Our friend, the Duke de Mondo, has been called away for one royal emergency or another. In his absence he has asked me to take over the Region 1 DVD releases for the next couple of weeks. We apologize for the lateness of this weeks installment.
I’ll try to live up to the legacy, minus the naughty words.
It is a good week for TV shows on DVD. My top three comedies of all time make appearances as well as a few other notable shows. As for movies, it’s pretty slim picking from my point of view.
Cheers - The Complete Fifth Season (1986)
The greatest television comedy ever made. This was the last season to feature Shelly Long, who left the show to find fame and fortune on the movie screen, and got lost along the way. It’s a pretty bare bones release, but contains one of my all time favorite episodes “Thanksgiving Orphans” where the gang stage the world’s greatest food fight.
The Simpsons - Bart Wars
What was the greatest television comedy about four seasons ago has released a specialty disk just in time to settle your jonesing for more Star Wars after watching Episode III. Similar to their other specialty disks on the likes of Halloween and Christmas, this disk contains four episodes and no special features.
Seinfeld - The Fourth Season (1992)
To round out my top three television comedies, Seinfeld releases it’s best season this week. There’s a massive amount of extras on these disks including: documentaries, interviews, deleted scenes and a whole lot more. Not that a season including such episodes as: The Bubble Boy, The Junior Mint (“It’s a little mint”), The Pick, and The Contest (“I’m master of my domain”) needs any extras to sell itself.
Rounding the television releases out come the Golden Girls: the complete 2nd season, the Commish: Best of Season 1 and Scrubs: The Complete First Season
There are only a few standouts in the new film releases category.
Steve McQueen Giftset - 4 Pack (1960)
This set includes two of the all time great great McQueen films, The Great Escape and the Magnificent Seven, a very decent, but dated caper The Thomas Crown Affair, and something I’ve never heard of, Junior Bonner. It doesn’t look like either of the films includes anything not already on previous releases. But, if you haven’t purchased any of the classics, it could be worth the packaged deal. Though I would have preferred something along the lines of Papillion over Junior Bonner, if you get it at a reduced price, there isn’t much room to complain.
Article comments
1 - Eric Berlin
Nice job filling in, Mat.
I wonder who would want to buy Seinfeld on DVD, with the number of times it can still be found up and down the dial (in the US anyway). Still, that season was great -- The Pick and The Contest are such classic pieces of comedy.
Before Melissa Joan Hart became a witch, and grew breasts.
Are you implying that one caused the other?
2 - visualsimplicity
Eric, I believe it's about having all the extras (documentaries, etc...) and the ability to watch it whenever you want.
Oh and no love for Scrubs Season 1?
3 - visualsimplicity
Oops, I clearly missed the small one line pertaining to it.
4 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Mat, i can't thank you enough for sortin this. truly exceptional job you've done here at short, short notice. thank you man, truly.
i would add my two cents worth regarding Seance, which is an incredibly creepy asian number, although more unsettling than "scary". its based on the novel Seance On A Wet Afternoon, an if you flick though my blogcritics musings, you'll see a highly incisive critique of said number.
you did an excellent job on the tv stuff too, mat, stuff i usually overlook, and must learn to focus a bit more on.
all this an a fella has to be out the door at 8, despite it being 6:21 an no hint of shut-eye nor hint of shut-eye to come. the joys of a diabolically fucked sleeping pattern.
5 - Mat
Thanks folks. It was a lot more work than I expected, but still a lot of fun to sort through all the crap coming out in a week.
When I get back to the states I'll be buying all the Seinfeld seasons on DVD. Yes, you can see them all in reruns, but there's something nice about having them all packaged. Oh, and there are no commercials on the DVDs
Melissa Joan Hart, all I'm saying is one day she's this cute little rambunctious kid and then the next day she's all casting spells and has gotten HOT!
Pre-witch Melissa
Post witch Melissa
Need I say more?
Sorry there's no love for Scrubbs visualsimplicity, I've stayed away from the hour long dramas on TV for ages now. I'm sure I've missed some good stuff, but I'd rather watch an old movie on TCM than try to wade through all the crap that passes for TV these days.
6 - Eric Berlin
Mat - You're vibing Duke hard with the "thanks folks."
My point with Seinfeld is that just seems like overkill to get the DVDs, for me anyway.
And Scrubs is a half-hour sitcom, and a pretty damned good one.
7 - -E
Scrubs is probably the best half hour you can find on TV.
But I admit to having a thang for Zach Braff.
8 - Mat
Ooops. Shows you how much I pay to network TV anymore. We've not had a TV in the 8 months that we've been in France. I can't say that I've missed it that much. Yet, you just know that when we get back in July, I'll be doing 10 hour binges.
I have the first four seasons of the Simpsons on DVD and yeah, it is a little overkill. They only rerun about 8 times a day, but it is still nice to have the episodes all lined out for when I'm bored. Although, I do miss the days when I would just tape all the shows off the TV and then didn't label the casettes. I never knew what I was gonna see when I popped the tape in.