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…)
I have been waiting with bated breathe for the high definition release of the original Ghostbusters (Sony, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$28.95 SRP). I admit, I had high hopes for it. Would this 25th anniversary edition live up to expectations? Well, in terms of sound and picture, it certainly is a snazzy affair, looking better than the DVD release. Most of the bonus features from the original special edition have ported over, save for the silhouette commentary, while the Blu-Ray adds a picture-in-picture commentary track, a look at the restoration of the Ecto-1, and a peek at the Ghostbusters video game. What’s glaringly missing YET AGAIN, though, is the Ray Parker, Jr. music video. Come on, people! Clear it up already!
OK, besides the fact that it looks vaguely similar to The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, there’s something “Ooh! Science & Engineering!” cool about the Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench ($24.99). Its liquid core allows doe an instantly adjustable all-in-one wrench that locks tight as a drum over even the most damaged of bolts. It’s just a cool, cool tool.
Although I’m disappointed they’re not doing season sets, at least The Best Of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Uncensored (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP) contains one of the most hilarious episodes the Drew Carey-helmed version ever dared to air – the one featuring Richard Simmons as a surprise guest. The rest of the episodes featured on the 2-disc set are also corkers, but that one takes the cake.
Expanded with a brand new director’s cut and looking & sounding far, far better than it ever has before, I’m going to say that the Collector’s Edition of Woodstock (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$59.98 SRP) is a must-have. Not only does the A/V truly (and appropriately) rock, but you also get additional concert footage, a retrospective documentary, additional interviews, and much more. But truly, the way to go is the Blu-Ray edition ($69.99 SRP), for you reasons you can probably guess. If you can’t, it has something to do with that audio visual remaster being in high definition.
Whatever your opinion of Will Ferrell’s big screen comedic take on the material, those of a certain age probably have a fondness in their heart for Sid & Marty Kroftt’s kitsch Saturday morning adventure series Land of the Lost (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$69.98 SRP). To service those viewers, Universal has released all 3 seasons together in a retro metal lunchbox. It’s practically irresistible.
Audiences largely shied away from The International (Sony, Rated R, DVD-$28.96 SRP), but as action thrillers go, it’s a pretty decent entry in the genre. In short, it stars Clive Owen as an Interpol agent tasked with exposing an arms ring with the aid of Manhattan Assistant DA (Namoi Watts). Bonus features include a making-of featurette, a look at shooting in the Guggenheim, and an extended scene. The Blu-Ray edition ($39.95 SRP) adds a picture-in-picture experience.
The rest of the Kubrick oeuvre is all well and good, but the film I was waiting to get in high-def was Kubrick’s black comedy masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove (Sony, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$38.96 SRP). And now, my wishes have been granted. The film has never looked better, and the disc keeps all of the documentaries and featurettes found on the standard special edition, adding a Blu-Ray exclusive picture-in-picture trivia track.
An uneven but largely entertaining second season turned out to be the last for Reaper (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP). In what must be record time, the 13 episode DVD is already out, featuring deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a gag reel.
In Gran Torino (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$28.98 SRP), Clint Eastwood stars as a Korean War vet and retired blue collar worker who has problems with what he sees as the degeneration of his beloved neighborhood, and the immigrant neighbors who have moved in next door. Violent events conspire to bring him to their defense, though, in a film that is often good, but often heavy-handed in a Crash-ian fashion. Bonus features include a pair of featurettes on the titular car and car culture in America. The Blu-Ray edition ($35.99 SRP) also adds an exclusive look at Eastwood’s filmmaking process.
A post-Porridge Ronnie Barker stars with a pre-Only Fools & Horses David Jason in Roy Clarke’s Open All Hours (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP), a wonderful little series about a Northern shop-keeper (Barker) trying hard to keep his corner shop open, and his nephew (Jason) in line while playing for the affections of comely nurse Gladys. The 4-disc set features all 4 series, plus the 1973 pilot episode.
After years of dancing around the line, the world comes crashing down for crooked cop Vic Mackey in the 7th and final season of The Shield (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP). The 4-disc set features all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes with optional commentary.
Fox’s catalogue Blu-Ray releases get a so-so bump with the high-def arrival of Danny Glover’s finest acting moment, Predator 2, and the New York in lockdown actioner The Siege (Fox, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$34.98 SRP each), starring Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington.
One of the many TV concepts scrawled on napkins and developed after his passing, Earth: Final Conflict (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) was often overlooked in favor of Gene Roddenberry’s other posthumous show, Andromeda. Previously released by ADV and now out of print, the complete first season is available again, featuring audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor diversions ordered by a court of law would keep Jack Bauer from eventually getting 24‘s 7th season mission (Fox, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$69.99 SRP) finished. Bauer has been hauled before Congress to justify his tactics, but wouldn’t you know it – a big national emergency arises, and who are they gonna call? The 6-disc set features audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a trio of featurettes in high definition.
When something advertises itself as a six-part documentary series investigating bones, skulls, mummies, and vampires and it comes from the fine folks at the Smithsonian – as Tomb Detectives (Smithsonian Networks, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) does, how can you not watch it?
Although I think they would have been a nicely perverse Valentine’s Day release, Paramount has instead waiting until now to give a high definition release to the one-two punch of Indecent Proposal & Fatal Attraction (Paramount, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP each). Bonus materials is identical to the recent standard def special editions.
