Rather than compete against all the flowers, boxes of candy, and pajama grams it appears that, having released the latest Twilight installment on Saturday, Hollywood doesn’t have much to offer on Valentine’s Day, but at least there are a number of key TV releases including a new Beavis & Butthead collection, the Doctor Who serial that was voted “best of all time” by fans in a 2009 poll, and the final 13-episode collection of the best Robin Hood TV series.

 

 

Once again the top American releases are all animated starting with Beavis & Butthead: Volume 4 (MTV, 264 min., $22.99, BD $26.99), which collects all twenty episodes of the surprisingly good revival of the 1990s MTV phenomenon.  The other major animated release is Jem and the Holograms: Season 2 (Shout Factory, 600 min., $29.93), which collects 24 episodes of the 1980s series produced by Hasbro, Marvel Productions, and Sunbow.  The series was animated by anime powerhouse Toei in Japan.

 

The top American live-action release is Hawaii Five-O: The First Season (Paramount, 1086 min., BD $66.99).  Vintage series due out this week include The F.B.I.: The Second Season, Part 1 (Warner Bros., 813 min., $49.99), The F.B.I.: The Second Season Part 2 (Warner Bros. 660 min., $49.99), Family Matters: The Complete Second Season (Warner Bros., 650 min., $29.98), the 1960s western Overland Trail: The Complete Series (Timeless Media Group, 833 min., $34.98), and the 1990’s syndicated series They Came From Outer Space (Timeless Media Group, 900 min., $24.98).

 

This week there are actually more interesting releases from the U.K. led by the “Christmas” episode of the new revived Doctor Who series, Doctor Who: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (BBC, 60 min., $14.98, BD $19.89) as well as two vintage Doctor Who releases, Doctor Who—Story 007: The Sensorites (BBC, 148 min., $24.98), which collects the seventh serial in the long-running series that aired in 1964 and featured the First Doctor (William Hartnell), and the highly-rated Doctor Who—Story 136: The Caves of Androzani: Special Edition (BBC, 100 min., $34.98), which collects the sixth serial narrative from the 21st season of the show that aired in 1984 and marked the final appearance of the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and the first appearance of the Sixth (Colin Baker). In 2009 “The Caves of Androzani” was voted by fans as the top Doctor Who story in history.

 

Equally interesting for many fans is Robin of Sherwood: Set Two (Acorn Media, 681 min., BD $59.99), which collects the final 13 episodes of ITV series that ran from 1984-1986 that many believe was the best Robin Hood television series of all time.  The series, which stars Jason Connery in the title role, combines a gritty rendering of the medieval world with fantasy elements—and it benefits from a great score created by traditional Irish band Clannad.  The series looks and sounds exceptionally good on Blu-ray, and this 4-disc set includes lots of extras such as a 76-minute documentary, 13 minutes of outtakes, and a special 12-minute feature that highlights Clannad’s contribution to the show.

 

Shades (Acorn Media, 296 min., $39.99), a miniseries that was also known as Hereafter, is a different sort of fantasy, a romantic drama about two recently-deceased young characters played by Dervla Kirwan (Ballykissangel) and Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart). While it is certainly not for all tastes, this poignant drama, which did air on Public TV here in the U.S., has the excellent production values and gentle humor that attract many literate viewers to TV offerings from the U.K.

 

The top documentary release of the week is Battlefield Detectives (Acorn Media, 432 min., $59.99), which collects 9 episodes of the forensic documentary series that aired on the History Channel from 2003-2006.  The series skillfully uses modern science to explain how famous battles (Hastings, Waterloo, Custer's Last Stand, and Gallipolli are all covered in this 3-disc release) were won or lost, and thus provides a fresh perspective on these crucial history-altering events.

 

 

It’s a good week for anime releases, and the top bet is .hack//Quantum Complete OVA Series (Funimation, “14+,” 75 min., BD $29.98), which contains three OVA episodes “Walking Party,” “Wired Prisoner,” and “The Worldend Pallbearer” from the anime iteration of the popular multi-platform .hack property.  The other key new release is Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol.1 (Aniplex of America, “13+,” 100 min., $39.98, BD $49.98), which collects the first four episodes of the magical girl fantasy/drama series produced by Shaft and Aniplex that aired in Japan in 2011.

 

The week’s two other releases are now available in re-packaged “complete” collections, the first of several stages of price discounting.  Chrome Shelled Regios Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 600 min., $64.98) contains all 24 episodes of the anime series produced by Zexcs in 2009 and based on the series of post-apocalyptic light novels by Shusuke Amagi. These same episodes debuted on DVD here in the U.S. in two parts, each of which went for $59.98, in 2011.  The Hell Girl Season 3: Three Vessels Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 650 min., $69.98), was also previously released in two equal parts, which were prices at $49.98 each.

 

 

The weakest slate of theatrical movies so far in 2012 debuts on Tuesday led by The Rum Diary (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $35.99), which is based on a novel by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.  The Rum Diary suffers in comparison to the movie adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which also starred Johnny Depp, but those who enjoyed that movie will find some pleasure here, particularly in Depp’s lovely, if slightly mannered, performance as the Thompson-like protagonist.

 

 

Barry Levinson’s Good Morning, Vietnam 25th Anniversary Edition (Disney, “R,” BD $20.00) is certainly not one of the very best Vietnam War movies, but it is one of the most entertaining.  As is detailed in one of this disc’s excellent extra features, Levinson and company took considerable liberties with the actual experiences of army DJ Adrian Cronauer, but this film isn’t a documentary and it manages to capture the zeitgeist of the Vietnam era effortlessly.  Viewer’s reactions to the film are likely to be closely matched to how they feel about the madcap antics of Robin Williams, who stars as the zany DJ. Few of Williams’ film roles appear to be more closely tailored to fit his lightning-fast, improvised, stream-of-consciousness approach to comedy than Good Morning, Vietnam.  Yes Levinson occasionally has problems coordinating the film’s mercurial shifts between comedy and drama, but this movie, while it does appear dated in its themes and presentation at times, still packs a punch.  Disney has done a pretty good job of creating a hi-def version of the film.  The visuals are generally sharp and clear as is the soundtrack, which is chock full of the 1960s rock hits that mirror the film’s subversive themes.  The music matters in this film, and it has rarely sounded better.

--Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.