2018 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part II - TV on DVD Releases
December 5, 2018
The first installment of our Holiday Gift Guide dealt with First Run wide releases, which was dominated by super heroes, again. This week, we look at TV on DVD releases, specifically first seasons and Megasets. I limited this list to two types, because you don’t need me to tell you if someone will want the sixth season of a show. If they liked the first five, then season six is likely a good gift. However, like last year, I’m going to start this list with an exception. Sort of. On a side note, originally, I was going to lead with K-On: Limited Edition Box Set, but that got pushed back till February. You can still buy it and give them a print-out of the receipt at Christmas. “Merry Christmas. You’re gift will arrive in two months.” ... Yes, I’ve done that in the past. No, it's not tacky.
For those who don’t want to argue if it is new or not...
For those who want one of the longest running TV franchises of all time...
For those who like a little cat and mouse for Christmas...
For those who want a TV show about a hitman, but want a comedy instead...
For those who want to laugh...
For those who wanted older shows on a newer format...
You will never get the theme song out of your head...
For those who want one of the longest running TV franchises of all time...
For those who like to be fooled on Christmas...
For those who want a mystery, but an animated one...
For those who grew up with Stephen Hillenburg’s creations...
For those who just need to laugh this holiday season...
So that’s it for TV on DVD releases. Next week we will have classics, limited releases, foreign-language releases, and some Canadian films, which should be a much bigger list. We then finish off with miscellaneous releases and anything I forgot.
MST3K: The Return: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Description: This season is either the eleventh season of the original show or the first season of the reboot. In the reboot, Jonah Ray plays Jonah Heston, the new human experiment subject, forced to watch bad movies by Kinga Forrester and TV’s Son of TV’s Frank.
Pros: It is an excellent season and there isn’t a single episode that’s a dud. Of course, some episodes are better than others, with highlights that include Starcrash, Yongary, Avalanche, and more. Additionally, there’s a feature-length documentary on the revival.
Cons: The DVD / Blu-ray came out in April, which means fans of the show have had a long time to buy them. On the other hand, the second season of the reboot, called The Gauntlet, just came out on Netflix, so that’s good timing.
Star Trek: Discovery: Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Description: Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, who has a rough first couple of episodes, but is given a second chance in Starfleet when Gabriel Lorca asks her to join the crew of the USS Discovery and help perfect cutting edge technology that could help win the war with the Klingons.
Pros: While there were some missteps, overall, I loved this season and I think it is the best first-season of a Star Trek show since the original Star Trek. Additionally, there are a lot of extras on the DVD / Blu-ray.
Cons: This show is the most different out of all of the Star Trek shows and for some, there were too many changes.
Killing Eve: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Description: Sandra Oh stars as an MI5 agent tracking an assassin. When she suspects the assassin is a woman, she’s dismissed by her bosses. She continues this line of investigation unauthorized and confirms her suspicions, but gets a key witness killed in the process. She’s fired, only to be rehired by another branch of MI5 under the table to continue her work off the books. Meanwhile, the assassin, played by Jodie Comer, learns she is being tracked and the two women become obsessed with each other to the point where it negatively affects their work.
Pros: The show earned amazing reviews and even a couple of Emmy nominations. The show’s ratings also improved as the season continued, which is very rare for a TV show, so it clearly got its hooks into the audience.
Cons: The lack of extras and the price-per-minute is high, but that’s common for British imports.
Barry: The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Description: Bill Hader stars as the titular Barry, a midlevel hitman for a midwestern crime family. His latest assignment has him traveling to Los Angeles, where he follows his target into an acting class. He gets roped into performing something and he’s instantly hooked and wants to give up being a hitman to become an actor.
Pros: The show is earning near perfect reviews and picked up a dozen Emmy nominations, including three wins. If you are a fan of dark comedy, then this series is a must have.
Cons: It is only out on DVD and not Blu-ray, while there are not a lot of extras.
Who Is America?: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Description: Sacha Baron Cohen returns to TV doing his usual shtick. He pretends to be a number of different characters and interviews real people hoping they will let their guard down and admit what they actually think.
Pros: His plans work a lot of the time and he gets people to say things that they really shouldn’t have said and that creates some amazing moments.
Cons: Sacha Baron Cohen’s style of humor isn’t for everyone and he comes at many of his subjects from a decided left-leaning direction, so that will alienate even more of the potential audience.
Charmed: Season One - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
MacGyver: Season One - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Description: CBS is releasing two of their shows that have been recently rebooted. Both have come out on DVD before, but they made their Blu-ray debuts this fall.
