This week, the beginning of one great series and the end of another.
The Tick vs. Season One
Long before The Incredibles and everyone else worth their salt were taking the piss out of comic books, The Tick was showing the world how it was done. One of the funniest cartoons ever aired, the show gave us some of the most wonderfully ridiculous villains (Chairface Chippendale, who really does have a chair for a face) and beautifully moronic monologues from the lead, to wit:
"Everybody was a baby once, Arthur. Oh, sure, maybe not today, or even yesterday. But once. Babies, chum: tiny, dimpled, fleshy mirrors of our us-ness, that we parents hurl into the future, like leathery footballs of hope. And you've got to get a good spiral on that baby, or evil will make an interception."
The fact I bumped Season Three of Arrested Development should let you know how momentous an occasion this really is.
Sadly, after a 12-year journey to DVD, there are no extras.
Arrested Development - Season 3
One of the best comedies to ever grace our screens did not go gentle into that good cancellation. Like Sports Night before it, Arrested Development cleverly incorporated its struggle to stay alive into the narrative to hilarious effect. That they ultimately lost that battle only makes this hugely entertaining season all the more bittersweet. Like Seasons One and Two, this is a must-own.
Extras include a crapload of deleted scenes, commentary on three eps and a "Last Day on Location" featurette, which is bound to make me cry.
Akeelah and the Bee
I didn't fall as head-over-heels in love with this as most critics (let's just say the film knows how to spell c-l-i-c-h-é), but it's still well worth checking out, if only for some nice speechifyin' from Laurence Fishburne and a great supporting nod from J.R. Villarreal as the Best Friend. This is also one of maybe two American films I can think of where the lead is a young black girl.
Extras include three featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a music video.
PS: This is no substitute for watching Spellbound!
Lonesome Jim
Steve Buscemi's third directorial effort creates a sort of morose, unsympathetic take on the Garden State premise casting Casey Affleck as the selfish, lackadaisical but ultimately engaging lead.
Extras include commentary by Buscemi and screenwriter James C. Strouse and a "Making of" featurette.
Take the Lead
Where Spellbound might have informed Akeelah and the Bee, Mad Hot Ballroom explicitly inspired this Inspirational Teacher Tale with Antonio Banderas showing some inner city kids how they do things in, um, ballrooms.
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