FUTURAMA!! BATMAN!! POPEYE!! REAPER!! ROCKFORD!! HOME MOVIES!! WEST!! COLUMBO!! HercVault!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

Published on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - 2:21am

FUTURAMA!! BATMAN!! POPEYE!! REAPER!! ROCKFORD!! HOME MOVIES!! WEST!! COLUMBO!! HercVault!!

I am – Hercules!!

Futurama Movie III: Bender's Game, out today, marks a terrific return to form for the franchise. Read Herc’s Monday review here!

(It’s also available in increasingly popular Blu-ray.)

The third volume of the complete compilation of “Popeye” theatrical shorts, Popeye 1941-1943 wraps up the series’ Fleischer era and segues into the Famous Studios years.

From Amazon.com:

Disc 1
Problem Pappy (1941) w/ Poopdeck Pappy
Quiet! Pleeze (1941) w/ Poopdeck Pappy
Olive's Sweepstakes Ticket (1941) w/ Olive, Swee'pea, Bluto & Poopdeck Pappy (1941)
Flies Ain't Human (1941)
Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle (1941) w/ Rip Van Winkle & Chico Marx.
Olive's Boithday Presink (1941) w/ Olive Oyl
Child Psykolojiky (1941)w/ Swee'pea & Poopdeck Pappy.
Pest Pilot (1941) w/ Poopdeck Pappy
I'll Never Crow Again (1941) w/ Olive Oyl
The Mighty Navy (1941) - First true wartime themed Popeye.
Nix on Hypnotricks (1941) w/ Olive Oyl & Professor I. Stare.
Kickin' the Conga 'Round (1942) w/ Olive Oyl & Bluto.
Blunder Below (1942) - Wartime themed.
Fleets Of Stren'th (1942) - Wartime themed.
Pip-eye, Pup-eye, Poop-eye and Peep-eye (1942) w/ Nephews
Olive Oyl And Water Don't Mix (1942) w/ Olive Oyl & Bluto.

Disc 2
Many Tanks (Fleischer) (1942) Wartime themed
Baby Wants a Bottleship (Flesicher)(1942) w/ Olive & Swee'pea - wartime themed.
You're a Sap, Mr. Jap (Dan Gordon)(1942) - first Famous Studio cartoon. Wartime themed, BANNED FROM TELEVISION.
Alona on the Sarong Seas (Isadore Sparber)(1942) w/ Olive as Princess Alona & Bluto.
A Hull of a Mess (Sparber)(1942) - Wartime themed
Scrap The Japs (Seymour Kneitel)(1942)- Wartime themed, BANNED FROM TELEVISION.
Me Musical Nephews (Kneitel)(1942) w/ nephews
Spinach Fer Britain (Sparber)(1943) - Wartime themed
Seein' Red, White 'N' Blue (1943) - Wartime themed, BANNED FROM TELEVISION
Too Weak to Work (Sparber)(1943) w/ Bluto
A Jolly Good Furlough (Gordon)(1943) w/Olive, Bluto, Twinkletoes & Nephews. - Wartime Themed.
Ration Fer The Duration (Kneitel)(1943) w/ Nephews. - Wartime themed.
The Hungry Goat (Gordon)(1943) - Wartime themed
Happy Birthdaze (Gordon)(1943) w/ Olive Oyl & Shorty.
Wood-Peckin' (Sparber)(1943)
Cartoons Ain't Human (Kneitel)(1943) w/ Olive Oyl & Nephews. Popeye makes an animated movie using stick figures.

Paramount kept cranking out the theatrical shorts without the Fleischers until August 1957. The next disc could potentially hold the 36 shorts released between 1944 and 1948. At this two-disc-per-volume pace we should get a total of six or seven volumes before the theatrical shorts are exhausted. And even then, there are the 200 original King Features Popeye cartoons aired on TV in 1961 and 1962.

Unless I did the math wrong, Home Movies: The Complete Series saves us no money over the individual season sets. So the two new extras – a canvas book bag and a clapper – better be worth the extra $4 or so they’re charging. Whether you buy the seasons separately or in the new megaset, know that the series itself – semi-improvised in the fashion of “Dr. Katz” and “The Life and Adventures of Tim” – is brilliant and well worth the money.

