If you are a big “Doctor Who” fan like myself and completely obsessed with any merchandise available. Then you will be psyched to know that the officially licensed “Doctor Who” Mr. Potato Head Doll for the Eleveenth Doctor recently hits stores! Click here to purchase from BBCSHOP.com!

The Eleventh Doctor as played by “MASH” Smith! Hop in the TARDIS with Mr. Potato Head as he pays homage to the last known survivor of “Galli-Fry”, DOCTOR WHO in his quirky eleventh incarnation! Set comes complete with 8 removable parts and pieces.

It’s somewhat appropriate that the Doctor is now Mr. Potato Head — he does change his face, body, and accessories often enough. Though, he’s not a root vegetable. He’s probably met a few, though!

Product Specifications

• For Ages 2 years and Up
• Officially Licensed Doctor Who Mr. Potato Head Doll
• With eight removable parts and pieces
• For playtime or collectors
• Materials: plastic
• Dimensions: 6″ tall

Photography by Elizabeth Phillips

            Media Mikes had an awesome time at the Main Stage of the Javit’s Center throughout this year’s New York Comic, here’s some of the highlights of the panels we enjoyed. Click on any of the banners to take a look at additional photos from each.

            Same as last year, the Adult Swim panels on NYCC’s Friday evening, Venture Brothers followed immediately by Robot Chicken, were hilarious. Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick brought no clips but assured the crowd of a great premiere of the next season of the show–chiefly because it was originally intended for the fifth season’s finale!

            The Q&A session featured much discussion of David Bowie and was capped off by a fan in an amazing Venture-covered dress being too nervous to ask Doc a question, “ARE YOU TOO NERVOUS TO DANCE WITH ME?” he replied before launching off the stage and sharing a short dance to, oddly enough “Greased Lightning” from Grease.

            Robot Chicken’s panel, or the meeting of the silly hats club,  was moderated by Adult Swim VP Keith Crofford and included co-creators Matt Senreich and Seth Green and actors Clare Grant, Breckin Meyer and, in his “annual public appearance”, Macauley Culkin. Later, Doc Hammer emerged from back stage for a bit of light streaking and group hugging that ended with Seth Green licking Doc’s nipple (“He tastes like Dr. Girlfriend!”)

            The Q&A with fans produced their now-traditional sexy pose request and a sudden rivalry between Meyer and a ten-year old audience member named Emmett, who came to the mic with a beef against Green’s new sitcom “Dads.”

            On Saturday, The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel was light on cast and crew—moderator/executive producer Jeph Loeb spoke with the duo of Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge who play techies Fitz & Simmons on the show. A short Q&A was followed by a screening of the “Eye Spy” episode of the show. In the pre-screening talk, De Caestecker discussed his desire for his character to gain a pet monkey while Henstridge offered supervillain Loki as her favorite Avengers character.

            Also making showings on NYCC’s Saturday were three tween hit shows with MTV’s Teen Wolf and the CW’s Beauty and the Beast and Reign. The latter two screening full episodes which, admittedly had some of the audience impatiently shifting in their seats anxiously for the Walking Dead that evening–fans seated in the Main Stage are not cleared between panels–making waiting it out a popular option. Meanwhile, the Teen Wolf panel of Dylan O’brien, Linden Ashby, and Jeff Davis was one of the loudest of the day with a hugely enthusiastic crowd.

        Finally the people behind The Walking Dead took the stage to a huge reception from the crowd. An awesome surprise was Dead fan and Community star Yvette Nicole Brown moderating the panel. For a show about a zombie apocalypse, there was quite a bit of arguing over coupling on the show. On relationships in the show, Brown yelled at the crew, “You don’t have to put love in the show, we’ll put love in…we’ll add it in our minds!” From the fan Q&A, a young boy decked out as Daryl Dixon threw down a challenge to actors [Lauren Cohan and Steven Yuen], “Since Maggie is such a bad ass, do you really think she needs Glen to protect her?” 

Photographs by: Norman Reedus
“The Sun’s Coming Up… Like A Big Bald Head”
Hardcover Limited Edition
Release Date: October 31, 2013

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Who doesn’t love Norman Reedus right now? The guy already had a huge cult following from his work on “The Boondock Saints” films, then he went and did a little show called “The Walking Dead”. Now he is a fan favorite on the show and has a much larger worldwide following. What people might not know about Reedus is that besides just being an actor, he is also a director and a photographer.

