This Tuesday marks the first day in February, which
drags us out of the video release doldrums an into a
wealth of worthwhile mediocrity with a couple of true
gems thrown in for good measure.

First, the genre releases:

• Andromeda
  –
  Season 3 Collection: The complete season.
• Babe
  Family
  Double Feature: The first was great. The second,
  not so much.
• Charmed
  – The
  Complete First Season: Well, boys, it’s finally
  out on DVD. Try
  not to wear out the “pause” button.
• The
  Grudge: A good but not great thriller.
• Ray
  Harryhausen – The Early Years Collection: More
  Harryhausen
  goodness.
• Wonderfalls
  –
  The Complete Series: 9 of the 13 episodes here
  were never
  broadcast.

Now, the non-genre releases:

• Blue
  Lagoon /
  Return to the Blue Lagoon: This double feature
• Chariots
  of
  Fire (Special Edition): Go Vangelis!
• Cheers
  – The
  Complete Fourth Season: Dianne was still on the
  series at this
  time, although it was getting close to the end of her
  run.
• Classic
  Rock
  Set: Now there’s some good music! This set
  includes The Who, Deep
  Purple, the Doors, Pink Floyd, and Eric Clapton.
• Classic
  Rock
  Set 2: This one includes Elton John, Genesis,
  Foreigner, the Bee
  Gees, and the Pretenders.
• Frasier
  – The
  Complete Fourth Season: I had already stopped
  watching when this
  season came out, but I still respected the show more
  than other
  sitcoms.
• Friends
  – The
  Complete Fifth Season: I had given up on this
  show about four
  seasons before this.
• Hard
  Rock
  Set: This five DVD set includes Metallica, Judas
  Priest, Def
  Leppard, Ted Nugent, and Alice Cooper.
• I
  Love Lucy –
  Season Three: This was a genuine landmark. Even
  if you don’t
  enjoy the series, you have to respect its place in
  sitcom history.
• The
  Karate Kid
  Collection: A set of all four movies that will
  make you wonder why
  they didn’t stop at two.
• La
  Commare
  Secca: Another Bertolucci entry into the
  Criterion Collection.
• The
  Last of
  the Mohicans: This is the Director’s Expanded
  Edition.
• The
  Look Who’s
  Talking Box Set: This three DVD collection makes
  you wonder why
  they didn’t stop at one.
• Night
  and the
  City: “Film noir” + “Criterion Collection” =
  “Man, I wish I had
  more money.”
• Oz –
  The
  Complete Fourth Season: An extremely well
  respected show that I
  haven’t seen yet.
• Penn
  and
  Teller – Bullsh*t! The Complete Second Season:
  It’s Penn and
  Teller. ‘Nuff said.
• Ray:
  The
  link here is for the limited two disc special
  edition. There is also
  a single
  disk
  widescreen edition, a single
  disk
  fullscreen edition, and an edition enhanced
  for blind
  and low vision viewers.
• Shall
  We
  Dance: Yet another unnecessary remake.
• Theives’
  Highway: Yet more Criterion Collection Film
  Noir.

Finally, the pick of the week. Given the wealth of
non-genre material
out this week, it should surprise nobody that the
choice is not genre
entertainment. The
French
Connection is a great movie that won Hackman an
Oscar. I can’t
tell if this is a rerelease of the existing edition,
or if it’s a new
single disk release, but I know I’m quite happy with
my copy of the
two disk edition. I prefer The
Conversation
for my fix of Gene Hackman making art films, but that
doesn’t mean
The French Connection isn’t great. I just
wish it didn’t
have the “where are they now” epilogue attached.