Once again weak theatrical releases are more than offset by potent offerings in the “TV on DVD” and “Anime” categories with some great Marvel animated series (including two Iron Man shows), a cult classic cartoon from the creator of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, three classic Doctor Who sagas, more anime on Blu-ray, and a great deal on some 7-disc collections of the 1980s Voltron cartoon series.

 

TV on DVD

 

The best bets in the “TV on DVD” category this week are mostly collections of animated series.  The cult hit science fiction series Invader Zim, which was created by Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), was a bestseller for Media Blasters in 2005, and the ultra-cool complete set that was packaged in a replica of Zim’s house is selling for $350 and up on Amazon.  Now Nickelodeon is making the series available again on DVD-R (a slightly less permanent format than standard DVD).  Invader Zim Season 1 (Nickelodeon, 476 min. $39.98) is a 4-disc collection, while Invader Zim Season 2 (Nickelodeon, 166 min., $24.98) is a two-disc set.  It is not clear if the new edition contains all the cool extras such as complete voice-overs for seven of the unfinished episodes that were included in the House Edition, but it’s great to see this excellent series available once more.

 

With the triumphant theatrical bow of Iron Man 2 just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to release anything that ties-in with Old Shellhead.  Disney is joining in the fun with the 26-episode Iron Man: The Complete 1994 Animated Series (7+, 572 min., $29.98).  The 3-disc collection includes two seasons of the series that was part of the Saturday morning Marvel Animation Hour.  The first season, which was animated by the Rainbow Animation Group, is fairly lackluster with predominantly stand-alone episodes that, apart from an origin story, don’t have much connection with the Iron Man comics.  The second 13-episode season however, which was animated by Koko Enterprises, featured storylines that spanned multiple episodes and were adapted directly from Iron Man comic book sagas such as “Dragon Seed,” “Armor Wars,” and “The Hands of the Mandarin.”

 

Iron Man Armored Adventures: The Complete Season One (Genius Products, 572 min., $29.93) collects the first 26 episodes of the CGI animated series that debuted on Nicktoons in 2009.  This cartoon series follows the adventures of the teenage Tony Stark, which makes it quite different from other Iron Man incarnations.  The series’ debut episode set a ratings record at Nicktoons, and it has been renewed for a second season.  The first season explores the "Makluan Rings" saga (an Iron Man staple that is transported back to Tony Stark’s teen years), and ends with a very effective cliffhanger episode.

 

Also out this week is X-Men Vol.5 (Disney, 7+, 308 min. $23.99), which contains the final 14 episodes of the 1990s X-Men Saturday morning cartoon series that aired on the Fox network.  This longest running (76 episodes) of all Marvel animated series adapted a number of famous storylines including “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” “Days of Future Past,” “The Phalanx Covenant,” and “Legacy Virus.”  The highly-rated series tackled tough issues such as racism, isolation, intolerance, divorce, and the Holocaust.  Within the limitations of the Saturday morning format, this X-Men series has to rank as one of the best comic book-to-cartoon adaptations of all time.

 

Another Marvel animated series is coming out in a single-disc format.   Wolverine and the X-Men: Vol.5 Revelation (Lionsgate, 110 min., $14.98) includes 5-episodes of the 2008-2009 series that appeared on Nicktoons and lasted for 26 episodes before being cancelled.

 

Three classic Doctor Who sagas are coming out on DVD this week including Doctor Who Story 061: The Curse of the Peladon (BBC, 100 min. $24.98), a 4-part adventure from 1972 featuring the 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee) that introduced the Aggedor, one of the most interesting Doctor Who monsters.  The Aggedor and Pertwee returned for Doctor Who Story 073: The Monster of the Peladon (BBC, 150 min. 2 discs, $34.98), a six-part saga that aired in 1974.  The hugely popular 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) stars in Doctor Who Story 086: The Masque of Mandragora (BBC, 100 min. $24.98), a four-parter set in Renaissance Italy that mixes plenty of Borgia-like intrigue with a strong science fiction storyline.

 

The other main non-U.S. release of the week is Murdoch Mysteries Season 2 (Acorn, 598 min., $59.99).  Produced in Canada, Murdoch Mysteries is a Victorian-era series about Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), who uses forensic science to solve a wide variety of crimes.  If the ensemble acting in the Murdoch Mysteries is not quite up to the standards of the best British series like Midsomer Murders or Foyle’s War, the period settings are extremely well-realized.  Though some episodes like “The Green Muse” suffer from hyperactive direction (too many bad zooms), most of the 46-minute episodes unfold smoothly and should please mystery fans.

 

Other series due out this week include a trio of sitcoms, According to Jim: Season 2 (Lionsgate, 595 min. $28.95), The Facts of Life: The Complete 4th Season (Shout Factory, 690 min. $39.99), the long-running (9 years) series featuring Charlotte Rae and quartette of teenage girls, who looked a whole lot more like real teens than the denizens of Gossip Girl, and Kate & Allie: The Complete Series (Visual Ent., 16 disc, 122 eps, 2880 min. $69.95), a bargain edition of the popular 1980s series that starred Jane Curtain and Susan St. James as newly independent divorcees.

