurettes, storyboards with optional commentary, music videos, TV spots, Tom Cruise interviews, and more.
Jean and Laurent De Brunhoff’s king of the elephants makes his feature debut in Babar: The Movie (E1, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which finds the titular monarch on a quest to save the future Queen Celeste and outwit the machinations of Rataxes while freeing Elephantland.
The folks at the Smithsonian Channel have released a new pair of documentaries, covering both the natural world and the world of pop culture. On the pop side, you’ve got The Origins Of Oz (Smithsonian, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which examines the formation of L. Frank Baum’s Oz mythology, while Undersea Edens (Smithsonian, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) features a clutch of programs focusing on the natural beauty beneath the waves.
Fox rolls out the next in their line of prestige “20th Century Fox Studio Classics” with the high definition release of Otto Preminger’s legendary noir Laura (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), about the investigation behind the murder of the titular bombshell (Gene Tierney). Bonus materials include a pair of audio commentaries, A&E Biography episodes featuring Tierney and Vincent Price, a deleted scene, and more.
Every once in awhile, you have to cleanse your blockbuster-heavy cinema palette with a lovely little character piece like The Sessions (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which focuses on a poet-journalist (John Hawkes), paralyzed and confined to an iron lung since childhood, who receives the help of his sympathetic therapist (Helen Hunt) and his priest (William H. Macy) to overcome yet another bit of adversity by losing his virginity at age 38. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and featurettes.
There may be eight million stories in the Naked City (Image, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), but you’ll find at least 20 in the complete first season of this landmark police drama that features a who’s-who of up-and-coming talent, including Gene Hackman, William Shatner, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, and many, many more.
While the catalogue releases aren’t coming as fast & furious as they were at the end of last year, we’re still getting high definition upgrades of modern classics like The Insider (Touchstone, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$20.00 SRP), starring Russell Crowe as former tobacco executive Dr. Jeffrey Wigand who blows the whistle on his industry’s unethical practices with the help of 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) and Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer). Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurette, and scene exploration.
The Cohen Media Group has launched into a broad restoration project of some true cinema classics, the latest of which is a beautiful high definition presentation of 1924’s The Thief Of Bagdad (Cohen, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP), which also includes an audio commentary and a featurette with rare photos. Add this to your must-buy list.
This week’s kid-friendly quota gets fulfilled by a pair of Nickelodeon titles perfect for the preschool set – Nickelodeon Favorites: Rootin’ Tootin’ Wild West! (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) and Let’s Learn: 123s & Let’s Learn: ABCs (Nickelodeon, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each).
Try as I might, I still find the US version of Top Gear (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) a grating, lifeless affair lacking the eminently watchable charm of the UK’s triumvirate of Clarkson, May, & Hammond. Granted, I care not a tinker’s whit for cars, which makes my dependence on the affability of the hosts a key factor – and the US version just doesn’t have it. The 4-disc second season set contains deleted scenes and challenges, extended scenes, featurettes, and more.
Celebrate the anniversary of the James Bond film franchise with an exploration of its more iconic elements via Top Gear: 50 Years Of Bond Cars (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95 SRP). Presented by Richard Hammond, it looks at everything from the legendary Aston Martin DB5 to the AMC Hornet, with insight from the actors, filmmakers, and stuntmen.
It’s not a great show, but Cougar Town (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) remains consistently enjoyable as just a nice little comedy that’s good for a laugh. The third season keeps that same dependability, and is otherwise a bit of a blur. And a marriage. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a blooper reel.
As a story, Fun Size (Nickelodeon, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) certainly doesn’t match the teen-romp-with-a-heart heyday of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or even Adventures In Babysitting, but Victoria Justice largely saves the day as a put upon daughter of an arrested development widowed mother and a dangerously precocious younger brother (Jackson Nicoll) whose hijinks after he disappears from his sister’s care on Halloween night drive the plot. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, a gag reel, and a music video.
Ron Moore’s remake has its last hurrah with Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP) – a failed pilot set during the fist Cylon war, where we follow a young Adama as he’s assigned to the centerpiece of the Colonial fleet, the Galactica. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a visual effects featurette.
I’m not entirely sure why The Factory (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP) is only getting a standard DVD release, as it’s tight little crime thriller starring John Cusack as a police detective who faces a ticking clock to find his abducted daughter.
