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…)
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 Mighty Boosh Special Edition DVD set (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP). The 7-disc set is loaded with all of the bonus features from the separate releases – including featurettes, commentaries, bloopers, & oddities – plus an exclusive 7th disc with a documentary, a Q& A, deleted scenes & outtakes from the pilot, the Paramount channel Zookeeper sketches, Bob Fossil Audio, Live Night links, and more.
During my mother’s recent cancer battle, she spent her final week at home. While at home, I set up a pair of Laser Stars Projectors ($169.99), directed at the ceiling, for her to be able to see. With their green laser stars and a brilliant blue nebula display, all of which are in constant, soothing motion, it hopefully helped to ease her final days.
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 Red Dwarf: Back To Earth (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP). Made for the UK digital network Dave, the 3-part story is made to play like a small-scale feature film, and the digital look certainly plays to that. The endeavor is largely successful, but it makes the same error of the later series by forgetting to be as funny as it used to be. If, as suspected, this was a backdoor return to new production, here’s hoping Doug Naylor takes that to heart if things move forward. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, a making-of documentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, web videos, an easter egg, and smeg-ups. A Blu-Ray edition ($29.99 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus materials.
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 Britain’s Got The Pop Factor And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice (Channel 4, Not Rated, DVD-£19.99 SRP). Every single aspect of those viewer-voted, panel-judged talent shows are skewered with a straight face and skill that those unfamiliar with Kay (who stars as contestant Geraldine McQueen) might well believe that it’s all true. Fun, funny, and highly recommended. Bonus features include the follow-up special, judges’ commentary, music videos, and trailers.
The Warner Bros. Archive Collection does it again, this time releasing The Joe McDoakes Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.95). The 6-disc set contains all 63 shorts starring George O’Hanlon (who would later voice George Jetson) as the titular protagonist, who spends each short comically trying to master the various skills or activities that are the short’s focus. If this sounds familiar, the Disney studio did a take-off on these starring Goofy. Billy West turned me on to these McDoakes shorts, and it’s fantastic that Warners has made them available through their On-Demand catalogue service. Get this set. Now.
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 Genesis II (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$19.95), from creator Gene Roddenberry. It’s the tale of Dylan Hunt, a man who awakes from suspended animation 154 years in the future to find the world decimated by war and torn between the peace-loving Pax and the militaristic, mutant Tyranians – and both want Hunt to choose a side.
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 Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) trumps even that stellar presentation. I can’t imagine it looking or sounding better than this. The 3-disc special edition also includes a standard DVD, plus bonus features including an audio commentary, newly-discovered storyboards for a possible sequel, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a look at Walt’s Hyperion Studios, and more. This truly is the edition to get. And watch.
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 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Warner Bros., Rated G, Blu-Ray-$34.99 SRP), starring Gene Wilder as the titular confectioner and featuring songs that still play in my head, almost 30 years after I first saw it. Now, just when other classic catalogue titles are getting heir high-def treatment (Hello, Wizard Of Oz), Warners is also dropping Willy Wonka – and it looks & sounds a treat. Bonus materials are essentially ported over from the standard DVD special edition, including a making-of documentary, an audio commentary with the Wonka kids, a vintage featurette, sing-along songs, and the theatrical trailer.
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 Toon Treasury Of Classic Children’s Comics (Abrams Comicarts, $40.00 SRP), which features a selected reprinting of vintage comic book stories chosen by Art Spiegelman & Francois Mouly. By vintage, I mean everything from Disney Duck stories by the great Carl Barks to C.C. Beck Captain Marvel. It’s a wonderful tome.
Oh, and also from Abrams, have a look-see at Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel (Abrams Image, $24.95 SRP), which presents the fictional yet photographically & artistically documented story of the world’s first robot solider. Created in 1893 and winding his way through history like a metal Forrest Gump, it’s a fun look at an alternate reality that’s lovingly crafted.
Originally created for IMAX theaters, Dinosaurs Alive! (Image, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP) is exactly the type of short, poppy educational film you’d expect to see at your local natural history museum. It’s pretty snazzy in the home theater, but probably blew audiences away in IMAX.
After a lapse in copyright that allowed it to move from Warner Bros. to Paramount, My Fair Lady (Paramount, Rated G, DVD-$19.99 SRP) gets a new special edition release that doesn’t quite live up to the lavish 2-disc special edition previously available from Warners. This new single-disc contains an audio commentary, vintage featurettes, Audrey Hepburn’s original vocal tracks, a featurette, trailers, and a Rex Harrison radio interview.
Slowly but surely, we’re catching up on the releases of Gordon Ramsay’s excellent cooking show, The F Word (BFS, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). The third series brings us a whole new crop of celebrity guests, celebrity cook-offs, remote ingredient locales, and much more. The 3-disc set contains all 6 episodes.
