Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

ESPN’s “30 For 30” on Blu-ray, $99.95 last year and $63.29 in July, has just fallen to its lowest price ever: $43.99!!

Season two of “The League” on Blu-ray, $31.49 last year and $26.93 in July, has just fallen to its lowest price ever: $17.49!!

The complete-series set for the 1970s “Battlestar Galactica,” $89.98 in 2009 and $67.49 in January, is for the moment $25.95!!

The first 10 hours of the wildly underrated Cylon saga “Caprica,” $39.49 in last year and $19.99 in April, sells at the moment for $6.31 (75% Off!!)

The first two seasons of “Mr. Show” (starring Bob “Breaking Bad” Odenkirk, David “Arrested Development” Cross, Mary-Lynn “24” Rajskub, and Sarah “The Sarah Silverman Program” Silverman), $29.99 in 2008 and $14.49 in August, is now $11.33!! (55% Off!!)

The complete-series set for “Land of the Lost,” $46.99 in 2010 and $31.99 in November, is for the moment $13.75!! (66% Off!!)

New This Week

TV Guide says of “New Girl”

... Everything about New Girl, from her goofy co-stars to the distinctively quirky writing, is irrestible. ...

HitFix says of “New Girl”:

... The only pilot I think I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish was FOX's "New Girl," and that may just be because I really like Zooey Deschanel....

The Boston Globe says of “New Girl”:

... I love this show, because I love the wide-eyed star, who is fully engaged in her role here. ...

Hercules says of “New Girl”:

... I liked it better than “(500) Days Of Summer”; it’s last fall’s best new broadcast pilot ...

A Starz hourlong about a hotel in 1959 Miami Beach, “Magic City” comes to us from Mitch Glazer, the writer-director of 2010’s “Passion Play” (3% positive on Rotten Tomatoes). His prior screenwriting credits include 2003’s “The Recruit (43% positive), 1998’s “Great Expectations” (38%), 1993’s “Three of Hearts” (56%) and 1988’s “Scrooged” (17%).

If you’re not expecting much from a man with that resume, your expectations will be met. “Magic” follows “Playboy Club” and “Pan Am” as a series set in the “Mad Men” era but bereft of anything approaching “Mad Mad” mastermind Matt Weiner’s genius.

The series stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Watchmen,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), Olga Kurylenko (“Quantum of Solace”), Steven Strait (“10,000 B.C.”), Christian Cooke (the U.K. miniseries “The Promise”), Alex Rocco (the hotel owner in “The Godfather”), Danny Huston (“Wolverine,” the “Titans” movies) and Jessica Marais (“Legend of the Seeker”).

Morgan plays Ike Evans, owner of a lavish but financially troubled beachfront hotel, the Miramar. He is reluctantly partnered on the facility with mobster Ben “The Butcher” Diamond. One of Ike’s sons has political ambitions and wants to bone one of the housekeepers; the other is sleeping with the mobster’s third wife and may have designs on his own young stepmother.

The scenery’s nice and the nudity is plentiful, but the dialog is awful and the characters are boring. This is a series that has nothing new or interesting on its mind.

HitFix says:

... a mess, filled with paper-thin characters and clichéd dialogue and storylines. If not for the appealing lead performance by Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Ike, large stretches of the series would be unwatchable, even with all the lovely visuals. …

HuffPost TV says:

... Everything about "Magic City" shows a lack of depth, and the pacing is almost glacial. …

The New York Times says:

... The narrative is all mystique and not enough mystery, a moody melodrama that leaves no cliché of the mobster genre untouched, or improved. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

... the fate of Ike's hotel, and Ike, and everybody else here holds no sway or suspense. Glazer has built a beautiful edifice here, but he still needs to get some life into the place.

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… the writing is a painfully failed attempt at replicating the dialogue of a 1940s noir film or classic crime fiction. You could tell the show creator to can the writer, except that they are the same guy: Mitch Glazer. … Huston is so bad, he actually makes his half-sister look good chewing scenery every week in "Smash." …

The Washington Post says:

... becomes inexorably dull — a forced exercise in deceptions, killings, affairs and under-the-table deals. … suffers from endless predictability and a lack of creative storytelling. It’s too easy to get into — and get out of. …

The Boston Herald says:

... the show is gorgeous, but it needs to reveal some substance. …

USA Today says:

... leaden dialogue … paint-by-numbers plot. ... Through it all, there isn't a plot twist you won't see coming, or a character you ever want to see again …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… Early on, there’s enough intrigue and style in Magic City to keep the viewer wanting more, but it’s not as fully realized from the get-go as shows like Mad Men, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. …

Variety says:

… checking into the Miramar Plaza is an offer you can afford to refuse.

