“Halo Legends” will hit DVD and Blu-ray on February 9. Distributed by Warner Home video and produced by 343 Industries, part of Microsoft Game Studios, the CG and traditional anime will explore the history and origins of the Halo universe and some of its characters. The eight episodes will cover seven storylines, which will also be available via On Demand and Digital Download.

The episodes will fall inside Halo’s 26th Century continuity as humanity battles aliens to protect the ever-expanding space colonies of Earth. Halo fans will recognize some characters and locales from the games. Each episode will be 10 to 17 minutes long, with about two total hours of viewing.

Halo Legends will have the same look and feel as “The Animatrix” and “Batman Gotham Knight,” in that each episode will be self contained. Each episode will be presented as imagined by a the director or animator. Children of the 80s and anime fans, alike, will recognize the work of some of these creative contributors including Shinji Aramaki, who did character designs on “MASK;” Mamoru Oshii, creator and writer of “Jin-Ro;” and Hideki Futamura, a key animator on “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.”

Extras on the two disc will include a “making of” feature, audio commentary with the directors and a mini-feature detailing the rise of the Halo franchise from an Xbox game to a mammoth property commanding over $1 billion in revenue with games, comics, novels and other merchandise. The Blu-ray will retail for around $35, the two-disc set for around $30 and the DVD for around $20.

In addition to the thrills of Superman’s weekly adventures, each episode included a mini-segment called Superman Family Album that told the “real” story of what it was like to grow up as the most powerful boy in Smallville.

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears talked about the DVD and series recently, and the studio sent the interview over:

QUESTION: How was the title character developed for your Superman series?

JOE RUBY: “We went through a lot of different directions in development as to what kind of Superman we wanted. We had several different models – the crying/feeling Superman, the lecturing/do-gooder/save-the-day Superman, then there was the hip Superman and even the long-haired Superman. And, of course, there was the old straight-as-an-arrow Superman. Ultimately, we settled on the Christopher Reeve model – he had personality and a sense of humor, and yet he was still Superman. We figured that it worked for the films, so it would work well for us.”

QUESTION: Why were there only 13 episodes to the entire series?

JR: “I think the problem for us was our timeslot. It turned out 8:30 in the morning was a killer for Superman. Only the little kids were up, and they don’t understand Superman as well as the older kids. It wasn’t for 4- to 5-year-olds”

QUESTION: Was there a guiding theme to the series?

KEN SPEARS: “I think we were true to Superman to begin with – we produced a show that the audience expected Superman to be. He was the tried and true Superman, That’s who they wanted to see – that’s the feedback that we continue to get today.”

JR: “We basically had Superman tackling anything and everything, with the marching orders to have bigger-than-life fights.”

QUESTION: What did you see as the strength of your Superman series?

KS: “We had the best talent in the business at the time – that was our strength. They were excellent. When you first create a show, you hope your talent will be able to plus it – and they really plussed it. There are so many shots in the show that weren’t written into the script – those kind of great additions come straight from the artists and the storyboarders.

JR: “We had a pretty amazing crew – and an especially great crew of artists – including some of the best comic book guys in the business, and that made for good filmmaking. Guys like John Dorman and Gil Kane – we had an army of great talent on that show. Give credit to John Dorman – he’s a filmmaker and that’s the difference. He made sure the show had all the creative shots, the movement, some of that great left-to-right or down-angle camera moves. The show was well paced, well boarded, and I think John really put these things together well.”

QUESTION: Did splitting the production between two overseas studios in Japan and Korea cause any problems?

JR: “It was an experience for us, from a production standpoint, traveling overseas and working with two different interpreters having to translate in three different languages. They’d be answering before I’d get done with my question. It was the worst torture I ever had in my life.”

QUESTION: Looking back now, can you see how Ruby-Spears Superman fits in the canon of productions surrounding the Man of Steel?

JR: “As a kid, we all grew up with Superman. He’s the favorite, always. Your heroes stick with you. So we wanted to make the best Superman show we could, to really set it apart. I think everyone that worked on it felt that way. He’s Superman.”

KS: “It was like an honor to do something that classy and classic as Superman. He’s the No. 1 guy. We wanted to do it justice.”

“If I were making a film of myself, I would definitely start with my childhood� said Director Roman Polanski in a 1987 interview with Diane Sawyer. Director and star of “Polanski Unauthorized� Damian Chapa does exactly this in his timely new biopic of the infamous Polish director.

Chapa starts the film in 1939, where we meet the young and happy boy version of Polanski and his loving parents. In a rather cliché move, each time the film flashes back to this period, it’s shot in black and white.

The film jumps between periods in his life in absolutely no chronological order.

The film begins in 1939 then jumps between the years 1968, 1977 and 1966 with no specific pattern. Chapa doesn’t spend much time in each year, which might confuse some viewers at first, as the storyline seems disjointed. However, what we are getting from Chapa with this style of story-telling, are bits and pieces of Polanski’s life, which is all the public has anyway.

What ultimately holds this film back is the excessive use of symbolism. Showing Polanski’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland is enough for people to grasp that he knew the horrors of war growing up and was most likely haunted by them. There really isn’t a need to include the Devil as a central character, constantly on Polanski’s back and having conversations with him.

Polanski is such a divisive figure in the mind of the American public and that is what this film successfully delivers. We see Polanski the Holocaust survivor, the director, the visionary, the womanizer, the criminal, the fugitive, the husband, the father and the haunted man. And while Chapa may not look very much like Polanski, he has the speaking cadences and mannerisms down precisely to deliver a convincing performance.

“Polanski Unauthorized” is now available on DVD

This time we have “The Office” Season Five on DVD.

If you want a copy, all you have to do is register a free account with Blast and leave a comment here!

It’s so wicked easy to win! Anyone can do it!

Blue Blockbuster Express kiosks will be open in more than 100 Tedeschi Food Shops by the end of the month, with kiosks planned in all 188 stores in New England by the end of the year.

It’s amazing that these little kiosks do so well. Redbox kiosks, a common sight at Stop & Shop stores, combined with the mega-popular Netflix service are literally erasing video rental stores from existence. That’s to say nothing for iTunes, illegal downloading, On Demand television and DVR service.

The kiosks will hold a whopping 900 DVDs, ranging from classics to brand new titles. All you do is swipe a credit card. Just like Redbox, it’s a dollar a night.

This Tuesday Warner Brothers Animation released “Superman Batman: Public Enemies� on DVD.

For those not familiar with the graphic novel created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, this is the story that pits the “world’s finest” against the full force of the United States government.

But animations like Justice League Unlimited have done similar stories, so what’s new?

Most noticeably, the visual feel is different from many other Warner Brothers comic book based cartoons. The animation, based on the art Ed McGuinness drew for the graphic novel, is charged with excitement.

The mainstays of the animation are the same, however. Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice breathes life into the caped crusader as it has from Batman the Animated Series, in 1992, all the way through Batman: Gotham Knight- the 2008 DVD animated companion to the films starring Christian Bale.

Two of the major voices from JLU are also back. Tim Daly reprises as Superman, and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor.

The story is a bit more politically charged than any previous animated features about the titanic team-up. First of all, Luthor is president. It begs the question; if things got really bad, how far would the American public be willing to go to make things right?

In this world we elect a man with the savvy to do whatever is necessary to keep the citizenry safe. When a country-sized asteroid comes hurtling from space the president’s resolve is tested.

And that asteroid is pure kryptonite.

In a live televised address, President Luthor calls for a meeting with Superman. When the man-of-steel meets the Commander In Chief, a new addition to the Secret Service lends a super-powered hand putting the hurt on the Last Son of Krypton. The confrontation quickly turns south for Superman, and the results lead to a perfect opportunity for a set-up. President Luthor issues a bounty for one billion dollars. Maybe he should put a pinky to his lip? But instead he unleashes all kinds of super-powered heavyweights, to slug it out with the man of tomorrow and the dark knight, who stands by his buddy through thick and thin.

