Posted in: Super Round-Up by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2011
Now that we're getting into the Christmas Shopping season, Upcomingdiscs will be offering you a sample of some of our suggestions for that home theater geek on your shopping list. These are not paid advertisements.
The BBC is Calling America with one of the best releases of the holiday season. We've reviewed several seasons of the Doctor Who revival in these pages over the years. These episodes have been coming out in Blu-ray in full high definition over the last few seasons. The latest release is the full season 6 set.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on November 25th, 2011
The good folks over at A&E Home Entertainment have appointed themselves Upcomingdiscs' official Santa Claus for this holiday season. You're going to see some great gifts from A&E over the season. We're kicking it all off with a way to put a little romance into your Black Friday. A&E is giving a copy of their famous Romance Collection Special Edition to one lucky reader at Upcomingdiscs. This is an incredible release. 29 hours of romantic films on a 13 disc DVD collection. Catch this collection of films: Pride And Prejudice, Victoria & Albert, Emma, Jane Eyre, Catherine The Great, The Mayor Of Casterbridge, The Magnificent Ambersons, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Vanity Fair and that immortal classic The Great Gatsby. It all goes to one winner this Christmas. To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.
Contest is now closed Winner was Sarah Davis
Posted in: The Reel World by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2011
"It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight…"
What do the following huge stars all have in common: Elton John, George Burns, Peter Sellers, Don Knotts, Bob Hope, John Cleese, Madeline Kahn, and Milton Berle? They all were guests on The Muppet Show. It would be pretty hard to argue that the seriesdidn't became the in place for A-list entertainers to have a little fun. Like a neighborhood clubhouse, the top stars would come to the show and allow themselves to be often upstaged by Henson’s cute little creatures. They would place themselves in ridiculous situations and often allow themselves to be lampooned and ridiculed, and they always appeared to have a blast while they were doing it. Elton John singing his Kiki Dee duet, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, with Miss Piggy has to be one of television’s most memorable moments. Not only do you have a guest list that would make Saturday Night Live envious, but you have something they never had, namely Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo providing their special brand of Muppet madness.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2011
With Thanksgiving Day upon us we've decided that what we're thankful for this year is all of our faithful readers and supporters.
Happy Thanksgiving Day!
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 22nd, 2011
"My name is John Crichton...an astronaut. Four years ago, I got...shot through a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. I ending up on this ship...this living ship, populated by escaping prisoners...who became my friends. I made enemies..."
Take a magical journey with me now. I don't mean into outer space. It's a journey back in time to a day when the SyFy Channel was called the Sci-Fi Channel. A day when it was an exciting and promising place on the cable dial. After a few fledgling years showing old repeats it was time to grow, and grow they did. When the powers that be decided to begin making new original programming they teamed up with Brian Henson who was just getting his feet running his late-father's Jim Henson Company. Yeah, the Muppets guys. He believed it was time to do something darker, something with an edge and targeted more to an adult audience. His father began the journey with The Dark Crystal. Now it was time for more of that kind of thing. The two companies found their solutions together in a show called Farscape.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2011
"It finally happened – Comedy Central messed up and gave me a show."
