(MGM/UA, Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.98 SRP)

As sequels go, I actually enjoyed Barbershop 2. Sure, it fell into the common trap of relying almost solely on the likeability of its characters (particularly Cedric the Entertainer's barber/caustic sage) – but that's not always a bad thing. It isn't here, and it almost makes up for the by-the-numbers plot involving encroaching development threatening the future of Calvin's neighborhood barbershop. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, a cast video commentary (with Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Troy Garity, & Jazsmin Lewis), music videos, and the theatrical trailer.

(Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$99.98 SRP)

Produced in 1995 (way, way back in 1995), the 10-episode History of Rock N' Roll was a comprehensive, star-studded look at Rock's roots, its evolution, its impact, and the people that made it all happen. Remastered here in 5.1 surround, it's also an aural journey that will suck you in. I couldn't tear myself away from it – I watched the whole thing straight through and still wished there was more.

(Rhino, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)

"Marshall, Will, & Holly, on a routine expedition…" Finish that lyric and realize that your childhood was spent watching a show that had the ability to enthrall audiences with cheap sets, moderately acceptable acting, and surprisingly interesting scripts. It's Land of the Lost, of course, and now you can own The Complete First Season . Doesn't that make you giddy? The 17 episodes are great, but even better are the 10 audio commentaries from the actors and writers (including sci-fi legends Walter Koenig, David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana, and Larry Niven), plus interviews and more. What kind of a pop culture goofball am I?

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

It's no staggering work of genius, but The Perfect Score is a genial enough comedy about a group of teens intent on passing the S.A.T. the only way they know how – by stealing the answers. If John Hughes made a heist movie, this would be it. The DVD includes an audio commentary with director Brian Robbins and writer Mark Schwahn, a making-of featurette, and the theatrical trailer.

(Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$14.99 SRP)

After the high of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, there was no where for Paul Reubens to go but down (keep the jokes to yourself), and there's a definite spark missing from Big Top Pee Wee. Maybe it's because co-writer Phil Hartman isn't involved this go round, or it could be something else – regardless it's just a flat affair that only occasionally evokes the classic that preceded it.

(New Line, Rated R, DVD-$27.95 SRP)

Even when a film falls flat on it's a**, I will at least give it credit when it fails while attempting to be something outside the mediocre (and predictable) norm. The Butterfly Effect is one of those glorious failures, as it tries to present a scenario that challenges the intelligence and attention span of the audience. Since he was a child, Evan Treborn has experienced periods of lost time – spans where he wouldn't black out, but instead would suddenly wonder where the last 15 minutes or so had gone, since he had no memory of what happened during that span. His doctor suggests he begin keeping notebooks in an effort to track this lost time.  He also experienced a pretty screwed up childhood, with the his traumatized friend, abused girlfriend-that-never-was, and her psychotic brother. As a college psychology student, he makes the discovery that he's able to travel back in time to moments chronicled in his notebooks, his mind inhabiting his younger self's body. So what does he decide to do? Alter the course of his life and those of his friends. But what this exceedingly bleak film makes quite clear (to its detriment, in the long run) is that even the most minor of changes have a ripple effect of unintended consequences (the "chaos theory" alluded to in the title). That's the film in a brief nutshell. Like I said, it's a bleak affair, and it tends to fall apart due to Ashton Kutcher's rather flat take on Evan, but it's still an inventive piece of filmmaking worth checking out. The Infinifilm DVD includes a Director's Cut that is far superior to the theatrical version (so skip that) as well as an audio commentary with co-directors/writers Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber, documentaries on the creative process and visual effects, featurettes dealing with the science featured in the film, a storyboard gallery, and the original theatrical trailer.

(Miramax, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP)

Cinebuffs will want to pick up a copy of Martin Scorsese's exploration of Italian Cinema, My Voyage To Italy. Similar to Scorsese's look at American cinema from a few years back, this doc takes a fascinating look at the importance, craft, and art of the great Italian films and filmmakers. Can the French cinema version be far behind?

(Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.98 SRP)

The Name of the Rose has been on many a DVD wish list, and all those pathetically geeky prayers have finally been answered. Special features include a vintage making-of documentary, commentary with director Jean-Jaques Annaud, a photo video journey feature with Annaud, and the theatrical trailer. Christian Slater fans rejoice! Oh, and you Connery people, too…

(Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.97 SRP)

Remember when sword & sorcery flicks were all the rage in the 80's? Remember when Schwarzenegger traded on his image as Conan to make a quick buck co-starring in the big screen adaptation of Red Sonja– starring Brigitte Nielsen? If you don't remember how tacky the 80's were, pick up the newly released DVD and let the memories flood back.

(HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP)

I've never really gotten into Six Feet Under. I can understand its appeal to people – quirky characters, dramatically offbeat situations, an interesting premise… the whole family dynamic… but it's just never been my cup of tea. Still, those who enjoy the series will want to snap up the Complete Second Season, which contains all 13 episodes across 5 discs, plus audio commentaries on 5 episodes, a 20-minuite featurette on the show's special effects, and a season 1 recap.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$139.95 SRP)

As much as I malign Voyager, it still had the ability to draw upon all of the goodwill that was engendered by earlier Trek incarnations stretching back to the original series (since these events lie in Enterprise's future, the most that pathetic abomination has been able to draw on is a hackneyed shoehorn of the Borg). Nowhere is this emotional shortcut more evident than in Voyager's third season, which gave us the Q civil war ("The Q and the Grey"), Sulu ("Flashback"), time travel ("Future's End"), and the Borg ("Scorpion"). Does it help matters? Not really. But at the very least, Voyager still had a clutch of likeable characters (one of the few things that made it watchable) – unlike Enterprise's increasingly motley crew. Can you tell I loathe Enterprise ? Good. Anything that makes Voyager look better by comparison has to be truly pathetic. Season 3 bonus features include a Season 3 overview, character profiles of Neelix and Kes, a spotlight on "Flashback," "Real Science with Andre Bormanis," a special effects featurette, and the usual assortment of easter egg featurettes.

(Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

So, if you're going to learn anything from Against the Ropes, it's that Meg Ryan really shouldn't star in true stories about a brassy wanna-be female boxing manager who takes on a young fighter (Omar Epps) in the hopes of making him a world class boxing champion. What do you get? A confused little pic that, sadly, shows us a Meg Ryan whose star is fading. And it's got Charles S. Dutton in it as well. So at least there's that… Not a total loss, then. The anamorphic DVD contains 2 featurettes and the theatrical trailer.

(MGM/UA, Rated PG, DVD-$27.95 SRP)

Was the world really crying out for another Agent Cody Banks? I don't think so… I don't remember calling out for the first one, either, but that's because I'm a bastard who likes very little. Anyway, they must have sensed a subconscious desire of the public to see Frankie Muniz attempt to establish a post-sitcom career because they've given us the ho-hum Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. Is there a reason to watch it? Just one, really – the antics of the underappreciated Anthony Anderson. The DVD features a visual cast commentary, behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, gallery, and trailer.

(Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD- $29.98 SRP)

Prep for the release of The Bourne Supremacy by picking up the new special edition of The Bourne Identity, complete with a brand-new beginning and ending. Bonus features include interviews, deleted scenes, and featurettes. You even get a free pass to see Supremacy. Now that's a  deal.

(Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$19.98 SRP)

It seems every time Steven Spielberg's classic TV movie about one man's really bad day on the road was announced for release, it would be pulled right before it hit shelves. Delay after delay has kept Duel from fans for over two years (closer to three), but it now looks like the heat mirage is real. The picture and sound have never looked better (and if you've seen it on TV lately, you know how bad those prints had gotten), and we've even got bonus materials to boot. So what have we got? How's "Steven Spielberg on Making Duel" featurette, "Steven Spielberg and the Small Screen" featurette, "Richard Matheson: The Writing of Duel" featurette, a photograph gallery, trailer, production notes, and bios? That good enough for you?

(MGM/UA, Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.95 SRP)

Put thoughts of the misguided remake out of your mind and revisit the still powerful (and relevant) original as The Manchurian Candidate gets a beautiful DVD transfer and some spiffy extras. Bonus materials include an audio commentary with director John Frankenheimer, "Queen of Diamonds" featurette with Angela Lansbury, interviews, "A Little Solitaire" featurette with William Friedkin, a photo gallery, and the original theatrical trailer. Forget that thing in theaters – see this instead.

