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With the economy struggling and war ongoing in the Middle East, the Christmas season could've been a letdown for some. But, folks seem to be in a better mood now with "Obamania" (at least temporarily) and might be in a buying mood again. Fortunately, distributors unpacked a load of cool DVD releases just before the holidays and in the month since in hopes you'll burn up the rest of those gift cards you got in lieu of presents.
Doctor Who: "The War Machines" and "Four to Doomsday": The BBC released a classic William Hartnell story from the tail end of the First Doctor's era as he battle an evil computers "war machines." January's other release features Fifth Doctor Peter Davison in the first story he shot as The Doctor.
Avatar: The Complete Book 3 Collection: If you don't know this popular animated series by now, this DVD set is a great place to start familiarizing yourself with the pop-culture hit. The 5-Disc box set includes exclusive commentary and pencil test animation.
Speed Racer Complete Classic Series Collection: Last summer's feature film hit the wall, but the 1960s anime Speed Racer still runs smoothly. This DVD collection is packaged in a Mach 5 tin and includes all 52 episodes on 5 discs. A sixth disc set offers bonus material, including "The History of Speed Racer."
Little Britain: The Complete Collection: Little Britain, the 21st century sketch comedy show, isn't for everyone and isn't as pleasantly digestible as Monty Python or brit-coms like Coupling. But, along with The League of Gentlemen, it stands as one of the more groundbreaking shows of the last several years in Great Britain. And, this set offers you every U.K. season.
Max Payne: While critics found this – video game flick, fans of the original shooter should enjoy the action as Mark Wahlberg does a little bit of a Constantine impression.
MI-5: Vol. 6: Entitled Spooks on the BBC with the Brit-slang for spies, the series is retitled for airing in the U.S. for obvious reasons. Every season includes both one-off episodes and a series-long uber-conspiracy plot. Few shows on American TV blend drama and action as well as this import.
Frisky Dingo, Season Two: Playing with precision timing on a fictitious presidential election, Adult Swim's most inept super villain Killface of Frisky Dingo returns in the second season of this irony-rich mini-series. This set includes a presidential campaign ad that could make you rethink your November vote.
Transformers Animated Vol. 1 & 2: What could have been tossed off as a lame kiddy show, producers of Transformers: Animated made an entertaining animated adventure on the heels of the Transformers feature film capable of engaging kids and adults alike.
Ben 10: Alien Force Vol. 2: A breakout kids adventure show on Cartoon Network, this animated series follows up on the original Ben 10 with a little more of a sci-fi feel. Kids will still enjoy imagining themselves with the superpowers of 10 separate heroic creations.
Dexter Season One: Arriving on DVD in standard and high-def formats, the cases of the title's avenging serial killer (a Miami forensics investigator killing murderers who the cops can't catch), make for the kind of edgy drama Showtime uses to trump the networks whenever possible.
All images courtesy of respective distributors.
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