TV-on-Disc Calendar

Last Week
American Horror Story 1.x
American Horror Story 1.x (Blu-ray)
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Vol. 5
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part I
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part I (Blu-ray)
Berenstain Bears: Spooky Stories
CatDog 2.x Vol. 2
Charlie's Angels: The Complete Five-Season Series
The Crimson Petal And The White: The Complete Miniseries
CSI 12.x
CSI 12-Season Pack
CSI Miami 10.x
CSI NY 8.x
Desperate Housewives 8.x
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Series
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Bloody Madness
Family Guy Vol. 10
G.I. Joe Renegades 1.x (Blu-ray)
G.I. Joe Renegades 1.x Vol. 2
Gossip Girl 5.x
Iron Man: Armored Adventures 2.x Vol. 2
Key & Peele 1.x
Key & Peele 1.x (Blu-ray)
Lawless Years: The Complete Series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 13.x
Midsomer Murders: Mayhem & Mystery Files
Mob Wives 2.x
New Tricks 8.x
Portlandia 2.x
Portlandia 2.x (Blu-ray)
Portlandia 1.x/2.x
Rescue Me: The Complete Series
Special Branch Vol. 1
The Thick Of It 1.x-3.x
Touched By An Angel 6.x
Van Dyke and Company: The Complete Series
Wallander 3.x

This Week

The Abbott and Costello Show 1.x

Adventure Time: Jake Vs. Me-Mow
Alvin And The Chipmunks: Christmas With The Chipmunks

Batman Supervillains: Catwoman

Batman Supervillains: Killer Croc

Big John, Little John: The Complete Series

Bonanza 4.x

Downton Abbey 1.x/2.x

Downton Abbey 1.x/2.x (Blu-ray)

Happy Endings 2.x

Hart of Dixie 1.x
Hart To Hart Vol. 1
Hart To Hart Vol. 2

House: The Complete Series

How I Met Your Mother 7.x

It Takes A Thief 1.x

Kidnap & Ransom 1.x/2.x

Kingdom 1.x

Magic City 1.x

Magic City 1.x (Blu-ray)

New Girl 1.x

Nikita 2.x

Nikita 2.x (Blu-ray)

90210 4.x
Rules of Engagement 6.x
Rules of Engagement 6.x (Blu-ray)

The Six Million Dollar Man 2.x

Thomas & Sarah: The Complete Series

Thundercats 1.x Vol. 3

Transformers Rescue Bots: Roll to the Rescue

Vexed 1.x

VR Troopers 1.x Vol. 1

Next Week
Bones 7.x
Care Bears: The Original Series Collection
Combat: 20 Episodes
Doctor Who: Ambassadors of Death
Happiness Is Peanuts
Holliston 1.x
Holliston 1.x (Blu-ray)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia 7.x

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia 7.x (Blu-ray)
The League 3.x
The League 3.x (Blu-ray)
The Lucy Show 6.x
Peanuts: Go Snoopy Go
Webster: 20 Episodes

Whitney 1.x
Yancy Derringer: The Complete Series

October 16
Alcatraz: The Complete Series

Alcatraz: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Batman Super Villains: The Joker’s Last Laugh
Big Bad Beetleborgs 1.x Vol.1
Broadway: The American Musical (Blu-ray)
Chappelle's Show: The Series Collection
Check It Out 1/x/2.x

Columbo: The Complete Series
DeGrassi 11.x Vol. 2
The Firm: The Complete Series
Flashpoint 4.x
Flashpoint 4-Season Set
Gunsmoke 6.x Vol. 2
Gunsmoke 6-Season Pack
The Ice House: The Complete Miniseries
Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1995-Reserve

Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2 (Blu-ray)
Mad Men 5.x

Mad Men 5.x (Blu-ray)
Mr. Lucky: The Complete Series

The Office: Secret Santa Pack
Pound Puppies: Super Secret Pup Club
Power Rangers Super Samurai: Christmas Together, Friends Forever
Psych 6.x
The Red Green Show: The Complete Series
Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales
Touch 1.x
That '70s Show 1.x/2.x
That '70s Show 2.x (Blu-ray)

Triple Terror: The Shining/It/Salem's Lot

October 23
Bat Masterson: 24-Hour Marathon
Ernie Kovacs Collection Vol. 2
Fantasy Island 3.x

The Fugitive: The Complete Series
In The Heat Of The Night: 24-Hour Marathon
Law & Order: Criminal Intent 8.x
Lost Girl 1.x
Lost Girl 1.x (Blu-ray)
Meet The Browns 7.x
Perry Mason 7.x Vol. 2
Perry Mason 7-Season Pack

