Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - Wrestle Poodles and Win!

Out now, apparently, this is a 2-CD recording from the Bonzos' reunion performances in Britain last year.

For those who don't know: The Bonzos may be most famous for their guest stint in the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" film, performing their tune "Death Cab for Cutie" during the strip club scene.

Member Neil Innes later went to work with Monty Python and, with Python Eric Idle, created the Rutles. Neil played Ron Nasty in the Rutles film and is responsible for the Rutles recorded output, too.

The group's other best known member, Vivian Stanshall, was a genius/bon vivant and pal of the Who's Keith Moon who acted as narrator on Mike Oldfield's zillion-selling Tubular Bells album. Stanshall died in a house fire in 1995.

You can pre-order it now from Amazon for $23.99.

Details:

The Double CD Set features the Very Best of the Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band, Recorded Live on the 28th January 2006 at the London Astoria. Featuring Original Members: Neil Innes, Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Vernon Dudley Bohay Nowell, Sam Spoons, Bob Kerr and the Irrepressible "Legs" Larry Smith. Along with the Original Members Are Very Special Guests Stephen Fry, Phill Jupitus, Adrian Edmondson and Paul Merton!

Tracks:

1. Rule Britannia
2. Hunting Tigers
3. My Brother Makes The Noises
4. Doorstep
5. Little Sir Echo
6. Ali Baba's Camel
7. Falling In Love Again
8. Watermelon
9. Lookout There's A Monster Coming
10. Whispering
11. By A Waterfall
12. Sheik Of Araby
13. Hello Mabel
14. Jollity Farm
15. Equestrian Statue
16. Cool Britannia
17. We Are Normal
18. Strain
19. Sound Of Music
20. Exodus
21. Trouser Press
22. My Pink Half Of The Drainpipe
23. I'm Bored .
24. Sport (The Odd Boy)
25. Mr Apollo
26. Humanoid Boogie
27. Tent
28. Can Blue Men Sing The Whites
29. Look At Me I'm Wonderful
30. San Francisco
31. Rhinocratic Oaths
32. Mr Slater's Parrot
33. Monster Mash
34. Urban Spaceman
35. Canyons Of Your Mind

DVD new releases Jan. 30, 2007

Open Season (Widescreen Special Edition)

Murder, She Wrote - The Complete Fifth Season

Dallas - The Complete Sixth Season

Law & Order Special Victims Unit - The Third Year

I Dream of Jeannie - The Complete Third Season

Viva Pedro - Pedro Almodovar Classics Collection (Talk to Her, Bad Education, All about My Mother, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Live Flesh, Flower of My Secret, Matador, Law of Desire)

Big Valley - Season 2, Volume 1

More upcoming DVD releases

CD new releases Jan. 30, 2007

Wrestle Poodles...and Win! by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Not Too Late by Norah Jones

Not Too Late (W/Dvd) (Dlx) (Dig) by Norah Jones

Thinking About You by Norah Jones

Alright, Still by Lily Allen

Out of the Woods/Roots in the Sky by Oregon

Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra 1963-1973 by Various Artists

Learn to Sing Like a Star by Kristin Hersh

Scream Loud the Fenton Story by Various Artists

Endless Highway - The Music Of The Band by Various Artists

Imaginary Diseases by Frank Zappa

Time Has Come 1967-1973 by Pentangle

The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD) by Madonna

Some Loud Thunder by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

This Is My Country/The Young Mods' Forgotten Story by The Impressions

Our Moments by Gal Costa

Black Snake Moan by Original Soundtrack

It Had to Be You: The Complete Early Singles by Petula Clark

Drums Along the Hudson by The Bongos

More upcoming CDs

Pop Artifact! Aurora Hulk model

Vintage Marvel Comics house ad

Pop Culture Roundup Jan. 29, 2007

Datajunkie shares a spiffy batch of Wally Wood art from the old Galaxy sci-fi mag.

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Ho hum. DC Comics stages another "big event" and kills off characters.

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Variety has a little more info on the status of "Veronica Mars" on the CW:

"Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" bows March 6, and will air at 9 p.m. Tuesdays for eight weeks in place of "Veronica Mars" repeats. Music competition skein could benefit from airing in the hour after "American Idol" on Fox.