The pair find themselves in deep trouble when Mongul and Solomon Grundy show up in the first wave of stringers looking to cash in on the bounty. Shit hits the fan when the bounty hunters are finished and the President plays his ace card, some top-tier members of The Justice League. These are probably best left a surprise, but suffice it to say there are two heroes whose name begin with “Captain” who slug it out with the big “S.”

The battles can be summed up in one word, for anyone who is into superhero cartoons, nerdgasm.

One key difference from the comic book is noticeable. The climax. In Loeb and McGuinness’s version Batman and Superman confront Lex in the Oval Office. Batman tells Superman that they can “make it look like an accident.â€Â� Direct threats on the chief executives life, in the land’s highest office, might not be politically prudent right now. The cartoon opts for a more discreet location and no consideration by the teamed-up superheroes to kill the president, but it does leave room for a question. If a sitting president ever took truth and justice too far, would the world have any way to check the might of the only real super-power?

Leave your favorite cheer in a comment below from your registered account and the best 10 cheers will receive free “Fight To The Finish” DVDs. So get out your pom-poms and spirit fingers, because you’re going to have to bring it to win it.

This contest ends August 28, so make sure you leave your cheer before then for a chance to win!

We have 10 copies of “Last House on the Left” to give away to some lucky winners. Just share with us in the comment section from your registered account the most terrifying moment that you have ever experienced, and the 10 scariest stories will win a free DVD.

This contest ends August 14, so make sure to leave your comment before then for a chance to win!

Okay, so maybe you didn’t experience any of those things, but we’re sure you have a story. Tell us at Blast about the first time you saw the original “Friday the 13th” for a chance to win one of 10 DVD copies of the new “Friday the 13th” film, hitting stores Tuesday June 16. Send an e-mail over to schwartz.t@blastmagazine.com for a chance to win one of these copies.

They’ll all be released on July 28.

The science fiction epic that not only bridged generations but brought a whole new generation into the genre is over, but season 4.5 on DVD and Blu-ray will have 13 hours of extras including three extended episodes of the series finale that were never aired. There will also be deleted scenes and behind the scenes fun. Finally, there are commentary tracks and podcast-able interviews with executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick.

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series is a ridiculous 20 disk Blu-ray or 25 disk DVD set with every episode and just about every bonus feature you can think of.

Season 4.5 bonus features on Blu-ray only:

• U-CONTROL: Universal’s exclusive signature feature puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.
• THE ORACLE: An interactive guide including ships and characters.
• BATTLESTAR ACTUAL: A glossary of all the unique Battlestar Galactica terms.
• WHAT THE FRAK HAPPENED TO YOU? Explore the history and connections of your favorite characters through video clips and relevant facts.
• BD-LIVE: Access the BD-Live Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA ULTIMATE BATTLE: Players can battle their friends as Colonials or Cylons using strategy and luck to achieve victory.
• MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
• THE MUSICIANS BEHIND DAYBREAK: Composer Bear McCreary interviews and explains how many unique musicians have contributed the show and specifically the series finale, Daybreak.

Blu-ray and DVD features:

• EVOLUTION OF A CUE: Composer, Bear McCreary takes us step by step through his process of creating the music of Battlestar Galactica.
• What the Frak is Going On With Battlestar Galactica?: A recap of Battlestar Galactica’s first three thrilling seasons – in only eight minutes!
• …AND THEY HAVE A PLAN: What do they mean every episode when the opening sequence on the Cylons states “And They Have A Plan?â€Â� All will be revealed in the upcoming movie The Plan.
• THE JOURNEY ENDS: THE ARRIVAL: Battlestar Galactica has traveled full circle. The journey has concluded never to be revisited. But how did we arrive at the end?
• A LOOK BACK
  • SO SAY WE ALL: Executive Producer Ron Moore and the cast and crew reveal their personal insights on Battlestar Galactica.
  • MANIFESTO DESTINY: It all began with this manifesto. Why was it written and what was the response?
  • BATTLE-STYLE GALACTICA: Those behind the camera delve into their approach to visual style of Battlestar Galactica.
  • MARTYR TO A CAUSE: As the only actor to appear in both the original and reimagined series, Richard Hatch offers his unique perspective on Battlestar Galactica.
  • THE SINS OF THE FORGIVEN: Insights on the curious religious aspects of Battlestar Galactica.
  • BATTLESTAR REVELATIONS: Firsthand accounts from those on the Battlestar for the past five years.
  • AUDIO COMMENTARIES BY RONALD D. MOORE, DAVID EICK, AND EDWARD JAMES OLMOS
• Moore’s Podcast Commentaries
• Eick’s Video Blogs
• DELETED SCENES

The Battlestar Galactica saga began on one devastating day, when the human population of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol was annihilated in a series of surprise attacks by their own creation�the Cylons, a race of sentient robotic clones. The few survivors huddled together on space ships, facing almost certain death at the hands of their ruthless enemies. In Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5, Commander William Adama (Emmy Award-winner Edward James Olmos), the hawkish military leader of the last surviving battleship, searches for a habitable planet as the murderous Cylons follow relentlessly. As mysterious premonitions help Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) the President of the Twelve Colonies, guide the ship to the fabled Thirteenth Colony, Earth, treacherous double agents, Cylon spies and internal dissent plague the Galactica. The ship’s crew and passengers battle for their lives�and the survival of the human race�armed with only cunning and determination against the military might of the Cylon Empire.

In the latest word on the series guaranteed to elicit delight, Borders will be offering an exclusive 2-disc DVD set this spring and holding midnight release parties at stores nationwide to push sales of the DVD, which comes out March 21.

The DVD set includes bonus special features, unique photo cards and special packaging.

The standard DVD/Blu-ray release will include audio commentary, trailers and promotional reels and extended and deleted scenes. The Borders-exclusive special edition will also feature over one hour of additional content produced by Borders, including:

• Cast interviews with Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella), Cam Gigandet (James), Edi Gathegi (Laurent) and Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria) that were recorded during Comic-Con in San Diego.
• Red-carpet footage from the global movie premiere in Los Angeles, including a never-before-seen segment that contains interviews with Kellan Lutz (Emmett); Ashley Greene (Alice); Nikki Reed (Rosalie) and the rock band Paramore, which contributed to the movie’s soundtrack.
• A re-edited version of the Borders Book Club episode that features author Stephenie Meyer discussing the phenomenon behind the “Twilight” saga.

The set will also include 10 photo cards with images of the cast.

It will sell for $29.99.

Borders will hold midnight release parties on March 20 for fans, with vampire-themed games and movie discussions.

“Tales of the Black Freighter” will also include “Under the Hood,” an autobiography of “Watchmen” character Nite Owl featured heavily in the graphic novel.

Both titles are executive produced by “Watchmen” director Zack Snyder, Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Deborah Snyder, Thomas Tull and Wesley Coller.

A comic-within-a-comic from the original “Watchmen” graphic novel, “Tales of the Black Freighter”tells the story of a sailor’s return home after being marooned. It is read in “Watchmen” the graphic novel by a young man in New York City while the city around him is being destroyed. The events in “Black Freighter” seem to mirror those in the world of “Watchmen.”

A “Director’s Cut” version of “Watchmen” is planned to be released incorporating “Tales of the Black Freighter” into the film as director Zack Snyder had originally intended. Due to the length it added to the film, Snyder was forced not to include “Black Freighter” in “Watchmen”s theatrical release.

“Under the Hood” is the autobiography of the original Nite Howl, Hollis Mason. It discusses how Mason’s life led him to become a masked avenger and how the Minutemen, the first superheroes to emerge in the “Watchmen” universe, were formed. It is directed by Eric Matthies, written by Hans Rodionoff and produced by Eric Matthies and Wesley Coller. Stars Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan appear as their characters from the theatrical “Watchmen” film in this live-action documentary style special.

“Watchmen: Tales from the Black Freighter and Under the Hood” will be available on standard definition disc for $27.95 and Blu-ray disc for $35.99.

The companies’ alliance would offer subscribers to access Blockbuster’s digital library through their electronic and mobile devices from the comfort of their own home or mobile phone.

