When it make out to the “ gift that keeps on gift , ” there ’s nothing like a great videodisk circle that people will need to watch over and over . Here ’s the motherlode of Blu - light beam and DVDs with fantastic adventure , astonishing extra and more .
Firefly — The Complete Series ( Blu - ray )
Just a plug , right off the bat , for this middling keen raft — Amazon isselling this Firefly boxwood set on Blu - ray for just $ 25 today . ( It says “ offering terminate December 4 , so I ’m not certain if the offering continues all solar day tomorrow , or just ends sometime tomorrow . ) If you have any friends whom you ’ve been meaning to drag into the ranks of Browncoats , now ’s a darn good clip to get it for them . ( Just verify they have a Blu - irradiation musician . )
Batman Beyond : The Complete Series
Note to any of my loved single learn this — this is plausibly the box set I ’m most lusting after personally . Batman Beyond was n’t just another Batman show , or just “ Batman in a scientific discipline fable milieu , ” or whatever . It was one of the coolest things ever to happen to Batman , and a really astonishing extension of the Bat - mythos . ( Unlike many of the other attempts to do like thing over the age with Bats . ) In Batman Beyond , teen Terry McGuinness stumbles into the Batcave and meet an old , bitter Bruce Wayne who ’s retired from being Batman . Terry scram grip of a cybernetic Batsuit and uses it to fight offense , with Bruce finally stepping up to become his wise man . I never thought another “ next Batman ” series would amount close to supersede The Dark Knight Returns in my heart , but this show did , largely thanks to how well Bruce mentor a new Batman actually works . Unfortunately , this box lot does not include the TV picture , Batman Beyond : The Return of the Joker , nor is there the Justice League Unlimited episode that service as a de facto serial finale . ( In which , if memory serves , you bump out that Terry and Bruce are more closely connected than we first realized . ) But it ’s still great to have the whole thing in one station , and there are a few featurettes , plus Divine commentaries and time of year retrospective .
Doctor Who : The Complete Fifth Series
Come to think of it , somebody is napping at the switch — or how else do you explain the absence of a single loge set collecting the integral David Tennant era of Doctor Who in one seat ? They could fox in the never - released - on - DVD “ Tardisodes ” from serial two , and then all the completist dweebs like me would have to buy it . ( Update : Someone points out the first four series , but not the special , are collected in a boxset that ’s only usable in England . )
In any case , in the absence of a Tennant mega - exercise set , you should be buying all your friends this collection of the most recent season , featuring newfangled whiz Matt Smith and new showrunner Steven Moffat . The show got a whole newfangled lease on life , even down to a new colour palette and a newfangled “ nance tale ” feel . It ’s a cracking gift for your friends who have n’t gotten into the show yet , and there are some great extras including a brace of deleted scene and a disc of “ making of ” featurettes for each episode . A full review of the boxset ishere .
Doctor of the Church Who : Revisitations Box Set
This is the other Doctor Who boxwood rig you could consider get — and this is the ideal natural endowment for the Who buff who already has everything . So far , this loge set is released only in England — so you have to order it from overseas , and make certain your giftee has a area - free videodisk thespian . Chances are , any serious fan stateside already has two of the three stories in this exercise set , but only in a comparatively feature of speech - poor , less gracious - expect class . And they ’re considered two of the show ’s best episodes — “ The talon of Weng - Chiang ” and “ The Caves of Androzani ” ( although the portrayal of Formosan hoi polloi in “ talon ” will alarm anybody with even a smidge of cognizance of the history of Asian stereotypes . ) This time around , they ’re presented in adorable picture quality , with some slobber - suitable extras , include wind about what Philip Hinchcliffe , the original series ’ best manufacturer , would have done if he ’d stayed for another season . And the third story , the 1996 TV movie , is n’t out yet on DVD in the U.S. ( although it will be next class ) and it ’s amusing to revisit the first , unworthy stab at play the show back .
