The latest season of the popular Star Wars: The Clone Wars hits DVD this week along with Timur Bekmambetov’s outrageous horror fantasy Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and Steven Soderbergh’s surprise hit Magic Mike, and a 1970s live-action series based on the Captain Marvel comics.

 

 

The top release this week is Star Wars: The Clone Wars—The Complete Season 4 (Warner Bros., 506 min., DVD $44.99, BD $59.99), which includes all 22 episodes of the popular Cartoon Network series that keeps Star Wars a very viable toy property and also insures that the younger generation has an even better understanding of the Star Wars saga than we do.

 

There are no other animated TV releases this week, but there is Shazam: The Complete Series (Warner Bros. 506 min., $34.98), which collects all 28 episodes of the half-hour live action series produced by Filmation from 1974-1977 that was based on the DC Comics’ "property" Captain Marvel on a less-than-optimal, but usually reliable DVD-R.  The DVD cover for the complete Shazam features art by DC Comics mainstay Jerry Ordway.

 

Collections of contemporary TV shows out this week include Happy Endings: The Complete 2nd Season (Sony, 450 min., $45.99), which collects all 22 episodes of the ABC series about the dysfunctional romantic adventures of six upwardly mobile yuppies living in Chicago, the Canadian supernatural crime drama Lost Girl: Season 1 (Funimation, 572 min. DVD $44.98, BD $49.98), and Law and Order: Criminal Intent—The Complete 8th Year (Shout Factory, 890 min., $44.99).

 

The best "TV on DVD" releases this week are collections of vintage series like Peter Gunn: The Complete Series (Timeless Media, 2850 min., $99.99), which collects all 115 episodes of the stylish series created by Blake Edwards.  Equally comprehensive and intriguing is The Fugitive: The Complete Series: The Most Wanted Edition (Paramount, 5050 min., $242.99).  The Fugitive is available in cheaper versions, but this one has a full disc of extras—and unlike the other recent Fugitive releases, it should have the original music that has been replaced on other DVDs of the series.

 

Another stellar collection out this week is The Ernie Kovacs Show: The Ernie Kovacs Collection Vol. 2 (Shout Factory, 540 min., $29.93), which digs deeper in the treasure trove of zany comedy created by Kovacs, one of TV’s most original humorists.  While not for everyone, anyone who is interested in the history of TV comedy will find this set invaluable.

 

Other vintage releases include the 8-disc Bat Masterson: 24 Hour Marathon Collection (TGG Direct, 1488 min., $29.98), Fantasy Island: The Complete 3rd Season (Shout Factory, 1080 min., $34.97), the In the Heat of the Night: 24 Hour Marathon Collection (TGG Direct, 1440 min., $29.98), the classic lawyer series Perry Mason: The 7th Season, Pt. 2 (Paramount, 758 min., $49.99), Sea Hunt: 24 Hour Marathon Collection (TGG Direct, 1472 min, $29.98), and The Young Riders: 24 Hour Marathon Collection (TGG Direct, 1440 min., $29.98).

 

The top U.K. release is Poirot: The Early Cases—Seasons 1-6 (Acorn Media, 2820 min., DVD $199.99, BD $249.99), which includes 45 extremely well-produced episodes featuring David Suchet as Agatha Christie’s supersleuth Hercule Poirot.  This is the definitive Poirot series with extremely well-mounted episodes set in the 1930s with sets, costumes, and a visual flair that warrants spending the extra money on the high-def Blu-ray version.

 

Even more interesting for those who enjoy World War II dramas is the Wish Me Luck: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media, 1170 min., $79.99), which collects all three series of the tense wartime espionage drama, which is closely based on real events as it follows the adventures of female English spies sent to France to work with the French Resistance and aid in the Allied invasion of Normandy.

 

Also due this week is The Duchess of Duke Street: The Complete Collection (Acorn Media, 1620 min., $79.99), which collects the original drama created by John Hawkesworth, one of the producers of Upstairs, Downstairs, that was a huge hit here on Masterpiece Theater in the late 1970s.

 

 

For genre movie fans there is Timur Bekambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Fox, "R," $29.98, BD $39.99), which is played straight in spite of its absurd premise and is a lot more fun than it has any right to be.  Confederate vampires invade the North as the fantasy disease of vampirism stands in for the actual social pathogen that was slavery—but perhaps it’s best not to put too much intellectual weight on this sort of bubblegum fantasy, just forget the history books and check your skepticism at the door.

 

The critics’ favorite this week is the male stripper drama Magic Mike (Warner Bros., "R," $28.98, BD $38.98).  Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Magic Mike is no prurient bachelorette party video, but a slice-of-life look at the life of a Tampa, Florida go-getter with an interesting nocturnal sideline. Armed with a strong cast that includes Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Matthew McConaughey, this indie-style drama (that Soderbergh shot with an annoying yellow filter) was a big hit with critics (75% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (it made $114 million domestically and only cost $7 million to make).

 

Few writer/director/performers are more consistent than Tyler Perry, whose cross-dressing Madea films are reliable moneymakers with the vast majority of their business coming from urban theaters. Madea’s Witness Protection (Lionsgate, "PG-13," $29.99, BD $39.99) manages to get all sorts of ripped-from-the-headlines elements into what turns out to be anything but a typical Madea saga with Eugene Levy playing a businessman (complete with an extended dysfunctional family) on the run from a mob-organized Ponzi scheme who hides out at Madea’s house. Hilarity ensues.

 

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Universal, "R," $28.98, BD $34.98) is a romantic comedy with more than a few twists and an overarching sadness. With an asteroid on a collision course people on Earth have but a few weeks to live and two unlikely characters forge a bond in this existential love story starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.  Seeking a Friend divided the critics (55% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and only earned $7 million at the box office, but Lorene Scafaria’s first directorial effort is certainly more heartfelt than the majority of Hollywood comedies.  

 

 

The top new release this week is Aria the Scarlet Ammo Complete Collection Ltd. Ed. (Funimation, "14+," 300 min., BD/Combo $64.98), which contains all 12 episodes (plus an OVA) of the 2011 anime series produced by J.C. Staff and based on the series of action comedy light novels written by Chugaku Akumatsu that have sold more than 1.9 million copies in Japan.

 

Also new is the Majikoi Oh! Samurai Girls (Sentai Filmworks, "17+," 300 min., BD $69.98, DVD $59.98), a 2011 anime series from Lerche that is based on the adult visual novel developed by Minato Soft. 

 

There is a trio of re-priced re-releases this week that includes the Ah! My Buddha Nirvana Collection (Animeworks, "13+," 650 min. $19.95), Kaleido Star Season 2 (Funimation, "13+," 625 min., $29.98), and the Nighthead Genesis Complete Collection (Funimation, "13+," 600 min., $19.99).

 

--Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.