Pros: These shows lasted a combined 15 seasons / 300+ episodes and there’s a reason for that. MacGyver is one of the best adventure shows from the 1980s / 1990s and has aged surprisingly well. I wasn’t as big of a fan of Charmed when it first came out, but I’ve been watching select episodes to judge the remastered video / audio and I can really see the appeal. There’s good chemistry between the cast and it has, to pardon my poor choice of words, a certain charm to it. Also, the shows look and sound surprisingly good. They are 20 and 33 years old respectively and they don’t look as good as modern TV shows do. I have the 2007 MacGyver complete series, which had video quality that was barely above syndication in places. This Blu-ray is closer to modern TV on Blu-ray releases than the DVD release. That was a surprise.
Cons: There are no extras.
Notes: I really hope these releases sell well, because there are many TV shows I would like on Blu-ray, but I know will never get remastered if releases like this are not profitable.
That’s it for first seasons, but we have some Megasets to talk about as well, starting with...
Fraggle Rock: Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Description: This is the Canadian version, so it is about an inventor, Doc, and his dog, Sprokets, who unknowingly live in a home above the caves called Fraggle Rock where the Fraggles live. The show follows the adventures of the Fraggles as they interact with the Doozers, the Grogs, and the “Silly Creatures” (the Fraggles’ name for humans).
Pros: This is a classic kids show, but a show that can also be enjoyed by parents. The 12-disc set is loaded with extras.
Cons: It was shot on video in the 1980s. Granted, the show does look better than it did on DVD, but there’s only so much you can do with the source material, so it doesn’t look truly HD.
Ash vs. the Evil Dead: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Description: Bruce Campbell returns as Ash Williams, who accidentally wakes up the Deadites, again. He teams up with Pablo and Kelly to stop them.
Pros: I reviewed all three seasons of this show and loved it. Additionally, the Blu-ray are loaded with extras.
Cons: There are no new extras on the box set, so it is not worth the upgrade.
Psych: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon.ca: DVD
Description: Shawn Spencer and Burton “Gus” Guster are childhood friends. When they were kids, Shawn’s father used to train their perception skills hoping his son would follow in his footsteps. Instead, he grew up to be a slacker using his skills to call the cops tip line to solve crimes he saw on the news. He’s good at this, so good that the cops think he must be involved in the crimes and arrest him. To get out of jail, he tells them he’s psychic and he and Gus start a psychic detective agency.
Pros: The box set includes all 8 seasons and both TV movies, as well as tons of bonus features.
Cons: While I was writing this, the original listing got pulled, but you can still import it from Amazon.ca.
Gravity Falls: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Description: Dipper and Mabel are 12-year old twins who are sent to live with their great-uncle, Stan. Stan runs a tourist trap in the town of Gravity Falls, selling trinkets from false unexplained events. However, in reality, Gravity Falls is full of unexplained events and Dipper and Mabel begin to explore them.
Pros: Only a dozen of the 40 episodes were ever released on DVD, but this Blu-ray has all 40 of them, plus an unfathomable number of extras. There are audio commentary tracks on all 40 episodes, a feature-length documentary, over an hour of deleted scenes, and almost two hours of other extras.
Cons: It only lasted 40 episodes. This isn’t a knock against this Blu-ray, but I want more.
Rocko’s Modern Life: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Description: Rocko is a wallaby who immigrated from Australia to the United States. He adjusts to his new life with the help of his friendly neighbor, Heffer, as well as Filburt, a timid turtle.
Pros: This is a great show and one that has aged rather well. If you watched it as a kid, going back and revisiting it now is a lot of fun. Plus there are many jokes that you probably didn’t get as a kid. There are a couple of extras on Season Two: Disc Two. Namely the pilot version of Trash-O-Madness, as well as Joe Murray drawing several characters and talking about how they came into being.
Cons: While Joe Murray created the show, Stephen Hillenburg was the creative director and after this show ended, Stephen Hillenburg went on to create SpongBob SquarePants, so he help create a lot of people’s childhoods. Sadly, he passed away very recently. This isn’t a negative for the DVD, but a lot of famous people have died in the past month.
Robin Williams: Comic Genius - Buy Direct: Blu-ray
Description: Robin Williams is inarguably one of the best stand-up comics of all time. What more needs to be said?
Pros: This 22-disc set includes over two days of stand-up / extras. This includes all five HBO specials, several tour performances, his USO tours, talk show appearances, several episodes of Mork & Mindy, interviews, and much, much more.
Cons: It’s only available from Time Life right now for $200. That’s still a great deal on a price-per-minute basis; however, it will undoubtedly be cheaper when it gets a full retail release.
Filed under: Holiday Gift Guide, Avalanche, Starcrash, Robin Williams, Carlos Alazraqui, Sacha Baron Cohen, Corbin Bernsen, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Dule Hill, Jason Isaacs, Tom Kenny, Sonequa Martin-Green, Sandra Oh, Patton Oswalt, Jason Ritter, Ray Santiago, Kristen Schaal, James Roday, Dana DeLorenzo, Jonah Ray, Mr. Lawrence, Felicia Day, Jodie Comer