The 1968 series stars Patrick McGoohan as a man caught in a nightmare. After leaving his super-secret job, he is kidnapped and wakes up in The Village, a happy, Waldenesque town where people are numbers and no one is allowed to think for themselves. Under the watchful eye of Big Brother, Number Six, as he is labeled, must decode the secret of The Village so he can escape and get back to the real world. . . that is if the real world still exists to return to.

This Blu-ray features a newly remixed 5.1 surround sound track and hours of bonus footage including:

• ‘Don’t Knock Yourself Out’: a feature-length documentary chronicling the production
• Two Brand-New Featurettes: ‘The Pink Prisoner’ and ‘You Make Sure it Fits!’
• Newly restored original edit of ‘Arrival’ with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs’ complete and abandoned score
• Ooriginal edit of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’
• Production crew audio commentaries on seven episodes
• Archive textless material, including the title sequence with clean  themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs and Robert Farnon
• Image Archive with over 1200 stills
• Production Paperwork Archive, featuring scripts, call sheets and press releases (DVD-ROM Feature).

I love behind the scenes materials, so that DVD-Rom feature makes me giddy with joy.

If you would like to win the original The Prisoner: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray (remember, this will not play on your DVD player, you must have a Blu-ray player), here’s how you enter:

ENTER TO WIN

Leave a comment on this post with the answer to this question: If you were a number, what number would you be?

Deadline to enter is November 18 at midnight PST. Winner will be notified by email and will have three days to respond.

US only please.

Photo: Amazon

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**Best Buy – Collectible Gift Set with four pack of badge pins. (As seen in photo)

**Hollywood Video – Rent/Buy any Star Trek DVD and be entered to win an autographed poster of Uhura (Zoe Saldana).

**Transworld (FYE/Coconuts/Suncoast) – Collectible Steelbook packaging.

**CVS – Consumer Offer. Buy $15 (or more) in iTunes gift cards and get the DVD (single disc) for only $9.99 (First week only).

**Target – Limited Edition Collectible Starship Enterprise Packaging on both 2-Disc DVD and 3-Disc Blu-ray. (Video available at above download link).

**Amazon.com – Star Trek Limited Edition Replica Gift Set (Three-Disc + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

CANADA
**Best Buy Canada – 3-Disc Special Edition Blu-Ray Collectible packaging – Easily assembles to become a Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise DVD Package! (same as Target in the US).

**Future Shop – Exclusive 2 Disc Steelbook Edition and 3-Disc Blu-Ray Steelbook Edition.

**HMV – Limited Edition Blu-Ray Gift Set – includes Star Trek 3-Disc Blu-Ray set with Digital copy and Four Replica Starfleet Division Badges.

**Wal-Mart Canada – Exclusive Lenticular o-sleeve package on the Star Trek 2 disc DVD.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment

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When it came to playing John Robinson,  the fatherly part was new for actor Guy Williams, but the strong and brave part was a no brainer as he had spent two years portraying that swashbuckling, western hero, Zorro!

This past Tuesday (November 3, 2009) Walt Disney Home Entertainment released all 78 episodes of  Zorro on two Walt Disney Treasures DVDs.

The Walt Disney Treasures releases are truly something special. They come in unusual numbered tin cases and in this case, they each come with a collectible Zorro pin and a photo postcard. These black tins with gold lettering are a fitting homage to one of the most popular TV shows of the 1950’s.

In Zorro, Guy Williams played Don Diego de la Vega, a playboy by day he fought corruption by night, garbed in black, with a mask, a cape and a rapier as his choice of weapon. Zorro was full of action from chase scenes on horseback to exciting sword fights. It also had original Disney music and some terrific guest stars such as Mousekteer Annette Funicello and future Batman villain Cesar Romero. It was a terrific series that launched a cultural icon which would be copied and remade dozens of times in the movies and on TV.

Like all great Disney DVD’s, this one has some very rare goodies. In addition to the complete first and second season, you get several Zorro specials that aired on the Disneyland TV show in 1960.

On the Second Season DVD,  Leonard Maltin and Guy Williams Jr. take you on a tour through the Disney archives and give you a detailed look at the original Zorro costumes and licensed merchandise. Zorro playsets, wallets, rings, even roller skates! And for only .59 cents you could own your own Zorro mask and whip.  I am a huge collector of licensed TV Toys (I even wrote a book about them), so this is my favorite feature on the DVD.  There’s also a collection of rare behind the scenes photos including one of Guy Jr. himself dressed as Zorro. Very sweet. Guy shares his memories of his dad and tells a great story about a special surprise he received from Walt Disney himself.