 

Honeymooners fans will definitely want to acquire The Jackie Gleason Show: Second Honeymoon (MPI, 50 min., $14.98), and The Jackie Gleason Show: Valentine Special (MPI, 90 min. $14.98), the final two Honeymooners swan songs that were broadcast in 1976.

 

Another popular series making its debut this week is Marcus Welby, MD: Season 1 (Shout Factory, 27 eps, 1380 min. $49.97).  This sensitively-written medical drama pitted the unorthodox methods of the middle-aged Dr. Welby (played by Robert Young) against the more straight-laced approach of his younger colleague played by James Brolin (Josh’s father).

 

“Human interest” stories remain a mainstay of the national news, but no one ever did it better than CBS’s Charles Kuralt, who not only had one of the great voices in either radio or TV, but also the ability to gain an instant rapport with the incredible range of interesting people whose stories he told for twenty year (1967-1987) in his “On the Road” segments for CBS News. On the Road With Charles Kuralt: Set 2 (Acorn, 378 min., $39.95) is a treasure trove of fascinating stories well told.

 

Anime

 

After a couple of lean weeks there is a clutch of new anime releases this Tuesday including 3 Blu-rays from Funimation, all of which are connected to the Tsubasa anime series, which is based on the manga from Clamp.  The Clamp Double Feature Blu-ray (“PG-13”100 min. $29.98) includes Tsubasa The Movie: The Princess of the Birdcage Kingdom and xxxHolic The Movie: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Needless to say the picture quality of the Clamp Double Feature BD is outstanding and the disc also includes over 2 hours of extra features.  Funimation, which has previously released the first season of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle on Blu-ray, is now putting out Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Season 2 Collection (“PG-13,” 625 min., $59.98), but those who haven’t already purchased Season 1 would be better off acquiring the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Collected Memories (“PG-13,” 1280 min., $99.98), which includes both seasons (all 52 episodes on 6 discs), plus Tsubasa the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom.

 

Another key release this week is the Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Set 3 (Funimation, PG-13, 1000 min., $59.98).  The Dragon Box version of DBZ is a quality re-mastering of the original 1990s anime series and is superior in quality to the previously released DBZ Season Sets.   Though some fans may miss the score that Funimation added to the original English dub (the Dragon Box features the original Japanese score), this is the definitive version of the Toei classic.

 

Funimation is also releasing two series formerly put out by Geneon.  The Vandread Ultimate Collection (“PG-14,” 766 min. $49.98) includes both 13-episode seasons plus the OVAs (about 166 minutes more than the Complete Collection issued last year that didn’t include the OVAs).  The Rozen Maiden Complete Set (16+, 600 min., $49.98) includes both the Rozen Maiden and Rozen Maiden Traumend series— with consumers getting both series for the same MSRP that each series was previously released at.

 

Also due out this week is the yaoi anime series, Junjo Romantica Season 1 Complete Collection (Nozumi Entertainment, “17+,” 300 min., $49.98), the subtitled-only collection of all 12 episodes of the first season of this saga of three very different all-male couples caught up in the whirlwind of romance.

 

Media Blasters continues its low-priced re-releases with two Voltron Lion Force sets, Voltron Lion Force Part 1 (13+, 900 min., $49.99) and Voltron Lion Force Part 2 (13+, 900 min., $49.99).  These mammoth 7-disc sets collect the first two-thirds of the 1980s Voltron cartoon series that was cobbled together from two different anime, Beast King Go-Lion, and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.  Also out from Media Blasters this week is the Tekkaman Blade Complete Set (“13+,” 1250 min., $59.99), the complete collection of 1990s OAVs from Tatsunoko Productions.

 

Foreign Films

 

Cristian Nemescu’s Romanian film California Dreamin’ won a key award at the Cannes Film Festival and it’s easy to see why.  Based on a true story about a group of American marines who are escorting a portable radar station to Romania’s western frontier for use in the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in Kosovo War, California Dreamin’ exposes (and explains) the corruption of petty officials in Eastern Europe in the wake of the fall of communism.  In this case it’s Doiaru, the head of a small town train station, who manages to delay the Americans' passage by demanding customs paperwork that the marines can’t produce, turning their routine mission into a Sisyphean task that isn’t accomplished until the war is over.  Nemescu is great at delineating the culture clash between the mystified marines and the small town shark (Doiaru), but he is careful to provide enough of Doiaru’s past as a child who grew up during WWII to at least partially explain how he came to be what he was.  Nemescu died in a car accident before he finished editing the film, which at 155 minutes is a little long.  The constantly moving hand-held camerawork is also annoying and the lighting leaves much to be desired, but this is a film that overwhelms its technical deficiencies and leaves viewers with a profound sadness at the thought that Nemescu won’t be making any more movies.

 

Theatrical Films

 

Once again there is not much happening in this category this week.  Even the likable Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson can’t save the Tooth Fairy (Fox “PG,” $29.99, BD $39.99), while Leap Year (Universal, “PG,” $29.98, BD $36.98) wastes the considerable talents of Amy Adams, and Nine (Sony “PG-13,” $28.95, BD $38.96), a musical adaptation of Fellini’s 8 & 1/2, which, in spite of the best efforts of Daniel Day-Lewis, is of interest primary to those who love Bob Fosse-style choreography.