When I interviewed Reedus (before his “The Walking Dead” fandom) back in 2010 and he went into detail on his work with with photography, paintings and sculptures. Shortly after that I went through his work, some of which is also included now in this book, and really enjoyed it. His work is very impressive and also quite unique but if you know Reedus then you see catch on to his vision throughout it. I have to admit, I am not an art critic. I do not have an artistic eye. But I would like to think that I have a pretty decent appreciation for photography and art.

“The Sun’s Coming Up… Like A Big Bald Head” comes in a very sharp looking limited-edition collector’s volume hardcover book. The photographs by Norman Reedus are very artistic and takes on an “hauntingly intimate journey through the dark and sublime.” The journey through this book is definitely dark and quite out there but also very effective. Some of the images left me a little taken back and yet still couldn’t take my eyes of them. Some are very high quality and some are low quality, which is all done on purpose encompass his artistic goal.

This book is going to have a prominent place on our coffee table since I think it will be a great conversation piece for sure. In the back of the book there is a sort of index of all the images with a title for each and where they were taken. After looking through the book once I was immediately compelled to take a second deeper look and reference the back index for each photo. Overall a very strange yet interesting trip and I look forward to spreading the word. Highly recommend for any fan of photography and art…and of course fan of Norman Reedus.

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New York Comic Con took over the Javits Center in midtown last weekend. Of course it had amazing panels and merchandise booths but the show floor wouldn’t be the same without the tons of costumed fans that flooded in. We’ve highlighted some of our favorites from the floor in the following photosets:

Marvel Universe
DC Universe
“They’ve Got Red on Them”
Random Faves

Photography by: Elizabeth Phillips

Make sure to follow our Media Mikes on Tumblr for further NYCC (and more) photo updates!

New York Comic Con
Date: Thursday, October 10th – Sunday, October 13th
Venue: Jacob K. Javitz Center, New York, New York

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

The annual New York Comic Con kapowed its way into the Jacob K. Javitz center once again this year for 4 days of fandom and craziness. From 10/10-10/14 the massive multi level convention center played host to the annual event which showcases everything from comics and video games, to pop culture icons and informative workshops. With 2012 convention attendance being reported as over 100,000 attendees for the 4 days this year’s events would easily be able to match if not top that number.

This year’s con featured a slightly different layout than that of previous years which proved to be a plus as several high traffic areas which normally wreaked havoc on fans were redesigned allowing for smooth passage to the different areas of the venue. This also included the entrances of the venue which saw expansive security fencing and added staff to help keep fans from spilling over into the bustling streets surrounding the hall. These two changes right off the bat made my time at the convention a lot better and a lot less sweaty. (If you have ever experienced the con you know what I mean). Though the convention seemed smaller than that of previous year there was certainly still plenty to keep fans busy over the 4 days. On the main convention floor fans were treated to impressive booth displays by Nintendo, Ubisoft and New York’s own Midtown Comics which all played host to a number of cool merchandise. As my assistant and I made our through the packed isles we stumbled across a number of different media personalities. Charlie Adlard of “Walking Dead” fame was spotted working commission pieces, Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria/ Evil Ink was signing for fans as were a number of other guests though out the event. To the left of the main hall was “The Block” which like in previous years was home to a bevy of multi medium artists who were on hand showcasing their newest works and products. Once again you never know who you will run in to as this time around I was lucky enough to meet punk icon Jerry Only of the Misfits who was on hand for the unveiling of the new Misfits Records logo.

Artist Alley was a buzz of excitement as hardcore comic fans filed in to meet their favorite artists and have their most prized books signed. Some of the longest lines on Friday belonged to the likes of artists Aaron Kuder (Amory Wars, Amazing Spiderman), Humberto Ramos (Superior Spiderman, Uncanny X-Men) and David Finch of “The Dark Knight” and “JLA” fame. There was certainly lots of talent on hand in this area of the convention which in my opinion was like a whole other convention in its self.

The Autographing area which much like last year still seemed worlds away from the constant bustle and activity happening on the main floor however a break from the crowd noise is always nice. On this day the longest lines belong to “The Office” star BJ Novak, “Star Wars” Anthony Daniels and “Dr. Who’s” Colin Baker. It wouldn’t be until Saturday/Sunday that the Hollywood heavy weights would turn out as booths laid in waiting for the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sylvester Stallone who after a bit of research I found out was charging $395 per autograph and an additional $445 for a photo! Yes you read that right.

