How to Spend $20
By Eric Hughes and David Mumpower
July 28, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Pick of the Week
For people who go around singing All Around the Watchtower for no apparent reason: Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5
When the Battlestar Galatica reboot began with a well received mini-series in late 2003, none of us had a full appreciation for the way the show would fundamentally alter the television landscape. A harrowing post-9/11 allegory, the show was Ron E. Moore's examination on how survivors combat a ceaseless enemy whose primary goal is the extermination of our species. Within that first mini-series, mankind lost the war, accepted a new fate, and fled in an attempt to survive. Traitors were revealed within the military fleet defending our last vestiges of the human race, a total of fewer than 50,000 people. The enemy could mimic our form and had infiltrated our ranks, even in the highest levels of our officer corps and government. Mankind had been marked for extinction by the very Cylon machines we created.
In the five years that followed, Battlestar Galactica became a blueprint example of hallmark television. Starting with the first episode of the new series, Cylons hunted the few remaining ships in our intergalactic fleet, seeking to eradicate humanity once and for all. From very early on in the series, the opening credits simply stated that the manmade machines had rebelled, that they had a plan. Mankind's only hope for salvation was the discovery of the mythical 13th colony, Earth. Over the course of 65 episodes, mankind warred with, hid from, fell in love with and was enslaved by its machine creations.
Eventually, we came to discover that there were five within the human race who were unknowing Cylons, the mythical Final Five. Four of their identities were revealed during season 4.0, but the identity of the final Cylon remained a mystery. The bigger surprise at the end of season 4.0 was that the fleet and its temporary allies, Cylons who also sought out Earth, managed to find the 13th colony. Once they arrived together on a joint mission, all of them were horrified to discover that the planet they had spent years trying to discover was a desolate victim of nuclear holocaust. Their search had been for naught.
What does this mean for the final ten episodes? With all hope lost, humanity fights with itself in a civil war for control of the remaining people. The uneasy alliance with the assailants who tried to exterminate the race also propagates ongoing unrest among the bitter victims. The identity of the final Cylon is revealed and explanations are offered in one of the most verbose, existential television episodes ever crafted. And that's just the first half of the final ten episodes. I could go on, but I think it's readily apparent where I stand on the subject. BOP has chosen Battlestar Galactica as one of the best television shows of our era. If you have not started/finished watching the show as of yet, it is an imperative that you do so immediately. There is nothing on the fall television schedule that will approach the quality of Battlestar Galactica. Don't settle for less when you can have this instead.
Disc includes: Extended and unaired versions of three episodes, Behind-the-Scenes featurettes, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan sneak peek, audio commentary, Ronald D. Moore's podcast commentaries, David Eick's video blogs, deleted scenes
For recovering Browncoats: Dollhouse: Season One
Running entertainment web sites for as long as we have, BOP has heard it all by now. We've been accused of being in the tank for Joss Whedon, particularly when we named Serenity as the best film of 2005 because, well, it was the best movie of that year.
If we go back even further, our previous iteration of the Web site received quite the email scolding from many passionate Whedonites when we criticized the body of the first season of Angel for being rote. At the time, our stated evaluation was that the show had a distinct feel of being made up as it went along. My shiny box set of the complete series on DVD has a quote from the show's creator that says as much. Angel had numerous issues at the start caused by problems differentiating itself from its originator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That would have been difficult enough, but there were unfortunately also personal problems involving one of the original four cast members, Glenn Quinn, that led to his character's being written off the show quickly followed by his tragic death from a heroin overdose.
By the season finale of season one, however, a course of action had been determined that placed Angel squarely on a course for greatness. The resurrection of Darla, the vampire who sired Angel, followed by the second season's arrival of inscrutable, insane Drusilla gave the show exactly what it needed to succeed. To their credit, the show-runners of Angel recognized the issues and adapted. I think you see where I'm going with this.
When the announcement was made that Whedon's latest creation, Dollhouse, had been picked up, the mood at BOP was celebratory. When the pilot aired...less so. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly why Dollhouse wasn't a mind-blowing experience from the start. I'm inclined to believe the rumors that Fox just couldn't help themselves with regards to those dreaded network notes and meddling. Whatever the case may be, I didn't particularly care for any of the first five episodes of the show. I get no enjoyment from typing that as I think Whedon is one of the most gifted entertainers of our generation, but it's true. The sixth episode, Man on the Street, was the first time I thought "Okay, that's more like it." And even that feeling was temporary. On the whole, I consider Dollhouse's first season to have more bad episodes than good ones.
Why then am I recommending it? The second season of Angel was one of the best ever. You could have enjoyed it without seeing the first season, but that's because many of the ideas in the first season were discarded. This is not the case with Dollhouse. The show has been renewed for a second season, something that makes fans of Firefly such as me feel renewed rage over the incompetence of previous Fox execs. If you want to start watching it, this situation is much different from Angel. You will need the baseline created by the first season to keep up. The tone of this show is very much in line with a USA Network program called La Femme Nikita, one where a female operative was forced to work for a shadowy group whose ethical alignment is an unknown. It's important to have all the pertinent information available about this nebulous group before moving on to phase two of the show. If Dollhouse does follow the pattern of Angel, the next few seasons offer spectacular potential. In fact, the final season of Angel is among the finest in the history of network television, maybe THE finest. Dollhouse is like a pro prospect. Its upside is huge, but that doesn't mean it will ever be a big time player. Watch season one and draw your own conclusion about whether this will happen.
