The
Fanboy Planet Gift Guide For 2006
Part 2: The DVDs A - L
Yes,
Christmas is over, but some people still have the tradition
of Little Christmas on January 6. Or, as has been noted
in the media, you've got Christmas money or gift cards that
are burning a hole in your pocket. So how about these?
 Doctor
Who: The Complete First Season:
Forget what you think you know from PBS syndication
in the seventies and eighties. That was fun, but this is now.
Perhaps unbelievably, the BBC still considers this a children's
show, but maybe it's better to consider it an adventure show
the whole family can watch. Except there are episodes there
is no way I would let my kids see - there's some really creepy
stuff going on here. Christopher Eccleston plays the Doctor
with an edge of mania which unfolds as survivor's guilt, a
far more mature idea than ever went on in this show before.
And Billie Piper - well, we'll see if she breaks into a movie
career as she allegedly hopes, but she's perfect as the Doctor's
companion, Rose Tyler. This DVD set throws in insightful commentaries
from a variety of talent connected with the show. It also
includes Doctor Who Confidential, a series of half-hour
programs broadcast on the BBC that illuminate behind-the-scenes
of the first season and the past of the show's previous incarnation.
It's all very cool, but really, this show is so good that
the main reason to buy it is simply so you can have these
episodes at your command. Unless, of course, you do the other
sensible thing and insist to your friends that they'd really
like it, loan them the DVDs and then get them hooked. (The
second series, starring David Tennant as the Doctor, hits
DVD in January. To be honest, it's even better.).
Doctor
Who - The Complete First Series
Doctor
Who - The Complete Second Series
 The
Frank Capra Collection:
Every year you hear a lot of moaning about
how stale Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is; most
focus on what they perceive as its treacly message and ignore
how brutal and dark some parts are. Capra's work does veer
toward the sentimental, but only after being honest about
human nature. This collection brings together some of his
best films from the thirties: the Oscar-winning It Happened
One Night, the screwball You Can't Take It With You,
the political drama turned newspaper cliché Mr. Smith
Goes To Washington and the source of an Adam Sandler
remake, Mr. Deeds Goes To Town. All have been referenced
like crazy by popular culture since; you owe it to yourself
to go back and see what the fuss is about. In particular,
it may be depressing to see how accurate Mr. Smith…
still is. To make the set more comprehensive, it includes
a lesser-known 1932 Capra film, American Madness.
It doesn't quite have the balance of social message and
entertainment that his later work does, but it's still interesting
and, unfortunately, timely in its mix of cynicism and hope.
Putting it all in perspective (maybe), Ron Howard - who
would like to be Capra - hosts a documentary. Amidst all
the flash of bigger, more recent movies released on DVD,
this one got lost in the shuffle, but it's a perfect unexpected
treasure for you or a film fan you know.
The
Premiere Frank Capra Collection
Hustle: The Complete First Season:
The only downside to this one is that it's only
six episodes. Hustle hits unexpectedly and the sheer
fun of it will stick with you for a while. I reviewed it
more in-depth here,
but it's worth mentioning again.
Hustle
- Complete Season One
 Justice
League Unlimited, Season One:
What can be said about the best superhero animated series
ever done? The first few episodes struggled to find a tone
beyond "hey, we can use anybody we want!" But it gets so
much better. High points that coincidentally also feature
commentary from Bruce Timm and company are "This Little
Piggy" and "The Return." The former episode plays up the
possibility of a Batman/Wonder Woman romance and features
Kevin Conroy (Batman) singing. As a bonus, Red Tornado goes
hog-calling. In "The Return," the creative team started
tying it all together, reaching back to the previous Justice
League series and even further, to the Superman
and Batman shows. All true fanboys should have this
in their collection, and that's not hype. They stand up
to rewatching, and you can bet it's all part of my indoctrination
method with my kids. Also fun and still available are Mattel's
action figures from this show, which range from the popular
heroes to some really obscure ones like Aztek and Kilowogg,
just like the show.
Justice
League Unlimited - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection)
 The
Little Mermaid Platinum Edition:
Okay. So back when this movie first came out, we
didn't care that she was animated, a mermaid and underage.
Ariel just breaks your heart. One of the few movies that
lived up to Disney's instant self-anointing as a classic,
The Little Mermaid finally got the classic treatment
from Disney this fall. Completely comprehensive in tracing
the development of the film (and its reviving Disney animation),
the two-disc set offers two extras that you can sit through
again and again. First, a short "The Little Match Girl,"
which helped convince studio execs to pour money into making
The Little Mermaid something special. It's a beautiful
telling of the Hans Christian Andersen story (though, man,
he just does NOT believe in happy endings), with no dialogue,
just powerful imagery. Then the second disc offers a ride
through a non-existent Little Mermaid ride. Imagineers had
proposed an attraction based on the movie, but it has not
been built (yet?), so with CG they lay it all out here.
Get a big-screen TV and put a couch just a little too close
to it, and you've got yourself your very own Disneyland
ride. As usual, this Disney DVD comes with a threat that
it's out for a limited time, but Amazon still has plenty
in stock.
The
Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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