So now, when you want to rent a movie, game, or anything from Blockbuster, you can access their database of entertainment through your computer, cell phone, Blu-ray disk players and web-connected televisions, among other things.

The partnership marks one of the most expansive video on demand and electronic sell-through choices in the market because of the library provided by the Blockbuster brand. Basically, the world of entertainment will soon be at your fingertips. No more waiting for On Demand to change this month’s movie listings, or going to the video store. Virtually anything and everything will be available for you anytime, anywhere.

Set for $34.99, the Boondock Saints Blu-ray features deleted scenes and outakes with commentary from cast and crew and a special director’s cut.

We would like to see a “Saints” documentary or featurette — something NEW that you couldn’t find on the DVD and Special Edition DVD of the movie.

Boondock Saints is one of the great cult classics of all time, but moreso if you live in Boston.

Just in case you aren’t familiar:

Irish brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus live and work in South Boston. After killing a Russian mobster in self-defense, the brothers believe they have found their calling from God ridding the earth of human evil. So they set out to complete their divine deed by ridding the streets of gangsters, criminals and lowlifes; and as the body count rises, the brothers become local heroes (deemed the “Boondock Saints�) even as the police are on their trail. By risking their lives for their beliefs of Veritas (truth) and Aequitas (justice), the vigilante brothers take the law into their own hands…until they are pursued by unorthodox FBI agent Paul Smecker who follows their trail of bloodshed, but admits that the boys are doing exactly what he has always secretly wished to happen.

But back in the 1980s, making your own film required perseverance, creativity and a lot of hard work.

Many of today’s aspiring filmmakers would find it hard to beat the work of Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb — three boys from Mississippi who set the precedent for the ultimate homemade movie.

Together, they created a shot by shot remake of the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with a rolling boulder, ballsy leading lady and the infamous Nazi face-melting scene.

The trio of 12-year-olds were so inspired by Steven Spielberg’s original film that they designed storyboards, props and costumes and began production on their own adaptation in 1982.

Seven years, $5,000 and three sets of presumably frazzled parents later, their film was complete.

Their version, aptly entitled Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Adaptation, is a heartfelt tribute to Spielberg’s original, made all the more impressive by the obvious amount of effort the lads invested in the project.

Using only household objects and simulated stubble, and conning friends and family into joining the cast and crew, Eric, Chris and Jayson brought the whip-cracking adventures of Indiana Jones to life, albeit with noticeable pubescent voice-breaking.

The adaptation received its first official screening in 2003 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Texas, more than 22 years after the boys began the pre-production process.

Since then, the film has screened to sold out audiences all over the world and has even gained the approval of Spielberg and George Lucas.

Blast recently caught up with Eric and Chris (now in their 30s), who fessed up about truck stunts, deals with Paramount and meeting the master himself.

“We thought we would take a quick break from comedy for a little while and attempt a dark drama,” said EIP’s Craig Deering.

Cast:
Craig Deering as the Joker
Kyle Bridges as Gordon
Joe Korbel as Batman

Featuring Katie Diedrick and Tom Skobel

Directed by Craig Deering and Allen Murphy

Evil Iguana’s team is nervous about this movie, because it’s their first attempt at a “non comedy.”

“At first we where all very afraid at attempting a drama but after looking at some edited footage and seeing the trailer we are very excited now and hoping others will have the same reactions,” Deering said. “It took a little over a month to film, and now we are in the post production aspect.”

We offered our warmest “thank you” and a big hug to the Evil Iguana guys:

“No problem haha we are glad you guys can premiere it, hopefully you guys will enjoy it as well,” Deering said.

In “National Security,” Martin partners with Steve Zahn as LAPD rejects turned security guards who take down a smuggling ring to prove themselves to their law enforcement betters.

In “Blue Streak,” Martin’s a master jewel thief who made a $20 million heist before getting busted. He stashed his loot, a huge diamond, in some duct work at a construction site just before the heat came down on him. The problem: that construction site was a future police station, which dumbfounds the thief when he gets out of prison.

I’d say “Blur Streak” is the bigger classic among our generation. It came out when many of us were young high schoolers, during a slow movie period, and I bet a lot of us saw it by default.

Both Blu-ray flicks feature 1080p high def visuals and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. “Security” features a Disturbing Tha Peace music video, alternate ending, director commentary, and deleted scenes. “Streak” has a making-of featurette, an HBO first look, and music videos.

Don’t spend more than $20 though.

Craig Deering

Director/Producer/Editor/Writer/Actor
Age: 21
School: Columbia ‘10, Film Major
Favorite Role: Craig, Joker
Favorite Film: Fight Club, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Dark Knight, The Departed, Smokin’ Aces
Favorite EI Production: The Dark Knight Trailer Spoof, The Allen and Craig Show Ep 5+, Fuzz
Quote: “I Swear one day I will save the world!”
Random Fact: He will marry Ellen Page or Hayley Williams one day … they just don’t know that yet

Allen Murphy

Director/Writer/Actor
Age: 20
School: DuPage ‘09, Columbia ‘11, Film major
Favorite Role: Officer Murphy, Himself
Favorite Film: Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, The Departed, Royal Tenenbaums, Rocky, Amadeus
Favorite EI Production: Fuzz, RIP EIP
Quote: “I’m not really an ass, I just play one online.”
Random Fact: Has never eaten Spaghetti O’s

Kyle Bridges

Writer/Actor
Age: 20
School: DuPage ‘09, Columbia ‘11, Film Major
Favorite Role: Mario, James Gordon, Kyle
Random Fact: As a child, Kyle used to be a model. Yeah, he doesn’t know what happened either.

Lars Heemskerk

Actor
Age: 20
School: Univ. Illinois ‘10, Music Major
Favorite Role: Aquaman, Captain Justice Dude Guy, Lars
Favorite Film: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars IV-VI, Anything with Jason Statham
Favorite EI Production: Allen and Craig Show, Fuzz
Quote: “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World”
Random Fact: Lars loves the Clarinet. if you think thats lame he will eat your unborn children.

Joe Korbel

Actor
Age: 19
School: DuPage ‘10, Gen Ed
Random Fact: Joe is the cameraman for many of The Allen and Craig show episodes.

Dan Drake

Actor/Website Administator
Age: 19
School: University of Illinois-Chicago, ‘11 Pre-Med
Favorite Role: Luigi, Harvey Dent
Favorite Film: The Boondock Saints, Fight Club, Iron Man, The Dark Knight
Favorite EI Production: Fuzz, Dark Knight Spoof
Random Fact: Dan was Luigi in “Fuzz”

So we sat down and watched them all.

The flicks included “For Your Eyes Only,” “From Russia with Love,” “Dr. No,” “Live and Let Die,” “Thunderball” and “Die Another Day,” — Pierce Brosnan’s last Bond run.

Our generation grew up with Pierce, and “Die Another Day” his second best of the four he did, but don’t miss “From Russia with Love,” and “Thunderball.” They’re a bit different than we’re used to, but they’re very good, classic 007 titles.

The films have been remastered for Blu-ray, and play in DTS surround sound.

They join “Casino Royale,” which was Daniel Craig’s first Bond role, which came out on Blu-ray last holiday season, and it has been one of the best, and best-selling Blu-ray titles.

There are more special features than movie minutes. They really pack the 50 GB dual-layer discs. There are image galleries, behind the scenes features, documentaries, featurettes on the various Bond actors, making-of features, profiles of the villains, and TV/radio spots

The films can be purchased individually, or on an Amazon.com exclusive six-pack.

Be warned, you’ll probably have to upgrade your firmware if you have an older DVD player. That has been a problem for a lot of late, great Blu-ray releases, and it was a problem when DVD first came out as well. Do your homework, but realize that this is one of those holiday “must haves.”

If an American needs any further excuse to sit down and watch a British drama, Mobile is it. Mobile will convince you.

A seeming madman starts blowing up cellphone towers all over England and shooting people in cold blood simply because they were talking on their mobile phones — messages graffitied nearby proclaim the phones to be the work of the devil.

