My Two Cents
Friday, 22 September 2023 16:19

Blue Beetle, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2, a Picard: Final Season disc fix, Imprint’s December slate & more!

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Greeting, Bits-ers! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA here this week. I’ve had a couple unexpected things happening here over the last few days, not the least of which is that my longtime workhorse home theater projector—an Epson 5040UB—decided to die unexpectedly. It appears to be a problem with the mainboard, so I find myself in the position of either having to repair it (which I’m currently investigating) or replacing it (which I’m also researching). If I go with the latter option, it will almost certainly be one of the new JVC models, which I’ve been hearing raves about for a while now. But of course, given the challenges and expenses of running a website in the 21st century—especially at a time when everyone else seems to be publishing everything they do on the wildly passive-aggressive, unvetted information vortex that is social media—suffice it to say that equipment failure was not on my 2022 budgetary Bingo card.

In any case, while I deal with that, I’ve just gotten not only Prey 4K and Loki: The Complete First Season 4K for review, and I’ve already launched into work on a review of the former using my flat panel. So look for that to be posted very soon.

Also today, our very own Stuart Galbraith IV has just chimed in with a review of Imprint’s excellent new Film Focus: Gene Hackman box set, which includes I Never Sang for My Father (1970), Bite the Bullet (1975), March or Die (1977), and The Domino Principle (1977) all on Blu-ray. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

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In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has set Blue Beetle for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 10/31, with the Digital version expected to drop on 9/26. Extras will include the 4-part Generations: Blue Beetle documentary and two featurettes (Nana Knows Best and Scarab Vision). You’ll find that cover art above left and also below.

Also today, Paramount has just officially announced that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season Two will arrive on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 12/5. Both Blu-ray versions will include 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, while the 4K will include Dolby Vision HDR. Extras on all SKUs include 5 featurettes (Producing Props, The Costumes Closet, The Gorn, Singing in Space, and Exploring New Worlds), along with Deleted, Extended, and Alternate Scenes. You can see the cover artwork below. Both the Blu-ray and the 4K are available in Steelbook and Amaray packaging. And the 4K package adds “a set of four exclusive character magnets that lets fans customize the key art with their favorite character!” Okay then.

By the way, Paramount has also confirmed that their new Blu-ray of Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season is going to be updated with an enhanced visual effect shot that was not included in the first replication run of the discs. Here’s their official statement on the subject:

“The version of the series finale episode of Star Trek: Picard (The Last Generation) included on the North American Blu-ray and DVD release was indeed a finished version of that episode, intended for air. The shot of the Enterprise-D was later enhanced for a theatrical screening for fans and subsequently made available for the streaming audience on Paramount+. Paramount Home Entertainment is updating that disc to include the final episode with the enhanced shot of Enterprise-D, so that it will appear on all new manufacturing of the physical product.”

What we don’t know yet is whether they’ll do a disc replacement program for those who have already purchased The Final Season or The Complete Series on Blu-ray. We do, however, know that this fix will delay the already-announced 10/17 release of Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection by a month. Look for that to street now on 11/7. When we know more about a possible disc replacement program, we’ll let you know.

And finally this afternoon, our friends at Imprint Films have recently revealed their next Imprint Television title, which is none other than The Avengers: The Tara King Collection. The 11-disc set will include 33 classic episodes in HD, with both legacy and new special features. The set will also include a bonus disc with early episodes from the first two seasons, as well as audio reconstructions of lost episodes from the first season. Street date is 11/29. Here’s what that will look like...

The Avengers: The Tara King Collection (Blu-ray box set)

By the way, Imprint has also announced its December Blu-ray slate, which will include a Film Focus: Marlon Brando – Volume 1 box set—featuring Sayonara (1957), The Fugitive Kind (1960), One-Eyed Jacks (1961), The Ugly American (1963), Bedtime Story (1964), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)—as well as a Directed by Sidney Lumet: Volume 1 box set—including The Pawnbroker (1964), The Group (1966), The Deadly Affair (1967), Child’s Play (1972), The Offence (1973), and Serpico (1973)—and Bob Fosse’s Lenny (1974), Franklin J. Shaffner’s Islands in the Stream (1977), and Frank Pierson’s King of the Gypsies (1978). The approximate street date for all of these is 12/27. You can find them all here.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for some of the titles mentioned above and more. Just click on the images to visit their Amazon pre-order pages...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Two (Steelbook 4K Ultra HD) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Two (Blu-ray Disc) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season Two (Steelbook Blu-ray Disc)

Blue Beetle (4K Ultra HD) Blue Beetle (Blu-ray Disc) Prey (4K Ultra HD)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

 

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