If you’re keen on watching a clutch of back-bayou folks bang around hunting gators, then look no further than Swamp People: Season 3 (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$ SRP), which collects all 22 episodes, plus 30 minutes of bonus footage featuring more drawling, swampy hijinks.
Mill Creek and their kid-friendly Cookie Jar imprint have released another batch of family titles from their immense catalogue – Beverly Hills Teens: Volume One (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$12.98 SRP), Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors: Volume 2 (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$12.98 SRP), the 12-film Family Movie Favorites collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), and the 3-disc Collingwood O’Hare Collection (Mill Creek, Not Rated, DVD-$9.98 SRP), featuring Eddy & The Bear, Rarg, and Animal Stories.
Audiences shrugged when the first part was released, but that massive failure surprisingly didn’t derail Atlas Shrugged: Part II (Fox, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), which arrives via the direct-to-video route, jam-packed with all of Ayn Rand’s blinkered thinking intact. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, a featurette, and an extended Sean Hannity segment.
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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TV doesn’t get more perfect than the story and character bliss found in the second series of Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss’s brilliant 
Do you have kids who have money they want to store in a fun way? Why get a traditional static (and boring) piggy bank when you can get a dynamic, motorized doggy bank? That’s just what 
As brilliant as the author himself – who happens to be quite brilliant – Dave Hill’s collection of autobiographical essays, 
What’s wonderful about 
In the age of digital delivery, Paul McCartney is making the special edition purchase of traditional media truly desirable with exquisitely put together and very affordable deluxe catalogue releases for the true fan. Case in point is the 
Continuing their release of always must-see Studio Ghibli titles in high definition, Disney brings 
We’ve gotten the Die Hard films in high definition. We’ve gotten the Alien films. Superman? Check. Batman? Check. The most notable film franchise that hadn’t yet made it to high definition finally gets its turn with the release of the 
As much as I loved the music from the first season of Sherlock (and its accompanying score), I’ve enjoyed David Arnold & Michael Price’s music from 
It took awhile to finally hit a watchable groove, but when it did, the debut season of 
While it’s interesting and mostly fun to see Chris Pine and Tom Hardy as a pair of covert CIA operative buddies who go to war over the love of a woman in 
When it comes to the subject matter, the documentary 
You can get all of the kicks you could possible want via the new 24-disc 
Celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee (that’s 60 years of rule) with a pair of celebratory releases from the fine folks at the BBC. First and foremost is 
I spent the entire first season of 
It was with some trepidation that fans entered the 5th season of 
If you’re keen on the environment but also really, really like to make a lot of noise, why not try the reusable 
Another could-have-been-a-disaster moment turned out to be gold with Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss’s modern take on Sherlock Holmes, 
It’s a been a few months, and you know what that means – a new Mystery Science Theater 3000 set! Continuing their yearly tradition, this holiday period box set comes packed with another bot action figure, and this times it’s the absolutely massive (and wonderfully accurate) Gypsy. If that weren’t enough, the movies contained in the 
No one but Edgar Wright could have made a film quite as eccentrically experimental yet firmly rooted in pop culture geekery as 
They’re absolute classics and seasonal must-haves, and now the 
A few months has gone by, which means that the BBC vault has opened and another pair of classic Doctor Who releases have made their way out – specifically the Tom Baker years 
Push Clooney & Pitt out of your mind for a moment and revel in the HD glory of The Rat Pack’s grand heist, as the 50th anniversary edition of 
It’s the holiday season, and Warners has added to their set of deluxe holiday Ultimate Collections (previous entries include A Christmas Story & Christmas Vacation) with the 
Fans of the recent direct-to-DVD DC animated fare will no that many of those came with bonus shorts starring other characters within the DC universe. Well, extended versions of those shorts have been collected with a brand new one – that new one being the titular 
It’s a shame that 
As a film, it’s a big mess, but there’s plenty of fun still to be had in 
They might not be as popular or prevalent as they once were, but there’s still something alluring to life under the big top – a life which is explored in the documentary 
Economize your high definition kiddie-slick purchase with the 
