The Couch Potato Report ñ Bonus Box Set Edition – Monday, December 22nd, 2008
This week The Couch Potato Report peels a wide array of DVD Box Sets that might also be good gift ideas.
Only 3 shopping days left…are you out of ideas? If that happens to be the case, I have 8 very different sets and collections to tell you about right now that cover movies, music, television series and sports for the DVD fan on your list.
And lets start with sports…sports in Edmonton to be exact…with the 10 DVD set EDMONTON OILERS – 10 GREATEST GAMES.
This amazing boxed set brings you ten original game broadcasts of Edmonton Oilers hockey and is a must have for any Oilers fan.
I remain a huge Wayne Gretzky fan, so it is also a must own for people like me, especially when we get to go back to the night of December 30th, 1981 to watch Gretzky score 5 goals in one game to become the fastest person to ever score 50.
50 Goals in 39 Games!!
The set has over 21 hours of the original broadcasts, and it comes highly recommended for that reason. Sadly, it doesn’t have hardly any post game interviews, so it loses points for that.
But, if you know an Oilers or NHL hockey fan – why not look for EDMONTON OILERS – 10 GREATEST GAMES, with your host Rod Phillips, the voice of the Oilers.
If you know someone who is a fan of the sweet science, or the one and only Mr. Muhammed Ali, then this next release is for them!
RINGSIDE ALI is a four disc set that includes fifteen of the three-time Heavyweight Champion of the World’s most legendary match-ups, including the Thrilla’ in Manila, The Fight of the Century and the Rumble in the Jungle.
RINGSIDE ALI has 10 hours of explosive fight footage, and interviews with experts and even one athlete who fought him, Canadian George Chuvalo.
RINGSIDE ALI is a great tribute to the man whose grace, jabs and jibes transformed him into a living legend.
Plus, since he was such a part of Ali’s career and mystique, there is also an abundance of Mr. Howard Cosell too!
If you need some DVD ideas for someone who is not a sports fan, the next three sets I have for you have nothing to do with sports…they are all Television show sets.
Starting with KNIGHT RIDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES.
This 24 DVD set features all four seasons and 84 episodes!
David Hasselhoff is crimefighter Michael Knight, the driver of the world’s most dynamic, high-tech talking car.
They take on criminals, crooks and way too many people who are trying to find out more about K.I.T.T.’s technology, and to try and use it for evil purposes.
PLUS, the KNIGHT RIDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES also comes with a flashing red light, like K.I.T.T’s, and it features a sample from the show’s theme song too!!
From KNIGHT RIDER, let’s move now to NIGHT GALLERY.
NIGHT GALLERY was Rod Serling’s follow-up series to The Twilight Zone. It aired from 1970 to 1973 and in each episode Serling appeared in an art gallery setting and introduced the macabre tales that made up each episode by unveiling paintings that depicted the stories we were about to see.
SEASON TWO of NIGHT GALLERY is a 5 DVD set with over 60 unique, well written, sometimes funny, but usually chilling stories. Some that have even stood the test of time and been referenced in other films, like Mike Myers’ SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER.
If you know someone who would be entertained by this type of show, I recommend this set!! This is good stuff!!
If you know someone who likes to laugh at stuff that is perceived to be scary, but really isn’t, then let me now tell you about the 12-DVD Box Set for every episode that was shot, and two movies featuring THE MUNSTERS.
THE MUNSTERS was a 1960s television comedy that showed us the home life of a family of monsters.
It was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era, such as Leave it to Beaver.
Personally, I was never a huge fan of the show when I watched it as a kid…but I did get a few laughs out of it when I was watching THE MUNSTERS – THE COMPLETE SERIES over the past few weeks.
Alright, a music DVD now…if you are looking for something for the music fan on your list, this next release is one I highly recommend!
I GOT THE FEELIN’ – JAMES BROWN IN THE 60s is a 3 disc set that includes the documentary THE NIGHT JAMES BROWN SAVED BOSTON
THE NIGHT JAMES BROWN SAVED BOSTON tells the story of a 1968 concert that not only averted riots in Boston in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Junior’s assassination, but also set James Brown on a fantastic new musical path.
I GOT THE FEELIN’ – JAMES BROWN IN THE 60s also shows JB’s on-stage prowess, and in addition to the documentary, there are also two previously unreleased concerts, featuring classic songs such as “I Feel Good,” “Cold Sweat,” “Try Me,” “I Got The Feelin’,” “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “Bewildered,” and “Please, Please, Please.”
This set is a must have for any music lover’s collection.
Finally, I have two movie sets for you…two great ones!
First up, the ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION of HOW THE WEST WAS WON.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON spans from 1830 to 1880 covering the history of the westward expansion. This is an epic western that was shot in the panoramic three-camera Cinerama process, and it was directed by Hollywood legends Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, and John Ford.
The stellar cast includes Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, George Peppard, John Wayne, and many, many others!
This is one of those films people are talking about when they say “They don’t make ’em like they used to!”
The ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION of HOW THE WEST WAS WON also includes a great documentary for all film fans who want to know more about Cinerama, and combined with the film itself, this is a great box set!
I wish I could say that the final release I have for you is also a great box set…but it isn’t. It is a superb collection of films from one fo my favourite filmmakers, but instead of being an actual box, A THREESOME WITH KEVIN SMITH – which features CLERKS, CLERKS 2 and CHASING AMY – just comes with a small piece of paper that wraps around the movies.
I love Kevin Smith’s films, especially CLERKS, CLERKS 2 and CHASING AMY, and I highly recommend each and every one, I just wish this release had better packaging.
Yes, I do think these films are worth seeing, and if that person on your list who likes profane, honest films about real people has yet to be crossed off, and they don’t already own these movies, well then A THREESOME WITH KEVIN SMITH featuring CLERKS, CLERKS 2 and CHASING AMY is a pretty good gift idea.
So, if you need a gift idea for the DVD fan on your list, let me recap – A THREESOME WITH KEVIN SMITH, the ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION of HOW THE WEST WAS WON, I GOT THE FEELIN’ – JAMES BROWN IN THE 60s, THE MUNSTERS – THE COMPLETE SERIES, SEASON TWO of NIGHT GALLERY, KNIGHT RIDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES, EDMONTON OILERS – 10 GREATEST GAMES and RINGSIDE ALI are all available now on DVD.
The Couch Potato Report returns on Saturday – January 10th, 2009, and at that time I will talk about the films PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, TRAITOR, THE WOMEN, RIGHTEOUS KILL, TOWELHEAD and BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA – SEASON 4.0.
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in twenty days.
For now, and for this year, that’s THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next time on The Couch!
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