Ultimate Machine Girl : Collectors Tin
Few plastic film illustrate the Nipponese “ ero - guro ” ( erotic / fantastical ) esthetic as much as Machine Girl , the fib of a girlfriend who becomes a gruesomely sexy cyborg to take down a yakuza gang whose associate killed her brother and a friend . ( Along with films like Vampire Girl Vs . Frankenstein Girl and Robo - Geisha , which have also get nice DVD releases late . ) This 3 - disc boxwood exercise set might be the perfect giving for your ally who ’s into weird Japanese movies but ca n’t quite apologize buying the deluxe edition for him- or herself . You get the uncut movie on one phonograph recording , the “ uncut Ultimate Machine Girl 1.5 ” on the second disc , and a ton of previously unavailable extra on the third magnetic disc . That ’s a lot of cyborg bloodshed .
lose : The Complete Collection .
Many of us will probably never watch lose again , after that final sequence . But you might not be in the same boat . And perhaps one of your friends has never seen the series at all , or has been polish off on the caput and has forget everything that happened . Or is from a “ flash - sideways ” world where it never aired . In any casing , this is the direction to own Lost on Blu - Ray or DVD . It ’s 36 discs , with all six seasons , plus a quite a little of bonus features . There are new featurettes about the making of the show , including a face inside the “ prop house . ” There are deleted shot . There ’s a retrospective . fame fans get in the faces of the producers and ask questions about the last season . There ’s also a “ recovered Black Rock journal entryway ” ( perchance explain how that diary got off the island ? ) , an ankh containing a message from Jacob ( in all probability along the lines of “ Got your money ! ” ) and a collectible Senet game , as play in the final season . Relive the madness and the mystery , with a goodly helping of shwag . Plus it ’s been out long enough that it ’s meretricious now — it ’s $ 100 off at Amazon , for example .
ride - In Movie Classics – 32 Movie Set
We ’re suckers for these cheapo box sets of equally cheap picture show — and this one is a jolly gravid bargain . It ’s showing up on various land site for around $ 12 for 32 film . Not all of them are skill fiction , but you could get just three or four scifi gems for $ 12 and still look at it a good deal . Includes Blood Mania , Bloodlust , The Creeping Terror , The Devil ’s Hand , Land of the Minotaur , The Pink Angels , They Saved Hitler ’s Brain and Lurkers . How can you say no ?
Pure Terror — 50 Movie Pack
Ooh , and speak of cheapo box sets of trashy picture show … This one ’s also about $ 12 ( on Amazon at least ) , and it ’s get 50 gems on it ! Including The Amazing Transparent Man , Doctor Jekyll and the Werewolf , The House That Screamed , Manos : The Hands of Fate , Night of the Blood Beast , Satan ’s Slave , They Saved Hitler ’s Brain ( again ! ) , Vampire ’s Night Orgy , Guru the Mad Monk , and so many more . You should really get these as stocking stuffers for everybody you bed .
Big Screen Bombshells : 12 Movie Collection
Just one more of these cheapo collections — this one is only $ 6.50 on Amazon , and it ’s worth perplex for just one film : Galaxina , the cheapo softcore porn Star Wars ripoff asterisk Playboy playmate Dorothy Stratten . you may jolly much regard the eternal rest of the box place as just DVD extras , since Galaxina is worth at least $ 7 or $ 8 on its own . ( Watch a cartridge clip from Galaxinahere . ) But there ’s also Superchick , a unearthly - sounding radius - place superhero movie about a flight attendant who takes off her mousy brown wigging and wrench into a blonde bombshell who fights crime , whenever she ’s not on duty . ( So she wears a “ mousy browned wig ” the intact clock time she ’s make for ? let in on tenacious - haulage flights ? No wonderment flying attendants get cranky . )
A Star Wars Riff That Only A Stoner Could screw
Roger Corman Drive - In Collection
And one more cheapo movie box curing , just because it ’s Roger Corman . Ten photographic film , including Attack of the Giant Leeches , The Little Shop of Horrors , Creature from the Haunted Sea , Last Woman On Earth , The Terror and She god of Shark Reef . Plus Dementia 13 , write and lead by Francis Ford Coppola ! Featuring actors like Jack Nicholson , these films are little piece of boron - movie greatness . We also have to put in a hoopla for the superlativeRoger Corman ’s Cult classic edition that Shout Factory has been assign out — with beautifully restored pictures for some of Corman ’s most beloved films , plus tons of spear carrier . These do n’t really count as box set , but you should definitely reckon get some of the Shout mill versions of Corman ’s film as stocking stuffers .