(Miramax, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)

I honestly didn't think there could be a bigger trainwreck than the first season of Project Greenlight, but boy was I wrong. As is readily apparent early on in the 2-disc Complete 2^nd Season, the egos (and utter cluelessness) of the two co-directors far eclipses that of Season 1's Pete Smith. That the film they produced, The Battle of Shaker Heights (included in the set), is even watchable is due largely to Erica Beeney's script and star Shia LaBeouf. The set features deleted scenes, additional footage, and more. I can't wait for Season 3's disaster.

(Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP)

As first-time efforts go, the documentary Slasher is an enjoyable portrait of a man (the titular "Slasher") whose job is about as mercenary as it gets. Essentially, he's brought into ailing car dealerships in order to conduct "Slasher" sales – events intended to move massive amounts of stagnant inventory in a very short amount of time. When I mentioned that this doc was a first-time effort, I wasn't kidding – it's directed by John Landis. Yes, that John Landis, making his very first documentary. And it works. The portrait he paints of the Slasher, Michael Bennett, it an affectionate look at a loving family man (his devotion to the family he often has to leave for extended periods of work is a centerpiece of the film) dealing with numerous demons (drinking amongst them), but who's damn good at his cutthroat profession. Landis balances all these elements along with a healthy does of the comedy of character and situation at hand, as Bennett (with the aide of his DJ and mercenary salesman) attempt to work their mojo at a sleepy Toyota dealership in economically depressed Memphis – all in the span of 3 days. Will they succeed? Pick it up and find out. The DVD contains an audio commentary with Landis and the crew, deleted scenes, and the IFC making-of featurette.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$14.99 SRP)

Martin Ritt's adaptation of John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is still a Cold War classic, and I was happy to catch up with its world of spies and counterspies on DVD with a beautiful new transfer. Imagine if a burnt-out James Bond decided not to go quietly into that good night (a desk job) at the height of the Cold war, and you've got this flick, starring Richard Burton as the ragged British agent in question. There are no special features, but the film is special enough.

(Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

Sometimes I think Columbia/Tristar is playing mind games with us. They'll go from rapid fire TV-on-DVD releases to massive, seemingly arbitrary gaps. Case in point is All in the Family: The Complete Third Season, which comes over a year after the release of the second season. I can only hope the next release comes a lot quicker – this is when the show was really on the ball.

(Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP each)

Like latter-day Rocky & Bullwinkles, the line-up of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim bloc have become the current benchmark of combining limited animation with smart scripts to produce some of the funniest cartoons… Well, ever. The bloc is full of winners, but two of best are Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021. Aqua Teen sees the release of its second volume, while Sealab gets its first – both of which contain 13 episodes of giddy goodness spread across 2 discs. Bonus features on Aqua Teen include audio commentaries on 3 episodes (plus one on the bonus Space Ghost episode "Baffler Meal"), deleted scenes, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a music video. Sealab gets shortchanged with only the original pilot presentation, alternate endings for "I, Robot," deleted scenes, and the uncensored ending to "Radio Free Sealab." Whither the audio commentaries?

(Lion's Gate, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

If you were to make Kurosawa's Rashomon into a TV series for the same network that thinks Law & Order is the second coming, you'd most likely get Boomtown. Essentially, the show looks at a single crime from multiple points of view, all of which hold a piece of the truth. In execution, it actually makes for some compelling television when it's firing on all cylinders, as you can discover with the 5-disc Boomtown: Season One. Bonus features include 6 cast-filled audio commentaries and 2 featurettes.

(Walt Disney, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP)

I will admit that most of the appeal of a fluffy teen-geared pic like Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is star Lindsey Lohan. There. I said it. The plot – some fish-out-of-water thing about an urbanite (Lohan) who must reassert her diva-ness when she's forced to go suburbanite – is inconsequential. The DVD contains an audio commentary, deleted scene, featurette, and a music video.

(Lion's Gate, Rated R, DVD-$19.95 SRP)

In the annals of crappy cinema, there are some films that are so bad – so awfully atrocious – that they reach a state of transcendence. They become, in a white hot flash of mediocrity, things of inane beauty that can actually be viewed and enjoyed as blissful disasters. In the pantheon of such films, there is a film which manages to put many others to shame, in its sheer idiocy. That film is Highlander 2, and it's just gotten a special edition re-release. They've actually gone back and redone over 100 effects shots (like that was the problem). Can you believe it? The 2-disc set contains new and original documentaries and featurettes, deleted scenes, and the original theatrical trailer. Sadly, nowhere on the disc does Sean Connery offer a mea culpa. Everyone should see this film at least once. It's mandatory.

