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…)
Even though it comes before the other recently discovered 2nd Doctor adventure The Web Of Fear, Doctor Who: The Enemy Of The World (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) is the only one of the two to have had all of the episodes fully recovered, and it’s a nifty little tale featuring Patrick Troughton in a dual role as The Doctor and the evil dictator Salamander. Unfortunately, this release is just as featureless as The Web Of Fear, but again, at least we have it.
Another week and another wonderful 1/6-scale figure from the fine folks at Sideshow Collectibles, who expand their burgeoning DC Comics line with another addition to the Batman rogues gallery (following the release of The Joker and Harley Quinn). So which dastardly criminal is it? Why, it’s that felonious feline, Catwoman (Sideshow, $189.99). Based on her modern comic appearance, the figure is decked out in the requisite catsuit, and comes with her trademark whip (two versions – one coiled), plenty of hands, a gem, her goggles, and a swappable head (fierce!). All of these villains just serve to make the wait for the upcoming 1/6-scale comics Batman that much harder.
Far from the studio and theme parks that bear his name, The Walt Disney Family Museum – located at San Francisco’s Presidio – has been quietly celebrating the artistic legacy of that pioneering visionary through exhibits that span the breath of his life and accomplishments. While it may be a healthy trek to visit the museum in person, they’ve released a clutch of incredible books that any fan of animation, Disney, or just art in general should have on their shelf. Taken in tandem, two of the tomes – Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs: The Art & Creation Of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film (Walt Disney Family Foundation Press, $35 SRP) and The Fairest One Of All: The Making Of Walt Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (Walt Disney Family Foundation Press, $65 SRP) – offer a definitive history of the landmark film, beautifully illustrated and researched, featuring hundreds of pieces of rare design and production artwork. And speaking of beautiful design, they’ve also released the companion book to their Mary Blair exhibit, Magic Color Flair: The World Of Mary Blair (Walt Disney Family Foundation Press, $40 SRP), presented by animation historian John Canemaker. One of Walt’s most iconic artists, her work is instantly familiar to anyone who’s taken a boat ride on “It’s A Small World”. Here’s hoping the Museum continues to release these kinds of glorious collections for years to come.
Now that it exists, it seems only natural that Hayley Campbell’s The Art Of Neil Gaiman (Harper Design, $39.99 SRP) should always have existed, for surely such a celebration of such a talented gent as Gaiman should always just… be. And now that reality has finally caught up with where it should be, the reality of this book is that it’s a delightful celebratory stroll down the long and winding path of a modern creative marvel. So do go on, and be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
Fully remastered in high definition from the original film elements, John Wayne stars as the titular cattle baron in McLintock (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$22.98 SRP), whose reunion with his collegiate daughter (Stephanie Powers) is overshadowed by the arrival of the headstrong wife who left him two years prior, the always wonderful Maureen O’Hara. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, featurettes, and an introduction from Leonard Maltin.
The best documentaries are the ones that present a topic you never knew you wanted to know more about until they present that topic to you and you think, “Gee, I really wanted to know more about this.” Case in point? The new documentary about the original queen of comedy, Moms Mabley (HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP). Directed and presented by Whoopi Goldberg, it’s a fascinating look at the comedy pioneer who rose from African-American vaudeville to the national stage, breaking both racial and gender barriers.
I would have loved a straightforward historical epic about the tragic volcanic end of Pompeii (Sony, Rated PG-13, 3D Blu-Ray-$45.99 SRP) instead of the middling soap opera that tries shoehorning a Spartacus-lite tale of gladiators and forbidden, ultimately doomed love that we get here. Still, at least we get some gorgeous eye candy in 3D of the actual eruption and its aftermath, so there’s that. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
For more years than I can recall, the amiable scholars at Twomorrows have been publishing a wide range of magazine and books chronicling every nook and cranny of the comics, creators, characters, and companies fans know and love. They’ve taken that love and scholarly approach to the next logical step, having launched a must-have document of four-color history in the American Comic Book Chronicles (Twomorrows, $41.95 SRP), which will eventually chart from 1940 to today. The latest volume, The 1960’s: 1965-1969, looks at the full bloom of the Silver Age, as the fledgling upstart Marvel Comics firmly established itself amongst a burgeoning counterculture alongside the likes of MAD Magazine. Get this book, then star setting aside shelf space for the rest – which can’t come fast enough.
With the fifth season of Happy Days (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP), we reach an infamous landmark – the legendary jumping of a shark by a swimsuit and leather jacketed Fonz. Yes – the demarcation of a creative downward spiral that would spawn an equally legendary trope. It almost makes you forget that this was also the season that introduced Mork from Ork. Bonus materials include the 4th Anniversary special.
Dig into a pair of historical documentaries from the Smithsonian Channel with Civil War 360 (Smithsonian Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which looks at the great war from a trio of viewpoints (Union, Confederacy, and the slaves), and Secrets Of The Third Reich (Smithsonian Channel, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP), which looks at some of the least-told tales of Hitler’s war machine.
Get your DDB drama fix with a trio of new releases, including the ninth seasons of both the long-running cold case procedural Waking The Dead (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP) and police detectives Dalziel & Pascoe (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP), plus the supernatural thriller Afterlife (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP), starring Andrew Lincoln as a skeptic confronted with what appears to be a genuine psychic (Lesley Sharp) who tries to help him with a tragedy in his own life.
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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My nephew has a birthday coming up, and his choice of party theme for this year is “Doctor Who”. But how best to properly theme a timelord-centered affair? Well, Thinkgeek has you covered when it comes to the treats, as you can make anything from ice to candy to cupcakes with their Doctor Who TARDIS Gelatin Mold Set (Thinkgeek, $12.99). Made of silicone, the set features the front and back half of the Doctor’s ship, perfect for making Gallifreyan nibbles.
