Well, our Holiday Guides were so effective and so popular, that we figured we should do some more of these things. Therefore, welcome to the first of our Extreme Non-Holiday Shopping Guides. Because, let's face it, you have to buy stuff for people all the year round. And just like coffee, we'll always be there for you.

So above and beyond simple Recommendations comes...The Extreme Shopping Guide. Go to, go to.

This page is also available as a PDF file and a Palm format PDB file.

Give the Gift of Muppets...

We like the Muppets. And unless you're a pinko mutant, you like them too. Thus, Palisades Toys has something for everybody on your list--because they not only have Muppet toys, but great looking Muppet toys. With fine attention to detail and figures that come with a boatload of props--check out the Crazy Harry figure up top if you doubt us--these are gold. For full pictures of all the stuff that comes with Muppet Labs (shown center with Beaker in his usual position of imminent experimental danger), click on him to take a look at our full review of that playset. You will be amazed at the level of sculpting and articulation that's involved with these things. Give the gift of Muppets to yourself, if no one else.

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new when you hear me say: Criterion is the only place to go for some serious Kurosawa. In the case of a lot of titles, that's a literal statement. But regardless, you wouldn't want to go any place else. For example, each of the three titles above comes with full-length commentaries by film historians. Each comes in a beyond-spiffy new transfer and sounds clear as a bell--or, perhaps more appropriately, the clear ring of a well-forged blade on metal. Each also comes with an array of notes and essays on Kurosawa and the films themselves. Hell, Throne of Blood has two different translated subtitle tracks to choose from--how choice is that? The Kurosawa fan on your list--which should be most everyone--will love you forever for a Criterion release. And what a small price to pay for eternal devotion.

The only thing better than artbooks on movies is artbooks on movies that have such weight to them you could crush a man's skull with them, no problem. Enter these two releases from Newmarket. First of all, the Matrix book is ginormous. Sporting the shooting script of the first film, plus concept art, storyboards and commentary by Steve Skroce, Needcoffee fave Geof Darrow, and others, it's everything the fan of the Brothers Wachowski will desire--especially to tide them over between films two and three. Let's just hope Newmarket comes out with a book to cover the second two films that's as cool as this one. For the cinematic X-fan, the hardcover version of Newmarket's Art of X2 is destined to please. Again, you've got the full script, plus concept art, stills from the film, and Nightcrawler posters and bonus art from the first film. Big and bulky, any fan of these films who's on your gift list will lose their minds over these books.

Let's face it--sometimes you run out of time when you're searching for gifts. You need to get something with a kind of shotgun appeal, since you have no time to stand there in the store, a couple of different boxed sets in hand, weighing them internally for how well your friend/family member/rock/whatever will like them. Thus, Anchor Bay has some boxed sets that will fill the bill. Mystery Lover? No problem. The Agatha Christie Box Set has Death on the Nile, Evil Under the Sun and The Mirror Crack'd. Combine mystery with such stars as Bette David, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Roddy McDowall and Liz Taylor--just to name a few--it will please anybody who likes some star power with their Marple or Poirot. Drama Lover? No problem. You've got the Great Performances Box Set, with Frances, Tender Mercies and Plenty. The star power here is Jessica Lange, Robert Duvall and Meryl Streep, respectively. So anybody who needs some good drama in their life, or maybe on the screen instead of in their life, you're covered. Lastly, Brit Comedy Lover? No problem. The Bloody Good British Comedies Box Set features a little Benny Hill, along with the John Cleese-starring Clockwise and the Are You Being Served? feature. Like I said, shotgun approach might not be pretty, but it does come with results.

Ah, I am a terrible Romero freak. If you know someone who has this affliction like I do, then take a gander at the gems that Numenorean Music is offering up: limited editions (3000 copies each) of the soundtracks for Day of the Dead and the Night of the Living Dead remake. Now, granted, I make no bones about the fact I'm not a huge fan of Savini's version of Night, but I'm glad to report that by its lonesome, McCollough's score stands up fairly well. Also, we have John Harrison's score for the third Dead flick, which is a nice hybrid between the Goblin work on Dawn of the Dead and John Carpenter. This latter edition comes complete with some bonus tracks from the film--nicely done. The Romero completist will want these. Spare yourselves the trauma of hearing them whine and moan at you once they're sold out and buy the poor bastards their own copies, would you?

Ah, more CrossGen. Why? Because we're addicted. We admit it. The first of two titles we're smacking you with this month is, well, The First. Populated with the self-styled gods of the CrossGen Universe, it's pretty much what you would get if you asked David Lynch and Tim Burton to collaborate on a version of As the World Turns set on Olympus. Filled with backstabbing, intrigue and a cast list that makes the old school Legion of Super-Heroes look like nada, it's perfect for lovers of soap opera angst, and for anybody who's following the CrossGen Metaplot. Then we've got Ruse, which is kinda like Sherlock Holmes, mixed with a little bit of the arcane, and of course, gargoyles. Filled with good old fashioned Doylesque whodunits--not to mention an insane Moriarty...or two--these two trades cover the first overall storyarc and are good for the mystery fan on your list. It's Crossgen. So it's good. Buy.

What were we saying about easy boxed sets? Grab em and go, right? Well, Fox will help you out for the Western Lover on your gift list. This three-pack of Duke movies, ostensibly the John Wayne Collection, aren't necessarily the deepest flicks on the Duke's resume, but they are vastly entertaining--and will endear themselves easily to the fan. As a bonus, each comes with a very terrifying Movie Tone news snippet.

Now wait just a second. Before you start assuming that this is some kind of Irish soft drink, let me explain: it's Dublin, Texas, okay? Why do you care? Because it's the only bottler of Dr. P that still uses real cane sugar and not that high fructose corn syrup crap. An independent bottler of the drink their version is much smoother than the kind you can get at your local convenience store--and the price is right. If you want to surprise the Dr. Pepper drinker on your list, this will do quite nicely.

Fan of the books and you can't seem to get somebody to read them? Or, hell, do you just need a refresher before the fifth book comes out? Well, gift yourself or somebody else with these. Jim Dale does the unabridged reading of all four books (and number five incoming as well) and does an incredible job of making all the umpteen-gazillion characters have their own distinct voices. The man won a Grammy for his efforts, so you know he's doing something right. Some of the best audiobooks you can buy.