Also in the same vicinity as the autograph area was the always popular panel viewing rooms. Everyone from AMC’s “Comic Book Men” to the 25th anniversary of “Child’s Play” had events going on in one of the various rooms. Probably two of the biggest events for this day would be the “Comic Book Men” panel hosted by none other than Kevin Smith himself and the 10th anniversary panel for “The Walking Dead” comic which featured creator Robert Kirkman. Featured panels for the weekend included talks with “Robot Chicken”, “The League” and AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead” which featured a majority of the cast.

Though this year’s event seemed a bit scaled back in the way of big celebrity guests other than the above mentioned and the main floor seemed lacking in several big name companies many of which are on the verge of major releases (Sony PS4 and Xbox 720 where both nowhere to be found) NYCC 2013 was a great time. Both my assistant and I were left shell shocked by all in which we took in and will probably use the time between this year’s event and next year’s event just to re-cooperate we certainly can’t wait to do it all over again in 2014.

“A Christmas Story” is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this Christmas and Zack Ward, who played Scut Farkus in the film is looking to show my appreciation by giving back. “Fark-O-Vision!” is an app that raises money for Bully Prevention programs around the country! Click here to support the campaign and spread the word before November 30th, 2013.

Here is Zack’s pitch from indiegogo.com:
“We’re creating a free app that will allow people to “Fark-i-Fy” their photos. Ya know, you can take your face and mess it up…in a good way. You can then send your photos via text, email, Facebook, Twitter, or hard copy postcard to your friends, family, enemies, or random strangers. The postcard will cost about $1-$2 and that’s where we’ll raise money for Bully Prevention programs. So when it comes to sending out your personalized holiday greetings, you’re all set…and you help some kids at the same time.

The idea of Bullying has changed. Society has gotten smarter and more aware of the short term and long term damage it causes. It effects all races, sexes, religions and ages. It’s time for us to end it. And we can.

You can help us create programs for kids in underserved schools and communities. We can show them, in person, that there is a choice for both the victim AND the bully, to change and enrich their lives, and then pay it forward. We envision a world of young, kind hearted mentors, that find inner strength and gain confidence by helping their peers succeed. A true synergy for our children and our country.”

12 Years a Slave, an intense new drama from director Steve McQueen, made its New York premiere on Tuesday October 8th as part of the 51st Annual New York Film Fest at Lincoln Center. The film follows the true life story of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man in New York, who in 1841 was deceived and sent southward to be sold as a slave. I spoke with two of the actors behind the most sinister figures in this harrowing story. They discussed the sources of their characters’ malevolence.

Paul Dano plays unstable slave driver John Tibeats who abuses his power over Solomon.

Lauren Damon: Tibeats is so spiteful in his actions, did you work out what makes him like this?
Paul Dano: Well you know that’s kind of one of the big things you do to prepare for something is you know, create a personal history for the character. So…I think he was probably somebody who was treated poorly or was made to feel like he had no authority. I don’t think he had a great life and so the only place he could take out his feelings about himself were slaves.

LD: What was the most challenging scene for you?
Dano: I have to do a song in it. That was…that was interesting.

LD: Having to cultivate all this anger for your scenes, did you do anything to come down from that after shooting?
Dano: You know it was pretty hot in those period clothes, in July, in Louisiana so a shower and a cocktail.

Michael Fassbender plays monstrous planter Edwin Epps. Fassbender has previously worked with director McQueen on critical hits Hunger and Shame.

Lauren Damon: Since this is your third film with Steve, do you think you trust him more than any other director now?
Michael Fassbender: Pretty much!

LD: You’ve been to some very dark places in his films.
Fassbender: Yeah, I think–you know, human places. Human stories.

In the film Edwin Epps’s infatuation with his own slave Patsey (played by Lupita Nyong’o) drives him to extreme violence.

LD: Where do you think all that rage that Edwin has comes from?
Fassbender: I think out of confusion. He takes it out mainly on the person that he loves because he can’t process that information. He doesn’t have the intellect to do it. Or the substance as a human being. So he thinks by destroying it, he’ll destroy his emotion towards her and of course that doesn’t work.

NYFF continues through October 13th while 12 Years a Slave opens in theaters on the 18th.

Media Mikes own Mike Smith will be a guest critic this Friday on the “Central Standard” radio program in Kansas City. The show, airing on KCUR-FM – 89.3, will take a look at some of the films that have opened in the last month and begins at 10:00 a.m. CST.

Mike will join show regulars Russ Simmons and Loey Lockerby as they discuss such recent films as RUSH, PRISONERS and MACHETE KILLS.