I have to admit that I had not heard about Gabriel Iglesias before I saw a recent Blu-ray concert film. Gabriel is a rather rotund comic. For him, it's not a liability at all. Honestly, he's turned it into a cash cow, of sorts. It's a huge, pun intended, part of his routine. In fact, to understand his nickname "Fluffy" you have to be clued into one of his signature routines. He identifies six levels of obesity. They range from Big, Healthy, Husky, Fluffy, Damn, and the latest level, Hell No. As you might guess, Gabriel considers himself in the Fluffy category. Still, for all of his pounds he has quite a bit of energy, and he moves along the stage quite well for his weight. His body and child-like face make him disarming and more than a little bit charming on stage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 18th, 2011
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote crime fiction, and while many of his 100 or so works are unknown to most of us, he created a character that has become as identified with criminal lawyers as any other in fiction. It was in these crime novels that Perry Mason first faced a courtroom. He developed a style where he would investigate these terrible crimes his clients were on trial for. He would find the real killer, and in what has become a Hollywood cliché, reveal his findings in a crucial moment during the trial. While we may not remember the novels, we all remember the man in the persona of Raymond Burr. Burr had a commanding presence on our screens and enjoyed a well deserved 11-year run as the clever lawyer. What makes this run so amazing is that the show followed pretty much the same pattern the entire time. We always know what’s going to happen, but we wait eagerly for that gotcha moment when Perry faces the witness on the stand. We know when he’s got the guy squarely in his sights, and we can’t sit still waiting for him to pull the trigger. OK, so maybe that’s a little over the top, but so was Perry Mason. From the moment you heard that distinctive theme, the stage was set. To say that Perry Mason defined the lawyer show for decades would be an understatement. Folks like Matlock and shows like The Practice are strikingly similar to Perry Mason. If you haven’t checked this show out, this is your chance. See where it all began.
Raymond Burr did not carry the show on his own. There was a very fine cast of supporting characters. The most famous has to be his faithful secretary Della Street, played by Barbara Hale. The two were inseparable. Perry had the help of a good private investigator in the Raymond Chandler style. William Hopper played the tough-as-nails Paul Drake. One of Orson Welles’ famous Mercury Theater Players took on the part of Police Lt. Tragg. Ray Collins starred in Citizen Kane as the political party boss Gettys. He was a fine example of top talent working in television. Mason was often pitted against prosecutor Hamilton Burger, whose name too often reminded me of hamburgers. There wasn’t anything funny about Burger, however. He was a worthy opponent who drew the short straw most of the time because he was up against Perry Mason. The task was accomplished with a lot of style by William Talman, a one-time evangelistic preacher.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
"There are many among us who in the past closed their eyes to the events of war, because they believed that what was taking place in Europe was none of our business. That we could maintain our physical safety by retiring within our continental boundaries. Obviously, a defense policy based on that is merely to invite future attacks. For those who would not admit the possibility of the approaching storm, the past weeks have meant a shattering of past illusions."
No, that quote wasn't George W. Bush. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 26th, 1941. And yes, it was over 6 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's unceremonious personal invitation to World War II.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 17th, 2011
"Remember back in the day when things were made by hand and people took pride in their work? My name is Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life."
If you watch Pawn Stars on History, than Rick Dale really needs no introduction. From time to time the Pawn Stars guys get in something that they want to have restored to increase its value. For most of those projects they go to Rick and his team. Now Rick's gotten his own spin-off series, and it's set up very much like the other show from the grunge guitar soundtrack to some of the same wheel-and-deal aspects. This is pretty much the same production setup, and it will appeal to the fans of Pawn Stars.
Posted in: Random Fun by Gino Sassani on November 16th, 2011
HOLLYWOOD, CA (November 15, 2011) – Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) invites fans across the country to enter into the world of mystery and adventure created by director J.J. Abrams in his sensational coming-of-age story SUPER 8with a unique Twitter promotion. In celebration of the film’s home entertainment debut on November 22, PHE will hide Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs signed by J.J. Abrams in 20 cities across the U.S. and Canada and begin offering clues to the locations today via the film’s @Super8Movie Twitter account and Super8Tweet.com. Each day, the clues will get more specific until all of the prizes are found.
Consumers who find the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs will not only receive a copy of the film autographed by the director, but will have a chance to win additional prizes, including tickets to the premiere of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, a collection of Abrams’ films on Blu-ray, additional signed merchandise and more.
![Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/doctor-who-the-complete-sixth-seri-large.jpg)
![Farscape: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/farscape-the-complete-series-blu--large.jpg)
![WWII in HD (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/wwii-in-hd-collectors-edition-b-large.jpg)
