Hand Coding

Mr Bean: The Whole Bean is now available on DVD, as a 3-disc set (woo!). If your’re not familiar with the character, this DVD review describes Mr Bean like this:

In every episode, Mr. Bean (played by the accomplished Rowan Atkinson) would be confronted with an unusual situation (usually his fault), and somehow get around it to accomplish his goal. For instance, Mr. Bean decides he wants to go to the beach, but doesn�t want to go back to his car to change into his bathing suit. So, he puts his bathing suit over his trademark brown trousers, and then tries to take the pants off, leaving only the bathing suit.

The beauty about Rowan Atkinson’s performance as Mr. Bean is that an entire episode can go by without him even muttering a word. His use of physical comedy, including body language and facial expressions, is amongst the best I’ve ever seen in my life. He can be the most obnoxious person in the world one second, and an empathetic person in the next.

I’m not usually one to by tv episodes on DVD, but I might make an exception this time. My father enjoys the British sense of humor and he and I might enjoy watching some of the episodes sometime. Then again, he doesn’t have a DVD player, so I’d have to figure out that one :-/.

(Due creidt: DVD Talk)

British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf is finally available on DVD - Region 1 (DVDs can be artificially coded to only work in certain regions of the world, unless you have a gray-market region-free player). They’ve been available in the UK (Region 2) for some time now, but only recently have they been released for the US:

The Region 1 release is essentially the same as those in the UK and Australia. (check out the differences). Packed to the gills with 90 minutes of extra material, plus cast commentaries and collector’s booklets, they’ll be walking out of stores from February 25th. […]

Scifi.com also reviews the DVD release and gives it a “B”:

Red Dwarf is a long-time cult hit among SF fans, and it’s not hard to see why. The characters are engaging, and the interplay is frequently very funny. Much of the humor derives from the sheer cluelessness of the principals and the time-honored comedic tradition of rendering the dominant member of the team, in this case Rimmer, a bossy, self-absorbed twit who thinks he's a lot more impressive than he actually is. […]

If you’re looking to buy them online, DeepDiscountDVD has its usual low prices and offers the Seasons 1 & 2 Four-Disc Set for $52 (with free shipping). Or, either Season 1 or 2 alone for $26 each (also with free shipping).

From the Dallas Movie Geeks mailing list, USA Today reports that VHS may be coming to an end:

As a new generation of consumers is lured to the digital format by games and other interactive features, some Hollywood studios are gearing up for the death knell of the VHS cassette. They want to avoid the fate that befell the record industry in the early 1980s, when one popular mail-order house reportedly dumped 2 million eight-track tapes in a landfill because the market had evaporated almost overnight. […]

MGM Home Entertainment has slashed its VHS library, which at one point numbered 1,800 films, to 200. “We didn't want to have a lot of inventory in the marketplace when the bottom dropped out,” says David Bishop, president and chief operating officer. […]

I never collected much in the way of VHS tapes in the first place, though I enjoy buying some movies on DVD. These days, I try to avoid VHS entirely (much of it isn't widescren, for one thing).

When I was back in Pittsburgh over Christmas, my family went to Giant Eagle (a local supermarket chain) to rent some movies. Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a city of early-adopters, but there was still a sizable DVD section there. I suppose I'll have to convince my parents to buy a DVD player someday ;).

I had preordered the Back to the Future DVDs, and they arrived today. However, Julie made me aware that there was a framing problem in the original release (a second run, supposedly in February, would correct it). Sure enough, I checked DVDTalk and confirmed it:

Apparently there’s an issue with the widescreen framing for Back to The Future II & II. As with past problems Universal is making good on these discs by exchanging them. Send the 2 discs with your Name, Address, Phone, and the reason you’re returning it to: Back to the Future DVD Returns, PO Box 224468 Dallas, Texas 75260. Fixed Box sets are planned to be on store shelves by late February. ‘Props’ to the DVD Talkers who Identified the problems with the Back to the Future Box Set.

So, I’ll be sending back parts II and III out of my boxed-set for replacements.

Star Trek TNG Season 3 is available on DVD and, according to this review of the DVD-set, the third season was one of TNG’s best.

Season three remains one of my favorites from Next Gen’s entire run. Few seasons, episode for episode, hit the mark as well as season three. When re-watching “The Best of Both Worlds,” I again found myself at the edge of my seat thinking, “How long do I have to wait to see the conclusion?” Fortunately, it won’t be as long a wait for the next box set as it was between seasons three and four. As the Borg would say, “Resistance is futile”: If you’re going to buy one season of Next Gen, this should be high on your list. […]

I’ve held off on buying the earlier seasons on DVD because I didn’t think they were as good as the later seasons. With the release of the third season, I may just have to pick these up (as soon as I regain expendable income, that is).

Rock on, Fox recommends hacked DVD players for The Simpsons! As spoken by Homer Simposon himself on Fox.co.uk’s website:

“I have no idea whatsoever what regional coding means. But it is essential that you buy a multi-regional player. Do it now.”

Nice.

I’m still watching the Buffy Season 1 DVDs that Julie loaned me, but I see that Season 2 is now out on DVD. And, I’ve also come across this review of the Season 2 DVDs.

So far, Jason and I have only made through the first two-part episode on the Season 1 DVDs. To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed, but I’ve heard that the episodes get better over time, so I haven’t given up on it yet. Or, as the review puts it:

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer really hit its stride in Season Two. The show went beyond just the “high school sucks and monsters are bad” motif and added deep metaphors with [spoiler], [spoiler], and the arrival of Spike and Drusilla.

Cool, the Back to the Future Trilogy will be released on DVD on Dec 17th.

The DVDs will be presented in 16x9 enhanced wide screen with both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS and feature: Audio Commentary with Actor Michael J. Fox, Director Robert Zemeckis and Producer & Screenwriter Bob Gale, Outtakes, Deleted Scenes, The Hoverboard Test, "The Making-Of Back To The Future" Featurette, "Animated Anecdotes" - 150 facts and trivia viewable as you watch the film, Production Archive, and other bits. Nice.