Listeners outside the Kansas City area can listen on-line at: http://kcur.org/programs/central-standard

Director Quentin Tarantino recently revealed his “Top 10 films of 2013 so far” with fan site The Quentin Tarantino Archives and some might be surprised by his taste in movies. Although many of his releases include highly (and deliberately superficial) violent sequences with sometimes unconventional story lines, his list illustrates that he appreciates movies of various genres. I guess it isn’t a surprise then that Woody Allen’s celebrated film Blue Jasmine is featured. More surprising however, is his choice to add Disney’s flop blockbuster The Lone Ranger featuring Johnny Depp. Below is the complete list of Tarantino’s Top 10:

• ‘Afternoon Delight’ (Jill Soloway)
• ‘Before Midnight’ (Richard Linklater)
• ‘Blue Jasmine‘ (Woody Allen)
• ‘The Conjuring‘ (James Wan)
• ‘Drinking Buddies’ (Joe Swanberg)
• ‘Frances Ha’ (Noah Baumbach)
• ‘Gravity‘ (Alfonso Cuarón)
• ‘Kick-Ass 2‘ (Jeff Wadlow)
• ‘The Lone Ranger‘ (Gore Verbinski)
• ‘This Is The End‘ (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)

As the rankings are in alphabetical order and not order of preference, it is hard to determine which film has made the ultimate #1 spot. Nonetheless, his selection will have an impact on film buffs and Tarantino fans all over the world. There are only a number of other directors like Tarantino that have influenced the cult and pop culture film scene like he has, with masterpieces like Pulp Fiction or his latest, Django Unchained. Iconic images and movie posters to his classics can be spotted at myriad retailers from online stores like posterlounge.co.uk to local video stores.

Quentin Tarantino’s next project still has not been confirmed but with public appearances at the Huading Awards in Macau, there may be a chance that he reveals something in a few days. A third part of Kill Bill is possible or a spin-off mix of Inglorious Bastards and Django. Sounds unfathomable, as have many of his story lines, so maybe it’s wise not to write off this rumor just yet.

Scare-A-Con
Date: Friday, Sept. 13th – Sunday, Sept. 15th
Venue: Turning Stone Casino, Verona, New York

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Scare-A-Con is an up and coming 3 day movie/pop culture convention which is now in its second year of be held in the upstate NY area. Originally held in Syracuse, NY the event this year has moved to a larger venue which is part of the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY. The con hosted a who’s who list of film/music stars, displays and vendors that gave those in attendance plenty to keep busy with over the course of the three day event.

I attended day two of the 2013 Scare-A-Con event which after a soft opening on Friday was in full swing by the time I entered the main floor of the convention. After making my way through the admission line the first thing I noticed was the sprawling layout which allowed guests some costumed and some not room to mingle freely amongst the guests and vendors. For me this is something I always notice as it’s nice to have some room to breathe when taking things in. Everything from horror house exhibits to comics and several steam punk exhibits could be found while making your way to the various celebrity signing tables which were located throughout the venue. On hand were legendary television actors like Felix Silla and Butch Patrick to more recent actors like Scout Taylor Compton and Naomi Grossman. The longest lines of the day belong to former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and the lovely Linda Blair who is still capable of turning heads other than just her own. Other notable celebs in attendance who also garnered quite a bit of attention throughout the day were Tony Todd, Ernie Hudson and Sean Whalen of “People Under the Stairs” fame.

Though some of the prices being charged by celebrities in attendance were a bit high and several celebs listed were MIA I still had a good time taking in all Scar-A-Con had to offer. A lot of times with the newer conventions you see celebrity no shows or prices being a bit higher than some of the larger conventions however that’s just the way things are. All in all Scare-A-Con was a fan/family friendly event that had a little something for everyone. My only hope is that they continue to grow and expand on all of the good things the event has going for it.

For more information on Scare-A-Con you can visit the official website at www.scareacon.com

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Back, by popular demand… the Original Florida Xtravaganza Toy, Comic, Art and Fan Convention!

The Doubletree Seaworld (formally International Plaza) Hotel on NOVEMBER 15 – 17 2013

Florida Xtravaganza will be a family run, fun collectible convention where you WILL find all of the rarest and most sought after toys, comics and collectibles on your want list! It promises to be the most fun filled weekend of the year for collectors and fans alike and it is all in a single location!

It will also showcase the first PEZ-Lando Convention!, which promises to be an event not to be missed. It will be a “Collector’s Meet” included within the Florida Xtravaganza event this year and plans to be a stand alone convention next year! Attendees will have access to everything included in their admission and there will be exclusive items available for this show only!

