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Insights from home entertainment industry experts. Home Media blogs give you the inside scoop on entertainment news, DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases, and the happenings at key studios and entertainment retailers. TK's Take analyzes and comments on home entertainment industry news and trends, Agent DVD Insider talks comic adaptations, and IndieFile delivers independent film news.

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November 17, 2009
Beaming Up ‘Star Trek’ Exclusives

Amazon.com's Star Trek gift set

“Star Trek” fans have plenty of options when it comes to picking up the new movie on disc.

For those out there willing to look past the film’s complete disrespect for previous “Star Trek” history (and judging by the Internet response, that’s most of you), several retailers are offering up exclusive versions of the movie containing collectibles you won’t want to miss.

Best Buy, which is selling the DVD at $14.99, the two-DVD deluxe edition at $22.99 and the three-disc Blu-ray at $23.99, has a Blu-ray gift set for $39.99 that also includes a set of four insignia badges.

Fans of steelbook casing (which I am not) can head over to Transworld-owned f.y.e. and Suncoast stores and pick up the deluxe DVD edition in metal packaging for $34.91.

Target offers a neat little package that has a plastic replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise that contains the discs in the saucer section. Both the two-DVD ($26.99) and Blu-ray ($29.99) configurations are available, in addition to the regular packaging assortments (DVD $15.99; two-DVD set $22.99; Blu-ray $24.99).

Amazon.com offers its own Enterprise replica, but theirs will run up the bill a bit. The online retailer has an exclusive Blu-ray boxed set containing a hand-cast pewter replica of the ship, limited to a run of 5,000 copies, which is listed at $130 but selling for $99.99.
 

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October 19, 2009
‘Transformers’ Imax Footage Comes to Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart's Exclusive "Big Screen" Editions

Before Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hit theaters, director Michael Bay told us he hoped to include the special Imax extended scenes on the Blu-ray Disc of the film.

Turns out, fans will have to buy the movie from Wal-Mart to see the footage on disc.

Wal-Mart is offering a “Big Screen” edition of the film on DVD and Blu-ray, which apparently will offer the same bonus content as the regular retail releases, but with the Imax version of the movie instead of the wide theatrical cut. We’ll know more once the discs are on shelves tomorrow.

In other retail exclusives, Best Buy is offering the Blu-ray with an Optimus Prime head replica for $44.99 ($41.99 at midnight sales). This box also includes a $50 gift card to sideshowcollectibles.com, so for hardcore collectors, it practically pays for itself.

Target will offer the two-DVD edition in an exclusive transforming Bumblebee case.

For more details and other exclusives, check out Transformers fan site Seibertron.com.

 

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September 25, 2009
Let Michael Bay Sign Your ‘Transformers’ Discs

“Transformers” fans looking to up their obsession to the next level have a chance to get autographed Blu-ray copies of the first two films.

Director Michael Bay announced through his blog (www.michaelbay.com/newsblog/newsblog.html) that fans can order the set of Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen autographed by Bay and star Tyrese Gibson.

The sets cost $105 each, or $110 for international orders, with proceeds benefiting the Make a Wish Foundation.

Orders are being taken at Bay’s site through Oct. 16. The site informs buyers to expect shipment two to three weeks after the Oct. 20 street date of ROTF, and that those who already ordered the Blu-ray from the site will be given a chance to upgrade to the autographed version.
 

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September 10, 2009
The Salvation of a ‘Terminator’ Flick

So, Warner Home Video is releasing an ‘R’-rated director’s cut of Terminator: Salvation on Blu-ray Dec. 1. The ‘PG-13’ version released in theaters didn’t exactly get the warmest of reception from fans, but maybe on disc the fourth installment of the franchise will find its second wind.

I thought the film did a decent job of depicting the post-apocalyptic world of the Skynet war, only hinted at in the previous films. And the film isn’t lacking for action, even if the story takes a beating for it.

It’s too early to guess what’s in the extended cut, but the MPAA blurb cites “some violence and brief nudity” as reasons for the ‘R’ rating. This probably means actress Moon Bloodgood’s much ballyhooed nude scene has been reinserted into the movie.

I’d also be curious to see what remains of the rumored original intended (and ill-conceived) ending, in which John Connor is killed and replaced by a Terminator altered to resemble him. While that would qualify as reinventing the franchise, I don’t think audiences would have accepted that much of a change to the storyline. As it was, the ending we got was pretty weak, but serviceable.
 

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August 26, 2009
No ‘Sarah Jane’ on TV? Wait for the DVD

While Britain’s rabid “Doctor Who” fanbase may have spilled over a bit into America, that doesn’t always mean network programmers share the enthusiasm.

When Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy) had the rights to broadcast “Doctor Who,” it also showed the first season of the kid-friendly spinoff “The Sarah Jane Adventures,” about one of the Doctor’s former traveling companions.

But another “Doctor Who” spinoff, the more mature “Torchwood,” was shown here on BBC America, so the writing was probably on the wall for the other two series. Sure enough, the recent “Doctor Who” one shot specials aired here on BBC America, and “Sarah Jane Adventures,” which has already completed a second season in Britain and is preparing for a third, has all but vanished from American TV sets.

In the past this would be a cause for a surge of letter writing from the fans, as the means of distribution were limited. But in the DVD era, it’s not a problem. The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Second Season will be released Nov. 10 (prebook Oct. 6) by BBC Video as a three-DVD set for $39.98).

Considering all the direct-to-video tie-ins we are seeing with TV shows these days, it seems this type of release strategy should only become more prevalent.
 

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