When "Veronica Mars" returns in April for its final five episodes this season, there will not be a continuing mystery storyline. Looking to try something different -- and in a bid to attract new viewers -- each episode will feature self-contained mysteries.

If they're well-received and ratings increase, "Veronica" could be back for a fifth season.

Last week's episode, the first after a long hiatus, wasn't bad, with some nice snappy dialogue. Still, the series isn't quit the gem it was during seasons 1 and 2. The transition to college has been tough, as has been the shift to a new network. No doubt, the show's always uncertain future has made the creators a bit insecure. It's hard to do good work when you're worrying when/if the axe will fall. A definitive commitment to a full season from the CW would've been nice.

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Hey: Who did the cover art for this upcoming edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars" from Penguin Classics? Looks a bit like Gil Kane to me.



UPDATE: Waffyjon informs me the work is by the late Dave Cockrum! And, yeah, it certainly looks like his work. I should've known.

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Sharity:

Upcoming books from DC Comics

Peeking ahead on Amazon, we see the following available out in May and June and available for pre-order now:

Batman and Other Tails by Darwyn Cooke

Batman: Turning Point


Showcase Presents: The Atom Volume 1


Showcase Presents: Batman Volume 2

Showcase Presents: Who's Who Volume 1

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus: Volume 1

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus: Volume 2

What's New Scooby Doo DVDs

What's New Scooby Doo on DVD:

Complete First Season

See a Complete List of TV Shows on DVD

Family Ties DVDs

Family Ties on DVD:

Complete First Season

See a Complete List of TV Shows on DVD

Alias Smith and Jones DVDs

Alias Smith & Jones on DVD:

Season One

See a Complete list of TV Shows on DVD

Pop Artifact! Batman flicker picture display

Vintage Marvel Comics house ad

See the Best Marvel Comics Sites on the Web.

Pop Culture Roundup Jan. 26, 2007

Via BoingBoing: Las Vegas police are using Frank Miller "Sin City"-inspired artwork to recruit new officers.

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Via Booksteve: Hey! I wonder if I can still get a signed picture of Stan Lee for a buck?

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Newsarama has a sneak peek of the upcoming "Sheena of the Jungle" comic.

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Fred Hembeck pays tribute to Beach Boy Al Jardine.

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Via Drawn!: Using audio from an actual meeting he had at age 14 with John Lennon, a filmmaker has created a short animated flick available here.

Best Beatles Sites.

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There are promo stills for next week's episode of "Heroes" here.

Best Heroes Sites.

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A Doctor Who cartoon is in the works, the BBC announces.

David Tennant and Freema Agyeman will star in The Infinite Quest, a 13-part animated adventure that will run weekly in the second series of Totally Doctor Who.

"The Doctor And Martha follow a trail of clues across wild and wonderful alien worlds, to find the location of the legendary lost spaceship, the Infinite," revealed Russell T Davies.

Anthony Head, who played evil headmaster Mr Finch in last season's School Reunion, will guest star as a a new character, Baltazar - Scourge of the Galaxy.

Freema in particular was thrilled to be taking Doctor Who into a whole new world of possibilities.

"I didn't think my Doctor Who experience could get any more thrilling but I was absolutely blown away when they approached me about the new animation series!

"The prospect of becoming a cartoon character was both exciting and also a bit nerve-wracking as it was the first time I have been asked to do voice-over work," she said.

"But I needn't have worried - my first session involved being in a small recording room with David, Anthony Head and Toby Longworth - and all of us falling about with laughter as we tried to imagine the movements of the cartoon characters and how mad it all seemed! It was such a fun experience and now I can't wait to see how it all looks!"

The Infinite Quest is written by Alan Barnes and directed by Gary Russell. The spectacular animation will be crafted by Firestep, the creative team behind previous Doctor Who animated adventures for the BBC. Thanks to developments in animation and computer technology, expect some amazing advances on previous animations.

Best Doctor Who Sites.