Given my ambivalence about the quality of the first season of Dollhouse, I understand your reticence in watching the whole season. If you want to pick and choose your episodes after the pilot, Man on the Street, Echoes, Briar Rose and Omega are the best the first season has to offer. For those of you who are fans of Felicia Day, the box set also includes the previously unaired 13th episode. This is the one that set off a Twitter flame war when Day revealed Fox had no plans to air the episode, a coda to the season rather than a part of it. Buffy the Vampire Slayers have drawn the logical equivalent that this could be Dollhouse's answer to Restless, the final episode of season four, one that took place after Adam had been thwarted. Whether this proves to be the case or not, the most pressing question in my mind is whether Day sings.
Disc includes: Unaired pilot, audio commentary, deleted scenes, Making Dollhouse featurette, Coming Home featurette, Finding Echo featurette, Designing the Perfect Dollhouse featurette, A Private Engagement featurette
For people who wonder whether a future movie in this series will be named Fast Furious; Furiously Fast or Faster, Furious-cat! Kill! Kill!: Fast & Furious (Special Edition)
Fast & Furious, the fourth entry in the widely popular Fast and the Furious film series, reteamed the key players who made the original 2001 movie a pop culture hit: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez. The audience approved – though by no means a critical darling – flick scored the franchise's biggest opening weekend to date at $70.9 million. It also finished above Fast and the Furious' final domestic tally by about $11.5 million. To put a little perspective on this, the franchise's bastard child, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, scored just $62.6 million total. Fast & Furious had that beat by day three. Clearly mere pieces of Vin Diesel's biceps (yes, this can be measured) are a bigger box office draw than Bow Wow's entire person.
Expect 5 Fast 5 Furious – that's what they're calling it! – next year or the year after. What is it with this franchise and its poorly named titles?
Disc includes: Audio commentary, gag reel, Under the Hood: Muscle Cars & Imports featurette, High Octane Action: The Stunts featurette, Shooting the Big Rig Heist featurette, Driving School with Vin Diesel featurette
For people who didn't know the Italians had John Carpenter beat by about five years: Torso (Uncut)
Lovers (and haters) of the modern slasher movie have a little Italian movie called Torso to thank. It's widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the genre. The movie made its DVD debut in 2000, and is re-released today in stores in complete uncut and uncensored form. (Much of its controversial violence was originally removed by those nasty censors).
Like any slasher, Torso's got a lot of sex, a lot of isolated villas, a lot of boobies and a lot of beautiful college young things. Here, the girls – four of ‘em – head for the hills when a series of gruesome murders frighten their campus. During their "weekend vacation," the killer tracks them down and attempts to have his way with them.
Disc includes: None
July 28, 2009
Blu-ray
12 Monkeys
Bad Boy Bubby
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
Clear And Present Danger
Dollhouse: Season One
Dr. Who: Planet of the Dead
Dragonball: Evolution (Special Edition)
Drillbit Taylor
Eagles Over London
Fast & Furious (Special Edition)
Green Lantern: First Flight (Special Edition)
The Hunt For Red October
Inglorious Bastards
The Love Guru
Miss March (Unrated)
National Geographic: Rhino Rescue
Patriot Games
Pirates of Penzance: Gilbert & Sullivan / Austrail
Repulsion (Criterion Collection)
A River Runs Through It
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
This Is Spinal Tap
Torchwood: Children of the Earth
Torchwood: The Complete Second Season
Transformers
DVD
Alzheimer's Project
Bad Lieutenant (Special Edition)
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
Combat Shock (Director's Cut)
Dollhouse: Season One
The Donna Reed Show: Season Two
Dr. Who: Planet of the Dead
Dragonball: Evolution (Special Edition)
Drillbit Taylor
Eagles Over London
Early Edition: The Second Season
Extra: Collection Of Outstanding Music Videos
Fast & Furious (Special Edition)
Fast & Furious 4-Movie Collection (Set)
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet Strikes Again
Green Lantern: First Flight (Special Edition)
Ichi The Killer (Special Edition)
Inglorious Bastards
Jim Breuer: Let's Clear the Air
Knight Rider (2008): Season 1
Liberace: Greatest Songs (Special Edition)
Life on Mars (UK Version): Series 1
The Middleman: The Complete Series
Miss March (Unrated)
Mulligan (Unrated)
Nobody (Unrated)
Nobody Loves Alice (Director's Cut)
Repulsion (Criterion Collection)
Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin'
Torchwood: Children of the Earth
Torchwood: The Complete Second Season
Torso
UFC 95 & 96 (Double Feature)
WWE: Great American Bash 2009
xxxHOLIC Collection (Boxed Set)