Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry
Blu-ray complete-series “Firefly,” $89.99 in 2012 and $31.28 in May, just plummeted to $14.49!!
Blu-ray “2010,” $17.99 in 2011 and $13.48 in June, just plummeted to its lowest price ever: $6.36!!
New This Week
Were you thinking there still aren’t enough vampires (or serial killers generally) on TV these days?
A first series from comic-book writer Cole Haddon (“Space Gladiator”), NBC’s “Dracula”
The miniseries’ first episode looks expensive (the project was shot in Hungary, where the production dollar can be stretched), but the story somehow makes this time-tested vampire pretty boring -- and Mina Murray and Jonathan Harker and Abraham Van Helsing similarly so.
Appended to the project is some unconvincing steampunky sci-fi business that has wireless electricity existing more than a century ago -- even though it somehow no longer exists today.
... Unfortunately, “Dracula,” despite some nice costumes and the glowering presence of the Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, is a mostly drab affair. …
... I quite like it. Its aspirations and its execution are perfectly in sync; there is no way that Meyers could overact, or, indeed, not act enough, that would not suit the material. …
... The show has a lot going on and it isn’t always easy to follow, but for the most part it’s stylish, sexy and smart. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... The writers walk a fine line with characterization in the series. At first, many of key figures are almost like caricatures, one-dimensional and seeming to lack nuance. Yet, as the series continues, many of them do evolve. Mina, for example, displays atypical independence for a woman of her time in her determination to succeed in an overwhelmingly male profession. …
... “Dracula” shows a lot of skill when it comes to launching a swift-paced series and weaving together several taut story lines and characters; at times it even finds an undiscovered sweet spot between “Downton Abbey” and Bela Lugosi. Rhys Meyers is an adequately creepy vampire and there is sex, style, mystery and ad¬ven¬ture all around. Only one crucial piece is missing: “Dracula” isn’t scary. …
Not funny enough to be campy, not smart enough to be serious, NBC's "Dracula" is an incomprehensible mishmash in period costumes. It's scary, all right, but only when you think of what the budget must have been. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... Nothing in "Dracula" is as unique or as wonderfully weird as "Twin Peaks," and "Dracula" plows through plot more quickly, introducing and then writing off several intriguing plots and characters within its first three episodes. It's too soon to say whether that will turn out to be wise or foolhardy, but "Dracula" at least gets off to a mildly promising start. …
... Dracula’s visit to an under¬ground gay club next week is well, bizarre, but it captures how homosexuals dwelled in the shadows, terrified of exposure. Those moments are far more biting than any of the so-called scares. … C+ …
... Were it merely silly, we might be more forgiving. But Dracula is exhaustingly, confusingly silly, and deadly dull, to boot …
... if the inordinately crimson-drenched doings threaten to become strained over a long haul, in the short term, anyway, “Dracula” is pretty tasty. …
... even Meyers' always magnetic presence can't make this Dracula stand out.… There's nothing overtly bad about the first two episodes of Dracula, but neither was there anything compelling. …
TV-on-Disc Calendar
Last Week
Adventure Time 4.x
Adventure Time 4.x (Blu-ray)
Afterlife 2.x
Almighty Johnsons 1.x
Almighty Johnsons 1.x (Blu-ray)
American Horror Story 3.x (Blu-ray)
Ancient Aliens 6.x Vol. 1
Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish
Bates Motel 2.x
Bates Motel 2.x (Blu-ray)
Cartoon Network Holiday Collection
China Beach: The Complete Series
The Danny Kaye Show: Best Of
Dick Van Dyke Show Halloween
Duck Dynasty 6.x (Blu-ray)
The Flying Nun 1.x/2.x
The Following 2.x
The Following 2.x (Blu-ray)
Hemlock Grove 1.x
Hemlock Grove 1.x (Blu-ray)
In The Flesh 2.x
Life & Times of Grizzly Adams: Once Upon a Starry Night
The Office: The Complete Series
Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 2.x
Penny Dreadful 1.x
Penny Dreadful 1.x (Blu-ray)
Perry Mason Movie Collection 4
Power Rangers In Space Vol. 2
Psych: The Complete Series
Rick and Morty 1.x
Rick and Morty 1.x (Blu-ray)
Rocket Power 3.x
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1.x
Twilight Zone Classic Christmas
