This Week on DVD (01/06/09)…

Not a lot, obviously, following the Christmas (sorta) spending season. I did get excited by one listing, but then I looked a second time and saw it was “Barney: Be My Valentine,” and realized I had initially conflated it with an upcoming 3D movie. Now if they made a Barney DVD like that, I’d definitely buy it.

Sci-fi buffs will be glad to see two more adventures in the consistently excellent Doctor Who series hitting shelves. Up this time are The War Machines (Hartnell) and Four to Doomsday (Davison). They really do a great job on these discs, I must say.

TV fans will also be glad to see the appearance of Battlestar Galactica Season 4.0.

Other TV offerings include Frisky Dingo S2; the excellent old school PI show Mannix S2; Naruto Vol 31; Secret Diary of a Call Girl (starring Doctor Who’s Billie Piper); Tripping the Rift S3; The Tudors S2, and The Waltons S8.

Fans of cinema proper this week will want to look out for Films of Michael Powell, featuring Age of Consent with James Mason and the wonderful fantasy film A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven), starring David Niven. Finally, the good folks at Criterion offer the opulent drama The Last Emperor in Blu Ray this week.

Blu Ray buyers are also advised that Amazon is running a TV “buy one, get one free” sale (added to the regular discounts), as well as a “buy two, get one free” sale on Blu Ray items. Details on the Amazon DVD home page. Shows include seasons of The Shield, maybe the best cop show ever, as well as the single years of The Tick and Quark.

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Chris Reynolds

Ah, the War Machines – the first time the Doctor visits present-day Earth and has to fight off an invasion, a basic plot that the show has reused endlessly ever since.
fish eye no miko

Hey, were’d my comment go? )-:
Ken Begg

Don’t know, Fish Eye–try again!
DamonD

War Machines is a little slow-paced, but decent.
Hartnell is on form and Ben & Polly get good intros, even if Dodo gets possibly the worst exit!
Ericb

I’ve never been able to warm to the Hartnell Doctor. He always seemd a bit stiff to me.
Anonymous 1

Its been six months now since I’ve seen it and that Battlestar Galactica cover still makes me snicker.

I’m so damn immature.
fish eye no miko

DamonD said: “even if Dodo gets possibly the worst exit!”

Even worse than Peri’s? “She’s dead! Ha, just kidding.”
And let’s mot get started on what they did to Donna.
fish eye no miko

Trying this again:
“Barney: Be My Valentine,” and realized I had initially conflated it with an upcoming 3D movie. Now if they made a Barney DVD like that, Iâ€™d definitely buy it.

You and me both, Ken…
Re: Doctor Who: I’ve never seen “War Machines” In fact, I’ve not seen many of Hartnell’s episodes, unfortunately. “Four to Doomsday” is pretty good, too. The interplay between Adric, Nyssa and Tegan is fun. I think part of the reason I like Five’s run so much is that he always had more than one companion, which I like. The “one companion, probably a young lady from present-day Earth” thing gets really old, really fast.
/rant mode off
GalaxyJane

Admittedly, having not yet seen “War Machines” it’s hard to make a comparison, but I have to agree with fish eye, Donna’s exit was a complete obscenity. especially after they spent so much time developing her character into arguably the most humane and relatable Companion in the new series (or possibly I only feel this way because I’m a lot closer in age to Catherine Tate than Billie Piper).

I love Hartnell’s Doctor, so I am really looking forward to this one. To me, Peter Davison always seemed much better suited to play Tristan Farnum than a Time Lord, although I will admit that his portrayal has begun to grow on me in recent years. Adric, on the other hand, has not.
BeckoningChasm

And letâ€™s mot get started on what they did to Donna.

What they did to Donna?!

Slooooowly I turn, step by step, inch by inch.

In all seriousness, I will never watch the show again after what they did to Donna.

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