Guy Williams fans will really enjoy the “Behind the Mask” featurette. Here, co-stars and friends talk about Guy and how he came to the role of Zorro. There are fun stories about how he developed that truly awful accent and how he handled the large number of stunts on the show. The best quote comes from one of his female co-stars who had this to say about Guy, “he was a Latin gentleman with a wicked sense of humor who made women feel extremely feminine.” Funny, one could use that same phrase to describe Zorro himself.

One of the rarest treats on this DVD is a home movie clip of Guy Williams playing Zorro in front of the fans at Disneyland. He rides in on horseback, waving to the crowd, then has a sword fight on the top deck of the showboat. It’s a short piece with no sound, but I’m so glad they included it.

All of that is only one DVD set. There are even more surprises on the other!

The Walt Disney Treasures Zorro collection is more than a DVD. It really is a collectible, from the packaging to the extras, to the care that was put in to remastering these old TV shows and presentation of the special features. It’s a must have for Disney fans, Guy Williams fans and anyone who loves a good superhero — it’s Zorro!

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Home Entertainment

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The prize pack includes the two-disc special edition DVD, a poster and a t-shirt so you can show the world that you’re a fan.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post and we’d love it even more if you mentioned your favorite Transformers character from this movie or even the original cartoon.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits store shelves in both DVD and Blu-ray on October 20. In the meantime, check out their website for fun Transformers content such as personalized phone calls from Optimus Prime/Starscream and the “Robotize Me” app.

CONTEST DETAILS

US Residents Only

Deadline to enter is October 20 at midnight PST

Photo: Amazon

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*   *   *  *

Irwin Allen’s spectacular underwater epic City Beneath the Sea, has finally been released on DVD by Warner Bros. Archives. This long overdue release will be of great welcome to Irwin Allen and science fiction fans everywhere!

In the 21st century, Commander Mike Mathews, (Stuart Whitman) is called back to resume his duty by the President, played by (Richard Basehart) of the underwater metropolis Pacifica. There were two reasons for his return to Pacifica, it housed the entire Fort Knox gold supply, making it very vulnerable, as well as the earth was being threatened by a giant meteor, capable of destroying the whole planet!

I remember seeing this film for the first time many, many years ago, and it leaving quite an impression. A great cast, Stuart Whitman, Rosemary Forsythe, Robert Wagner, and Robert Colbert to name a few.This, in combination with good use of old props and excellent miniature work, the most impressive, being the city itself. Many new, and elaborate models and miniatures were created. Futuristic and cargo submarines, a cool vehicle called an Aquadozer, and if you look real closely, you may even spot a cameo of the great Seaview far off in the distance. The Flying Sub, (which doubles as the “Aquafoil”) has a new color scheme and is put to good use here.

Irwin Allen’s previous ground-breaking science fiction series, Lost in Space,  The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had all gone into syndication. The prolific and energetic producer-director had intended this pilot film as his fifth series. I have always thought this film was like all four shows rolled up in one! Its high production values, brilliant use of color, extraordinary miniature work, all star cast and of course, lots of action! This is one of the great, slightly overlooked, works of Irwin Allen. His contribution to science fiction was well ahead of its time, and will always be etched in our memory.

I am very happy to see this excellent film, finally released on DVD by Warner Archives. It deserves attention as a single release, by one science fiction’s great master’s Irwin Allen!

*Warner has also released Gene Roddenbery’s Genesis II, Earth II and The Man From Atlantis. To purchase City Beneath the Sea or any of these DVDs, visit the Warner Archives.

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Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

If you’re going Blu-ray, head over to Best Buy for their limited gift set which includes an exclusive Optimus Prime mini head replica and $50 gift card to sideshowcollectibles.com. Now that’s a nice bonus.

If you’re not into the whole experience, Amazon has the single-disc DVD version of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen for under $20.

The official Transformers website has some fun content in honor of the release including personalized phone calls from Optimus Prime/Starscream and the “Robotize Me” app.

Want to go behind the scenes on Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. Click here for the video if you can’t see it after the cut.

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I got to revisit that era this past week when I reviewed the new classic Doctor Who US releases from BBC Worldwide. Two of the DVD’s are from the Tom Baker era (1974-1981), “Image of Fendahl” and “The Deadly Assassin.” The third is “Delta and Bannermen” starring Sylvester McCoy who reigned from 1987-1989.

Two things impressed me about these DVD releases. First is the quality of the print. Having only seen these as grainy copies on TV with rabbit ears, anything would have been an improvement. But these digitally remastered prints are far beyond what I was expecting. Obviously, they don’t have the depth and high definition of today’s Doctor, but they’re very clean and watchable.

