TV on DVD: Tuesday, November 26, 2013
by Ethan Alter November 26, 2013 6:00 am
Cue up the Marty Robbins and relive the entire run of Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad: The Final Season
Breaking Bad: The Complete Series
Your feelings about the series finale aside (wholly satisfying victory lap or too-contrived stumble over the finish line), it's hard to argue that Breaking Bad's final run of episodes wasn't riveting TV. Picking up with Hank's belated discovery of his brother-in-law's meth-related empire, series creator Vince Gilligan masterminded an epic fall for Walter White from his lofty perch atop Heisenberg's throne. Every episode steadily chipped away at Walt's well-ordered universe, until the penultimate installment (which would have made a fine finale in its own right) left him broken and utterly alone in a New Hampshire cabin. Mind-blowing episodes like "Blood Money," "Ozymandias" and the aforementioned "Granite State" made Breaking Bad appointment television in an age when appointment television was supposedly on the way out. (Small wonder the series finale scared up 10 million viewers; nobody wanted to miss out on being part of a genuine pop culture phenomenon.) The Final Season houses those eight (well, seven at least) great episodes, but if you want the genuine Breaking Bad experience, you gotta splurge on the Complete Series set, which packages the entire run (plus all sorts of bonus goodies we'll get to in a minute) in a replica of one of the barrels that houses Walt's ill-gotten gains. And don't worry… you won't have to bury this barrel of treasures in the desert.
Extras: The Final Season comes with commentary tracks on every episode, an alternate ending of the series finale (we think we know what that is), deleted and extended scenes, four featurettes, a gag reel and 15 installments of Inside Breaking Bad. (Wait… no Talking Bad?) All of this material, plus the bonus features contained on the DVDs of previous seasons, are included on The Complete Series set. But the exclusive new stuff includes a two-hour documentary about the making of the final season, a 16-page booklet and an apron from Los Pollos Hermanos, New Mexico's finest chicken franchise. C'mon… just like Heisenberg's signature blue meth, you know you want this.
Click here to read our full recaps
Click here to see our picks for the final season's most apocalyptic moments
Click here to see why we'll miss Breaking Bad
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 25th Anniversary Edition
Believe it or not, the TV landmark that taught an entire generation how to ridicule movies and talk back to the screen (um… thanks for that guys) is now 25 years young. To mark the occasion, Shout! Factory issues a special anniversary release with six offerings, four of which have never been released on DVD before. Those would be the rare Russian/Finnish team-up The Day the Earth Froze, the space western Moon Zero Two, the horror picture The Leech Woman and the British Godzilla knock-off Gorgo. The other two titles, Mitchell and The Brain That Wouldn't Die, have been in the marketplace before, but on long out-of-print editions. (What's significant about those episodes -- apart from just being darn funny -- is that they span Joel's departure and Mike's arrival onboard the Satellite of Love, a contentious moment in the show's history.) Here's to another 25 years of smart-alecks and bad movie fans revisiting (or discovering for the first time) this gem of a show.
Extras: A three-part 25th anniversary documentary, a vintage making-of Gorgo featurette that's been given the MST3K treatment, three featurettes and a clip of Leonard Maltin explaining… something.
Bill Cosby: Far From Finished The iconic comedian and television star takes the stage for his first television special in some three decades, filmed during his recent cross-country comedy tour by Robert Townsend. Still spry at 76, Cosby riffs on family matters (a favorite subject) and the ongoing battle of the sexes. It may not be his strongest comic material, but man -- he still owns the stage.
Extras: Bonus material not broadcast in the TV cut, two featurettes and an interview between Townsend and Cosby.
Also on DVD:
Relive the glory days of Candid Camera and America's Funniest Home Videos with Impractical Jokers: Season 1, the latest in prank-driven hidden-camera home entertainment.
Think you've got game? Prove it! Check out Games Without Pity, our new area featuring trivia, puzzle, card, strategy, action and word games -- all free to play and guaranteed to help pass the time until your next show starts.
TAGS: breaking bad, breaking bad final season, breaking bad complete series, mystery science theater 3000, mst3k, bill cosby
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