Scooby - Doo , Where Are You ? The Complete Series
I am a full sucker for DVD boxsets with cool promotional material , and if they ’re the complete rill of something , that ’s even better . Here you have the complete rill of the classic Scooby - Doo series from 1969 , packaged in a Mystery Machine - shaped box . And it ’s not even that expensive — on Amazon , it ’s around $ 60 . There are 41 episodes on seven disc , plus an 8th record full of extra including “ Funky Fashions ” ( guessing that ’s a featurette ) , “ Scooby - Doo Street , ” ( featurette ? ) , and a Scooby - Doo music video recording . There are also some extras that have never been released elsewhere , including a featurette about the crew ’s continuing popularity , the genesis of Scooby - Doo , and the original voice cast talking about how they created the graphic symbol ’ voice .
Scooby - Doo Collection
Or you could just get this instead — packaging is n’t as refined , and it ’s sort of a hodgepodge . But on the plus side , one of the three discs is the immortal Scooby - Doo meets Batman , which really must be seen to be believed — it ’s a mash - up of the classical Scooby - Doo cartoons with the Hanna Barbera Batman cartoons , and they do just about manage to coexist in the same universe somehow . ( keep an eye on a snippet of ithere , including a bit where Batman talk about the Gotham Rubber Factory and then of a sudden Batman is n’t wearing any pants . ) Anyway , there are three disk : “ Greatest Mysteries ” ( which comprise of a few episodes from Scooby - Doo , Where Are You ? ) , run across The Caped Crusader ( two crossbreeding - over with Batman ) , and meet The Harlem Globetrotters ( two crossovers with … you may in all likelihood guess who . ) So there ’s no example motorbus … but there are some really eldritch crossovers . Could be a dear trade off .
The Batman Story Chris Nolan Wo n’t Ever Adapt
The Puppet Master Collection
Okay badly … did you know they made nine Puppet Master film ? I doubt even the Lord of these movies knew there were that many , it was probably one of those binges that got out of hand . Speaking of tear , your loved ones could have one hell of a hash - fuel weekend of not leaving the house with these films . They feature creature animated via magic , miraculous mastermind fluid that resurrects the long - utter , Nazis , Ninja puppets ( ! ) , and a role discover Decapitron , who ’s just what he sounds like . Oh , and one of the puppets is named Leech Woman , because she vomits up leeches that shoot down you . There ’s nine moving picture deserving of this stuff . Buy it for your chum , and then get them to invite you over so you could bring together in the “ grasp . ”
Trigun : The Complete Series
If you catch this classic Zanzibar copal series on Adult Swim back in the day , you ’ll postulate no convincing to want to pick up this collection of all 26 episodes on four discs for that special someone in your life . If you ’ve never go steady it , this jolly inexpensive box set is a enceinte way to get into it . Vash the Stampede is a gunslinger who ’s got a $ $ 60 billion ( not a typo , it really is 60 billion double dollars ! ) pricetag on his mind . Two insurance agents , Meryl and Milly , are sent to hound him down , and end him from doing any more damage . But to their surprise , Vash turns out to be a donut - loving pacifist . It ’s got a very westerly - sports meeting - scientific discipline - fabrication vibe , which I ’m approximate wo n’t be a problem for anybody reading this situation .
Thundarr The Barbarian : The Complete Series
There are a portion of classical animated serial out there , but only this one is the brainchild of Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber , with role blueprint by Alex Toth and Jack Kirby . Thundarr The Barbarian demand place in a post - apocalyptical world , where culture had been cast down and it ’s up to a man named Thundarr to restore lodge with his sunsword . He ’s link by a sorceress , Princess Ariel , and his supporter Ookla the Mok . It ’s got mutation , wizards and golem , all fighting against the background of break city . mightily now , it ’s only uncommitted asa set of made - to - ordering DVDs from the Warner Archive . We campaign an exclusive clipping from ithere . At $ 30 for four discs , it ’s a smidge dear … but it ’s Thundarr .
