Just forget the words and sing along

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Double Dips, Fraggles, and Educational TV

Tuesday! New DVDs! And the day is filled with double-dips.

Here's a trivia fact for you: Twister was the first movie released on DVD. Now, all you Bill Paxton completionists can get a brand new, 2-disc special edition of Twister. This new edition has a whole slew of documentaries about the making of the film, the real world of tornadoes and storm chasers, and all the fun stuff like running commentaries and cut scenes.

Hey! Did you know that there's a new Indiana Jones movie coming out next week? To celebrate this event, all of the Indiana Jones movies are re-released on DVD today. This time, each film in the original trilogy gets its own individual 2-disc special edition, full of new featurettes about the stunts, the special effects, and all the stuff that makes Indy so darn cool. And, you can get them all in a special gift pack called as Indiana Jones: The Adventure Pack.

Hey! Did you know that there's a new Incredible Hulk movie coming out next month? There was also this Incredible Hulk TV series in the late 1970s, and that spawned three reunion movies in the late 1980s. Well, the first two reunion movies are out on a single DVD today. The first film was called The Incredible Hulk Returns, and actually featured the Hulk teaming up with Thor (in his first live-action appearance). The second film was called The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and actually featured the Hulk teaming up with Daredevil (in his first live-action appearance). And the great thing about this DVD is that it's discount-bin-priced. Suggest retail price is $10, so it just might be worth a laugh.


Fraggle Rock is being turned into a movie!

Yup, the classic, Jim Henson created TV show from the late 1980s is coming to the silver screen. The plot will follow Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red as they venture into outer space (that's our world) to rescue Uncle Traveling Mat.

This'll be a co-production of the Weinstein Company and the Jim Henson Company. Rock legend (and son of rock legend Frank Zappa) Ahmet Zappa is going to executive produce. And now, the bad news. Corey Edwards, director of the very lousy computer animated film Hoodwinked! is directing.


The Electric Company is making a comeback!

For those who've never heard of it, The Electric Company was the Children's Television Workshop's attempt to duplicate the success of Sesame Street. It was aimed at kids who had grown too old for Sesame Street, and was designed to promote literacy and reading skills. It was a huge success, developed a huge cult following. It originally ran from 1971-1977, and was on in re-runs on PBS well into the late 1980s.

Well, the Sesame Workshop (the re-named Children's Television Workshop) decided its time to bring it back. It'll be targeted for kids aged 6-9, and once again focus on reading and literacy.

I remember catching a couple episodes when I was a kid. This show was trippy.

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