How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes and Kim Hollis
June 16, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Bold prediction: ratings were up this particular episode.

Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Lost gets sexier, Burn Notice's Michael Westen gets closer to solving some mysteries and Madea continues her utter ridiculousness.

Pick of the Week

For people who were confused enough when just a dozen or so characters were mulling around the island: Lost: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

There's nothing quite like the first season of ABC's Lost. There were creepy noises in the forest, dead people making unsolicited appearances, polar bears (as is) and a mysterious hatch leading to god knows where. We were lost, but not that lost. The mysteries were simple(ish), too. And good lord, were we hooked.

Now? Eh. It's lost a good chunk of its viewership, and lazy people like me merely keep up by checking out the recap episodes. Part of me just wants the show to come to a close already to find out how this sucker finally ends. I'm over new discoveries and revelations - which can't be good for fan morale.

Out today is the series' debut year on Blu-ray, which'll make those first 25 episodes even better (and addicting). With the enhancement, the most devoted of Losties will notice even more hidden details.

Disc includes: Audio commentary, The Lost Flashbacks featurette, Welcome to Oahu: The Making of the Pilot featurette, The Genesis of Lost featurette, Designing a Disaster featurette, Before They Were Lost featurette, deleted scenes, bloopers

For people who keep their refrigerators stocked with plenty of yogurt: Burn Notice: Season Two

Admit it. At some point in your life, you've fantasized about being a spy. You've thought about the glamour and excitement that go along with the job, especially since seeing the James Bond films has you convinced that you'll have gorgeous women clinging to you and that a fancy license to kill gives you free reign to do whatever you please.

Burn Notice's Michael Westen would be quick to tell you that a spy's life is nothing like that. Not only are you in real danger all the time, but there's also a chance that something could go wrong and you'll be "burned" by your bosses. What does this mean? They essentially leave you out in the cold, taking away all your cash, telling your best contacts to steer clear of you and forcing you to fend for yourself. You're not a spy anymore, but somehow, you're always in danger from past enemies as well as your former employer. This is the essence of Burn Notice, and if you haven't been watching, what is wrong with you?

Jeffrey Donovan stars as Westen, a super-smart, highly trained former spy who takes on private investigation cases as he tries to solve the mystery of who "burned" him. Assisting him are his on-again/off-again girlfriend Fiona (a former IRA operative and an expert in explosives, portrayed by Gabrielle Anwar) and Sam Axe (a semi-retired intelligence operative and one-time Navy Seal played by BOP fave Bruce Campbell). Every week is a tense adventure also packed with a certain wry humor and useful lessons on intelligence (the spy kind, not the normal everyday kind). It's legitimately one of the best shows on television, and with Season One and Season Two available on DVD, it's easy to catch up for Season Three, which premiered three weeks ago.

Disc includes: Audio commentaries, deleted scenes, gag reel, NiXin' it Up featurette

For people who have a case of Transformers fever: Transformers: The Complete First Season (25th Anniversary Edition)

Attempting to capitalize on the upcoming movie sequel to the smash 2007 summer movie hit, Shout! Factory is digging into its archives and re-releasing Transformers' premiere season on TV – just in time for its 25th anniversary.

The disc comes packed with some nifty gifties, including rare PSAs, vintage toy commercials and (only diehards would appreciate this sort of thing) a magnet. Whoa.

Don't expect to see (or hear, rather) any Shia LaBeouf in any of this, though. He was negative 2 at the time this thing was debuting on air.

Disc includes: Printable Transport to Oblivion script, PSAs, Hasbro toy commercials, Autobot magnet (limited edition), Triplechanger: From Toy to Comic to Screen: The Origins of the Transformers featurette

For people who really appreciated the Planes, Trains and Automobiles gag in "Baby Not on Board": Family Guy, Vol. 7

Not gonna lie. Family Guy has lost its charm. It's still funny, but its comedy certainly doesn't come off as effortless and clean as it used to. And it's hard to blame the writers of "trying too hard" – given that Family Guy really isn't about anything at all, save for showcasing its characters in random situations and seeing how they work (and talk) their ways out of them.

Even so, here are 13 new episodes of Family Guy, which are being released just as strangely as the others before it. Volume 7 isn't comprised of the series' complete seventh season, but in fact the last four episodes of season six and the first nine episodes of season seven. It's unnecessarily confusing, and I make an effort to point this out each and every time.

Fans do have something to look forward to in season eight. The sequel to the show's Star Wars parody, "Blue Harvest," will air sometime in the fall.

Disc includes: Audio commentary, three animatic episodes, deleted scenes, Take Me Out to Place Tonight featurette, Family Guy Cribz featurette, Comic-Con 2008 featurette, Family Guy Art Show featurette

For people who will go and see anything Tyler Perry puts out, so long as Madea is in the title: Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail

Look up consistent in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of Tyler Perry. While his movies consistently review poorly, they always make bank at the box office. His latest entry was February's Madea Goes to Jail, the $17.5-million budgeted crime dramedy that ended up earning $90+ million in the States. More than $41 million of those dollars came in its first three days alone.

A number of celebs make cameo appearances in this thing, including Al Sharpton, the ladies of The View and Phil McGraw. Madea madness continues this September in I Can Do Bad All By Myself.

Disc includes: Madea is Back featurette, "Leroy" Law Brown featurette, Looking for the
Big House featurette, You Have the Right to Remain Silent! featurette, Bringing in the Heavy Hitters featurette, Madea's Crazy featurette

June 16, 2009
Blu-ray
Beowulf
Burn Notice: Season Two
The Cell 2
The Diary of Anne Frank
Disturbia
Dr. Strangelove
Eagle Eye
Fracture
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th, Part 2
Friday the 13th, Part 3
Generation Kill
Ghostbusters
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Into the Wild
John Adams
Kickboxer
Lost: Season 2 Extended Experience
Lost: The Complete First Season
Miracle
Morning Light
No Way Back
Norbit
Rockers
Rolling Stones: The Biggest Bang
The Ruins
The Seventh Seal
Shooter
The Siege
Spaceballs
Striking Distance
Sword of the Stranger

DVD
B.B. King: Live at Sing Sing
Best of Abbott & Costello Collection
Britney Spears: Girls Are Always Right
Burn Notice: Season Two
The Cell 2 (Special Edition)
Depeche Mode: Dark Progression Unauthorized
The Diary Of Anne Frank (50th Anniversary Edition)
Everwood: The Complete Second Season (Widescreen)
Family Guy: Volume Seven
Friday the 13th (Killer Cut)
Friday The 13th, Part V: A New Beginning (Deluxe Edition)
Friday The 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives (Deluxe Edition)
Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (Deluxe Edition)
Gipsy Guitar
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Hopalong Cassidy Ultimate Collectors Edition (Collector's Edition)
House of Payne: Volume 4
James Taylor: One Man Band
Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (Widescreen)
Rolling Stones: The Biggest Bang
Saving Grace: Season Two
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 2 (Widescreen)
The Seventh Seal (Criterion Collection)
The Transformers: The Complete First Season (25th Anniversary Edition)
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail (Widescreen)