CHICAGO – The biggest column yet on What to Watch on DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, Amazon, On Demand, and more is another seemingly random hodge-podge of offerings that you can use to guide your way through the new releases shelf at Best Buy, the On Demand section on Vudu, the store on iTunes, and maybe even Netflix and Hulu. Pick your favorites. This is the way we’d rank these new releases if you have a free night this weekend or money to burn next week.
“Parks and Recreation: Season Five”
The funniest show on network television. Seriously, it’s not even close. I love “Enlightened,” “Girls,” “Louie,” and even the FX bad boys of shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Legit” but there’s nothing left on network TV to compare to this brilliant program now that “30 Rock” is gone. There are good comedies, shows that make me laugh every week, but nothing as smart as what Amy Poehler and her incredible ensemble do week in and week out. With Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe exiting the program, most people think season six will be the last. There’s still time to catch up before the end.
From my top ten TV shows of 2012 [20] (where the program ranked #9): “The writers have reached that confident point where they have refined their characters so well that they don’t have to hit punchlines directly, allowing the humor to come from people we feel like we know. And I always say that a sitcom is only as good as its weakest supporting player. It’s the ultimate ensemble art form. And there’s not a weak player on this team.”
Special Features:
o Extended Episodes
o Deleted Scenes
o Gag Reel Uncensored
o Webisodes
o Parks and Recreation Promos
o Patton Oswalt’s Sci-fi Filibuster (*-this is worth buying for this alone)
Where to Watch: DVD, Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant, Hulu
“Regular Show: Fright Pack”
“Adventure Time” gets a lot of the press — and, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE “Adventure Time,” the best animated show on TV right now — but it’s led to “Regular Show” feeling kind of underrated. Not for long. Now that the first season is on Netflix Streaming, I know a lot of people, especially parents, who are stumbling across this show in their recommendations and loving it. “Regular Show” is smart, original, and incredibly fun. This is yet another sampler pack, a DVD release of various episodes from throughout the show’s run to give you a taste of what the program is like. You’re gonna love it.
Special Features:
o Villains Gallery
Where to Watch: DVD, Amazon Instant
“Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie”
From a cartoon to a cartoonish character, the larger-than-life Morton Downey Jr., is examined in this always-interesting bio-doc new to Blu-ray and DVD. We get glimpses of Downey’s childhood and how he longed to please his father his entire life but the film focuses almost entirely on Downey’s incredibly quick ascent and descent on the rollercoaster of fame. The loud, aggressive, chain-smoking talk show host redefined th form before Jerry Springer or Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck and the film nicely details how he did so with numerous interviews with those who were there for the ride.
Special Features:
o Memorable Moments
o Behind The Animation
o Trailer
o An Evening With Kellie Everts
o Commentary With Directors Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, Vudu, Amazon Instant
“MST3K: The Movie”
Not only is it a bit odd that there was ever a theatrical release for a movie that makes fun of another movie within it but now it’s on Blu-ray? This mean, technically, that “This Island Earth” is on Blu-ray. And “Stories We Tell” is not. It’s a weird world. In all seriousness, “MST3K: The Movie” retained what worked about the show, providing enough laughs to more than warrant a look, especially on Netflix streaming. If you fall in love with it there, pick it up on the newly-released Blu-ray. Then maybe they’ll get back together and make another one.
Special Features:
o The Making of Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie
o Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie: The Motion Picture Odyssey
o This Island Earth: 2.5 Years In The Making
o Original Theatrical Trailer
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, Amazon Instant, Netflix
“Revolution: Season One”
NBC’s “Revolution” was one of the most divisive shows of 2013, a program that started like a rocket, looking like it could be NBC’s first long-term hit in years, but then started to fade. I heard from people every week on my radio show that they had given up on it due to slow plotting, bad dialogue, or disappointing characters. And yet it kept enough of its audience to get a second season. Can it rekindle some of that magic of a year ago? I think the cast and creative team are strong enough that it could and this hit-and-miss first outing could just be growing pains. You may want to catch up before the rocket takes off again.
From my season one premiere review [21]: “ Could it all turn into melodramatic hokum? Certainly. But with this charismatic of a cast, this engaging of a premise, and this talented a production team, I’m pretty confident that people will be talking about “Revolution” well into next year.”
Special Features:
o Revolution Cast And Creative Team At The 2013 PaleyFest
o An In-Depth Look At The Revolution Pilot
o Creating A Revolution: A Look At Revolution’s Breathtaking Landscapes Through The Eyes Of The Visionary Artists Who Created Them
o 5 Webisodes
o Gag Reel
o Deleted Scenes
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, iTunes, Amazon Instant, Netflix
“The Vampire Diaries: Season Four”
Warner Bros. pulls out all the stops for a show that I never got behind — and I’ve tried a few times (and, for the record, find what I’ve seen of the spin-off, “The Originals,” more engaging). This is a case where even though I’m not a big fan of the program, I’m happy that fans of the show are being treated well with a robust Blu-ray set that includes excellent HD transfers and interesting bonus material. You even get Ultraviolet copies of the entire season so you can watch it on the go. WB understand their audience, giving them numerous options for viewing and treating the ones willing to spend the most on a Blu-ray box set the best of all.
Special Features:
o Inking the Brotherhood: The Hunter’s Mark
o Creating Silas’s Island
o Blood, Boys and Bad Behavior: Becoming a Vampire
o The Evolution of Elena Gilbert
o The Vampire Diaries: The Ultimate Prop Master
o The Impact of a Single Show: The Vampire Diaries — Fan Video
o Second Bite: Gag Reel
o Unaired Scenes
o Fan Gallery: Fan Created Artwork
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant
“The Lords of Salem”
Oh, Rob Zombie, you crazy bastard, you. Zombie may be the most talented director who has never made a good movie. I hate what he did to the “Halloween” franchise in ways that make my skin crawl. And yet “Lords of Salem” makes clear that the man has some visual talent. His take on a Ken Russell-esque tale of possession in the legendary Salem has some great imagery but he’s just not there as a writer and he’s got to stop casting his wife in major roles. She plays the lead here with all the charisma of an Old Navy cashier.
Special Features:
o Audio Commentary With Writer/Producer/Director Rob Zombie
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant
“Bad Milo!
This week’s still-in-theaters entry in What to Watch (we’re going to include at least one every week) is something that’s likely to catch your attention if you’re flipping through new releases in Vudu or iTunes. Wait, is that movie about a demon that lives in Ken Marino’s ass? I’d watch that. And Gillian Jacobs and Stephen Root are in it too? Awesome. Hold up, dear readers. While the concept of stress manifesting itself to the point that a demon climbs out of your ass and kills your enemies is one with which I can relate, “Bad Milo!” is a one-joke movie and it’s not a very well-told joke. Don’t bother.
Where to Watch: On Demand, Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant
“The Office: Season Nine”
I used to love “The Office” but, like most people, I gave up on the show ever returning to its glory about halfway through the eighth season, when two things were clear — Steve Carell did more writing than we ever knew & the people he left behind had no idea how to creatively replace him. While I’m way down on this ineffective final season of a once-great show, Universal does know how to treat their fans well, offering well-transferred, bonus-packed sets. Now your “Office” collection can be complete.
Special Features:
o Behind The Scenes Panel Discussion
o Never Before Seen Audition Tapes
o Over 2 Hours Of Deleted Scenes
o Finale Table Read
o Blooper Reel
o Cast Farewells
Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, iTunes, Amazon Instant, Hulu
 [22] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [23] |
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