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…)
Certainly, there was a fair amount of trepidation that despite the success of the Kickstarter campaign, the big screen Veronica Mars (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.98 SRP) would fail to live up to breezy noir fun of the original, dearly departed series. Well, kudos to show creator Rob Thomas for pulling off a film that, set 10 years later and reuniting the residents of Neptune California for a 10th high school reunion overshadowed by murder and intrigue, feels every bit as wonderful as the series it picks up the baton from. Here’s hoping for many more films to come. Bonus materials include featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.
Since they were originally shot on film, it was only a matter of time and money before CBS decided to give classic sitcom fans a triple-header of high-def delight with the fully remastered Blu-Ray debuts of I Love Lucy: Season One, The Andy Griffith Show: Season One and The Honeymooners: The Classic 39 (CBS, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$129.99 SRP each). As if the stellar sound and video presentation weren’t enough, they’ve also gone the extra mile by loading these down with bonus features galore. I Love Lucy contains the original pilot, audio commentaries, 13 season one repeat episodes with alternate elements, on-set color home movies, bloopers, the I Love Lucy: The Very First Show special, and select episodes of Lucy’s radio show My Favorite Husband. The Andy Griffith Show sports the Danny Thomas Show episode that served as the backdoor pilot, home movies, original sponsor spots, the Person To Person interview with Griffith, and the Return To Mayberry TV movie. Finally, The Honeymooners features promos, an original Buick dealer presentation, the 60 Minutes profile of Gleason plus outtakes, a sketch from American Scene Magazine, both the 35th and 50th anniversary specials, and the Person To Person segment featuring Gleason. An incredible line-up, isn’t it? Now, if only Sgt. Bilko would get this kind of love from CBS, the world would be a happy place.
Everyone knows the immaculate 1/6-scale figures that the fine folks at Hot Toys produce, but fewer know that they’ve also been known to produce the occasional vinyl collectible. Featuring the same kind of exquisite attention to detail, the sculpt for their Monsters University: Mike, Sully & Archie (Sideshow, $149.99) is a spot-on recreation of the iconic characters from the Pixar sequel, clothed in their University jackets and measuring a healthy 9″ high. Here’s hoping this is the first in a series of these deluxe vinyl Disney pieces.
Carl Barks was a master of humor and economical storytelling, with an almost magical ability to present more narrative and comedy within a simple 10-page tale than most creators with 10 times the space. Once again, the gee-whizzers at Fantagraphics have released a must-have collection of classic Barks stories in their ever-growing Barks library with Donald Duck: Trail Of The Unicorn (Fantagraphics, $29.99 SRP), which features the titular tale plus a handful more, plus essays that put it all in perspective. KEEP THEM COMING, GUYS.
While you’re biding your time waiting for the next full season Blu-Ray release, snag the quick fix Adventure Time: The Suitor (Cartoon Network, Not Rated, DVD-$19.82 SRP), collecting 16 episodes from the show’s 5th season, plus the “Little Did You Know” featurette.
It feels like an impossible wait until the 3rd and final Hobbit film, but fill the time with a lovely new tome that delves into the backstory and creation behind the monstrous worm under the mountain – Smaug: Unleashing The Dragon (HarperDesign, $19.99 SRP). Filled with art and designs and even an introduction by Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s an easy impulse buy.
Waiting for the new film and want to binge on some classic thunder lizard action? Look no further than the high-def debut of not one, not two, but 8 classic Godzilla films presented as 4 double feature releases in The Toho Godzilla Collection. Fully remastered, the films include Godzilla vs King Ghidorah/Godzilla And Mothra: The Battle For Earth, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II/Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah/Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, and Godzilla: Tokyo SOS/Godzilla: Final Wars (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP each). Bonus materials include featurettes and original trailers.