You know, I’m not entirely sure it hasn’t been forever since the last season release of the still-classic, still-hilarious Mary Tyler Moore Show (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP). However long it’s actually been, it certainly seems like forever, but now we’ve finally got the 5th season to dive into and laugh heartily at. Now where’s season 6?
I have nothing against the Shannon Doherty years of the low-rent “reality” candid camera frightfest Scare Tactics (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP), but it’s the 3rd season introduction of new host Tracy Morgan that’s really made the show a guilty pleasure – and more fun than it ever managed to be previously. The 2-disc Uncensored and Too Hot for TV set contains the first half of the season, plus bloopers and extra footage.
Even though I find the show the dramatic equivalent of beige paint drying, I still find Patricia Arquette watchable in Medium (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$60.90 SRP). The 5th season is more of Arquette’s psychic mom Allison Dubois helping a an investigative team that’s never seen an episode of CSI solve crimes. The 5-disc set features all 18 episodes, plus behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Reflect on an incredible body of work by a much-missed actor with the new Paul Newman Collection (Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$89.98 SRP), which collects in one package the special editions of 13 of Newman’s films for Twentieth Century Fox, plus a 136-page book packed with photos and information. The included films are The Long, Hot Summer, Rally ‘Round The Flag, Boys!, From The Terrace, Exodus, The Hustler, Hemingway’s Adventures Of A Young Man, What A Way To Go!, Hombre, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Towering Inferno, Buffalo Bill And The Indians Or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson, Quintet, & The Verdict.
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 The Proposal (Touchstone, Rated PG-13, DVD-$39.99 SRP), the tale of a Canadian boss of an American company trying to arrange a quickie marriage to her assistant in order to stay in the US only works because the leads in question are Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, and they manage to pull it off. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and outtakes. A Blu-Ray edition ($44.99 SRP) is also available, which adds an exclusive deleted scenes to the bonus features from the standard DVD.
Does anyone actually enjoy The Hills (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$26.98 SRP), and not just state at the sheer idiocy on display, mouth agape? Do you know anyone who does? For those people, the first volume of the 5th season will probably be on their “pick-up” list, with special features including featurettes, deleted scenes, and interviews.
As you might expect, the soundtrack to Drew Barrymore’s roller derby flick Whip It (Rhino, $13.98 SRP) is packed with more punk rock tracks than you can shake a stick at, featuring everyone from The Ramones to .38 Special (with the folks like Ravonettes and The Breeders thrown in for good measure). Spin it.
I really have no other ammunition with which to recommend the CG-animated special Gotta Catch Santa Claus (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$19.98 SRP) than to say it has the genius masterstroke of casting William Shatner as the voice of Saint Nick. Genius, right? Genius!
At the end, the show was a shadow of its heyday high, but the cast of Married With Children (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP) could still elicit a laugh based on talent alone. The 3-disc eleventh season set features all 25 episodes, but zero bonus materials.
Sam Raimi decided to abandon the tepid Spider-Man movies and return to form with the schlock-happy horror of Drag Me To Hell (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 SRP) that finds a young woman on the wrong side of a gypsy curse that will literally drag her soul to hell unless she can find away out of her bind. Simple, right? Bonus features include production video diaries.
Will Ferrell’s big screen take on the schlocky Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning classic Land Of The Lost (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) is equal parts faithful and not-so-much, in that goofy, Brady Bunch Movie kind of a way. It’s all got a bit of a wink and a nudge as Ferrell’s has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall finds himself & two companions (Anna Friel & Danny McBride) wrong-turned into the titular prehistoric (and Sleestack ruled) land. Bonus features include an audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.98 SRP) is also available, with identical bonus features.
I can’t tell you just how much I really, really don’t like the live action How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$28.98 SRP). Now in high def with a bonus of the standard DVD edition, it’s just an awkward affair made even more regrettable when one sees the wonderful animated adaptation of Horton Hears A Who and inevitable turn your mind to what Grinch could have been in those hands, and not Ron Howard’s.
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 Marvel Animation set (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP). The 6 films included are Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2, Next Avengers, The Invincible Iron Man, Doctor Strange, & Hulk Vs.
It’s frustrating that Year One (Sony, Not Rated, DVD-$28.96 SRP) is such a fertile subject for comedy so ably mishandled. The subject is a skewed, History Of The World Part I look at 1 AD, focusing here on a pair of serendipity prone guys (Michael Cera & Jack Black) who leave history in their wake. And, sadly, some not sharp enough comedy. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. A Blu-Ray edition ($39.99 SRP) is also available, containing an unrated version of the flick, with identical bonus materials.
