THE STAND!! SUPERFRIENDS!! GALACTICA 1980!! HIGHLANIMATED!! HercVault!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

Published on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 5:20am

THE STAND!!
SUPERFRIENDS!!
GALACTICA 1980!!
HIGHLANIMATED!!
HercVault!!

I am – Hercules!!

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy the engrossing 1994 miniseries version of Stephen King’s “The Stand” you need look not a lot further than The Stephen King Gift Set.

A new copy of “The Stand” miniseries sold separately is retailing for upwards of $78.99. (A used copy upwards of $32.95.)

The new $35.99 set contains not only all six hours of “The Stand,” but the separate miniseries “The Langoliers” and “Golden Years” as bonuses.

For those unaware, "The Stand" is based on King’s 1978 novel about a government-created virus that wipes out 99 percent of the world’s population. With most of the people wiped away, supernatural forces emerge and divide the survivors. King says “Lord of Rings” was an inspiration (Las Vegas = Mordor) and “The Stand” is often cited as a big inspiration for “Lost.”

The good guys in the mini are played by Gary Sinise as factory worker Texan Stu Redman, Molly Ringwald as Maine co-ed Frannie Goldsmith, Ray Walston as sociology professor Glen Bateman, Rob Lowe as deaf-mute drifter Nick Andros, Bill Fagerbakke as developmentally challenged Tom Cullen, Ossie Davis as judge Richard Farris, Ruby Dee as the ancient psychic Mother Abigail Freemantle, and Adam Storke as rock star Larry Underwood.

The bad guys are played by Jamey Sheridan as The Walking Dude, Matt Frewer as the pyromaniacal Trashcan Man, Rick Aviles as the Rat Man, Corin Nemec as nerd menace Harold Lauder, Laura San Giacomo as kindergarten teacher Nadine Cross, Miguel Ferrer as serial murderer Lloyd Henreid, and the “Saw” series’ Shawnee Smith as nymphomaniac teen Julie Lawry.

All are excellent.

1995’s “The Langoliers,” based on the 1990 novella in “Four Past Midnight,” is a creepy sci-fi tale about a plane that mysteriously loses most of its passengers in midair. It’s far from great, but I’d judge it works better than most episodes of “The Outer Limits.” I have particularly fond memories of Bronson Pinchot as lunatic businessman Craig Toomey, Mark Lindsay Chapman as British government toughguy Nick Hopewell, Dean Stockwell as brainy mystery author Bob Jenkins, and Kimber Riddle as troubled teen Bethany Simms. (Whatever happened to Kimber Riddle??)

1991’s little-seen “Golden Years” is much harder to remember. An original written by King but not based on his print work, it did so poorly for CBS the network never bothered to air its eighth and final episode. It’s about an elderly janitor at “The Shop” (the same sci-fi government agency that accidentally created firestarter Charlie McGee) who survives a lab explosion and finds himself growing younger as his former employers hunt him down. It starred a 29-year-old Felicity Huffman, seven years before “Sports Night,” as “Terry Spann.”

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

Amazon’s list price for the Blu-ray edition of the third season of “Lost” – the first ABC/Disney season-set issued in an HD format – plummeted from $124.99 to $67.85 this week, following a similar adjustment in the set’s MSRP. (Those who preordered the set, which ships Dec. 11, should automatically be billed at the new, lower price, per Amazon policy.)

This brings the Blu-ray version of “Lost” more in line with NBC/Universal’s HD-DVD version of “Heroes,” currently available at $69.95.

Price-points remain a huge issue for the HD formats, now in their second year. If the “Lost” and “Heroes” sets still seem high, be reminded that only seven years ago the MSRP for the first season of “X-Files” on standard-definition DVD was $149.99, and even discounters rarely let it go for less than $110.

Hopefully the ever-competitive HD formats will lower their prices even further as the market begins to mature. (This kind of things sounds even better to those who remember playing $21 for a blank 6-hour VHS casette in the 1977. By contrast, I paid $19.99 last week for a 600-hour spindle of blank DVDs. Thank you, science!)

Amazon continues with its “TV Month sale”.

In fact, the sale got a little bit better in one way this week by knocking most of the “Smallville” sets all the way down to 67% OFF ($19.99 per season instead of the usual $39.98 or the SRP of $59.98.)

To save you some of the searching and scrolling, here are the most heavily discounted titles, all 60% OR MORE OFF:
Babylon 5 Season One $23.99
Babylon 5 Season Two $23.99
Babylon 5 Season Three $23.99
Babylon 5 Season Four $23.99
Babylon 5 Season Five $23.99
Cheyenne Season One $15.99
Gilligan’s Island Season Two $15.99
Gilligan’s Island Season Two $15.99
Gilligan’s Island Season Three $15.99
F-Troop Season One $15.99
Invasion The Complete Series $23.99
Justice League Unlimited Season One $17.99
Knots Landing Season One $15.99
Kung Fu Season One $15.99
Kung Fu Season Two $15.99
Kung Fu Season Three $15.99
Life Goes On Season One $15.99
Make Room For Daddy Season Five $13.99
Nip/Tuck Season One $23.99
Nip/Tuck Season Two $23.99
Nip/Tuck Season Three $23.99
Smallville Season One $19.99
Smallville Season Two $23.99
Smallville Season Three $19.99
Smallville Season Four $19.99
Smallville Season Five $19.99
Superboy Season One $15.99
Supernatural Season One $23.99
Veronica Mars Seaons One $23.99
Veronica Mars Seaons Two $23.99
The Waltons Season One $15.99