Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry
“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” Complete Collection Two on Blu-ray, $59.99 in August and $43.99 in May, has just fallen to its lowest price EVER: $29.99!! (57% Off!!)
New This Week
A&E’s two-night miniseries remake of the old ‘70s Michael Douglas movie about a med student trying to learn why so many patients at her hospital are lapsing into comas, the frequently silly “Coma” comes to us from John J. McLaughlin, the writer behind the 2005 Tommy Lee Jones cop-cheerleader comedy “Man of the House” and Darren Aronofksy’s “Black Swan.”
The first night is decent, and ends with a strong cliffhanger, but the second night – which focuses on a chase involving a murderous, microphone-rocking mental patient -- is a real eye-roller. I stuck with the mini to the end, but found myself afterward wishing I had not bothered.
I will say the project boasts a solid cast, topped by the fabulous Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under”) and featuring Steven Pasquale (“Rescue Me”), Joe Mazzello (“The Social Network”) and Geena Davis (who long ago worked with “Coma” producer Ridley Scott on “Thelma & Louise”), plus James Woods, Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Burstyn.
... has the rickety feel of a cheap summer novel, with lots of implausible actions and plotlines that aren’t tied together very well. Most of those coma patients seem to have remarkably docile relatives who don’t ask many questions (lazily explained away by fat hush-money checks). And for a smart medical student Susan is remarkably dumb, doing her Nancy Drew thing without alerting the authorities or making sure that someone trustworthy …
The good news about "Coma," A&E's four-hour miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton film airing Monday and Tuesday night, is that it's much better than its previous miniseries adaptation of the Michael Crichton book "The Andromeda Strain." The bad news? It's still not very good. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... So little effort is invested in character development that when one major figure is revealed to be the evil brains behind the operation of inducing comas in surgical patients, our response is something akin to "tell me something I don't already know." … For the most part, the crucial element of the unknown is missing from the A&E miniseries, reducing the film to a moderately engaging whodunit with expansive credibility gaps in plot and character. …
... excels when it falls into nail-biting territory. The story isn’t earth-shattering, and the filmmaking isn’t especially imaginative, but the production is a solid piece of suspense. …
... Unfortunately, the ride is pretty good right up until it isn't. Things get gory, but more importantly they get incoherent. In the end, "Coma" needs a crash cart. …
... packs two hours of story into four hours, which means it’s full of go-nowhere plot digressions and half-hearted red herrings. Beneath all the filler lies a halfway decent medical thriller, although it’s consistently undermined by the choppy pacing, cheesy dialogue and indifferent acting. …
... still has enough scares to give you a case of the shakes. …
... In a sense, strong ratings for "Andromeda Strain" -- reuniting its producers, including Ridley and the late Tony Scott, as well as director Mikael Salomon -- all but foreshadowed "Coma's" fate, as the latest project follows the same formula, bloating and dumbing down the relatively spare, science-based source material. … isn't worth losing sleep over.
A police procedural set in 1864 Manhattan (the same Five Points setting employed by “The Gangs of New York"), “Copper” comes to us from Tom Fontana, showrunner of NBC’s “Homicide: Life On The Street,” HBO’s “Oz.,” Fox’s “The Bedford Diaries,” and NBC’s “The Philanthropist.”.
... Copper so far feels flat and undistinguished, a series that might have seemed novel on cable five or ten years ago, but now feels surprisingly unsurprising. …
... the decent but unspectacular "Copper" comes off as "Deadwood Cop," minus the Milch: It's more or less a police procedural with added corsets and waistcoats. …
... It's a promising framework for a series, and the first two episodes of "Copper" work in fits and starts. … doesn't arrive fully-formed in the way that "Homicide" or "Oz" did. This is a big, ambitious project with a lot of layers and a lot of practical considerations to be figured out, and you can almost see Fontana, Levinson and Rokos figuring out what they can and can't pull off over the course of the opening two-parter.