I’ve never been a fan of Oliver Stone’s violent social commentary Natural Born Killers (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$20.98 SRP), but those interested in the flick will probably want to check out the unrated, extended director’s cut, featuring a new introduction from Stone. The 2-disc set also contains a new featurette, an audio commentary, and the previously available deleted scenes, Charlie Rose interview, alternate ending, and featurette about the storm around the film’s release.
Before you gawp at the live action flick, take in the classic animated version of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are (Scholastic, Not Rated, DVD-$14.95 SRP). The disc also includes an addition quintet of Sendak tales – In The Night Kitchen, Alligators All Around, Pierre, One Was Johnny, & Chicken Soup With Rice (a personal favorite).
Do people still watch Nip/Tuck (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP)? I was never a fan, but I know there were plenty that tuned in to the soapy tales of the brothers cut-cut. For those of you still on the bandwagon, here’s the second volume of season five, which also features a bonus featurette.
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 Tom and Jerry’s Greatest Chases: Volume 3 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP), which contains another 14 classic cat & mouse cartoons.
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 Esther Williams: Volume 2 collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP). The six films contained this go round include Thrill Of A Romance, Fiesta, This Time For Keeps, Pagan Love Song, Million Dollar Mermaid, & Easy To Love. Extras include vintage short subjects, cartoons, and musical outtakes.
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 Jackass: The Lost Tapes (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$19.99 SRP), featuring much material previously unreleased, deleted, censored, or just there.
I certainly tried, but I could never find enough of a toe-hold to get interested in The Legend Of The Seeker (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP), a coming-of-age sword & sorcery series about, well, The Seeker, his companions, and their rolling battle against an evil sorcerer. You can give it a spin yourself with the complete first season, featuring audio commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
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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In this episode, I wrap up my bit of a chat with comedian, raconteur, bon vivant, and star of Dave’s ARGUMENTAL, Rufus Hound. (You can download Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE)
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
There are two essential books that celebrate region-specific horror films both well-known and obscure. One is Stephen Thrower’s Nightmare USA (with a companion volume planned). The other is They Came From Within, Caelum Vatnsdal’s history of Canadian horror movies. What these two books suggest is that the best of the cinema’s independent horror films are really regional works. Three of the most famous horror films of all time, Night of the Living Dead, Carnival of Souls, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are really regional films, independently financed and shot far from Hollywood with local actors and crew members. Thus they have a flavor not found in mainstream genre movies, spices of quirkiness, unpredictability, and rigorous bleakness that mainstream movies can’t or won’t allow themselves. 
Recalling the good old days of Paramount’s rapid, clockwork release of the Trek series on standard DVD, the remastered high-def edition of 
Ever since they first came on the market, I’ve been ridiculously entranced by digital picture frames. Just the space-age idea that you could have shifting photos within a traditional-looking picture frame makes the 7-year-old me go “Cool.” Sad? Maybe – but the 
A few years back, Warner Bros. released a positively revelatory special edition of The Wizard Of Oz on DVD. The picture had never – ever, even in its theatrical release – looked and sounded better. Well, with the release in high-def of 
For all of the comedy and loopy fun that Dreamworks puts into the films CG-animated they release, they really can’t make a visually appealing flick to save their lives. Look no further than 
It’s nice that, every once in awhile, a comedy will come down the pike that remembers how enjoyable humor based on character can be – and such is the case with 
The playing field is littered with the bodies of many serials that attempted to make a go of it on the net, but one of the few actual success stories gets a DVD release with 
Ah, but that’s not the only History Channel program that benefits from a bump up to high-def – also add the complete 3rd season of 
Color me stunned that we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original UK miniseries 
Making holiday viewing that much easier this year, Disney has put together a standalone release of the still-great 
Of all of the direct-to-video animated DC Universe titles to come down the pike, the one that’s gotten the most right – in tone, character, and execution – is 
I love when companies finally remember that they’ve left us dangling with abandoned classic TV releases and restart the process, as Paramount has done in giving us the penultimate 4th season of 
Hugh Jackman – I understand that the success of the first abysmal film gave you a Hollywood career, and the second and third abysmal films cemented the studio’s belief that you were the key to their success, but do you think you could get, oh, I don’t know, a second reader to tell you what a crap script your solo foray as 
With the rather blunt title of 
Compiled to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first show, 
We finally – FINALLY – get a production with the Muppets playing themselves, and it turns out to be a dull, misguided affair that forgets that the Muppets are supposed to be funny and interesting. Sadly, 
It’s a shame that TV executives felt it was necessary to re-do the UK’s brilliant version for the American 
I could have done without the re-enactments, but the disturbing history repackaged in the documentary 
The only thing remarkable about the seventh season of 