“Reaper” began life with a terrific pilot, the best of The CW’s sophomore year, but the balance of the show’s first season never recaptured the big funny found in that first episode. The rest remained watchable – thanks largely to a horny succubus, a couple of guys from The State playing gay rogue demons, and “Twin Peaks” standout Ray Wise’s winning, avuncular portrayal of Satan -- but falls short of the classic status for which I originally believed it destined.

To anticipate the question, “Reaper” begins its second season on the CW early next year.

Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series is controversial because it’s currently the only way fans can get hold of the series’ fourth and final season. Which bites if you’ve already bought seasons one through three separately.

New series megasets continue to rain onto store shelves as Chrismas approaches. The math:

Batman: The Complete Animated Series
Volume One: $37.99
Volume Two: $37.99
Volume Three: $35.99
Volume Four: $34.99
Sold separately: $146.96
New Megaset: $75.99
Net savings: $70.99

Get Smart: The Complete Series
Season One: $16.99
Season Two: $49.00
Season Three: $50.99
Season Four: $42.94
Season Five: $35.95
Sold separately: $195.87
New Megaset: $139.99
Net savings: $55.88

The Wild Wild West
Season One: $28.99
Season Two: $28.99
Season Three: $35.99
Season Four: $34.99
Sold separately: $128.96
New Megaset: $90.99
Net savings: $37.97

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

“Carnivale” is momentarily 60% off. That means $23.99/Season .

“The Greatest American Hero” for $11/Season?? The new Two-For-One TV-On DVD Sale makes such a thing feasible.

The same sale allows one to pick up both animated Hellboy movies for $5.25/Each!!

This Week

Batman: The Complete Animated Series

Chowder Vol. 1

Cooks Country 1.x

Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series

Futurama Movie III: Bender's Game

Futurama Movie III: Bender's Game (Blu-ray)

Get Smart: The Complete Series

Home Movies: The Complete Series

Howdy Doody: 40 Episodes

JAG 7.x

JAG 7-Season Pack

Popeye 1941-1943

Primeval: The Complete Series

Project Runway 4.x

Reaper 1.x

Route 66 2.x

Spin City 1.x
Tori & Dean: Inn Love 2.x

The Wild Wild West: The Complete Series

Next Week
Band of Brothers: The Complete Miniseries (Blu-ray)
Bump! Spain
Chuck 1.x (Blu-ray)
Classic TV Christmas
The Cosby Show: The Complete Series
Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh
Father Knows Best 2.x
Firefly: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
I Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Series
Johnny Carson Celebrates Christmas
Little House on the Prairie: The Complete Series
Live From Abbey Road: Best Of 1.x
Live From Abbey Road: Best Of 1.x (Blu-ray)
The Lone Ranger 1.x/2.x
M*A*S*H Slimsets 1.x-11.x
Mickey Mouse Club: Annette
Mind of Mencia Uncensored 4.x
Mr. Peepers 2.x
M-Squad: The Complete Series
MXC Most Extreme Elimination Challenge Vol. 4/Vol. 5
Scrubs 7.x
7th Heaven 7.x
7th Heaven: 7-Season Pack
Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa
Smash Lab 1.x Vol. 1
Son of the Beach Vol. 2
The Sopranos: The Complete Series
Storm Hawks: Showdown in the Skies
The Streets of San Francisco 2.x Vol. 2
Studio One: Anthology
Supernatural 3.x (Blu-ray)
Three Sheets 3.x
Tracey Ullman's State of the Union 1.x
Wagon Train: The Complete Color Season
The World's Most Amazing Videos Vol. 1

November 18
Bones 3.x
Burke's Law 1.x Vol. 2
Charmed: The Complete Series
Charmed: The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition)
Criss Angel - Collector's Edition
Daniel Boone 6.x
Doctor Who 4.x
Doctor Who: Infinite Quest
Dog Whisperer: Celebrity Edition
Everest: Beyond The Limit 2.x
Fairly Oddparents 6.x Vol. 1
Gene Simmons: Family Jewels 3.x
Hannah Montana 1.x
Hannah Montana DVD Game
Hawaii Five-0 5.x
Hawaii Five-0: 5-Season Pack
McHale's Navy 4.x

Monty Python Complete Series Collector's Edition
Night Gallery 2.x
The Odd Couple 5.x
The Odd Couple: The Complete Series
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs Vol. 1
SpongeBob SquarePants 5.x Vol. 2
Star Trek 3.x (Remastered)