Top 10 comics, DVD, CDS, action figures Jan. 26, 2007

Per Amazon:

Comics/Graphic Novels

1. 300 by Frank Miller
2. Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie
3. The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1
4. Theories of Everything by Roz Chast
5. The Ruins by Scott Smith
6. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
7. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
8. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
9. New X-Men Omnibus
10. Fables Vol. 8

DVDs

1. An Inconvenient Truth
2. The Secret (Extended Edition)
3. Little Miss Sunshine
4. The Illusionist (Widescreen Edition)
5. The Office - Season Two
6. The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)
7. Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (widescreen edition)
8. Grey's Anatomy - Season Two
9. Casino Royale (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
10. 24 - Season Five

CDs

1. Not Too Late by Norah Jones
2. Not Too Late (W/Dvd) (Dlx) (Dig) by Norah Jones
3. Begin to Hope by Regina Spektor
4. Love by The Beatles
5. Wincing the Night Away by The Shins
6. Corinne Bailey Rae by Corinne Bailey Rae
7. Into White by Carly Simon
8. Dreamgirls: Music From The Motion Picture [... by Original Soundtrack
9. Daughtry by Daughtry
10. Continuum by John Mayer

Action Figures

1. DC Comics Ultra Blast Batman
2. Ultimate Powers Superman Figure
3. R/C Flying Superman Figure
4. Transformers Optimus Prime 20th Anniversary Figure
5. Superman 10-inch Action Figure
6. Transformers Voyager Classic Optimus Prime Figure
7. Transformers Cybertron Supreme Class Cybertron Primus ...
8. Transformers Deluxe Classic Bumblebee Figure
9. Heroscape Large Expansion Set Orm's Return
10. Transformers Voyager Classic Megatron Figure

Pop Artifact! More Superman trading cards

Found at Heritage Auctions.

Vintage Marvel Comics house ad

Pop Culture Update Jan. 25, 2007

Bedazzled offers up some more James Brown video from "Soul Train."

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Comic Book Resources has a fresh batch of pics from the Feb. 5 episode of "Heroes."

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Veteran actor Derek Jacobi, best known for his work on the classic PBS mini-series "I Claudius," will play a character called the professor on the third season of "Doctor Who," the BBC reports.

The Daily Mirror newspaper says this time he will play a "good guy" who plays "a key role in preventing the world from ending".

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Handy: Chris's Invincible Super-Blog presents the S.H.I.E.L.D. Technical Manual.

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Sharity:

Daredevil Omnibus

The Marvel Masterworks Message Board has preview images of the upcoming "Daredevil Omnibus" featuring Frank Miller's work on that title. Nice stuff, including some interior art by our pal Fred Hembeck.

The 816-page tome collects Daredevil #158-191.

You can pre-order the book now from Amazon.
Variant cover edition $62.99.
Regular cover edition $65.99.

TV Guide Heroes covers

Here's a look at the four cover variations TV Guide is featuring in its latest issue.

The return of Lost! Details on Feb. 7 episode

Here's a synopsis with slight spoilers. Scroll over the hidden text to read:

Awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for best drama series, "Lost" returns for the second act of its third season of action-packed mystery and adventure -- that will continue to bring out the very best and the very worst in the people who are lost -- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, its survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discovered that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman and another group of island residents known as "The Others." The survivors have also found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, the remains of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past.

The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must continue to work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain if they want to stay alive. But as they have discovered during their 70-plus days on the island, danger and mystery loom behind every corner, and those they thought could be trusted may turn against them. Even heroes have secrets.

In the return episode, "Not in Portland," Jack is in command as the fate of Ben's life literally rests in his hands. Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer find an ally in one of "The Others," and Juliet makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people.

"Lost" stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, Dominic Monaghan as Charlie and Terry O'Quinn as Locke.

Guest starring are Robin Weigert as Rachel, M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly/Tom, William Mapother as Ethan, Blake Bashoff as Karl, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Michael Bowen as Pickett, Ariston Green as Jason, Teddy Wells as Ivan, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Steve Labrash as morgue employee, Kimberly Estrada as Sherry, Rob McElhenney as Aldo and Zeljko Ivanek as Edmund.

"Not in Portland" was written by Carlton Cuse & Jeff Pinkner and directed by Stephen Williams.

See the Best Lost Sites on the Web.