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…)
In what amounts to a summer comedy storm, a pair of brilliant catalogue titles make their high definition debut looking and sounding better than they ever have – Animal House & The Blues Brothers (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP each). Animal House contains both of the retrospective documentaries featured on the last DVD edition, while The Blues Brothers sports both the theatrical and extended cuts, plus a trio of documentaries. Both discs? Must-buys.
Over the years, the fine folks at Thinkgeek have done plenty of cool in-house products, but the one that evokes the most delightful gut response is the iCade ($99.99). As you can see, it’s a scaled-down vintage arcade cabinet for use with your iPad. Simply place your iPad in the screen area, and you can play vintage games with the bluetooth controls. Isn’t that grand?
For years there was doubt they could even be licensed for release, but there’s cause for much rejoicing because the entire 5-film giant turtle run is being released in the box set Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection Volume XXI: MST3K vs. Gamera (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$64.99 SRP), which comes packaged in a collectible tin and is loaded with bonus featurettes. You know you want this. Get it. Watch it. Love it.
While I could care less about the awful sequel Conan The Destroyer (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP), I am delighted beyond words that John Milius’s epic Conan The Barbarian (Universal, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$26.98 SRP) has finally made its way into high definition, and you can instantly appreciated the upgraded audio and print. In addition to the pre-existing audio commentary and documentary, the first film also adds about 10 minutes of vintage EPK interviews not seen in 30 years.
I have to make a confession to you – as a child of the early 80’s, I collected Smurfs. I had a lot of Smurfs. I used to search high and low for certain Smurfs. I used to watch the cartoon. I was Smurfy. Well, now that Belgian artist Peyo’s little blue creations have hit the big screen, Abrams has released a lovely retrospective book, The World Of Smurfs (Abrams Image, $24.95 SRP). Inside you’ll fine plenty of information, illustrations, and ephemera from across their smurfy history.
It’s a middle ground between the sophistication of the original animated Batman, Superman, & Justice League and the more juvenile Teen Titans, but Young Justice (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP) has enough of the classic Bruce Timm vibe to at least make it mostly interesting viewing. This volume collects the first 4 episodes of the first season.
As much as I enjoy Tracy Morgan as a comic performer on 30 Rock, the stand-up featured on his first stand-up special Tracy Morgan: Black & Blue (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.97 SRP) never quite reaches the level of funny, instead being carried largely on the idea that he can get a laugh trough sheer force. The DVD contains an additional 15 minutes of material not seen in the original special.
I enjoyed the small town eccentricity found in the first season of Eastbound And Down (HBO, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP), but count me amongst those that felt the show lost its way as the second season found Danny McBride’s failed baseball player Kenny Powers south of the border trying to fashion a comeback out of a ragtag local team and unreasonable schemes. Bonus materials include commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
I could do without the revised director’s edition, but I am a fan of the original take of Donnie Darko (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), which is now on Blu-Ray via a new 4-disc collector’s set which features both cuts of the film, audio commentaries, production diaries, featurettes, and more.
I thought the first film was goofy fun perfect for kids of all ages, but there were diminishing returns as the series went on, even though all 3 of Robert Rodriguez’s original Spy Kids films are entirely watchable. Now, you can own Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2, and Spy Kids 3 (Lionsgate, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP each) in high definition, porting over much of the bonus materials from the previous DVD editions and adding some new featurettes as well.
He’s a little bit older and the threats are a little bit tougher, but you still pretty much get what you’ve come to expect from the franchise in Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: The Return Of Heatblast (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). This 2-disc set contains 10 episodes.
If you want to see a true comedy of awkwardness that far eclipsed the fictional show that brought it all about, watch as Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal travels to Russia in order to help adapt a local version of the show in the documentary Exporting Raymond (Sony, Rated PG, DVD-$30.99 SRP). It’s a comedy of errors and cultural loggerheads both frustrating and funny. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and two episodes of both the US and Russian versions of the show so you can compare.
Many fans feel it was cancelled too soon, but perhaps they’ll be consoled re-watching the 4th and final season of Everwood (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), as the Abbots face a series of tribulations. Bonus materials include unaired scenes.
The little red furry one decides to change his name by adding a “J”, which your kids can see happen (and learn, too) in Sesame Street: Learning Letters With Elmo (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Will “Jelmo” stick?
Now that the troubled yet promising series has wrapped, the entire five season run of Stargate Atlantis (MGM, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$199.99 SRP) has been collected into a box set, featuring extended episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, and much more. See, that takes some of the sting off of the cancellation, right? Right?
The fine folks at Underground Toys have released another pair of figure sets that are most definitely irresistible to diehard Doctor Who fans. The Time Monster set ($39.95) contains the Roger Delgado iteration of The Master, and his camouflaged TARDIS. The Time Warrior set ($69.99) contains a Sontaran soldier, Linx, his (rather large) spaceship, and the 3rd Doctor in his green coat. You know you want these. Now go and get them.