Briefly on life support and saved at the last minute, the third season of Friday Night Lights (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP) arrives with all 13 episodes, audio commentaries, and deleted scenes – all of which will tide you over until the Fall.
As you can imagine, Fillmore: The Last Days (Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is a concert film documenting the final concerts to play at Bill Graham’s legendary San Francisco landmark Fillmore West from June 30th to July 4th, 1971. Considering the time period, the line-up is understandably epic, including the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, and more.
Raymond Burr’s fearless defense attorney returns in the first volume of Perry Mason‘s fourth season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.99 SRP). The 4-disc set features the first 16 episodes of the season.
Already axed, fans can now own the second – and last- season of Lipstick Jungle (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The 3-disc set features all 13 episodes, but nary a bonus feature. Could no one ring up Brooke Shields?
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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Getting a long-overdue top-to-bottom overhaul of it sound and picture, 
In our fast-paced, on-the-go, insert clich̩ world, making our entertainment mobile is a must. With iPhones, iPods, laptops, and other portable media devices Рplus scores of DVDs and TV shows to get through in a day Рfinding a way to automate the process of making those videos easily uploadable to your devices is a must. Enter the 
With the third 
It’s been almost a decade since Randy Newman put out a new album of original tunes – not since Bad Love for the doomed Dreamworks Records, in fact – and it was with some trepidation that I spun up 
Three years in and Everybody Hates Chris (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) has managed the rare feat of still being a quality, funny show. Unlike Malcolm In The Middle, which squandered its brilliant start by becoming a cartoon, Chris is still grounded in the reality it set up right from the beginning. The 4-disc set features all 22 episodes, plus audio commentaries, webisodes, interviews, featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more.
Very rarely does a film manage to capture the of-times bizarre flights of fantasy that envelop the average childhood, so when a flick does manage to capture lightning in a bottle, it’s worth noting. Such is the case with Son Of Rambow (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.99), which finds a young boy discovering common ground with a bully by taking a video camera and a worn copy of Rambo: First Blood, and making a little cinematic magic of their own. To say anymore would ruin the fun, but suffice to say – see it. Bonus features include an audio commentary, the short film that inspired the movie, a making-of, and more. This title is currently a Best Buy exclusive.
Seven years after it came out with an underground, viral splash, Brotherhood Of The Wolf (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) gets a new director’s cut and a 2-disc special edition, featuring a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, storyboards, and more.
If you were in any sort of doubt that we were, in fact, in a presidential election year here in the US, let the immense American Experience: The Presidents Collection (PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$129.98 SRP) remind you. The 10-disc set features profiles on Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, The Kennedys, LBJ, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George HW Bush.
For all of the brilliance of Heroes‘ first season, its second season (Universal, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) fell into that awful, stereotypical sophomore season confusion that has derailed many a promising series before it. In fact, the best thing that happened to the season was probably the writer’s strike, which truncated the wrongheaded direction and allowed a rethink breather. We can only hope season 3 is a course correction. The 4-disc second season set features all 11 episodes, plus audio commentaries, an alternate ending and behind-the-scenes look at the episode “Generations”, featurettes, interviews, and a sneak peek at season 3.
By now, you pretty much now to expect quite a nice dramatic ride from Detective Vic Mackey, and the 6th season of The Shield (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP) doesn’t disappoint., as Internal Affairs is breathing down his neck and forced retirement is looming. The 4-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
Mark Harmon and his team of crackerjack Naval Investigators are up against murderers, kidnappers, spies, terrorists, and tigers (maybe not tigers) in the 5th season of NCIS (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The 5-disc set features all 18 episodes, plus audio commentaries, featurettes, and more.
See, I thought the arrival of Pixar’s John Lasseter and Ed Catmull at the head of Disney animation was going to put a stop to the roll-out of mediocre direct-to-video sequels. I guess there’s no stopping the Disney marketing machine, because here we are with The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.99 SRP), a prequel to the 1989 classic. Bonus features include deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and more.
I gotta admit – even though I was never a big fan, I at least found some enjoyment from Entourage. With the fourth season (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), I must say – I’m off it. The charm is gone, and the characters have devolved into soapy clichés. It’s a shame, because it at least had its charm. The 3-disc set features all 12 episodes, plus a trio of audio commentaries, featurettes, and a US Comedy Arts Festival panel with the cast.
Hunker down this weekend with the complete first seasons of a pair of new History Channel shows – UFO Hunters and Battle 360 (History Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP each). The 4-disc set UFO Hunters features all 13 of the investigative (if misguided) episodes plus additional scenes, while the 4-disc Battle 360 sports all 10 episodes chronicling and recreating the USS Enterprise’s dramatic WWII battles, in addition to a clutch of bonus scenes.
The second volume of The Untouchables‘ second season (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) finds Elliot Ness and his G-Men shifting their focus away from alcohol and onto narcotics, and also expanding further afield than just the mean streets of Chicago. The 4-disc set contains 16-episodes.
Even though it’s more hit than miss, there’s a certain joy in discovering that there was once a sketch show that starred Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Ben Elton, and Robbie Coltrane. That series – Alfresco (Acorn, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP) – is now available in its entirety on DVD, and is worth checking out for the talent alone.