After the untimely death of E.C. Segar only a few years into the life of his immensely popular strip “Thimble Theater”, the strip and its breakout star, Popeye The Sailor, were guided by Segar assistant Bud Sagendorff for over 40 years. But in 1986, King Features Syndicate was faced with having to find a replacement for Sagendorff, and they turned to a seemingly unlikely candidate – Playboy and National Lampoon cartoonist Bobby London. But they couldn’t have found a better choice, as you’ll experience for yourself in Popeye: Classic Newspaper Comics Volume One – 1986-1989 (IDW, $39.99 SRP), which collects the first half of London’s all-too-brief tenure of reinvigorated tales of the spinach-fueled sailorman and his eclectic supporting cast.
There have been many books that purported to present the definitive history of the original Star Trek. Much like Roshomon, many presented a perspective on the show’s genesis. But we’ve finally got the overview that incorporates all of those memories plus original memos, documents, and interviews and places them in a comprehensive context – These Are The Voyages (Jacobs Brown, $29.95 SRP), of which the second volume of what will eventually be a trilogy, each focusing on a season of TOS, is now available. Author Marc Cushman has done the if not impossible, then very nearly improbably feat of remaining neutral while presenting the facts, tales, anecdotes, and recollections behind one of the most enduring pop phenomenon of the 20th century – and beyond.
Coming fast and furious is an understatement when it comes to just how quickly the new direct-to-video animated DC Comics films have been hitting, as the latest comic book adaptation – Son Of Batman (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) – makes its debut. Based on the graphic novel Batman And Son, it finds the Dark Knight surprised by the revelation that he has a young son with Talia, the assassin daughter of his enemy Ra’s Al Ghul. With the League of Assassins and Deathstroke on the tail it’s not a bib surprise to find that Batman’s son Damian soon becomes the next Robin. Bonus materials include featurettes, a quartet of cartoons, and a sneak peek at the next animated feature Batman: Assault On Arkham.
Rescued from the mists of time, the classic newspaper strip adventures of the man of steel and the dark knight detective continue with Superman: The Silver Age Dailies 1961-1963 (IDW, $49.99 SRP) and Batman And Robin: The Silver Age Dailies And Sundays 1966-1967 (IDW, $49.99 SRP), which is the first of three volumes collecting the strip that was relaunched to coattail the success of the TV series. Oh, and while you’re at it, pick up the deluxe Superman: Sunday Pages 1943-1946 (IDW, $49.99 SRP), which are presented in all of their large format glory.
It’s odd to think they’ve been around for two decades, but that’s exactly the anniversary that’s being celebrated with the lavish and massive Art Of Dreamworks Animation (Abrams, $50 SRP). Of course, those first 10 years were filled with plenty of duds, from Prince Of Egypt to Shark Tale, but in recent years they’ve become a more surefooted powerhouse with the likes of their masterpiece How To Train Your Dragon. Explore it all with copious artwork and behind-the-scenes context with this tome.
In an age of ridiculous denial, Phillipe Squarzoni’s Climate Changed (Abrams Comicarts, $24.95 SRP) proves yet again the power of visual storytelling, as it presents the complicated science behind climate change in a streamlined, easily digestible fashion that hopefully even the simple-mined climate change deniers can understand. If not, well, there’s always puppets.
When you watch the virtually Shirley-less eighth and final season of Laverne & Shirley (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), you understand that it was only right and proper and merciful to end the series, as the magic of the show relied entirely on the dynamic between Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall, and once Williams left, well, best to end it all. Bonus materials include original episode promos and a gag reel.
Somehow, an entire decade has flown past, so do yourself a favor and celebrate the 10th anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite (Fox, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP) with a new high-def special edition packed with audio commentaries, outtakes, deleted scenes, featurettes, auditions, promos, and more.
It’s certainly a long way from even the limited 80’s quality of G1 cartoon, but completionists will still want to pick up Transformers Energon: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$44.99 SRP), which collects all 51 episodes.
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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While it’s physically impossible to climb inside it, it is fun to finally get to fly your very own piece of Time Lord technology with the Doctor Who R/C TARDIS (Thinkgeek, $47.99). Coming in at 3″ tall, it’s capable of vertical takeoff and landing, and can hover about for an average of 6 minutes on a charge, which is delivered via the remote control (and runs on 4AA batteries). So, go fly a TARDIS already!