Peter Gunn: The Complete Series
Sanctuary: The Complete Series
Sea Hunt: 24-Hour Marathon
Star Wars: The Clone Wars 4.x

Star Wars: The Clone Wars 4.x (Blu-ray)
Upstairs Downstairs 2.x
The Young Riders: 24-Hour Marathon

October 30

All in the Family: The Complete Series
Coma: The Complete Miniseries
Copper 1.x

Copper 1.x (Blu-ray)
Metalocalypse 4.x
Metalocalypse 4.x (Blu-ray)
My Favorite Martian 3.x
The Streets of San Francisco 5.x

November 6
Alvin And The Chipmunks: Christmas With The Chipmunks (Blu-ray)
Call The Midwife 1.x

Call The Midwife 1.x (Blu-ray)
Carol Burnett Christmas
Elvira's 24-Hour Movie Marathon
Entourage: The Complete Series

Entourage: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

H2O Just Add Water: The Complete Series
Law & Order 11.x
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams 1.x
Porky & Friends
Regular Show: Best DVD
Sesame Street: Old School Vol. 3
SpongeBob Christmas!
SpongeBob Christmas! (Blu-ray)

Wolf Lake: The Complete Series

November 13

The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who 7.x Vol. 1

Doctor Who 7.x Vol. 1 (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: Claws Of Axos
The Flintstones: The Complete Series

Friends: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
History Detectives 10.x
Lost Girl 2.x

Lost Girl 2.x (Blu-ray)
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Vol.1
The Real McCoys 2.x
Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated 2.x Vol. 1

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: The Complete Series
SpongeBob SquarePants 4.x
SpongeBob SquarePants 5.x
SpongeBob SquarePants 6.x

November 20
Ancient Aliens 4.x
Ancient Aliens 4.x (Blu-ray)
Diff'rent Strokes 4.x
Doctor Who 5.x <--- NEW!!
Doctor Who: Six Seasons <--- NEW!!
The Dust Bowl: The Complete Miniseries
The Dust Bowl: The Complete Miniseries (Blu-ray)

Game of Thrones 1.x Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Complete Series
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 1.x Vol. 2
Susskind/Berle
Transformers Prime 2.x

November 27
Hot In Cleveland 3.x
Luck 1.x
Luck 1.x (Blu-ray)
Perry Mason 8.x Vol. 1

Stargate Atlantis 1.x (Blu-ray)

Stargate Atlantis 2.x (Blu-ray)

Stargate Atlantis 3.x (Blu-ray)

Stargate Atlantis 4.x (Blu-ray)

Stargate Atlantis 5.x (Blu-ray)
Transformers Prime 2.x (Blu-ray)

December 4
Angry Boys: The Complete Series
Angry Boys: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
The Donna Reed Show 5.x <--- NEW!!
The Game 5.x
The Game 5-Season Pack
Eastbound & Down 3.x

Eastbound & Down 3.x (Blu-ray)
Mannix 8.x
Mannix: The Complete Series

Men Of A Certain Age 2.x
Men Of A Certain Age 2.x (Blu-ray)
My Little Pony: Adventures In The Crystal Empire
My Little Pony 1.x

Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXV
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Vol.2
Power Rangers Super Samurai: The Complete Season
Power Rangers Super Samurai: The Complete Season (Blu-ray)
The Simpsons 15.x
The Simpsons 15.x (Blu-ray)

Star Trek: The Next Generation 2.x (Blu-ray)
Titanic: Blood & Steel
We Can Be Heroes: The Complete Series

December 11

Futurama Vol.7 (Blu-ray)
Girls 1.x

Girls 1.x (Blu-ray)
Gunsmoke 7.x Vol. 1
Hazel 4.x
JAG: The Complete Series

Law & Order: Criminal Intent 9.x

Mission Impossible: All Nine Seasons

UltraSeven: The Complete Series

December 18
Army Wives 6.x Vol. 2
Californication 5.x
Californication 5-Season Pack
Here's Lucy 6.x <--- NEW!!
House of Lies 1.x

Funny Or Die Presents 2.x

The Life and Times Of Tim 3.x
Quincy M.E. 4.x

The Sarah Silverman Program 3.x
Shameless 2.x
Shameless 2.x (Blu-ray)

January 8
Buck Rogers 2.x

Dallas (TNT) 1.x <--- NEW!!

Naked City: 40 Best <--- NEW!!

January 15

Amazing World of Gumball: The Mystery <--- NEW!!
Being Human 4.x
Being Human 4.x (Blu-ray)
Twenty Twelve: The Complete Series

January 29
Downton Abbey 3.x

Downton Abbey 3.x (Blu-ray)

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