... It's missing exactly the elements that make you want to watch those British shows on BBC America: energy, irreverence, a sense of humor and, crucially, consistently good performances. …
... the hero is unequivocally a good guy, his adversaries are unmistakably evil — I hereby declare that to be refreshing. … "Copper" has come to entertain, not to educate, and it discharges that duty well. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... works not only because it mines elements of classic storytelling but also because of elaborately colorful dialogue by Fontana, Rokos and their fellow writers, compelling performances by every member of the cast, richly detailed art direction and well-paced overall direction. …
... All of these characters and situations are mildly interesting, but it’s difficult to know from just a couple of episodes if they’re ever going to become desperately interesting. This is especially true of Weston-Jones’s performance — he’s fine to watch but difficult to relate to. That’s because “Copper” is yet another show where every character is damaged and complicated and doesn’t want to be related to. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... does not reach "Homicide" levels of greatness in its premiere -- really, what show could? -- but tonight's pilot at least suggests it may offer "Oz"-level attention to character development once it gets up on its feet. … But there's enough to re-commend about "Copper" that it's worth tuning in to see how the series develops.
... a dark, violent and ultimately gripping walk through New York in 1864. …
... something special. … BBC America chose to launch a move beyond reairing British dramas and into original series by trusting two of the people responsible for one of TV’s best police dramas, “Homicide.” I’m inclined to do the same. …
... everything about the show feels just a bit off: underfunded, insufficiently cast and flatly written. …
... It's in the stilted, stiff execution where things fall apart. Like AMC's even more tedious Hell on Wheels, capturing a turbulent era and a squalid setting with studiously detailed period grit isn't enough. While the story revels in bone-crunching brutality on either side of the law, the impact is muffled by cardboard characterizations, wooden acting and clichéd plotting. …
... On paper, there’s much to like about the premise. In practice, it’s a sluggish start to a big story -- and in today’s scripted environment, that usually doesn’t end well. …
... isn't terrible, but suffers from a flat-footed quality. Mostly, like AMC's postwar experiment "Hell on Wheels," it leaves one pining once again for the poetry of "Deadwood." … it's difficult not to be disappointed by a series that plays, finally, like too much of a cop-out.
All in the Family: The Complete Series contains all 213 episodes, plus:
* New Interview With Norman Lear
* Those Were The Days: The Birth Of "All In The Family" - Documentary
* The Television Revolution Begins: "All In The Family" Is On The Air -Documentary
* "Justice For All" - Original All In The Family Pilot
* "Those Were The Days" - Second All In The Family Pilot
* Gloria Spin-Off Pilot Episode
* Archie Bunker's Place Pilot Episode
* 704 Hauser Pilot Episode (1994 Spin-Off)
* 40-Page Collectible Book With Essays By Television Critic Tom Shales and USC Media Professor Marty Kaplan
All for $189.99. And you never have to worry about these coming out on Blu-ray, because they were shot on videotape!
TV-on-Disc Calendar
Last Week
The Amazing Race 8.x
The Amazing Race 9.x
Bat Masterson: 24-Hour Marathon
The Duchess of Duke Street: The Complete Collection
Ernie Kovacs Collection Vol. 2
Fantasy Island 3.x
The Fugitive: The Complete Series
Happy Endings 2.x
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 Poirot: The Early Cases
Poirot: The Early Cases (Blu-ray)
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
Wish Me Luck: The Complete Collection
The Young Riders: 24-Hour Marathon
This Week
All in the Family: The Complete Series
Chuck: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Dean Martin Variety Show: Dean's Ultimate Collection
The F Word: The Collection
Land Girls Collecftion
Metalocalypse 4.x (Blu-ray)
Minder: Collection Set
The Streets of San Francisco 5.x
Next Week
Alvin And The Chipmunks: Christmas With The Chipmunks (Blu-ray)
Breaking In: The Complete Series
Call The Midwife 1.x
The Dean Martin Christmas Show <--- NEW!!
Call The Midwife 1.x (Blu-ray)
Carol Burnett Christmas
Casanova's Love Letters <--- NEW!!
