Sci-Fi Storm

Just wanted to follow up with some updates to last week’s review of the X-Men: First Class DVD, now that I have the [asin=B004LWZW4C]Blu-ray release[/asin] in hand.
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The latest in the X-Men movie franchise, X-Men: First Class comes out on [asin=B004LWZW4C]Blu-ray[/asin], [asin=B004LWZW42]DVD[/asin] and [asin=B005HNMPBM]Amazon Instant Video[/asin] this Friday, September 9th. I’ve had an early look at the DVD, and here are my impressions.
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It may not be surprising that there is some backlash to the changes being made to the upcoming [sfs=1098]upcoming Blu-ray release[/sfs] of the Star Wars saga. But some hardcore fans are calling for a boycott.

As we discussed before, some of the changes seem to be for he better, and we do Lucas has always detested when he had to settle for OK because technology didn’t allow for what he wanted. But are the changes to drive up sales as claimed? I’m not so sure. They don’t seem to be complaining about the inclusion of extras that easily could have been included in past releases – if anything that is going to be the driving factor on getting money from people who have already purchased it before. It is also a technology refresh – Blu-ray is still gaining steam to replace DVD, and with HD televisions also gaining, the higher resolution does make a difference. I really don’t think anyone is going to buy set set just to see an Ewok blink.
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First, there was the Special Editions. Then there were the DVD versions. And now, with the [sfs=1098]upcoming Blu-ray release on September 16th[/sfs], we’ve got another version.

One change we can understand – in The Phantom Menace Yoda was a puppet (much like his previous two appearances), but compared to Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith where he was CGI he just looks wrong. So now he’s been redone as CGI and looks TONS better. Take a look:
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This review is a long time coming…I’ve had the [asin=201]Space: 1999 Complete Series Megaset[/asin] for months now, ever since it became cheaper just to buy that than buy the remaining individual “sets” they used to sell it as (4 sets per season for 8 total sets) that I was slowly accumulating – and now the first season is also available on [asin=1078]Blu-ray[/asin] (Season 2 isn’t formally listed yet, but I’m hearing October.) But I wanted to re-watch the whole series – I grew up watching it, and was always fascinated by the design of the moonbase, the Eagles, etc. Sure, maybe it wasn’t sound science – but how many SF series actually have that? It treated the idea of being in space and on the moon as an important setting – and not ignored like on so many other things.

Space: 1999 was produced as two seasons of 24 episodes each by British studio ITV. It stars the then-married couple of Martin Landau (as Commander John Koenig, and who later went on to win an Oscar as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood) and Barbara Bain (Dr. Helena Russell), who both previously appeared in Mission: Impossible. But the two seasons are part of a schismatic production. I’ll discuss the changes a bit later.
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The sixth series of Doctor Who marks a departure of sorts in a couple different ways…first, rather than air the complete season continuously as has been traditional (the exception being the special movies between the 4th and 5th series), the BBC and showrunner Steven Moffat decided to split it into two halves. And rather than wait for the second half to air, they likewise decided to split the Blu-ray/DVD release in two…with Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One being released tomorrow (July 19th) on [sfs=1136]DVD[/sfs] and [sfs=1135]Blu-ray[/sfs].
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In anticipation of the the release of the Blu-ray [sfs=1121]Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Extended Edition[/sfs] on June 28th, Warner Home Video is having a “Middle-earth Midnight Madness” event starting at noon on June 27th at Best Buy’s West Los Angeles location, 11301 W. Pico Boulevard, which will include a costume contest, cast members, and more…and the winner of the costume contest can win an awesome prize, a VIP “Tour of Middle-earth” – an all-expense-paid trip to New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown), courtesy of Air New Zealand and Weta Workshop. Read below for the full press release.

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Since the BBC is dividing the sixth series of Doctor Who into two, rather than make everyone wait they will release the Blu-ray and DVD sets in two parts as well – with the first part being release on July 19th in the U.S. (July 11th in the U.K.). Pre-orders are now open for the [sfs=1135]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1136]DVD[/sfs] sets. The prices appear to be less than half of the complete Fifth Series set (and if they go down further after you order before the release, you’ll get the lower price).

As part of the “Star Wars Day” festivities (“May the fourth be with you…” – check the date if you didn’t get it…) Lucasfilm has released the details on what would be included in the [sfs=1098]upcoming Blu-ray release[/sfs] of Star Wars: The Complete Saga, due out September 16th in the U.S. and September 12th internationally. This is the most complete release to date, with deleted and alternate scenes, new and old documentaries, a 91 minute special just of Star Wars spoofs (including Weird Al’s “The Saga Begins” video), and more – 3 extra discs worth! Read on for the complete details.

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MGM announced that the street date for the second season DVD release of Stargate Universe has been moved up to May 31st, and [sfs=1133]pre-orders are available now[/sfs]. Interestingly, no Blu-ray release has been announced – although they are releasing the [sfs=1134]entire series of Stargate Atlantis on Blu-ray[/sfs] in July, almost 22 months after the DVD release – so it may just be released later.