Star Trek 3-Season Pack (Remastered)

Surviving History <--- NEW!!
The Texan: Best Of

The Universe 1.x (Blu-ray)

November 25
Beverly Hills 90210 6.x
Beverly Hills 90210: 6-Season Pack
The Big Easy 2.x
A Colbert Christmas
The Doris Day Show: The Complete Series
Family Affair: The Complete Series

Freaks And Geeks: Yearbook Edition
Gomer Pyle USMC 5.x
Gomer Pyle USMC: The Complete Series
The Mod Squad 2.x Vol. 1
Pink Panther Ultimate Collection
The Spirit of the Sword
Superman Doomsday (Blu-ray)
Superman Doomsday: Special Edition
Torchy The Battery Boy 1.x/2.x
Torchy The Battery Boy 1.x
Torchy The Battery Boy 2.x

24: Redemption

December 2
Cannon 1.x
Cannon 1.x Vol. 2
Curious George: Leads The Band
Dr. Katz: Best Of
Hi-5 1.x
Jake and the Fatman 1.x
Jake and the Fatman 1.x Vol. 2
Law & Order 6.x
The Man Called Flintstone
Metalocalypse 2.x
Mythbusters: Big Blasts
Password: Best Of 1962-1967
Perry Mason 3.x Vol. 2

Saturday Night Live 4.x

December 9
Adventures of Sonic Vol. 2

Deadwood: The Complete Series
Gunsmoke 3.x Vol. 1
Happy Days 4.x
Happy Days 4-Season Pack

Lost 4.x
Lost 4.x (Blu-ray)
McLeod's Daughters 7.x
Rawhide 3.x Vol. 2
Rawhide: 3-Season Pack

Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories <--- NEW!!

The Wire: The Complete Series

December 16
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vol. 6
The A-Team 1.x (Slimset)
Crime 360 1.x
Gangland 2.x
Generation Kill: The Complete Series
Generation Kill: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Ice Road Truckers 2.x
Jurassic Fight Club 1.x
Mr. Bean: The Ultimate Collection
The Mummy: The Animated Series Vol. 1
The Mummy: The Animated Series Vol. 2
The Mummy: The Animated Series Vol. 3
Petticoat Junction 1.x
Poor Little Rich Girl: The Complete Series
Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Into The Jungle
Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Way Of The Master
Swingtown 1.x
Transformers: Energon Ultimate Collection
Will Shakespeare: The Complete Miniseries <--- NEW!!

December 30
Greek 2.x
Kyle XY 2.x
Nip/Tuck 5.x
Secret Life of an American Teenager 1.x
10 Items Or Less 1.x/2.x
The Tudors 2.x

January 6

Battlestar Galactica 4.1-4.10
Dexter 1.x (Blu-ray)
Doctor Who: Four To Doomsday
Doctor Who: War Machines
Duckman 3.x/4.x
Duckman: 4-Season Pack
Eon Kid 1.x Vol. 2

The FBI Files 1.x <--- NEW!!
Frisky Dingo 2.x
Laredo 2.x Vol. 2 <--- NEW!!
Mannix 2.x

Secret Diary of a Call Girl 1.x
Transformers 2.x
;;;;;Tripping The Rift 3.x
The Waltons 8.x

January 13
Alvin and The Chipmonks: The Chipettes
Alvin And The Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Valentine
Ben 10: Alien Force 1.x Vol. 2

Captains and the Kings
Dallas 10.x
The Henry James Collection
House of Payne Vol. 3
Little Britain USA 1.x
Lovejoy 4.x
Man Vs. Wild 2.x
Matlock 2.x
Reba 5.x
Saxondale 1.x/2.x
Skins Vol. 1
Stargate: The Ark of Truth (Blu-ray)
SuperSwank 1.x
10 Items Or Less 1.x/2.x
Tess of D'Urbervilles: The Complete Miniseries (2008)
'Til Death 2.x
Voltron: Vol. 7
Walker: Texas Ranger 6.x

January 20
Back At The Barnyard: Cowman

Children of the Stones: The Complete Miniseries <--- NEW!!
Criss Angel Mindfreak 4.x
Emergency 5.x
Jonathan Creek 3.x