Where the US version of the UK’s middle-age male crisis dramedy Manchild never got past pilot, the similarly themed 
The big screen version may be moving in fits and spurts, but the BBC’s live action adaptation of 
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I’m not a fan, but I know may out there will have been champing at the bit for 
Warners has been dipping into their vaults for many high definition releases of their classic films, and the films starring Humphrey Bogart have been getting particularly nice attention, starting with their beautiful restoration of Casablanca and now continuing with a one-two punch of both 
The best way to think about the 
Just in time for Halloween comes the high definition release of one of the seminal horror flicks to ever be put to film – 
I’ve become less and less enamored with it over the years as a film, though I still love the Ashman/Menken songs of 
One of the many abandoned series set aside by Columbia, the 7th season of 
For a history nut like me, there’s something eminently interesting about Bettany Hughes’ 
Sure, it’s lowest common denominator belly laugh humor, but there more than occasional flashes of inspired comedy to be found within the ridiculously comprehensive 
I’m a history buff, so a 14-disc set like 
Out of most of the pap that populated Saturday mornings in the early 80’s, 
It’s disappointing to hear that sales on the last season were not good enough to justify continued retail releases, but at least the Warner Archive has stepped in so fans can pick up the complete fourth season of 
Leave it to Twomorrows to present a beautiful overview of the life and work of yet another comics legend via 
Besides its engaging story steeped in Celtic mythology, 
Following up on his landmark documentary about America’s pastime, Ken Burns goes back to the ballpark for 
We’ve now moved beyond the classic Peanuts specials and are firmly into the release of the lesser animated lights of the canon with the likes of 
There are no milkshakes to be found, but Daniel Day-Lewis does turn in a memorable performance in Michael Mann’s adaptation of 
Every time I’ve run across it, I’ve found it affable and watchable, but I’ve never actually cared to seek it out. Regardless of my apathy, it gets massive ratings, which means fans will want to pick up the complete seventh season of 
I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of watching 
Bringing together 18 capers across 12 DVDs featuring the sleuthing of Poirot, Marple, and Holmes, the 
With Thunderdomes and autogyros still in his future, the original 
It tried desperately to be a modern answer to the low-rent, affable fantasies Hercules and Xena, but 
The infamous abortion episode comes to one-off DVD on 
What if you made a prequel to a beloved series and no one really seemed to care? That would be 
Easily one of the most unwatchable films ever made, and made a cult classic due to its unwatchability, 
Yeah, I’m still not a fan of 
Jerry Seinfeld cites it as the primary influence for his own show, and anyone who views 
You know, sometimes work is dragging your spirits down, you’re sitting at your desk tired and dejected, and you know there’s only one thing that could possibly lift your spirits – Drumming. And with the 
It’s got its flaws, but I did enjoy Guy Ritchie’s amped up but still faithful take on 
Granted, there’s something inherently underwhelming about watching footage intended for IMAX presentation on a home theater setup, but there’s no denying that there’s some beautiful footage to be found in the self-explanatorily titled 
I’m not going to claim it’s a good film – or even that it’s not mostly boring – but yes, the original 
It’s not the next season set, but iCarly fans can spin a collection of two TV movies and a pair of episodes contained in 
The 5th season of 
I was a fan of his work on Newsradio, but I’ve never really gotten into Joe Rogan’s stand-up comedy. For those who have, he’s released a brand new DVD – 
Criterion continues to release classic flicks that you don’t even know you want in your collection until you sit down to view them. One such impressive flick is Nicholas Ray’s 
If your kids walked out of the theater eager for some mighty Viking dragon-training action, you can let ’em get into to early onset cosaplying with the 
You’d be wrong if you dismissed the documentary 
No, I should not be surprised that, after the massive financial success of the first film, there would be 
Even when they’re not brilliant, I still enjoy a Nick Hornby film, and I enjoyed 
With the release of the 8th season of 
You wouldn’t think that a series about the legal maneuvering of a maverick High Court judge would be very appealing, but it is in 
Did you know that Steven Seagal is a deputy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana? Yes – that Steven Seagal. Well, if you’re still doubting me, take a look at 
The penultimate 6th season of 
While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth is the one most-remembered, the detectives that populated the works of other contemporary writers are presented in the second volume of 
