New on Disc: Riding the TV-on-DVD Wave

August 4, 2020

TV on DVD is dominating the home market this week and it is even more dominant next week. Unfortunately, while there are a lot of TV releases this week, we don’t have many that are prime releases. Fans of Doctor Who will want the latest Tom Baker Blu-ray set. His Dark Materials is working better as a TV series than it did as a movie. The two biggest theatrical releases of the week were both animated. Ride Your Wave is the better film, but Promare has the better extras. Both are contenders for Pick of the Week and in the end Ride Your Wave wins the title.

Highlights

Doctor Who: Tom Baker: Season Three - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This show is an all-time sci-fi classic; however, it is also one of the most expensive TV franchises to keep up with. I would argue Star Trek is the only franchise that really tops it as far as expenses go. That said, both franchises tend to release top-notch DVDs / Blu-rays, so you get what you are paying for.

His Dark Materials: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
HBO’s show is based on the same series of novels as The Golden Compass. That movie earned mixed reviews and bombed domestically. To be fair, if it did as well domestically as it did internationally, then it could have earned a sequel. The TV show is earning better reviews and its viewership has been solid enough to earn a second season. This success has also led to a rather impressive DVD / Blu-ray release featuring a number of making-of / behind-the-scenes featurettes. It’s worth picking up.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Anime is expensive to make and very time consuming, so it is not that uncommon for shows to wait a couple of years between seasons. Fortunately, the wait as been worth it for fans of this show, for the most part. One could argue whether or not the this season is as good as the first, but it is close enough that I’m not surprised that it is selling as well as it is. In fact, it is selling well enough that it would warrant a mention even during a normal week on the home market. There are not a lot of extras, but the usual clean openings and closings, plus some promos, but that’s normal for anime releases. Fans of anime in general, and especially of the fantasy genre, will want to pick it up.

NCIS: Los Angeles: Season 11 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I mentioned Hawaii Five-0: The Final Season last week and how the two leads have the worst chemistry on the show. The same is true here. I also like some of the supporting cast on this show, but not enough to overcome the two leads and the overcrowded genre.

Promare - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The latest anime hit released in theaters by GKIDS, which is the only distributor that has real consistent success with animated films in limited release. The film has an amazing pedigree and its critical reception lived up to that. Additionally, the Blu-ray has more extras than most anime releases, with an interview with the director, a studio roundtable, a short film, as well as the CD soundtrack and some physical extras. It is easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Ride Your Wave - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This anime release is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, who previously directed Mind Game; Lu over the Wall; The Night is Short, Walk on Girl; not to mention some anime series. His track-record is incredible and this movie is no different. In fact, it is the best new release on this week’s list. The extras are better than most anime get, with an interview featurette, animated storyboards, and a couple of image galleries. It’s not much, but as I said, it is better than most anime gets and enough to be a Pick of the Week contender.

Swallow - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This movie opened in theaters just as the pandemic caused movie theaters to be shut down, but before drive-ins started to rise in popularity. This is a real shame, as the movie could have done well in drive-ins, as it is the right genre and critics were very positive on it. Unfortunately, it has been five months since it opened in theaters, which might as well be five years in the times of COVID-19. I don’t think many people remember this movie at all. The distributor certainly seems to have forgotten it, as there are no extras. That’s a shame, as it could have been Pick of the Week contender with just an audio commentary, making-of featurette, and some deleted scenes.

Other Movie Releases

Aliens Stole My Body - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Astra Lost in Space: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Audie Murphy Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Capital in the Twenty-First Century - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Carole Lombard Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Coma - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Dead Ringer - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Exit Plan - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Fairy Tail: Final Season - Part 23 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Haunting of Molly Bannister - Buy from Amazon: DVD
House of Hummingbird - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum: The Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Naruto: Four-Movie Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Patriot: A Nation at War - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Resistance Fighter - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Shanghai Triad - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Soul Collector - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Tony Curtis Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray

House of Hummingbird is the best of the smaller releases on this week’s list. The lack of extras on the Blu-ray does hurt its value, but it is still worth picking up.

TV on DVD Releases

Dispatches From Elsewhere: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
The Flintstones: Movies and Specials - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Good Doctor: Season Three - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Hallmark 2-Movie Collection (You’re Bacon Me Crazy / The Secret Ingredient) - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Idiomatic: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Last Man Standing: The Complete Eighth Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Love Under the Rainbow - Buy from Amazon: DVD
PAW Patrol: Dino Rescue - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Resident: The Complete Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Shimmer and Shine: Glitter Magic! - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan — Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray

There are not nearly as many full-series megasets this week, which means Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is probably the biggest of the smaller releases.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Eye for an Eye, What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael, Selvmordsturisten, Kurier, Kimi to, nami ni noretara, 8, Beolsae, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Koma, Aliens Stole My Body, Dead Ringer, Love Under the Rainbow, Bannister DollHouse, You’re Bacon Me Crazy, The Secret Ingredient, Star Trek, Gekijo ban Naruto, Doctor Who, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-0 (2010), PAW Patrol, The Good Doctor, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, His Dark Materials, Dispatches from Elsewhere, Tom Baker, Tony Curtis, Masaaki Yuasa, Carole Lombard, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Audie Murphy