This Week: Home Video (Sep. 6-13) Monday September 6, 2010 Out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week: Chuck: The Complete Third Season (2009) Season 3 of Chuck involved a major transformation for the character, ramping up not only his abilities but his maturity and expertise as a spy. A shift that dramatic could have broken the show, if it had been built entirely around Chuck's ineptitude as an IT guy in the world of spies; but the framework of the show was plenty flexible enough to accommodate Chuck's character expansion. Features: Declassified scenes; Chuck-Fu...and Dim Sum: becoming a spy guy; The Jeffster Revolution: the definitive mockumentary; Gag reel. Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season (2009) "Remember when we used to just hunt wendigos?" "Not really, no." The constant upping of the ante on Supernatural left them with literally no place to go but Lucifer, God, and the Apocalypse, incidentally necessitating some (often tongue-in-cheek) theology. The radical escalation of the early idea (two boys roaming the country quashing restless spirits) and the character development forced by Sam and Dean having gone through hell makes season 5 both a different show than it was in season 1, and a world-shattering culmination of its small-stakes origins. Features: Supernatural: Apocalypse Survival Guides - Bobby's Exclusive Video Collection; Ghostfacers: The Web Series; Producer/Writer Commentary on Episode 4, The End; Unaired Scene from Episode 9, The Real Ghostbusters; Gag Reel. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season (2009) Season 9 shows Clark getting as close as he can be to becoming Superman without actually becoming Superman: he starts wearing the shield, and using it as a calling card; he develops a complex, passionate relationship with Lois: he becomes more immersed in the DC pantheon, meeting everone from the dour relics of the Justice Society to the clueless Wonder Twins; and the actions of Zod and the Kandorians force him to come to terms with his dual-planet heritage. Features: Commentaries On 2 Key Episodes; Unaired Scenes; Kneel Before Zod!: The Evolution of a Classic Evil Character; Absolute Justice: From Script to Screen Introducing venerable justice society of America Heroes into Smallville's Universe. Doctor Who: The King's Demons (1983) It starts out strong, with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough being welcomed, perplexingly, by King John as his "demons"; but the Master, who's behind what little shenanigans there, turns out to have an even more useless plan than usual (he wants to sabotage Magna Carta? Seriously? Even the Doctor is puzzled by the banality of the plot), and the story has one of the weakest endings of 80s Who. Notorious for the introduction of the failed robot companion Kamelion. Still it has some charms, and it's nice to have an "historical" so late in the series run. Bright spot: Gerald Flood's marvelous King John is almost worth the price of admission. Features: Audio commentary by actors Peter Davison (the Doctor) and Isla Blair (Isabella) and script editor Eric Saward; Bonus commenary by director Tony Virgo on part one only; Kamelion - metal man: short history of the Doctor's robotic companion, with Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant (Peri), Eric Saward and co-creator Chris Padmore (14 mins); Magna Carta: historical background (22 mins); Photo gallery (6 mins); Isolated music score; Production note option; PDF materials (DVD-ROM) radio times listings. The Phantom (2009) The Canadian/Syfy miniseries adaptation of Lee Falk's long-running comic, starring Ryan Carnes (who played Laszlo in "Daleks in Manhattan") as an adrenaline-junkie, tech-ready scion of a secret line of crime-fighters. It aired in June, not that anyone noticed. While it's not abominable, it has two basic problems: first, the modern updating strips the concept of its eerie gothic atmosphere; and second, Kick Ass had a better costume, no joke. Features: Interview with Director Paolo Barzman; Interview with Ryan Carnes 'The Phantom'.

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I think we should reinstate wonder, and banish expectations.