For the pre-schoolers in your life, there’s a pair of new Nick releases sure to keep them occupied while you try and get a moment of peace – 
Originally intended as its swan song, the strong viewer numbers of 
Still with the single disc, no-set releases, fans can now pick up 
Watch as a family grabs hold of a tragedy and rides it back into the limelight as 
Want to see what the girls of Jersey Shore will turn into in 20 years time? Pick up the crass, clueless 
It’s goofy, it’s gory, its history is a mess, the acting is hammy, but I’ve got to admit – Quentin Tarantino’s 
Picking up where Albert Finney left off in The Gathering Storm, Brendan Gleason steps into the role of Winston Churchill in 
It’s a shame that 
You might not know this, but Jerry Lewis hosted an NBC variety show from 1967-69, featuring a bevy of guest stars. Now you can view 13 of the episodes from that run via the 2-disc 
Rights issues have kept it in limbo seemingly forever, but all of that’s been ironed out enough to allow for the DVD release of 
Melding environmentalism with action and intrigue, 
Credit must go to writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait for delivering a Robin Williams vehicle that’s actually worth watching (they’re few and far between) in 
Formed after the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan and consisting of original members Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton, and Chris Layton, the Arcangels recently reunited to record the album 
Take the sensibilities of Talladega Nights and transplant it to the dysfunctional misadventures of competitive car dealerships and you’ve got 
Due to the BBC’s insane tape policy, only 5 episodes of their Sherlock Holmes series survive, but all 5 are now available via 
I have not, nor have I ever been a fan of magician Criss Angel and his goth/emo David Blaine ways. Still, there are fans out there, and for them there’s the 
Ang Lee’s directorial choices usually are more interesting than the films that result from them, and such is the case with his comedy inspired by the events surrounding the staging of 1969’s seminal festival in 
Ironic that Disney’s 
My mind is still reeling from the sonic assualt that is the soundtrack to 
I don’t know about you, but when I think Jerry Bruckheimer, I think of an elite team of hyper-intelligent, trained guinea pigs who go on secret missions to save the world. 
The third season of 
What made the comedy of Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind work so well was the actual musicianship of its principal trio, who’ve decided to take center stage as themselves for 
Having seen it’s uber-cool, nerd-pleasing beauty firsthand as it illuminated my hotel room for both myself and Doc Hammer, I have nothing but praise for the 
Though often viewed as a lesser light when compared with the juggernaut that is Mary Poppins, I’m quite fond of Disney’s 70’s, post-Walt stab at recapturing some of that magic – 
One of the films that I’ve been anticipating a high-def release for is Robert Altman’s 
Long before he had to scream over the bombastic production of the US Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay was more straightforward, less caricatured, and more helpful with struggling restaurants in the original UK 
After a disastrous, catastrophically bungled second season fumble, 
Not as beloved as the original iteration, there are still fans that are waiting for the fourth volume of 
Ever wondered 
It’s a slow recovery, but the 5th season of 
Though Sherlock Holmes is the only one that has remained a household name, there were plenty of other detectives found in Victorian literature – 13 of which are featured in 
The fourth season of 
More classic Doctor Who hitting DVD with the release of a Sylvester McCoy adventure, 
Bringing a little slice of their True Life Adventures into the digital age, Disney Nature has crafted a new documentary that pulls together a globe-spanning menagerie with high definition-ready exotic locales for 
WWII buff? You’ll want the Ultimate Collections box set of 
The drama and intrigue on not-so-sleepy Wisteria Lane continues in the 5th season of 
How do you know Halloween is fast approaching – at least by studio standards? The Halloween DVDs are already coming out. Disney has repackaged their previously available 
I’ve dipped back in occasionally (like when Dana Snyder guested), but have never really gotten swept up in 
This past season, JJ Abrams returned to TV with 
You know, it’s a shame that the network couldn’t see fit to give 
I’m always delighted when a show that I have zero expectations about blindsides me by being a nice little piece of television. Such is the case with 
It’s unfortunate that 
The previous iterations with a hoot, and I’m glad that Sony is continuing to release some offbeat catalogue titles from the vaults under their “Martini Movies” banner. The latest batch includes a young Michael Douglas in 
With Amy Poehler in the lead and surrounded by a seasoned comedy cast, it makes it all the more unfortunate that 
It’s a shame that Nickelodeon’s other big live action kid-friendly sitcom,