Total awesomeness : Thundarr The Barbarian vs. the Robo - Snake !
Guyver : Bioboosted armour : The Complete Box Set
Skip the lackluster 1990s live - action mechanism film , and go straight to the later anime version , with this collection of 26 episodes on four discs . Here ’s the blurb :
While look into a mysterious plosion near his school , Sho Fukamachi go on upon the Chronos Corporation ’s greatest weapon : a techno constituent lawsuit of bio armour known as “ the Guyver ” . But Chronos is dictated to hold in its secret at any toll . Sho soon find himself relentlessly pursued by its army of hideous bio - monsters . With nowhere to run , Sho is forced to call upon the direful power of the Guyver and rip his opponents branch from limb in a desperate struggle for endurance .
grant tothis followup over at Blu-Ray.com , it sticks closer to the original manga ’s plot line than the lively - action motion-picture show , and remain astonishingly entertaining across all 26 episode , despite the fairly unproblematic storyline .
clenched fist of the North Star : The TV Series Volume 1
pass judgment from the brushup I ’ve read online , this collecting of the post - apocalyptical free-for-all series from the 1980s is the nicest package of a classic Zanzibar copal TV serial on DVD latterly . The depiction calibre and audio are both supposed to be great , and there ’s an English soundtrack as well as the original Japanese with decent English caption . essentially , it ’s an radical - violent series about a guy named Kenshiro who roams around the post - atomic landscape contend gangs and trying to defeat his arch - competitor Shin . Another great anime serial that ’s just come out on DVD : The Dirty Pair , about a duo of operative who go around the creation trying to work crisis , but commonly causing massive disasters in spite of their good intentions .
Angel : The Complete Series
It ’s alone possible you already have this series on DVD , and so does everybody you know — but on the off chance that you have a friend who only has Buffy on DVD , here ’s your opportunity to get them into the spin - off show . Unlike Buffy , which was pretty decorous in its first season and great in its 2d through 5th season , Angel drive a long time to get off the priming coat . The first two seasons are pretty hit and lack , and then it starts to become implausibly great sometime in the third time of year . The fourth time of year is more splendid still , and the fifth is somewhat much a shining example of excellency , despite some tricksy bit . Anyway , this is n’t the first time Angel ’s been available in a individual box set — but this time around , it ’s really cheap to own the whole matter in one go . There ’s also a new translation of the complete Buffy box set , but it ’s not quite as cheap , on a per - disc footing , as this is .
place : 1999 Season 1 ( Blu - ray )
Finally , one of the most get it on infinite opera serial publication of the 1970s is out on Blu - ray , with crystal clear picture and audio . possibly now the fib of Moonbase Alpha struggling to survive on the Moon as it ’s rip out of orbit and fling through place will get some respect . It ’s easy to poke playfulness at the show ’s camp value , but a lot of the first - time of year write up are really quite thrilling and creepy , with some all unearthly aliens and skittish satellite . Extras admit a ton of featurettes about the making of the show including the particular effect , some of the actors and crew reminiscing , creator Gerry Anderson ’s comment on a twosome epsiodes , a demonstration version of the opening paper , a 1975 special on Gerry Anderson ’s work , and tons more . If you cognise anybody who ’s a quad : 1999 maniac or ever have a toy Eagle or eldritch script - grip gun , then this will be an instant trip down store road .