Appearing at FX! Actors from the classic “A Christmas Story.” Scott Schwatrtz, Ian Petrella, Zach Ward and Yano Anaya! Also appearing is wrestling icon Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. 

UPDATE 9/30/13 – Steve Urkel from “Family Matters”. Appearing at FX for his first ever convention signing!… Jaleel White! Born Nov. 27, 1976 in Pasadena, CA, Jaleel Ahmad White began working in front of the camera in commercials at the age of three, and quickly became a veteran child actor, booking appearances on everything from “The Jeffersons” (CBS, 1975-1985) to “Charlie & Co.” (CBS, 1985-86) to “Mr. Belvedere” (ABC, 1985-1990). In fact, he almost landed the role of “Rudy” on “The Cosby Show” (NBC, 1984-1992) until Bill Cosby decided to make the character a girl. White’s star-making role, however, came from a more unlikely place: a one-time guest spot on the sitcom “Family Matters” (ABC/CBS, 1989-1998) as the cartoonishly nerdy Steve Urkel. Most recently Jaleel has starred on Total Blackout and Dancing with the Stars.

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49 City North American Tour Celebrates the Legend’s New “Closer To The Truth” CD

It’s now official. The one and only Cher herself revealed that she will kick off her “Dressed To Kill” 49 city North American Tour beginning in Phoenix on March 22nd with stops in NY, LA, Boston, Las Vegas, and other major markets. Cher shared the happy news with her fans following her performance on the Today Show this morning.

A full list of “Dressed to Kill” tour dates and cities follows this release. The national tour promoter is Marshall Arts USA. For ticket information and to sign up for tour updates please go to Cher.com.

Cher’s previous tour “The Farewell Tour” later dubbed “The Never Can Say Goodbye Tour” was one of the most successful tours ever by a solo artist and played for a record-breaking 325 dates and seen by over 5.5 million people.

American Express® Cardmembers can purchase their tickets to select cities before the general public beginning Monday September 30th, 10am through Thursday, October 3rd, 10pm.

For all online tickets purchased (presale and general public), ticketholders will receive a free copy of Cher’s new album “Closer To The Truth”, out September 24th on Warner Bros Records.

Cher is in New York this week celebrating the album’s release with upcoming appearances on David Letterman (Sept. 24th) and Live! with Kelly & Michael (October 1st). Cher will also be appearing as a mentor with Blake Shelton on NBC’s The Voice airing in October.

CHER ‘DRESSED TO KILL’ TOUR
Sat, March 22 Phoenix, AZ  – US Airways Center
*Mon, March 24 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
*Wed, March 26 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Fri, March 28 Little Rock, AR – Verizon Arena
Sat, March 29 Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Mon, March 31 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Wed, April 2 Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
*Fri, April 4 Washington DC – Verizon Center
Sat, April 5 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun
Mon, April 7 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Wed, April 9 Boston, MA – TD Garden
Fri, April 11 Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Sat, April 12 Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena
Wed, April 23 Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
Fri, April 25 Montreal, QC – Bell Center
Sat, April 26 Ottawa, ON Canada – Tire Centre
*Mon, April 28 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Wed, April 30 Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Fri, May 2 Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
Mon, May 5 Charlotte, NC – Times Warner Cable Arena
Wed, May 7 Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
*Fri, May 9 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
*Sat, May 10 East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
*Mon, May 12 Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
Wed, May 14 Jacksonville, FL – Veterans Memorial Arena
Fri, May 16 Orlando, FL – Amway Center
Sat, May 17 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
Sun, May 25 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand
Wed, May 28 Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Fri, May 30 Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
Sat, May 31 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
Mon, June 2 Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Wed, June 4 St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
Fri, June 6 Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Bradley Center
Sat, June 7 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
Mon, June 9 Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena
Wed, June 11 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Fri, June 20 Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
Sat, June 21 Saskatoon, SK – Credit Union Centre
Mon, June 23 Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
Wed, June 25 Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Fri, June 27 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
*Sat, June 28 Seattle, WA – Key Arena
Mon, June 30 Portland, OR – Moda Center
*Wed, July 2 San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
Sat, July 5 Ontario, CA – Citizens Business Bank Arena
*Mon, July 7 Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
*Wed, July 9 Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
Fri, July 11 San Diego, CA – Valley View Casino Center

(*American Express® Cardmembers can purchase tickets before the general public.*)

