I am – Hercules!!

Some say the writer’s strike killed the brilliant Pushing Daisies but in truth the ratings started to slide before the multimonth walkout necessitated its production shutdown.

In truth “Daisies” was just too fast and crazyand weird for TV; its million-dollar jokes just flew by at such a clip you really needed a roomful of laughing strangers to tip you off to all the funny flying your way. (Also, I think Charlotte Charles spooning nightly with Ned, the dude whose touch could bring her instant death, may have made viewers too jittery.)

If we never get a “Daisies” feature, I hope somebody soon puts genius creator Bryan Fuller (who by the way turns 40 during Comic Con’s 40th edition this weekend) to work on a similar project for the big screen. And let’s hope he incorporates Kristin Chenoweth (currently an Emmy nominee for her work in the series) and Chi McBride (now a regular on Fox’s “Human Target”), who had me guffawing aloud weekly.

Season two comes in both DVD and Blu-ray.

“Wolverine and the X-Men” is a hit-and-miss series but even fans will want to skip Deadly Enemies, which collects five episodes for $10.49, a poor value. Better to wait for the inevitable (and inevitably more economical) complete season-one set.

Stargate SG-1: Children of The Gods (Final Cut) is not another new made-for-DVD sequel; it’s actually just the old series pilot with the Showtime nudity cut out and the implementation of some alternate takes and whatnot.

Women of child-bearing age have discovered an exciting new career path.

Nursing professional Kate Gosselin used fertility doctors to birth to both a set of sextuplets and the blockbuster TLC reality series “Jon & Kate Plus Eight,” for which Gosselin and her husband are paid as much as $75,000 per episode.

The Gosselins cranked out 40 episodes in season four. 40 x $75,000 = $3 million, so those tots have now provided more than enough money for their parents to live the lavish life of big-city singles dating exciting new people.

Now “Octomom” Nadya Sulemon, who made headlines by birthing octuplets in January, has signed for her own reality series, which sounds a lot like the Gosselin show.

Fertility clinics should brace for the onslaught of young women aching for their own turn in this lucrative new industry. The next benchmark is nine fetuses, of course, but Manuel Uribe, Bubba The Love Sponge and Kirstie Alley are proving every day the human belly may be inexhaustibly elastic.

Wuthering Heights: The Complete 1967 Miniseries isn’t on sale until Oct. 13; I just wanted to point out that the handsome bastard on the cover is “Deadwood” icon Ian McShane. Remember always our worst enemy is not Kim Jong Il or Al Qaeda; it is time.







Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

Season two of “Mad Men” hit shelves last week, and the first season, $26.99 two weeks ago, is momentarily only $15.99!! ($24.99 for Blu-ray!!)


Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen’s “Funny People” is out next week, and their TV collaborations are on sale. “Freaks and Geeks,” $54.99 two weeks ago, is now $37.49!!


“Undeclared,” also from Apatow and Rogen (and guest starring Adam Sandler in one episode), was $36.99 two weeks ago but at the moment can be had for $26.99!!


The first four seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” $43.99/season last week, are now $27.99/season!!


There’s a new edition of Stephen Cannell’s supercool and highly serialized FBI/mob drama “Wiseguy” arriving Aug. 25; you’d be smart to lock in its current Amazon price NOW at $9.99!! (Everybody who ordered it at $12.99 weeks ago will now automatically be charged only $9.99!!!) Crazy cheap at either price for a 22-hour first season; used copies of these same 22 episodes on the old half-season sets currently run you a minimum of $114.80!!!

We’re at the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moom and “From The Earth To The Moon,” the entire extra-packed signature edition, has fallen to its lowest price ever: $10.99!! People were paying $49 for this set last year.

Emmy-Free and $19.99/Season!!

TV-on-Disc Calendar




Last Week
American Gladiators Vol. 1
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Vol. 4
Arab Labor 1.x
Bewitched 8.x
The Color of Magic
Crime Scene University
ER 11.x
Faerie Tale Theatre: Princess Tales
Faerie Tale Theatre: Tales from Hans Christian Andersen
G.I. Joe (1983) 1.1
Guns of Will Sonnett 1.x/2.x
The Haunting: Twilight of Evil (Blu-ray)
Ironside: 6 Episodes
Joe Schmo 2.x
Leverage 1.x
Mad Men 2.x
Mad Men 2.x (Blu-ray)
McHale's Navy: 8 Episodes
Men Behaving Badly: 8 Episodes
Peyton Place Vol. 2
Punky Brewster: 8 Episodes
Red Skelton: 30 Episodes
The State: The Complete Series
Swamp Thing: 8 Episodes
Tales of Wells Fargo: Best Of
Tracey Takes On 3.x/4.x
Wild Pacific
Wild Pacific (Blu-ray)
Wire in the Blood 6.x
Zorro: Generation Z Vol. 1



This Week

Charlie's Angels 4.x

The Donna Reed Show 2.x

Hotel 1.x

Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht 4.x Vol. 2

The Lucy Show 1.x

The Mighty Boosh 1.x

The Mighty Boosh 2.x

The Mighty Boosh 3.x

Monk 7.x

Prison Break: Final Break

Prison Break: Final Break (Blu-ray)

Psych 3.x

Pushing Daisies 2.x

Pushing Daisies 2.x (Blu-ray)

Robot Chicken: Star Wars II

Route 66 3.x Vol. 1

The Secret Saturdays Vol. 1

Stargate SG-1: Children of The Gods (Final Cut)

SpongeBob SquarePants: To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants

This American Life 2.x

Voltron Vol. 8

Wolverine and the X-Men Vol. 2



Next Week
Armchair Thriller Vol. 1

Battlestar Galactica 4.11-4.20
Battlestar Galactica 4.11-4.20 (Blu-ray)

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Charles in Charge 5.x
Criss Angel Mindfreak: The Most Dangerous Escapes
Doc Martin 2.x
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (Blu-ray)

Dollhouse 1.x
Dollhouse 1.x (Blu-ray)
Early Edition 2.x
The Judy Garland Show Vol. 1
Knight Rider (2008): The Complete Series
Life On Mars (UK): Season One
The Middleman: The Complete Series
Red Hand Gang: The Complete Series

Spectacular Spider-Man 1.x
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Children of Earth (Blu-ray)
Voltron: Fleet of Doom



August 4
Adventures of Black Beauty 2.x
Brian Sewell's Grand Tour of Italy
Days That Shook The World 2.x
Edge of Existence: The Complete Series
Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows: The Performances
Flight of the Conchords 2.x
Love Boat 2.x Vol. 2
Love Boat: The First Two Seasons
Marple 4.x
Project Runway 5.x
The Shape of the World: The Complete Series
Stargate Atlantis: Fan's Choice
Tim & Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job!
Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts



August 11
Adam 12 3.x
Californication 2.x
Designing Women 2.x
Life & Times of Vivienne Vyle
Life With Derek 2.x
Mistral's Daughter: The Complete Miniseries
New Detectives 4.x
90210 1.x
Pulling 2.x
Scooby Doo: Batman/Globetrotters
Super Friends: The Lost Episodes
Zorro Generation Z Vol. 2



August 18
The Beast 1.x
Cracker (U.S.): The Complete Series
Dexter 3.x
Dexter 3.x (Blu-ray)
Dexter 1.x-3.x
Dexter 1.x-3.x (Blu-ray)

Dirty Sexy Money 2.x
Eli Stone 1.x