Space Precinct : The Complete Series
address of Gerry Anderson , here ’s one of his lesser - known shows — much lesser known , since we ’d barely find out of it until recently — coming out on DVD for the first time . You may have noticed Syfy doing marathons of this show lately , and it ’s really quite fun . It ’s a hardboiled cop show plant on another planet on the other side of the galaxy , with alien criminals , flying cars and weird mystery story . It ’s very much the Gerry Anderson artistic , update for the 1990s , but it features a mass of dandy people , including stalwart James Bond director John Glen . An intriguing surprisal for your friends who only know Anderson from Space : 1999 and Thunderbirds .
outskirt : The Complete Second Season
We ’re not including too many single - season TV box set here , because otherwise this tilt would be mostly one - season sets . Plus there are enough collection of full TV shows out there at this point . But we have to put in a plug for Fringe time of year two — get it for all your friend who watched bits of the first season and then give up on this show . Here , in time of year two , is where it starts to get really great . The mythos starts to get a lot cryptic as we find exactly what the mad scientist Walter Bishop did to become such a broken military personnel — and just what else he may have broken along the way . Plus , if your friend travel rapidly through this loge set rapidly enough , they can catch up on time of year three online , in clip to begin watching when the show regaining ( on Friday Night , bah ) next twelvemonth . Now is a really , really good time to be spreading the word about this serial , and the 2d time of year is the best elbow room to get people hooked . ( Sadly , Hulu only has six episode of season three , not the whole thing . ) Extras include a gag Virginia reel , “ analyzing the scene ” sidebar on six cardinal installment , a featurette on “ the mythology of Fringe , ” unaired scenes , and “ The Unearthed Episode . ” you’re able to help save a peachy show , and help give your pal hour of entertainment , by return this boxful set to everyone you know .
marvel of the Solar System
A precious British physicist tells you about all the unusual things in our solar organisation , including how the sun solve , the solar nothingness , the formation of the solar system itself , different planets ’ atmospheres , and the search for lifespan on other planet in the solar system . This BBC series is a really fun fashion to get infuse in the science of our immediate planetary neighbors and see more about our earth into the bargain . Plus Professor Brian Cox really does have a lot of infectious enthusiasm for the subject .
Battlestar Galactica : The Complete Series
This is another consummate serial that ’s quite cheap on videodisk , and especially so on Blu - ray , where it ’s go for 50 percent off on Amazon . For around $ 140 or so , you may get all four seasons plus the miniseries , including features that are n’t available on the case-by-case season box band — like “ never - before - seen deleted scene , ” and new devising - of featurettes . According to some review , you also get extended version of a few episodes . And according to commenter OrbitalGun , unlike the earlier “ all over BSG ” box set , which had the Cylon shape on top , this adaptation does include the last TV moving picture , “ The Plan . ” Which may or may not be a good thing .
The Six Million Dollar Man Complete Collection
Speaking of long - awaited series finally establish their path onto DVD … this is one that a lot of citizenry have been waiting for , and I trust this is the first clip it ’s all available in one place . It ’s only availablevia Time Life , and the Leontyne Price tag is a bit steep at around $ 240 . You ’ll just have to ask yourself how much you love your loved I . The corner readiness includes a “ bionic sound chip ” ( ? ? ) and a 3 - D holograph of Steve Austin running in slow motion . In addition to every sequence — yes , including the I where he fights Bigfoot — there are all three of the pilot light TV film , plus every reunification movie and every crossover installment with the Bionic Woman . There are audio commentaries , 17 exclusive featurettes , and exclusive interview with Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner . Admit it — you could already hear the creaking - bedsprings speech sound of Steve Austin running , in your head word . ( Here ’s aninterviewwith Lee Majors about the boxed set coming out . )
Avatar : The Collector ’s Edition
It ’s solely possible that many of your bed ones jumpstart the gun for hire and bought the “ vanilla ” release of James Cameron ’s moment - jacket crown chef-d’oeuvre , last summertime . And then they felt shamefaced about going and buying this three - phonograph record deluxe version , which has all the extra feature of speech you ’d been hoping for the first time . In that character , do your friend a party favor and get this for them as a present tense , thus palliate the guilty conscience of double - purchasing . Even if you saw the movie three sentence in theatre , this set will give you a renew admiration for it , with an alternate opening set on Earth , over 45 minutes of new deleted scenes and an “ interactional scene deconstructionism ” that rent you view scenes through different stagecoach of output in three dissimilar showing modes . There are also 17 featurettes delving into just how James Cameron made all the lyssa happen , and an “ Art of Avatar ” feature that includes 633 image . ( Most of this stuff is on the DVD , but the Blu - ray does have some excess delicacy . )
Even if you ’ve already seen the BTTF films recently — and they ’re reprise on cable TV a batch these day — you ’ll still require to get this , for yourself or your loved ace . The flick have never looked good than they do in these decent restore versions , and the film - shaper lastly cracked open up the hurdle for the supernumerary , include a glimpse of the ill-famed earlier version starring Eric Stoltz . There ’s a six - part documentary featuring the roll and crew , wads of delete scenes , seven “ archival featurettes , ” a storyboard episode of the atomic mental test site end , “ original war paint tests , ” some outtake , some feature about designing the films ’ various aspects , and audio comment . Go back to the trilogy that made time travel cool again , and observe how much love and attention went into these films .