The four-part series brings together three main interlocking plots. A former telecom engineer with a terminal brain tumor comes under suspicion for the bombings. The plot then turns to two executives, Sir James Corson (Keith Allen) and David West (Michael Kitchen) who take turns trying to ruin each other’s careers. Enter Maurice Stoan (Jamie Draven) a former army sharpshooter who misses out on his chance to become a third generation warrior (the 2003 invasion of Iraq — perfect parallel to modern history) when his wife and child are killed by a hit-and-run driver, sending him home on bereavement leave.

The three plots culminate in the fourth and final episode. It’s explosive. It’s dramatic. It’s got guns, sex and betrayal. You just know some American film company is going to steal the plot and make an awful Hollywood movie out of it.

Before that happens, you need to watch Mobile.

Mobile’s stars — British veterans Kitchen (Foyle’s War) and Allen (BBC America’s Robin Hood) and a younger up and coming Jamie Draven — perform their roles with typical British dramatic perfection. Two female costars may be familiar to Americans — Samantha Bond (Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan Bond films), as the wife of the telecom executive and Julie Graham (Bonekickers, At Home with the Braithwaites) as the wife of the engineer.

The 2007 series was a big TV hit in the U.K. but has never been seen publicly in the United States yet. Mobile won a Silver World Medal at the 2008 New York Festivals International Television Broadcasting Awards.

This hilarious early 80s sketch comedy series gives you a rare glimpse at these four superstars at a young age as they perform SNL-style skits.

The series was released August 26 and features hits on the US, bureaucracy, the Cold War and especially themselves with irreverent references co-written by Laurie and Fry.

It’s Saturday Night Live meets Monty Python, and you’ll love it.

The series runs 315 minutes with a bonus 3-part pilot series.

The direct to DVD and Blu-ray feature is directed by series veteran, Martin Wood. Written by Brad Wright and Johnathan Glassner, developers and creators of the TV series, this movie is sure to please hardcore fans. The budget is clearly much bigger this time around. Everything from the back-from-the-past costumes, the CGI, and even the on-location filming looked far more detailed, expansive, and expensive than even the previous movie.

The movie is not advised to be seen by the unconverted. It is not only rich with time paradoxes and alien technology dialogue, but it’s also deep in Stargate universe mythology and SG-1 history. New people will get lost, and fans of the show will find their trivia knowledge absolutely put to the test. What you thought you knew about Stargate will need to be re-visited or you will have questions.

So far, fan reviews have given it praise. That being said, there are always the fans who will see this and ask ‘what the hell?’ While the movie clocks in at an average length of 1 hour and thirty minutes, it will seem short. Not rushed, but will seem as if more could of been included to show what happened than the explanations that were verbally given. Stargate is known for this sort of scripting, where days pass by and an explanation for an obvious gap in visuals is just spoken of as a cheap way out of actually filming something.

This movie will get confusing, as it is with all time-travel stories, logic will need to take a step outside. In Stargate:Continuum, Ba’al is the last of the Gou’ld to be sentenced to death in the new Tok’ra headquarters. Interesting to note that Tok’ra are nomads, but have finally chosen to settle. The well internet leaked appearance of Jack O’Neill comes early, and doesn’t disappoint as the one true fulcrum of the SG-1. The plot begins to take off when the SG-1 team members begin to disappear one by one.

The featured characters turn out to be Colonel Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, and Major Samantha Carter. They escape the disappearing phenomenon by jumping into the stargate. They find themselves not back home inside the SGC, but instead, inside a frozen boat, far away. What makes this movie worth while, as the remaining SG-1 team figures out away to foil Ba’al’s plans, are the numerous cameos by past Goa’aulds. This movie is truly meant for the Goa’auld lover out there.

One of the returning characters that should be reveled, specifically for Blast readers is the appearance by Don S. Davis, as General Hammond. Davis, who died this summer, gives an all too familiar performance as the well-loved authority figured who’s so partial to SG-1. This time it comes with a twist, but he has optimal screen time to do him final a Stargate farewell. Which is more that I can say for Apophis. Again.

While not wholly loved by the Stargate community, Beau Bridges gives a stellar monologue that finally does justice to what we all thought of about the alternate realities. He really gives voice to the ‘alternate universe’ perspective of why they wouldn’t just allow another SG-1 copies to run the place just so they can get back to their own time and/or space. With this movie we even get some semblance of normalcy and real heart break toward the end.

Fans of the series will need to see this one to finally wrap-up those 10 years of adventure. SG-1 has already proven themselves legends among the stars. And now they the prove how timeless they really have become.

I’ll leave you geeks, nerds, dorks, fans with something from Brad Wright himself: “MGM has suggested we start thinking about that and start putting a story together, and that’s what we’re doing right now. But not just a movie … it seems that MGM is confident SciFi Channel or some television outlet will pick up the previously announced third series “Stargate: Universe” as well.”

SAN DIEGO — It’s coming out on DVD in January, but we got the chance to screen the upcoming Marvel/Lionsgate animated feature “Hulk vs. Wolverine” on Thursday.

Fans of the animated series will appreciate the spirit of the yellow-clad, “bub” shouting, canine-familiar superhero and the transformation between a meek Dr. Banner and a monstrous Hulk calling Wolverine “little man.”

The 40-minute movie opens true to the pair’s first comic book meeting, with The Incredible Hulk tearing up Canada and the military calling on Wolverine to put a stop to him. They square off before the story pans to some of Logan’s past and the origins of the Weapon X program, nicely paying tribute to the comic book roots.

The Weapon X program and its maniacle “Professor” are back, and they want Wolverine and the Hulk as weapons for themselves. The Weapon X crew includes Sabretooth, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike and a hilarious Deadpool who steals the show.

It’s a bloody, limb-ripping feature that will surely please X-Men fans come January. It ship on one disc with Hulk vs. Thor.

“The same question has been asked a thousand times in a thousand different ways,” said Microsoft senior Vice President Don Mattrick. “Can we deliver to our fiercely loyal fans and at the same time continue to transform the industry by delivering for everyone? The answer is yes we can.”

In conjunction with new partners NBC, Universal, MGM International, Constantin and Netflix, the Xbox 360 now will have a library of over 10,000 on demand movies and television shows.

That’s not to mention the countless other partners Microsoft has, such as Disney, Warner, ABC and MTV.

Consumers have spent more than $48 billion this past year on videogames, Mattrick said. That is more than the amount they have spent on movies both on DVD and in the box office and in music.

While games are fast becoming the number one driver of entertainment spending, the Xbox 360 is dominating its position as the best-selling video game console as having sold more than 2.7 billion in the last year. That’s significantly more than the 1.1 billion Wiis sold or the 0.9 billion Playstation 3s sold.

This year Microsoft gives consumers even more reasons to buy their system.

“Finding the games you want and the entertainment you want when you want it means movies, TV shows and music from [our] partners,” said Mattrick.

The Xbox 360 now has the world’s largest amount of on demand movies and television shows; more than any cable or satellite provider.

Microsoft’s partnership with Netflix only intensifies that fact. Now Netflix subscribers who own 360s can access Netflix’s library of films through their gaming system and watch movies instantly at their homes. Even when they don’t have their friends over, Xbox owners can share the movie they rented with their friends using the new Live Party mode available through the 360’s new interface. This partnership more than doubles Microsoft’s current selection of movies and TV shows.

With the Xbox’s new functionalities, it seems that the only reason to actually visit a video rental store is to rent a videogame. Maybe there will come a point in time where videogames can be rented via their console as well.

Robert Scholz took a deep breath as he carefully walked backwards up the stairs. In the distance he could hear shouts from the eager audience and the sound of the MC trying to hold their attention. Scholz tried to move a little faster, but his pace remained constant while friends assisted him from all sides.

He had to walk backwards up the stairs because he was on 10 inch stilts and could not lift his feet high enough to get up the stairs normally. He was off balance because his hands were partially attached to animatronics that controlled arm body armor. He was clad body armor because he was Canti, the friendly robot from the anime series “FLCL.” Scholz was performing in an animation masquerade competition, and the audience wanted their Canti.