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)
Vera Vol. 2
Wolf Lake: The Complete Series
November 13
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Dance Moms 2.x Vol. 1
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
The Incredible Mel Brooks
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)
Christmas With Danny Kaye
Diff'rent Strokes 4.x
Dragons: Four Episodes
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
Cagney & Lacey: The Complete Series
Hot In Cleveland 3.x
In Search Of ... The Complete Series
Luck 1.x
Luck 1.x (Blu-ray)
McMillan & Wife: The Complete Series
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
Ancient Aliens: Collector’s Edition <--- NEW!!
Angry Boys: The Complete Series
Angry Boys: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Cagney & Lacey 2.x
Comic Strip Presents: Bad News
Comic Strip Presents: Five Go Mad
The Donna Reed Show 5.x
Eastbound & Down 3.x
Eastbound & Down 3.x (Blu-ray)
The Game 5.x
The Game 5-Season Pack
Hell's Kitchen 8.x
Mannix 8.x
Mannix: The Complete Series
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
World Without End
World Without End (Blu-ray)
December 11
Bordertown: The Complete Series
Chiller: The Complete Series
Futurama Vol. 7
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
Ninjago 3.x Vol. 1
UltraSeven: The Complete Series
December 18
Army Wives 6.x Vol. 2
Californication 5.x
Californication 5-Season Pack
Here's Lucy 6.x
House of Lies 1.x
Funny Or Die Presents 2.x
The Jerry Lewis Show: Best Of
The Life and Times Of Tim 3.x
Masters of the Universe: 30th Anniversary Edition
Quincy M.E. 4.x
The Sarah Silverman Program 3.x
Shameless 2.x
Shameless 2.x (Blu-ray)
Wyatt Earp: Three Episodes
December 25
Tosh.O - Deep V's (Blu-ray)
Gabriel Iglesias: Stand-Up Revolution 2.x
December 31
Justified 3.x <--- NEW!!
Justified 3.x (Blu-ray) <--- NEW!!
January 1
Being Human 4.x
Being Human 4.x (Blu-ray)
Trial & Retribution Set 6 <--- NEW!!
January 8
Archer 3.x
Archer 3.x (Blu-ray)
Buck Rogers 2.x
Dallas (TNT) 1.x
Dance Moms 2.x <--- NEW!!
Darth Maul Returns
Doctor Who: Shada
Enlightened 1.x
Enlightened 1.x (Blu-ray)
Episodes 1.x/2.x <--- NEW!!
The Goode Family: The Complete Series
The Hour 2.x <--- NEW!!
The Hour 2.x (Blu-ray) <--- NEW!!
Naked City: 40 Best
Smash 1.x
Tiny Toon Adventures Vol. 3
VR Troopers 1.x Vol. 2
January 15
Amazing World of Gumball: The Mystery
Jackson Five: The Complete Series <--- NEW!!
Jackson Five: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) <--- NEW!!
Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1997 <--- NEW!!
Life's Too Short 1.x
Men Of A Certain Age 2.x
Men Of A Certain Age 2.x (Blu-ray)
Merlin 4.x <--- NEW!!
Merlin 4.x (Blu-ray) <--- NEW!!
Perry Mason 8.x Vol. 2
Spongebob Squarepants: Extreme Kah-Rah-Tay <--- NEW!!
Twenty Twelve: The Complete Series
VR Troopers 1.x Vol. 2
Waking The Dead 7.x <--- NEW!!
January 22
Iron Man Armored Adventures 2.x Vol. 3
Kendra 4.x
The Scarecrow and Mrs. King 4.x
Young Justice 2.x Vol. 1
January 29
Downton Abbey 3.x
Downton Abbey 3.x (Blu-ray)
Misfits 2.x <--- NEW!!
February 4
Animaniacs Vol. 4
Southland 2.x/3.x/4.x <--- NEW!!
February 12
Family Matters 3.x <--- NEW!!
February 19
Top Gear 2.x <--- NEW!!
March 12
Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp 2.x <--- NEW!!