DVD Pick of the Week: August 28, 2007

I would be a fool not to pick Universal's release of Heroes as the best set coming out on August 28. Luckily I'm not a fool, so my "pick of the week" goes to the HD DVD release of Heroes season 1. I saw the pilot of Heroes at Comic Con last year (the one included on the DVD set), and knew it was going to be a big hit. I tracked down executive producer Jeph Loeb and said, "Jeph, make sure they do a good job on the DVDs!!" Well, Jeph and the folks at Universal came through. The set contains featurettes, interviews, the unaired pilot, deleted scenes...and the HD DVD version includes commentaries, artwork presentations, character connections, and more! One thing that pisses me off is the Best Buy exclusive disc that contains the "Museum of Television and Radio" panel discussion. I HATE when studios create exclusive items for certain retailers, and I don't support the practice.
There's another notable release coming next week, also from Universal. The first season of the critically acclaimed, nearly-canceled Friday Night Lights. Universal and NBC are trying to attract new viewers to the show via the DVDs, so they've priced the set at an insanely low price - just $29.98, though you can buy it from Amazon.com for $19.99. I think this is a BRILLIANT idea to attract new viewers to the show, and it's something I hope works for NBC/Universal. I'd love to see other studios adopt this strategy of supporting a series on the brink of cancellation (hello, Jericho?).
I'm also very happy to see Warner Bros finish Samurai Jack, with the fourth volume being released on the 28th.
Head over to TVShowsOnDVD.com to view the complete list of releases coming out next week. Who else is picking up Heroes?
Gord