Scholz reached the top of the stairs. The attendants in charge of the competition quickly helped him readjust his costume before he walked out onto the stage. They tucked the part of his ponytail that had fallen out from behind his LED mask into his headgear and straightened the jacket that covered his red chest plate. Some of the other contestants for the “master’s level” of the masquerade muttered under their breath about the duct tape being used to hold together Scholz’s leg armor, but all that mattered was that he was finally at the stage entrance in one piece.

Duct-tape or not, he was Canti, and the audience ate it up. Scholz/Canti had been so rushed getting up the stairs that his fingers were not entirely in the animatronic hand armor, making it look like he was giving the audience the middle finger. They didn’t care — they still screamed when he finally took the stage.

Scholz was performing in Anime Boston’s most popular event, the cosplay competition, called The Masquerade. To cosplay is to dress up as a character, — in this case from an anime – and act in their character. This was Scholz’s fifth year cosplaying, and he decided to sign up for the highest level of the contest.

It was only fitting that he wore a costume that took him three years to design and create.

The 5,000 audience members roared as Scholz performed his skit with his two friends. They were pretending that were playing Guitar Hero, and Canti was losing. Scholz accidentally dropped the toy guitar out of his hand because his arm armor had been put on too hastily. Instead of letting it ruin the skit, he just switched to the costume guitar that Canti always carried in the anime series.

By the time the skit was over, Scholz could barely see out of the costume’s visor, which cut off most of his vision. He was not focused on the noise going on around him. All that mattered was that he had finally accomplished what he had set out to do five years ago; compete in his Canti costume.

It took his friends’ wild gesturing at him to make him realize the MC was yelling to him.

“Hey, hey you! Giant red robot! Stop!” cried MC Michael Lee.

Scholz turned around to once again face the audience, and the lights in the auditorium suddenly went black. The audience gasped in wonder as the 204 LEDs attached to his outfit suddenly lit up and created a dazzling light show. By the time the house lights were turned back on, the audience was on its feet cheering for him.

“That’s why I cosplay from anime,” Scholz said, “because of how complete strangers give you praise for your skills at creating them.” 

Anime refers to Japanese animation, and is different from what most Americans view as cartoons. A popular example of anime is the smash hit from the 1990s, “Pokémon”, which exemplifies what is broadly known as the anime “style.” The Japanese Times describes it as “exaggerated physical features such as large eyes, big hair and elongated limbs… and dramatically shaped speech bubbles, speed lines and onomatopoeic, exclamatory typography.”

Scholz said that he started watching anime when he was a kid. “But, like most of the US public we didn’t realize we were watching anime,” he said. “Rerun shows like ‘Speed Racer’ and ‘Battle for the Planets’ were some of the anime I watched back when I could actually willingly wake up before sunrise [to watch them].”

Scholz is the son of two German immigrants and a first generation American. He says because of that he tended to think “outside of the states” and that it was during his trips to Germany with his parents that he originally developed an interest in anime and manga. His parents supported his interest in a culture different from his own.

“I was the first person in middle school and high school to get onto the ‘Sailor Moon’ and ‘Dragon Ball Z’ kick,” Scholz said. When the animes were still aired on Sunday mornings, Scholz would set his alarm clock early enough to be able to watch them. After they were moved to weekday mornings, he learned to time driving to high school around them.

Anime originated in Japan in the 60s, but didn’t really begin to grow as a major cultural export until the 80s and 90s. While early hits began with “Robotech” and “Dragon Ball Z,” today’s American audiences are following hits like “Naruto” and “Bleach.”

These animes are more action-based, or “shonen,” animes and generally are geared towards young boys. They tend to focus around cultural aspects that are specific to Japan. “Naruto” follows the story of a boy who wants to be a ninja. “Robotech” and “Dragon Ball Z” both have to deal with select characters defending their worlds from alien invaders. They use advanced technology to achieve their aims.

Japan is well known for its advances in technology, and this obsession with machinery is evident in most animes. The weapons used in “Bleach,” such as the katana, mimick those used by samurai in feudal Japan. The fantastical elements and intense plot lines make it easy for young viewers to be drawn into the worlds created through these popular animes while accepting the subtle aspects of Japanese culture in them.

When animes are brought to American television, they are often altered in content to satisfy conservative television studios. The animes are dubbed English before they are aired, and the translation can end up being extremely different from the original dialogue.

For example, in one episode of the Japanese version of “Sailor Moon,” there is a scene where one of the characters is nervous about getting into a hot spring, but his parents convinced him it was okay because only family was in there as well. However, the English dub changed it so that the boy says the water smells funny, and his father replies with “That’s just the sulfur in the water, you’ll get used to it”, followed by his mother saying “It’s not so bad smelling like rotten eggs.” This changes the entire meaning of the scene.

Select scenes and even entire episodes can be cut from a series because the American distributors feel that it is unfit for children’s eyes. This was done infamously to Sailor Moon by the television distributor, DiC. In the first season, five of the original Japanese episodes were cut and two episodes were merged to one because of “excess violence”. Also, two of the characters who were lesbians in the original show became cousins in the American televised version.

Andrew Cocuaco, owner of the anime store Tokyo Kid in Cambridge, finds that anime addresses far more mature themes. “[Japanese] don’t have the same hang ups we do,” he said. “You see sexual themes addressed more in anime than you do in regular American television.”

Cocuaco finds that what tends to be aired on television stations like Cartoon Network are the more action-based and fighting animes, while the more intellectual animes like the movie “Five Centimeters Per Second” are left for viewers to discover on their own either from hearsay or via the Internet.

 ”[Anime] is written for adolescents with power fantasies,” he said.

Scholz watches whatever animes his friends introduce to him, be it the newest hit on Cartoon Network or an obscure title found on the Internet.

The UMASS Dartmouth student says that college life really increased his ability to watch anime. Not only did he have access to the internet on a daily basis in order to watch animes through file streaming and sharing, he also had the freedom to venture off to “indie places” in Providence.

He was first introduced to the idea of cosplaying in 2003 at the first Anime Boston convention. It was not until his friend suggested that he dress up for the next years’ convention that Scholz realized that anyone could cosplay, not just models hired for specific character advertisement. He decided to dress up as Vash the Stampede from the popular anime “Trigun”.

Backstage at the masquerade competition, Scholz was nervous about going out in front of the growing audience in his costume. When he peeked out from behind a pillar to look at the growing number of spectators, he was surprised at the screams of excitement his costume elicited from one group of girls.

After his performance, the masquerade coordinator took him aside from the other contestants and suggested that after he received his first award, he should run quickly from the stage because he would be receiving another. “This kind of took the fun out of waiting to find out if I won,” Scholz said. He received two trophies for his costume, as well as numerous prizes.

Anime Boston’s first convention in 2003 drew 4,110 people, including vendors and staff, and had only 14 exhibitors selling anime-related goods. The most recent convention in March drew over 14,000 with 66 vendors, including Cocuaco’s Tokyo Kid.

Scholz returned each year to Anime Boston with a cosplay costume bigger and better than ever. After over three years of working on the project, Scholz introduced his newest masterpiece: the robot Canti from the anime “FLCL”.

“Canti was an inspiration of both genius and insanity,” he says. “With the cosplay world increasing in talent and competing against my past creations I figured I’d go overboard.  I decided on Canti because it was challenging.  Oh, people cut out old computer monitors, but it wasn’t accurate in my eye and vision.”

Scholz pictured a Canti costume that was intricate and honored the anime’s depiction of the robot. In order to do this, he wanted to create a full body suit that would look similar to the metal body Canti had. Instead of the flimsy cardboard cutouts other contestants had used for heads, Scholz wanted to create a head mask that would be able to light up like Canti’s does multiple times during the series. He wanted to make himself into a robot.

The idea seemed brilliant when Scholz first imagined it in 2005. However, after being laid off from his job,  he did not have enough money to continue working on Canti. The fiberglass, plaster, and electronics were all expensive. Scholz was only able to work on building Canti for months at a time because the amount of time and effort it took to put together the pieces of the costume as well as his limited funds. That is why Canti took so long to complete.