Vikings 2.x
Vikings 2.x (Blu-ray)
Women's Murder Club: The Complete Series
Wonder Years 1.x
Woody Woodpecker and Friends Holiday Favorites
This Week
Jackass: The Classic TV Collection
QB VII: The Complete Miniseries
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2
Rocky & Bullwinkle: Best Of Vol. 3
Star Wars Rebels: Spark Of Rebellion
TV's Merriest Holiday Episodes
2 Broke Girls 3.x
Next Week
Annie Oakley: The Complete Series
Ghost Hunters 9.x Vol. 2
Mad Men 2014
Mad Men 2014 (Blu-ray)
Married With Children 5.x/6.x ($13.48)
Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Pee-wee's Playhouse 1.x-2.x (Special Edition)
Red Skelton Show: The Early Years – 1951-1955
The Soul Man 2.x
Square Pegs: The Complete Series ($9.98)
October 28
The Big Valley 4.x
Breaking Bad: The Complete Series 2014 Barrel (Blu-ray)
In Search of Ancient Mysteries: The Complete Series
WKRP In Cincinnati: The Complete Series
November 4
Doctor Who: The Matt Smith Years (Blu-ray)
The Exes 1.x/2.x
Garfield Vol. 13
Hill Street Blues 3.x
Hot in Cleveland 5.x
Law & Order 15.x
Law & Order 16.x
Law & Order 17.x
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 3 (DVD)
The Man From UNCLE: The Complete Series
Merlin: The Complete Series
A Merry Ingalls Christmas
Merv Griffin Show 1962-1986
M Squad: The Complete Series
Napoleon Dynamite: The Complete Series
The Newsroom 2.x
The Newsroom 2.x (Blu-ray)
Perry Mason Double Feature 7
Perry Mason Double Feature 8
Perry Mason Double Feature 9
Poirot 13.x
Poirot: The Final Cases Collection (Blu-ray)
Poirot: The Complete Cases Collection (Blu-ray)
Impractical Jokers 2.x
Quantum Leap: The Complete Series
Sgt. Bilko: The Complete Series
The Sopranos: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Touch 2.x
White Collar 5.x
November 11
Batman: The Complete Series Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series
Charmed: The Complete Series
Dads: The Complete Series
Deadliest Catch 9.x
Duck Dynasty: Duck The Halls
Family Ties: The Complete Series
Getting On 1.x
Getting On 1.x (Blu-ray)
Highway To Heaven: The Complete Series
My Favorite Martian: Best Of
Quincy 7.x
Sons of Anarchy 1.x-6.x
Sons of Anarchy 1.x-6.x (Blu-ray)
Stand-Up Revolution 3.x
Starsky & Hutch: The Complete Series
Star Wars Clone Wars The Lost Missions
Star Wars Clone Wars The Lost Missions (Blu-ray)
Taxi: The Complete Series
True Blood 7.x
True Blood 7.x (Blu-ray)
True Blood: The Complete Series
True Blood: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Tudors: The Complete Series
Wings: The Complete Series
November 18
King of the Hill 8.x
McMillan & Wife: The Complete Series
The Paradise 2.x
The Paradise 2.x (Blu-ray)
Power Rangers Megaforce Vol. 6
Robot Chicken: Christmas Specials
Wolfblood 2.x
November 25
Drunk History 1.x-2.x
Inspector Lewis 7.x
Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXXI
Paddington Bear: Collector's Edition
December 2
Broad City 1.x
Gunsmoke 11.x
Happy Days 6.x
Justified 5.x
Justified 5.x (Blu-ray)
The Legend of Korra 3.x
The Legend of Korra 3.x (Blu-ray)
My Little Pony 4.x
Perry Mason Movie Collection Double Feature Vol. 10
Perry Mason Movie Collection Double Feature Vol. 11
Perry Mason Movie Collection Double Feature Vol. 12
Mickey Mouse 1.x
The Simpsons 17.x
The Simpsons 17.x (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: The Next Generation 7.x (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: The Next Generation: All Good Things ... (Blu-ray)
The Strain 1.x (Blu-ray)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 6
Zane Grey Theater 3.x
December 9
Barney Miller 6.x
Doctor Who 8.x
Doctor Who 8.x (Blu-ray)
Hart To Hart 3.x
In Search Of Aliens 1.x
The Jeffersons: The Comlete Series
Mister Ed: The Complete Series
Mork & Mindy 4.x
Mork & Mindy: The Complete Series
Secret Agent: The Complete Series
Power Rangers Super Megaforce: Earth Fights Back
Top Gear USA 4.x
Under The Dome 2.x
Under The Dome 2.x (Blu-ray)
December 16
Extant 1.x
Facts of Life: The Complete Series
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis 4.x
Uncle Grandpa: Tiger Trails
December 23
Continuum 3.x
Continuum 3.x (Blu-ray)
Dominion 1.x
Dominion 1.x (Blu-ray)
Intruders 1.x (Blu-ray)
My Favorite Martian 2.x
December 30
Banshee 2.x (Blu-ray)
Banshee 2.x (Blu-ray)
Shameless 4.x
Shameless 4.x (Blu-ray)
January 6
Black Sails 1.x
Black Sails 1.x (Blu-ray)
Girls 3.x
Girls 3.x (Blu-ray)
Looking 1.x
Looking 1.x (Blu-ray)
January 13
Dallas 3.x
NYPD Blue 8.x
Stingray: The Complete Series ($24.49)
January 27
Downton Abbey 5.x (Blu-ray)
February 17
