DVD Box Sets To Avoid

First off we have the “complete” Batman Beyond series, another show I hold near and dear to my heart. Batman Beyond is one of the most underrated shows to hit the airwaves. It didn’t get much love (only lasting 3 seasons, the 3rd season an abbreviated 12-episodes long), but now being a cult-favorite, Warner Bros. has decided to release this collector’s edition:

Verdict? Don’t buy. For a few reasons: this will come out on Blu-Ray eventually. Also, this is not the complete series. Because the show ended prematurely, it was given a conclusion on another show entirely, Justice League Unlimited. The episode was titled ‘Epilogue’ and was the official sendoff for Batman Beyond.

Though in my opinion it was an awful episode. I will say why in spoiler-friendly inviso-text:

Highlight to read: Seriously? Bruce Wayne is Terry McGinnis’ dad? What a stupid notion. It undermines the whole series to a degree, and is every bit as poorly thought-out as turning Leia into Luke’s sister.

Also, Warner Bros. Home Video was rather short-sighted here and didn’t include the excellent movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, or cross-over appearances in The Zeta Project, Justice League Unlimited (the two-part “The Once and Future Thing”), and Static Shock.

I do give props for making this release packaging the same as Batman: The Complete Animated Series from 2 years ago, but I’m not a fan of the ‘board game’ boxes.

Next up there is Alien Anthology. 20th Century Fox is guilty of milking this franchise on home video for the past 12 years or so. I think they are sensing buyer fatigue, as they have gone to extremes to lure customers by bundling the quadrilogy in this:

See the completed version (the above image is a concept) here, along with video.

You get prior release features from 2003′s Alien Quadrilogy and and 1999′s Alien Legacy set, along with a scant few new extras, but this time in Blu-Ray.

I think Fox had the right idea of trying to compensate fans who have already ponied-up for the prior releases by offering a distinct package for the new HD medium. It sort of makes up for the lack of new content.

Verdict: a misfire. The egg is ugly, not even the H.R. Giger-designed Alien can offset that. Plus it is huge and not very practical - the discs are stored in the box stand underneath the sculpture. Where would you put this thing? By the TV? On your desk? Blah.

Also Fox should have included the laughable AVP movies to make this more ‘complete’ and help find a home for that spinoff franchise that no one would buy. Those movies could serve as ‘Special Features’ fodder.

Speaking of fodder, let’s face it: Aliens 3 and Alien Resurrection are also filler that help drive up the price. Everyone just wants the first 2 films.

Regardless of whether you own any previous anthology or not, skip this box set. Besides the opinions I’ve already expressed, there is one big reason: Fox and Ridley Scott are making a prequel to Alien, so you can expect another major box set when that hits home video.