“My parents didn’t like my cosplaying until after the first win and I started off to make the next one,” Scholz admits. “My friends enjoyed it; some were amazed by what I put into it. … But when I came to Canti and strived over those years when I had time from occupation and responsibilities, [my parents] found it fun to see it arise from its pieces and were happy to help here and there with electronics and fitting.”

Scholz says that Canti is still in progress, but he presented the costume for the masquerade competition at this year’s Anime Boston regardless. One of the judges said that they saw him as “a walking accessory”.

What the Canti costume did consist of were 204 LEDs, 20 of which were blinking, contained in 14 different sockets on the body armor. Scholz was stilted on 10 inches of piping and plywood covered in foam and fiber glass. He used basic hand animatronics to extend the arm lengths to keep them in proportion with the rest of the body. The body armor was constructed by making plaster shapes and fiber glassing over them.

The final height of the costume rounded out at about 7 and a half feet.

The future looks bright for anime lovers out there. Nickelodeon’s 2004 release of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” produced a show that was an American take on Japanese animation and ended up being extraordinarily popular with a large age-range.

“This equilibrium of thoughts and ideas has influenced a majority of US film and in return has sparked Japan’s creation.  I might be pushing it, but the world might be a better place when we have these medias intermixing,” said Scholz. “Not to say we’ll all become a bean pot, but I feel the growing generations in this time are more understanding and tolerant compared to past generations.”

“Maybe world peace will be found in the global sharing such as anime,” Scholz said. “Yeah, now there’s rambling.”

It is so refreshing and out and out hilarious to watch Hugh Laurie in his native accent as he plays a bumbling British doctor whose kids are sleeping with each others’ girlfriends as he saunters through thinking he’s losing his mind and hearing people’s thoughts in this sex-charged tale of mid-life crisis and family dynamic.

Laurie plays Paul Slippery, who can’t remember the last time he had sex with his wife (Anna Chancellor), but has to deal with his three sons who try to shag everything in sight.

In the US, this would be an inappropriate premise for television or something you’d see in HBO after Sex and the City and the L Word, but Fortysomething actually makes sex on television tasteful.

You also get to see Hugh Laurie cross dress as a Muslim woman in the fourth episode.

Very simply, Fortysomething is brilliant.

The series runs six episodes, one hour each, on two DVD’s being released by Acorn April 8.

The feature-length movie that all Stargate: SG-1 fans have been waiting for is here. After the grandiose ending that left the Asgard in the dust, the Ori possibly finished, and our heroes stepping through to the unknown, this chapter ties up the loose ends once-and-for-all — so don’t worry about any “To Be Continued” showing up.

The movie’s direct-to-DVD format has allowed producers Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright, the opportunity to finish of the Ori story arc mostly the way they intended to.

The DVD also comes stuffed with special features you’ll actually want to watch. There’s everything from a “making of” featurette, to a special Comic-Con Spolight. The cover-art, alone is worth getting it legally and not from P2P networks. Having the golden artwork in your physical DVD collection can really make it seem more like a trophy, than just another movie. Plus, it’s only around $20. Trust me, you’re getting your money’s worth, if not more.

The main film has a Prelude option, which serves as a “previously on…” segment, which is worth watching if you missed a couple of Season 10 episodes. Or, if you just haven’t been watching the Season 10 DVDs lately and you want a refresher course. It highlights where we left off from the TV series, from the time of Mitchell joining the SG:1 to Adria’s ascension, and finally the acquisition of the Asgard technology in the final episode.

I applaud the extended, full orchestra main theme. Jerry Goldsmith has outdone himself again.

SPOILER WARNING

In the opening scene, we get to see the Ancients, but old, benevolent race who built the Stargate system many years ago. Then the movie cuts to Daniel Jackson uncovering an artifact.

It all feels very much like a regular Stargate episode. This time around, theres no teaser. The action quickly vamps up. There are really no introductions per-se, so anyone coming in out of the blue will not know what the hell is going on.

Tomin, who we saw in seaons 9-10, makes his appearance early on, adding to the continuity of the story arc. As a small skirmish over the newly-discovered artifact quickly turns into a surrender, we find that our heroes have again something up their sleeve.

As Mitchell, Carter, Jackson and Teal’c begin their mission after receiving vital Intel, a new appointee from the IOA, James Merek, has his own agenda.

As the problems begin to mount for our team, new avenues of truth and solutions begin to unravel and appear. Sometimes in the form of Ancients, and other times it’s Mitchell’s run-and-gun approach. Carter’s ingenuity is always helpful, especially when seven Ori motherships are alerted the Odessey’s presence.

Teal’c’s past makes a wonderful come back, in an emotionally driven dialog between him and Tomin — betraying your false gods. The stakes get even higher when a Prior arrives on Earth with an urgent message.

You will not be disappointed with the conclusion and the aftermath.

It’s too early to tell whether this will lead to more direct-to-DVD movies for SG-1 but one thing’s for sure: This movie makes true legends of the team of SG-1.

5 out of 5 stars

By the way: Due to a reporting error, we incorrectly reported that Jerry Goldsmith made the musicial score for “Stargate: The Ark of Truth,” when in fact it was Joel Goldsmith.

“We’ve listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. “With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term.”

“We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home.”

By June, Wal-Mart and Sam’s stores will only offer Blu-ray hardware and DVD’s. 2008 has not been kind to HD DVD. Toshiba rang in the new year by getting the devastating news that Warner Bros. would produce all of their HD titles on Blu-ray.

The film is a magical journey set in a turbulent time — set right in the middle of the antiwar movement as Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool and his job as a dockworker to find his father in America. He falls in love with a young, rich and sheltered American girl, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) who joins the Greenwich Village antiwar movement during the Vietnam War.

“Across the Universe” is a musical set to rock music. It’s a moving, entertaining, thought-provoking tale that you’ll watch over and over again with friends, dates and by yourself.

The Blu-ray features extended musical numbers, a deleted scene, commentary with director Julie Taymor and musical producer/composer Elliot Goldenthal as well as five behind-the-scenes shots. There’s also an art gallery on the disc with drawings from the film.

It’s in full 1080p with Dolby TrueHD 5.1.

This rock and roll musical runs over two hours and also stars Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther and T.V. Carpio.

I never, ever get enough of watching the Red Sox win. After living for years under the shadow of my entire Yankee-loving family, I’ve acquired a library of books, posters and DVD’s from all things 2004 and 2007.

The 90 minute special premiere in high-def on the MOJO HD channel January 10, and here’s how they sum it all up:

The film captures all the drama as the Red Sox overcame a three game to one deficit versus the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS to secure a berth in the World Series. They then faced the red hot Colorado Rockies who had won 21 of their last 22 games and became the second team ever to win their first seven games in a postseason. With original game broadcast footage plusoff-the-field candid moments with players and coaches inside the dugout and the clubhouse, viewers can relive Boston’s amazing four game sweep for their second World Series championship in the last four years, including their exuberant clubhouse celebration.

The film includes Dustin Pedroia’s lead off home run and the back-to-back-to-back home runs of Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez — first time in World Series history. They also highlight J.D. Drew’s breakout grand slam, Jacoby Ellsbury’s emergence as a star-calibur player, and Mike Lowell’s MVP performance.

I really liked that they also included scenes from the victory parade, which I was front-row for.

The 2007 team was something special, like the 2004 team, they came back from the brink in the ALCS. Then they outright swept the World Series. They just wanted it more, and they have a nation of fans behind them.

You also have to give MLB Productions credit for telling the story of the 2007 Colorado Rockies also. They were basically out of it, but they seemed to win every game in the last month of the season to somehow make the playoffs — 13 wins in 14 games and a win in a one-game playoff against the San Diego Padres that took 13 innings, where they were down two runs in the top of the 13th, against the all-time saves leader, only to come back and win. Then they swept Philadelphia; then they swept Arizona. They easily could have been the story of the year.

Living in Boston, I’ve had a chance to see some amazing sports moments over the last five years — football, baseball, hopefully basketball this year. This film is another chance to take an closeup look at the team and the story.