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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Children of the 70’s and 80’s remember well the overly-earnest, deadly-dry, unintentionally laughable educational films and programs that were a regular staple of the classroom. Well, the brilliant Peter Serafinowicz & Robert Popper have taken that fertile ground and crafted a magnificently bent parody in 
Time to upgrade your trusty old lunchbox? Why not go with the 
If you’re only knowledge of the character is the equally underrated film, do yourself a favor and pick up the beautifully presented 
If you go into 
The term “classic” gets thrown about with abandon nowadays, and I’d certainly question its application I the “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” line of catalogue releases, but there’s no doubt that “cult” is more than applicable. The latest pair of additions to the line are 
What do you get one a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost shack up together? The supernatural Three’s Company dramedy that is the BBC’s 
It’s gut level humor and certainly not high-brow, but its base nature is probably why my nephews got such a kick out of 
The residents of the Springfield Retirement Castle will be delighted at the release of 
You know, I kind of dug 
Get all goofy with Batman, Superman, and all the rest down at the Hall of Justice with the second volume of 
Fear for the future of civilization after viewing even one minute of 
Shout Factory has settled into a pleasantly clockwork schedule of releasing new sets, but I still greet 
When I was a kid, I always wanted the 5 transformable lions that would join to form the mighty battle robot Voltron. Sadly, I never did wind up getting it back then. As an adult, however, I have gotten the 
Relive the great legacy of Sesame Street back in the days before the show went down the tubes with the DVD release of 1989’s 
If you’re keen for a massive tome that takes a backstage look at the genius behind the concepts, designs, and implementations of their theme parks, look no further than 
Tide yourself over for the next season release with 
You’ve probably purchased them in the past, so what’s the incentive in buying the new editions of 
It’s hard not to be enthralled by the images on display in 
If you’re curious what Reality Bites would look like at middle age, look no further than 
Warners continues to mine their deep library of noir films with the 5th volume of the 
Post-MASH, Robert Altman decided to cash most of the goodwill audiences had in with the bizarre, daft 
In the early days of Nick at Nite, one of the shows I watched night after night was My Three Sons, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s because of star Fred MacMurray, as single parent Steve Douglas (sadly, sans Flubber). Or maybe it was just the lovably crotchety presence of William Frawley. Either way, both the 
Paramount continues to undercut the public domain cheapie market with the welcome release of the complete second season of 
I was never a fan of 
Since you can’t introduce your kids to the superheroes you loved as a kid via comic books anymore (dark, violent aberrations that they’ve become), pick up 
Those fans that have only experience the butchered editions of weird and wonderful 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 seasons 1-3 that have now been collected into the massive 
During my mother’s recent cancer battle, she spent her final week at home. While at home, I set up a pair of 
After 10 years spent off the air, wandering the wilderness of feature film development, the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf return for a brand new adventure in 
The most brilliant parodies always come from a place of deep understanding – and often affection – for the particular thing being parodied. Such is clearly the case with Peter Kay’s brilliant send-up of reality talent competitions whose full title – deep breath – is 
The Warner Bros. Archive Collection does it again, this time releasing 
Really, the nifty on-demand catalogue service The Warner Archive Collection is the only way we’ll get the short-lived and rather mediocre but fascinating sci-fi series 
I was one of the Disney fans who marveled at the clarity that the restored Platinum Edition of Snow White revealed, making the film look like it was made in the last 10 years – not 70 years ago. Well, the new high definition Diamond Edition of 
You can have your fancy, expensive, often bizarre, more faithful, Tim Burton-directed version of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, but I will always, always love and prefer 
I’ve gotta say – I really & truly love the amazing, unique, and altogether nifty pop art books that Abrams Comicarts have been putting out – their entire selection of which is worth a look see. Case in point is the new 
Oh, and also from Abrams, have a look-see at 
Originally created for IMAX theaters, 
After a lapse in copyright that allowed it to move from Warner Bros. to Paramount, 
Slowly but surely, we’re catching up on the releases of Gordon Ramsay’s excellent cooking show, 
You know, I’m not entirely sure it hasn’t been forever since the last season release of the still-classic, still-hilarious 
I have nothing against the Shannon Doherty years of the low-rent “reality” candid camera frightfest 
Even though I find the show the dramatic equivalent of beige paint drying, I still find Patricia Arquette watchable in 
Reflect on an incredible body of work by a much-missed actor with the new 
It’s quite rare when I actually enjoy a romantic comedy, only because the plot developments are as obvious as a truck on the side of your ear, so it really comes down to a decent enough script and a good clutch of actors to pull the whole thing off. With 
Does anyone actually enjoy 
As you might expect, the soundtrack to Drew Barrymore’s roller derby flick 
I really have no other ammunition with which to recommend the CG-animated special 
At the end, the show was a shadow of its heyday high, but the cast of 
Sam Raimi decided to abandon the tepid Spider-Man movies and return to form with the schlock-happy horror of 
Will Ferrell’s big screen take on the schlocky Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning classic 
I can’t tell you just how much I really, really don’t like the live action 
I think the final product has been a mixed bag, with none shining too terribly brightly, but if you’re keen on buying the recent animated direct-to-video movies starring your favorite Marvel Comics superheroes, you can now get the whole lot in the 
It’s frustrating that 
I’ve never been a fan of Oliver Stone’s violent social commentary 
Before you gawp at the live action flick, take in the classic animated version of Maurice Sendak’s 
Do people still watch 
If you’re not able to drop the cash for the more expensive Spotlight collections, or just want a nice sampler, then you’ll want to check out 
I tried desperately to avoid obvious swimming metaphors to talk about this title, but in the end, I lacked enough willpower to refrain from saying you should dive right in to the 
Sensing it had been far too long since a new release and that brand awareness might be slipping, MTV has dug through the hall closet to scrape up enough material to fill 
I certainly tried, but I could never find enough of a toe-hold to get interested in 
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 