The other thing that impressed me was the array of special features on each DVD. All of them have commentary with the Doctor himself and other actors and crew members. “Image of Fendahl” has Wanda Ventham, whom I remember from UFO. They each include a behind the scenes looks with interviews by key players, photo galleries, trailers and a PDF of the Radio Times listing from the era.

“Delta and the Bannermen” also includes Clown Court outtakes of McCoy on The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow and a Seventh Doctor Comic Strip Retrospective. On “The Deadly Assassins” we look deeper at the novel The Manchurian Candidate which inspired the episode and find out the Doctor’s Frighten Factor.

Real die-hard fans will get a kick out of the deleted and extended scenes on “Image of the Fendahl.” These clips are made up of poor quality, black and white footage, because the original copies of these bits have been lost or destroyed. So kudos to the DVD producers who made the effort to include these rare scenes.

And here’s a hint: If you own these DVD’s I’m told there’s an Easter Egg on at least two of them.

I really enjoyed traveling through time with Doctor Who and his companions. As a fan who rediscovered the show thanks to the newest incarnation, it was nice to go back and relive my first memories of the show.

The DVDs were released on September 1 and are available at Amazon or any large DVD retailer.

Photo: Amazon

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Fringe: The Complete First Season hits stores on September 8 and it has a ton of great special features including production diaries and even an homage to Gene the cow.

Have you signed up for the Fringe Tweet-Peat party? Peter, Walter and the producers will be Tweeting away during tomorrow night’s episode. Click here for all the details including the Twitter addresses you need to follow.

Fringe returns with all new episodes Thursday, Sept. 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Brian Bowen Smith/FOX

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If you have a Target in your area, you might want to buy your copy of the DVD there. They’re offering a 45 minute bonus DVD of the Supernatural panel at Comic Con. That’s the only bonus I’ve seen on this edition, so if you know of one please do post it in the comments.

If you have iTunes, visit the Supernatural page to download a free clip from the season premiere. You’ll find it in the listings at the bottom of the page. You might also find it other places around the net. . . . SPOILER HERE. . . the clip deals with a Supernatural fangirl playing off the book idea from “Monster at the End of this Book.” I’m not all that happy about their interpretation of the fanbase but having spent the whole weekend following #vancon Twitters, I’m hardly in a position to complain.

If you want to know what happened at the Vancouver con, check out the Supernatural Wiki con page, it’s a fabulous listing of all the pics, reports and even those vids that aren’t supposed to exist. If you don’t mind mild visual spoilers, several fans stumbled on a very public filming location late last week and you’ll find pics from that around the web. There are some great ones right here.

So that’s it. You are now up to date on all things Supernatural.

Photo: Amazon

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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment calls a press conference to announce the release of Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection on DVD.

Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection is a great look at some of the classic films of Ishiro Honda and Toho Studios. This DVD set, which streets on August 18, includes H-Man (1958), Battle in Outer Space (1959), and Mothra (1961).  Each film has been digitally re-mastered for the best possible picture and includes the original Japanese versions and the U.S. versions, and commentaries on Battle in Outer Space and Mothra.

Mothra was one of my favorite Saturday afternoon monster movies beating out the original Godzilla by a mile. There’s something about the awesome, paintbox colors and bad split screen images that just screams Creature Double Feature. Back in the day, the films of Toho Studios were known for their patented widescreen technique, the Japanese version of Cinemascope, named TohoScope. I can still hear Lenny and Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley expressing their delight over an 18-hour monster movie marathon “in TohoScope!” Must have been something to see.

But, since I can’t see these cool movies on the big screen, I’ll settle for the remastered versions on DVD. Since I’ve only ever seen them on TV, I imagine I’ve been missing quite a lot.

H-Man (1958)

The Tokyo sewer system is an oozing mess after a radioactive liquid turns people into slimy blobs that float down the drains following a rainstorm. To add to the havoc, the gelatinous masses then begin to reproduce. The blobs are ultimately destroyed in a fire that lights up the city.

Battle in Outer Space (1959)

A series of mysterious catastrophes sweep the globe, causing the world’s scientists to conclude that beings from another planet are attacking earth. Two earth space ships damage the attackers, giving the world time to prepare for a gigantic battle in outer space.

Mothra™ (1961)

Members of a Japanese expedition to a heavily-radiated island find two tiny, beautiful girls and take them home for observation. When the girls are taken off the island, a mysterious egg hatches, producing a gargantuan moth which destroys everything in its path as it searches for the girls.

Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection hits stores on August 18.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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