Thriller : The Complete Series
Hosted by Boris Karloff , who also appears in five episode , this horror anthology serial publication also feature appearances by William Shatner , Richard Chamberlain , Rip Torn , Leslie Nielsen , Robert Vaughn , Mary Tyler Moore , Chloris Leachman , and Marlo Thomas . Plus book by the ilk of Richard Matheson . Some of the storylines sound very Twilight Zone - esque , include one about a pair of glass that reveal terrifying true statement to whoever wear off them . Other storyline admit a unredeemed painting and a demonic tailor ’s suit . Extras admit stacks of commentary tracks , instalment promos , isolated melodious scores by Jerry Goldsmith and others , and more . Stephen King reportedly anticipate this the best repulsion series ever to appear on television . Fans have been waiting years for this show to appear on DVD .
Max Headroom : The Complete Series
And when you ’re talking about long - awaited shows finally make out to DVD , you ca n’t get much more long - awaited than Max Headroom , the cult classic that ’s been kept off DVD for decades . Rewatching the show now , it ’s amazing how prescient and clever it often is , with its societal caustic remark and dig at cable system TV news still feeling as clean as they did back in the 80s . The extras include one retrospective featurette , plus a roundtable discussion with extremity of the mould , and a feature of speech about the skill behind the show . We reviewed the loge sethere .
http://io9.com/5609671/how-max-headroom-predicted-my-job-20-years-before-it-existed
The Alien Anthology
The Alien films have already been eject before , in a motley of configurations , but this may be the best collection of Alien - ness you ’ll ever see — and it ’s going for just $ 70 on Amazon right now , or half price . You get all four film , each in the original version and in a later remastered / director’s - cut variation . you may also watch each film in MU - TH - UR manner , with the Weyland - Yutani Datastream providing some variety of interactive experience . There are also erase scenes , commentary racecourse , isolated scores , and all that jazz . Plus two record of extras , including one disc that ’s just nothing but “ making of ” featurettes about all four motion-picture show . ( There ’s one featurette just called “ Beauty and the kick : Power Loader vs. Queen Alien ” . ) The 2nd disc of extras looks like just a snap bag of stuff , let in Dan O’Bannon ’s original first draft script for Alien , storyboards , persistence Polaroid , and so on . Basically , the extras alone are enough to keep your favorite eccentric awake all night for a few nights in a row .
Life On Mars : The Complete Collection
I trust this show was antecedently only useable in individual season boxful sets , but now you’re able to watch both seasons in one go . In the viewing of the abortive U.S. adaption , the frustrating - but - sometimes - bang-up British sequel ash To Ashes , and approximately 1 squillion other gamy - concept demonstrate that nosedived on both sides of the Atlantic , it ’s great to revisit this show and see just what it had that the others lacked — chemistry . Personality . Warmth . And a willingness to sophisticate the knife a whole lot . The story of a cop who gets strike by a car and find himself in the other 1970s works as a pig show as well as a commentary on how companionship has change — but it never hold on playing with the construct of genial metre supplanting in fascinating shipway . Give this to your ally and house who only think they cognize what good television is .
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