The Joy of DVDs...

Last night, I was shopping at Target - mostly, I needed to get a lampshade and light bulbs for my desk lamp at work. I decided to browse their DVD selection, mostly to see what's up and coming. (I am eagerly awaiting Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog DVD from Amazon.com - nothing like a little scatalogical, immature humor to end the week).

Anyway, I'm gently surprised - Hanna Barbera/Time Warner is offering first (and, on some, second) seasons of the Flintstones, Jetsons, Johnny Quest, and Scooby-Doo on DVD. In my opinion, it's about time! You can also get the first season of Starsky and Hutch (was there a really big call for this on DVD?), $4 DVDS of pilot episodes of several shows (Babylon 5, Waltons, Gilmore Girls, Gilligan's Island), and...shocker of shockers, a DVD collection of the first season of Alf.

That's right - Alf, the lovable muppet/midget in a costume who came to earth to eat our cats, give Willie a hard time, and had his own Saturday morning show. Admitted, I had Alf fever - I had a poster in my bedroom. (OK, I've just crossed the line from "geek" to "sad, sad, individual". However, I would like to know who it was who moved heaven and earth to get this on DVD.

Some shows, like this and Punky Brewster, deserve to molder and be hidden in vaults, not given the DVD deluxe treatment.

However, on a stronger note, here are some DVD reviews for you to contemplate:

The Tao of Steve: Like The Whole Wide World with Vincent D'Onofrio, this is a "chick flick that guys can like." (Unlike TWWW, this is a chick flick disguised as an indie flick). Starring Donal Logue (aka "The guy from Grounded for Life" or "The Guy Who Keeps Getting His Hands Cut off in Blade") stars as a guy with a Zen approach to women, who meets his match. A little predictable, but worth your time.

The American Nightmare: a documentary about late 1960's - early 1970's horror movies. Plus - it includes David Cronenberg, whom I feel is very underrated. Minus - it sometimes gets to be a little too pretentious for its own good, and doesn't give John Carpenter enough screen time. At 70 minutes, it flies by fast, but is worth it as a scholarly look at an underappreciated drama. Not for the faint of heart.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (bonus features disk): I was not going to waste my hard earned money on seeing a bad film, so I just rented the 2nd disk from Netflix. Basically, just as dull, with a great lesson - some people shouldn't direct or write screenplays.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Girl in Gold Boots: Taken from (I presume) the final year of MST3K (Pearl's in a castle), this is a great MST3k Episode. Bad go-go, biker in LA movie meets the 'bots vicious wit. (Personally, I don't see the whole Joel vs. Mike clash - if you want sleepy obscure humor, you got Joel; for slightly contemptuous obscure humor, there's Mike). Plus, is it just me, or is the actress who plays Pearl Forrester...incredibly hot???

Maybe I have been single too long...