The 2007 World Series Film will re-air January 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Flipping through the channels, I came to the Sci-Fi Channel, which I respect as a geek but never get to squeeze in between Wii Sports and re-runs of “House.” They were running a “Stargate SG-1″ marathon.

My only previous knowledge of Stargate came from knowing that “Stargate: Atlantis” is on Fox around 3 a.m. Sunday mornings right after M*A*S*H, and I might catch it between Chinese takeout and passing out after a long night.

Well I watched Stargate, and one episode turned into seven, and soon enough it was 2 a.m . and I has just watched most of what I later learned was Season 9 of one of the most popular science fiction television shows ever. It’s based on a realistic fiction take on what they play off as the government-held secret of inter-planetary space travel.

Somehow I had missed this for the last decade or so.

What really took me for a ride was the fact that while the show was wrapped around such complex sci-fi topics as hyperspace and energy weapons, the show was very much about people. And it went into unbelievable character building detail, interpersonal conflict and topics like war, disease, and the misuse of technology.

A little Wikipedia research (which, of course, I verified from a reputable, journalisticly citeable source) revealed that SG-1 was on television for ten years before being sadly clipped, while its spinoff, Stargate Atlantis, was producing its own fifth season. This all came from a 1994 Roland Emmerich film starring Kurt Russell. (Now, two more direct-to-DVD movies are being released to tie up the SG-1 saga, which was canceled right in the middle of a major conflict with an evil alien religion.)

With one of my giftcards (Christmas has been boiled down to giftcards…) I set out to Best Buy to find this film. The “Ultimate Edition” extended cut with all the bells and whistles was a whopping $6.99.

If you want a little bit of history spinning, sci-fi and just damn good writing, check this out.

“This breathlessly energetic, dazzling live concert spectacular brought the house down-and the cameras were rolling there to catch it all,” RCA Music Group said in a statement.

Back to Basics — Live and Down Under will be a 90-minute video available for $14.99 exclusively at Best Buy February 5.

“Christina’s done it again — another stunning long-form from one of music’s greatest performers. We are fortunate Best Buy shares our excitement and has partnered with us on this project,” said Tom Corson, EVP/GM of RCA.

The concert features 18 songs from the four-time Grammy Award-winning superstar’s career, including hit singles “Ain’t No Other Man” and “Candyman” and number one hits “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)” and “What a Girl Wants.”

The DVD captures the excitement of this lavish tour, from the unique stage with 3 distinct scenes, more than 600 moving lights and a state-of-the-art hydraulic system, to production incorporating everything from burlesque cabaret to trapeze choreography, fire jugglers, and stilt walkers-but the heart and soul of the show is Christina Aguilera, with her awe-inspiring voice and silver-screen charisma. Bonus material gives viewers a true 360 degree perspective of the tour by featuring exclusive interviews with her dancers, wardrobe (Simone Harouche), hair and makeup (Stephen Sollitto), musicians, background vocalists, musical director (Rob Lewis), Jordan Bratman (Christina’s husband) and Christina herself.

Aguilera has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and created four number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is also a three-time Grammy Award-winner.

Track list:
Disc 1:
1. Into: Back to Basics
2. Ain’t No Other Man
3. Back In The Day
4. Understand
5. Come On Over
6. Slow Down Baby
7. Still Dirrty
8. I Got Trouble
9. Makes Me Wanna Pray
10. What A Girl Wants
11. Oh Mother
12. Enter The Circus
13. Welcome
14. Dirrty
15. Candyman
16. Nasty Naughty Boy
17. Hurt
18. Lady Marmalade
19. Encore: Thank You
20. Beautiful
21. Fighter
Disc 2: Special Features- Exclusive Behind the Scenes Footage & Interviews

Resident Evil: Extinction on Blu-ray is an excellent high-def adaptation for this video game movie. Granted, the movie got poor critical acclaim, but if you are a fan of the franchise, this one looks and sounds awesome.

The Blu-ray features 11 deleted scenes, director/producer commentary, four “making of” featurettes and a preview of Resident Evil: Degeneration, the upcoming CGI-based film.

Exclusive to the Blu-ray release, you can also use “Blu-wizard 2.0″ to create your own playlist of special features. More importantly, the Blu-ray disc features”Under the Umbrella: Picture-in-picture,” which features interviews with cast and crew, storyboards, photos and behind the scenes clips that play within the feature.

Milla is back in this third piece of the Resident Evil pie. The film is packed with zombies, blood and gore, and it also stars Ali Larter, Ashanti and Mike Epps.

Resident Evil: Extinction is now available on DVD and Blu-ray for $28.95 and $38.96. There is also a PSP Universal Media Disc version for $24.94. Finally, you can get all three Resident Evil flics in a Blu-ray trilogy for $89.95.

The DVD contains over 50 crank calls including questions about poop and the word “Badonkadonk.” It includes calls from Special Ed, Hadassah, Spoonie Luv, Niles Standish, Gladys and Bobby Fletcher.

The compilation did piss off one Amazon.com user, who complained about two poorly missing skits: “This is not the best of “Crank Yankers”. It is missing the two funniest skits— the fertility clinic with Sarah Silverman and the dude ranch skit. I want my money back,” wrote D. Gramling.

Overall, it’s still three hours of Crank Yankers. If you’re a fan, check this one out.

This will serve as a huge problem for the HD DVD format. Warner Bros sells 18 to 20 percent of all home videos. This now leaves only Universal, The Weinstein Company and Paramount (and their child companies like Dreamworks) supporting the now falling behind HD DVD format.

Paramount switched to HD DVD only when they received a $150 million payoff last summer.

Conversely, the Blu-ray camp now has Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Lions Gate and now the Warner exclusivity.

Sony owns MGM and Columbia TriStar. Disney Owns Touchstone, Pixar and Miramax. This gives Blu-ray a much stronger position as far as this generation’s format war is concerned.

Prediction: If Paramount goes back to both formats or somehow decides to make just Blu-ray when their HD DVD contract expires, the war will be over quickly.

Toshiba was quick to respond, and they’re pissed off.

“Toshiba was quite surprised by Warner Bros.’ decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning
the support of HD DVD,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps.”

The next step appears to be a step back. The HD DVD group canceled its CES press conference.

The reason behind Warner’s move — it looks like they’d rather support one than risk both next-gen HD formats failing.

People seem to like downloadable content from places like the iTunes, and Xbox Live has done well so far at selling videos. If the format wars continue, it looks like consumers could skip both Blu-ray, and HD DVD and go straight to downloadable.

“The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger,” Barry Meyer, Warner Brothers chairman, told Yahoo! Tech. “We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Consumers just don’t want to buy the same movie — often a movie they may have had on VHS — a second, third or fourth time. Warner says that both formats are having an impact that caused consumers to say, “let’s wait a bit to buy anything, even a standard-definition DVD.”

Well, we can’t have that now, can we?

Chancer, Series 2 is the conclusion to the hit 90s series. Owen plays Derek “Dex” Love. He’s devious, dangerous—and even more determined. Dex, a.k.a. Stephen Crane, gets out of jail and goes to work for his former romantic rival, Piers Garfield-Ward (Simon Shepherd). The two men are both only interested in one thing, the orphaned baby of the women they both had loved. They work together to keep the child away from his megalomeniacal industrialist grandfather (Peter Vaughan).

The series co-stars Louise Lombard (CSI). In a plot packed with double crosses of the heart and the wallet, Chancer propels powerfully toward its surprising, devastating conclusion.

The LA Times: “Owen has aged like a fine wine, and his star quality shines through in this compelling drama series.”
Entertainment Weekly: “Watching Owen in Chancer is like looking at a foal you just know is gonna be a thoroughbred.”
San Francisco Chronicle: “great fun.”

The second series is seven episodes and is almost six hours long.

The collection has all 30-episodes on 6 discs, giving you almost 19 hours of one of the best programs on television.