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Starring: Kane Hodder, Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Walt Gorney, Katharine Isabelle, Dana Kimmell
Directors: Steve Miner, Joseph Zito, Marcus Nispel, Sean S. Cunningham, Rob Hedden, Ronny Yu
Number of discs: 10
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Bros
Release Date: September 13, 2013

Collection: 3 out of 5 stars
Films: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 4 out of 5 stars

I have been a fan of the “Friday the 13th” series from when I was still in single digits, probably very too young. I have grown up with these films and have seen them all numerous time.  I love the character of Jason Voorhees, he has always been one of my favorite horror icons.  When I heard that Warner Bros was releasing this 10-set set with all of the films together I was very excited. As detailed started to emerge on the set itself, I started to gather mixed feeling about this set. As a die-hard “Friday the 13th” fan, having all the films on high-def Blu-ray for the first time in one collection is a real treat. Since we all have seen these films, I decided to keep the focus on collection itself and not the film. Besides a few neat collectables (more on those below), there really isn’t much of a major draw to upgrade from the “Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan Ultimate Collection” DVD box set. In terms of “WOW factor”, this release does looks very sharp. The presentation is very snazzy but personally think those they could have gone one-step further and really given this set a little more love.

All 12 films from the series are included on this set. Disc 1 is “Friday the 13th”, Disc 2 is “Friday the 13th Part 2”, Disc 3 is “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D” (more on this one below). These have all previously released on Blu-ray. The next few have never been released on Blu-ray including “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter”, which is on disc 4. Disc 5 starts gives us both “Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning” and “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”. Disc 6 brings us “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” and “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan”. Disc 7 includes both “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday” and “Jason X”. If you recall this was the was it was done back on “Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan Ultimate Collection” DVD box set as well. Now back to solo discs, Disc 8 includes “Freddy vs. Jason”. Disc 9 includes “Friday the 13th” (2009) with both the Theatrical Version and “Killer Cut” Extended Version included. Lastly, disc 10 wraps up this collection with the same “Killer Bonus DVD Disc” that was included last DVD box set.

So on within this 10-Disc Set we have seven new Blu-ray debuts, which is pretty cool if you are a fan of the series. This set comes in a collectible tin case with 11 hours of previously released special features and a 40-page soft cover book. The book is actually excerpted from “Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th”. The full length book highlights some of the 200 interviews, 600 photos, storyboards, concept art and more but if you are a “Friday the 13th” fan chance are youy own this already. So the idea of it is cool to have in a shorter mini-version but not a must own. Also included is a brand new, official Camp Crystal Lake embroidered Counselor Patch and pair of exclusive Jason mask 3D glasses included. Since we are on the topic, let’s this get out of the way. We are in the world of 3D Blu-ray’s, TV etc and yet for this release Warner has failed to update “Friday the 13th Part 3” in digital 3D, instead just included the already released boring and quite bad red/blue anaglyph 3D, which is very disappointing. When films like “House of Wax” from the 50’s is even getting a digital 3D upgrade, why did they feel that this would work with fans. I have to admit, this is one of the biggest let downs in this release.

The 1080p transfer on all of these films minus “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D” are all good, not stunning but still quite impressive. “Friday the 13th”, “Friday the 13th Part 2”, “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D”, “Freddy vs. Jason” and “Friday the 13th” (2009) are all backed with a solid Dolby TrueHD 5.1, which has all previously been released. “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter”, “Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning” and “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”, “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood”, “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan”, “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday” and “Jason X” all come with an equally impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

The Killer Bonus DVD, which is ported over from “Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan Ultimate Collection” DVD box set. This includes the featurette “Tales From the Cutting Room”, which includes deleted scenes and footage. There is an 8-part featurette “The Friday The 13th Chronicles,” which is great look into the history and legacy of this series. Next up is a 3-part featurette “Secrets Galore Behind The Gore,” which looks into the make-up effects. The featurette “Crystal Lake Victims Tell All!” is a group of cast/crew interviews from various films. “Friday Artifacts and Collectibles” looks into the props and collectables from the films. Lastly there are theatrical trailers. On the positive note, I was happy witht the fact that “Friday The 13th: The Complete Collection” also includes digital versions of all 12 films with UltraViolet™, to stream and download to smartphones TVs Blu-ray players etc. So to be honest this isn’t really much of an upgrade from the previous DVD set. We dp get (finally) a Blu-ray copy of “Friday the 13th Part 4” through “Jason X”, which haven’t been released yet individually but there are no other new special features included. So it comes down to how big of a fan you are of this series or if you have never owned the “Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan Ultimate Collection” DVD box set.

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