(Shout Factory!, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP)

Watching How's Your News?, you get a sense that the camera is actually pointing at you, observing how you react to what is being presented before you. Maybe that's because it points out the hypocrisy and exclusionary actions our society deals with in the pursuit of political correctness. The documentary chronicles the cross-country travels of a group of five extroverted reporters with mental and physical disabilities. While traversing the country in an RV, they stop in locations across the country and conduct man-on-the-street interviews, often encountering the awkward reactions I described above. More than anything else, this film is an exercise in the desires we all share, rather than whatever may divide us – such as the awkward silence that creeps in as we try and assess our reactions to other people who appear "different." Muppets Take Manhattan said it best – "People is People." The DVD contains an audio commentary with the cast, the original pilot, festival footage, a Split Screen feature on the show, an NPR appearance, reporter Ron Simonson's encounter with his idol, an interview with executive producers Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and a photo gallery.

(HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$24.98 SRP)

HBO's K Street is an odd little animal. Produced by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, it's essentially an inside look at the art of Washington's Spin machine, starring James Carville and Mary Matalin as a pair of consultants in this interesting fusion of fiction and reality. Honestly, it'' hard to describe – but it's fascinating to watch. The DVD contains all 10 episodes of the series, and it deserves a spin of its own.

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP)

It's often that I wondered how a show like Millennium stayed on the air. Credit must be given to the presence of X-Files creator Chris Carter's name, because the show was bleak as hell. Each episode featured retired serial killer profiler Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) putting another piece of the puzzle of the mysterious "Millennium Group" together as he runs up against unspeakable horrors and icky evil. Think of it as a depressive Kolchak. The 6-disc Complete First Season features an audio commentary from Carter on the pilot, a second commentary from director David Nutter on the episode "Gehenna," TV spots, a season one retrospective, and more.

(Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

Bringing the idea of soap operas and their serialized nature to TV is nothing new. Putting a comic spin on the genre, however, was unique – and as funny as it was groundbreaking. The show that did it was titled, appropriately enough, Soap. It revolved around the intertwined stories of two sisters – Jessica Tate (played to daffy perfection by Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell – and their vastly different families. Jessica's family is well-off, Mary's is blue collar. From there, things get crazy – in a good way. In the first season (released on DVD last year), we find that Jessica's husband Chester is cheating on her with his secretary, while Jessica is cheating with her tennis instructor - who also is sleeping with Jessica's daughter. Said tennis instructor is also the long-lost son of Mary's second husband, Burt (Richard Mulligan), who murdered Mary's first-husband (a gangster) when he tried to extort money out of Burt's construction business. Mary has two sons – Danny (Ted Wass) is a mobster tasked with killing Burt if he wants to get out of the mob, and Jodie (Billy Crystal), TV's first open homosexual, who wants to get a sex change. And that's not the half of it… I didn't even get to Burt's ventriloquist son. Also featured is Robert Guillaume as the Tate's butler, Benson – a character which would spin off after the second season into his own long-running show. It's been a long wait, but Soap: The Complete Second Season has finally hit stores, and the lunacy only escalates… Think cults, kidnappers, and alien abduction. The 3-disc set contains 22 episodes, plus an interview featurette with the show's creators, and a bonus presentation of the pilot episode.

(Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, DVD-$27.95 SRP)

A "tongue in cheek" approach to adapting old TV shows is a delicate path fraught with peril. There are some successes (the Brady Bunch films, for example) and some failures (Dragnet). When the source material was already quite schlocky, as it was with Starsky & Hutch, the feat is even more dangerous, as humor comes far too cheap from the situation alone. Sadly, this flick – starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as our "heroes" – never takes off, suffering from a script that never decides if it wants to be funny or merely humorous. I will grant it this, however – casting Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear was a stroke of genius. The anamorphic DVD contains commentary with writer/director Todd Phillips, deleted scenes, a making-of mockumentary, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer.

(MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

Jonathan Frakes' live action update may sink or swim, but we'll always have the original Thunderbirds feature films in snazzy DVD quality. Supermarionation never looked so good, and you can relive the retro-goodness with the 2-disc Thunderbirds: International Rescue Edition , which contains both Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbirds 6. Not only that, but you also get audio commentaries, featurettes a-plenty, photo galleries, and trailers. Cool, cool COOL!

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP)

While it's been years since I got a chuckle out of Jim Davis's comfort food strip, I was a huge fan of the Garfield and Friends TV show, watching it every Saturday morning during its multi-year run. Maybe that's because the writing was handled by veteran comic/TV scribe Mark Evanier and the voices were done by a who's who of voice acting legends. The 3-disc Garfield and Friends: Volume 1 features 24 episodes of feline hilarity.

(Columbia/Tristar, Rated PG-13, DVD-$28.95 SRP)

After watching Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mike Mignola's Hellboy, I'm of two minds. On one level, it's a relatively faithful adaptation of the source material (a rarity to delight in), but sadly, it's a film that's all dressed up and goes nowhere. You never get a sense that Hellboy (Ron Perlman, who must feel latex is a curse by now) can be injured – he survives acid, fire, water and more with barely a scratch – so you never feel any danger in a given battle. Add to that a trio of villains – and a massive, anticlimactic big baddy - never given much depth, and what you have is a film full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I also have issues with the bright palette of the film (washing out the color might have added some much-needed atmosphere, keeping it closer to Mignola's source material, plus masked some of the more awkward CG). Even though an expanded edition will be released later this year, the current 2-disc set is nothing to shake a stick at – including cast & creator audio commentaries, set visits, deleted scenes with optional del Toro commentary, a 2 ½ hour making-of documentary, trailers, TV spots, and much more. Even better, there's also a clutch of classic Gerald McBoing-Boing shorts from the Columbia vaults. For those alone, this set is worth picking up. Also available for you del Toro fans is a new special edition of The Devil's Backbone, with an audio commentary, making-of featurette, storyboard comparisons, and trailers.

(Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$28.95 SRP)

Overall, The Jeff Foxworthy Show is an amiable affair. Not too smart, not too dumb, it's just a likeable family show starring an average comedian. The real highlights of The Complete First Season, then, are the inclusion of Jay Mohr (as Foxworthy's kid brother) and Haley Joel Osment (as Foxworthy's son). Beyond that, well, did I mention it's amiable?

Both the original BBC miniseries of Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$59.98 SRP) and the Hollywood remake starring Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters (Warner Bros., Rated R, DVD-$19.97 SRP) essentially have the same plot – a 1930's sheet music salesman living a drab life with a drab wife gets a much needed shot of color when he falls in love with a beautiful schoolteacher, complicating matters greatly. The original is a bit bleaker, starring Bob Hoskins as the conflicted salesman, but both are worth checking out, if only for comparisons sake (though you should check them both out because they're quite excellent). The 3-disc BBC set contains all 5 episodes of the miniseries, while the Hollywood version features an audio commentary with film critic Peter Rainer, a 20 ^th anniversary cast & crew reunion, and the theatrical trailer.

(Docurama, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

It seems like everyone's getting a reality series nowadays, and I'm reaching my saturation point. It takes quite a bit for me to even give a damn past the glut nowadays, but I did enjoy Rocked, IFC's series chronicling actress Gina Gershon's attempt to become a rock star (ostensibly to promote her film Prey For Rock and Roll, but the truth is that it was just a gloriously convenient excuse). Gershon's got talent and drive, but the road can be a rude wake-up call, and thankfully this series explores it all. The 2-disc set contains the complete series plus deleted scenes.

(New Video, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP)

Seriously now – how can you go wrong with the first full-length feature from legendary animator Bill Plympton? The film is The Tune, and you have to check it out to believe it. The story is about a struggling songwriter who desperately needs a hit or risk losing his girlfriend. On the way to meet his sleazy mogul boss, however, he finds himself in a surreal place that definitely isn't Kansas. I'll just say this – Elvis-impersonating dogs. 'Nuff said. The DVD contains an audio commentary with Plympton & composer Maureen McElheron, a documentary on Plympton, a storyboard gallery, photo gallery, music tracks, and a trailer for Hair High.