The Last Detective: The Complete Series <--- NEW!!
MGM: When The Lion Roars
MI-5 Vol. 6
Moonlight: The Complete Series
My Three Sons 1.x Vol. 2
Paranormal State 2.x
Powerpuff Girls: The Complete Series

The Rockford Files 6.x <--- NEW!!
Waking The Dead 3.x

January 27

All-New SuperFriends 1.x Vol. 2
The Beiderbecke Affair <--- NEW!!
Blossom 1.x/2.x
Cheers 11.x
The Girls Next Door 4.x
The Girls Next Door 1.x-4.x
Invaders 2.x
The Love Boat 2.x Vol. 1
MANTIS: The Complete Series
Meerkat Manor 4.x
Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection
Scooby-Doo Where Are You? 1.x Vol. 1
SpongeBob SquarePants: Spongicus
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown

February 3
Becker 2.x

Columbo 1990 <--- NEW!!
Night Court 2.x
Tom and Jerry Tales Vol. 6

February 10
The F Word 1.x <--- NEW!!
One Foot In The Grave 5.x
One Foot In The Grave 6.x
Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job 2.x

February 24
Breaking Bad 1.x
Oliver Twist: The Complete Miniseries (2007)

March 31
Schoolhouse Rock: Earth

Blu-Ray Players: $205.98!!

HD-DVD Clearance Sale!!

99 Titles At $10.99!!

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Reader Talkback

Nice to see Chowder on there by ChocolateJesus	Nov 4th, 2008 01:45:22 AM
MAS*H Slimsets... by film_fanatic_in_the_original_b lack_and_white	Nov 4th, 2008 04:18:48 AM
Did the animation seem less good on the Futurama DVD to anyone e by Smashing	Nov 4th, 2008 04:59:51 AM
GO VOTE by Timahh	Nov 4th, 2008 07:03:01 AM
Reaper... by Gislef_crow	Nov 4th, 2008 08:14:59 AM
Why do I always click on these "articles". by rev_skarekroe	Nov 4th, 2008 08:24:59 AM
"Complete Series" sets ALWAYS have horrible packaging by Nasty In The Pasty	Nov 4th, 2008 09:05:35 AM
It's ridiculous how many times I've watched through "Home Movies by DanielKurland	Nov 4th, 2008 09:29:52 AM
Forget "Reaper" - when is "Dead Like Me" DVD movie coming out? by EriamJH	Nov 4th, 2008 09:53:51 AM
So aside from Futurama a crappy week for DVD by Trazadone	Nov 4th, 2008 10:04:38 AM
Dead Like Me by frozen01	Nov 4th, 2008 12:13:41 PM
I give up on Reaper too soon by skimn	Nov 4th, 2008 12:27:41 PM
Dead Like Me Movie: Feb. 17 by Hercules	Nov 4th, 2008 02:09:49 PM
MORE Columbo!! by wcme	Nov 4th, 2008 03:05:53 PM
WILD, WILD WEST by thegreatwhatzit	Nov 4th, 2008 05:17:23 PM
The "Beast" transfer looked awesome, what about the new Blu? by iamnicksaicnsn	Nov 4th, 2008 05:52:45 PM
Reaper, Soul of the Week by Gislef_crow	Nov 4th, 2008 05:56:39 PM
avoid the Fraggle set by Noddy93	Nov 4th, 2008 07:08:52 PM
Catherine Bell is SO HOT!!! by the milf lover	Nov 4th, 2008 08:17:12 PM
Fuck yes! BTAS! by thebearovingian	Nov 4th, 2008 09:14:41 PM
Reaper remained as good as the pilot for me by crayon	Nov 5th, 2008 10:27:43 AM
Dead Like Me--No Mandy Patankin, No Point. by MCVamp	Nov 5th, 2008 11:27:23 AM
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man by Snookeroo	Nov 5th, 2008 11:35:36 AM
Kim Possible by Snookeroo	Nov 5th, 2008 11:37:15 AM
DerLanghaarige by Snookeroo	Nov 5th, 2008 01:57:20 PM
Kim Possible is hot by Nasty In The Pasty	Nov 5th, 2008 04:16:15 PM
Batman: TAS = Want by Organs	Nov 6th, 2008 01:06:45 PM
wcme & whatzits by rben	Nov 6th, 2008 06:06:44 PM
DEAD SET by tomthumbstallywhacker	Nov 7th, 2008 04:09:39 AM

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