Discovery put out the entire fourth season “as they debunk, decode and demystify some of the most popular urban myths and legends. Using modern-day science, they put each myth to the test – from concrete gliders to anti-gravity devices – separating the real from the really out there,” they said recently.

They don’t just tell myths, they put them to the test. Watch for Earthquake Machine, which ends with some really surprising results. Also, Killer Cable Snaps ends by disproving that a tension cable snapping away will cut a man in half. They also revisit several myths that viewers questioned the results of.

This one is a must have. Mythbusters is one of the most popular shows around, and here’s your chance to avoid having to buy them episode-by-episode. Get the whole season in one box.

On that note, I humbly submit this news story that I recently wrote for The Boston Globe.

On December 27, a mobile home trailer exploded in the driveway of a home in Plympton, Mass., sending its occupant flying out through the front door and into the nearby woods. The lucky man was not seriously injured. The explosion was caused when the man, who had no sense of smell from a previous injury, was fixing the heat on the trailer. The trailer filled with gas and exploded.

“His eyebrows were gone and his hair was singed, but he was OK,” fire officials said. The occupant, whom Rich did not identify, refused medical treatment.

There you go, Adam and Jamie!

Episodes include:

• Confederate Rocket
• Vodka Myths
• Steel Toe Amputation
• Seasickness: Kill or Cure
• Paper Crossbow
• Shredded Plane
• Archimedes Death Ray
• Helium Football
• Franklin’s Kite
• Cell Phones on Planes
• Bullets Fired Up
• Myths Reopened
• Mind Control
• Exploding Pants
• Steam Cannon
• Killer Whirlpool
• Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 1
• Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 2
• Shattering Subwoofer
• Deadly Straw
• Earthquake Machine
• Diet Coke and Mentos
• Killer Cable Snaps
• Concrete Glider
• Air Cylinder Rocket
• More Myths Revisited
• Exploding Lighter
• Anti-Gravity Device
• Firearms Folklore
• 22,000-Foot Fall

Slings & Arrows stars Paul Gross (Due South) and Mark McKinney (Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall).

Combing hilarious satire with heartfelt human drama, S&A mines dramatic and comic gold from the personal and professional crises of a dysfunctional Canadian theatre troupe. Winner of 8 Geminis for the first two seasons, the final season swept all the major 2007 awards. Guest stars include Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Mean Girls), indie sensation Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Go, The Sweet Hereafter) and renowned Stratford Festival actor William Hutt in one of his last performances. The New York Times called it “Absolutely addictive� while the San Francisco Chronicle said, “An exceptionally well crafted, beautifully nuanced and wonderfully smart series…an almost unexplainable level of pitch-perfect drama and comedy.�

Gross is the artistic director of The New Burbage Theatre Festival who’s living in the shadow of his predecessor and dealing with touchy actors, a jittery general manager, a pretentious guest director and his own romance with the festival’s leading lady.

The set contains all 18 episodes, giving you about 14 hours of pure enjoyment, not including the bonus features. It’s also optimized for 16:9 widescreen.

The three-episode mystery follows Guy Foster, an unemployed Fleet Street reporter who falls under the suspicion of police when his wife, Melissa, is found strangled in the British countryside.

Fleet Street is very much like Boston’s Washington Street and New York’s Newspaper Row. Fleet Street was home base for the British press until around the 1980s.

Guy’s newspaper went under and the crusading author simply couldn’t find a job that fit. Then a second and third person are murdered and the clues start to mount up against Guy who finds himself in a rather precarious situation. In the background is a shrink who claims to have treated Guy, though Guy vehemently denies it.

Melissa was directed by Peter Moffatt and written by Francis Durbridge.

It takes a bit of patience to get through Melissa, particularly for a younger American audience. It’s two and a half hours long without car chases, explosions or machine guns, so try to open your mind a little. Melissa is a gentlemanly British drama with a well-written plot and excellent acting.

Get past that and Melissa is a wildly entertaining, utterly brilliant murder mystery out of the 1970s — and the scenery is especially interesting, including record players, cars, clothing, home decor, wallpaper and everything else from 30 years ago.

Particularly interesting to me, Guy Foster is a passionate and emotional protagonist who insists on living his own way as a freelance writer and reporter, not wanting to be tied down under someone else’s thumb.

Kinda like some nut-job I know who freelances and runs an online magazine…

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Then one night last year, Mythbusters was over and this Bon Jovi song comes on, and I decide to watch an episode of “the fishing show.” Now I’m hooked.

What really strikes me about Deadliest Catch is that the Discovery folks put in cameras and producers, documentary style, and ended up with better characters and dramatic plots than most of the striking writers could put out.

From Sig Hansen, the third generation Norwegian to salty Alaskan Phil Harris on his boat, the Cornelia Marie, Deadliest Catch is no small achievement.

Watching these fishermen haul 700-pound crab pots from the bottom of the Bering Sea over and over again and watching them deal with everything from legal problems to winter storms, it’s often easy to forget that Deadliest Catch is unscripted. Moreover, it’s easy to forget that any of these people can die — fishermen and producers — at any time.

The reminders come from the solemn episodes where the boats break away from fishing to search for survivors from a vessel sunk by a rogue wave or storm. They rarely find many alive in the frigid waters. This came to life in the first season especially, when one of the featured boats, Big Valley, sunk early on, killing all but one aboard.

The third season starts off with the beginning of the Red King Crab season and disaster as the fishing vessel Ocean Challenger sinks, taking three men with it and showing a dramatic Coast Guard helicopter rescue where one of the crew members is saved.

Season three is contained on five DVD’s with nearly nine hours of footage. I was disappointed by the lack of special features — Discovery did a really good special called “After the Catch” where narrator Mike Rowe shared stories and beers with the captains and crew. That was another amazing part of deadliest catch, bringing narrator and subjects together.

Either way, the DVD set is an excellent gift and a great way to relive Deadliest Catch.

Episodes:

A Tragic Beginning
Journey back to Dutch Harbor, Alaska – the largest fishing port in the United States. The 2006 Red King Crab season kicks off as 81 fishing vessels eagerly return to stake their claim in the million dollar jackpot.

The Unforgiving Sea
After the Ocean Challenger fishing boat sinks, a Coast Guard helicopter rescues the only known survivor. Meanwhile, two bodies are pulled from the water and another man remains lost at sea.

Pain and Paybacks
After a deadly start to the season, the Bering Sea claims more victims. Deckhand Lenny Lakanoff of the Wizard suffers a crippling injury, leaving Captain Keith scrambling to shore.

Cheating Death
Halfway through the season the grind is on with crews working throughout the nights. Equipment failures, fatigue and bad weather make fishing even more dangerous.

Bering Sea Salvation
Experience the heart-wrenching tales of the Bering Sea as Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit recounts a rescue attempt he made nine years ago that ended in tragedy.

The Last Lap
The grinding 2006 Red King Crab fishing marathon comes to a close as holds fill with King gold. With money in their pockets, the fishermen return home for a short rest before returning to the 2007 Opilio Crab Season.

New Beginnings
All aboard as the January Opilio crab season opens. Several greenhorns are about to experience the subfreezing temperatures and icy winter waters of the Bering Sea for the first time.

Caught in the Storm
Only days into the Opilio season, a major storm system hits the fishing grounds causing Captain Andy of the Time Bandit to call his men off deck.

Crossing the Line
A monster storm blows through the Time Bandit and Cornelia Marie grounds, and a double change of guard takes place on the Wizard as Captain Keith Colburn and greenhorn Nick both head south.

Trials of the Greenhorns
The harsh winter weather puts the greenhorns to the test, but the Northwestern and Cornelia Marie greenhorns step up to prove their worth by working through broken bones and icy decks without complaint.

Ice and Open Water
The promise of a great catch outweighs the dangerous risks faced by the Opilio Crab fishing vessels. The Far West Leader attempts to survive the loss of one engine, while the Time Bandit enjoys unseasonable weather and unprecedented catches.

A Frozen Finish
The 2007 Opilio crab tally is in and a winner is declared. After a long and difficult crab fishing season, the Northwestern enjoys a sweet homecoming with friends and family back in Seattle.