The Christmas newsletter portion of this holiday gift guide is that 2021 was a back to the future year for these posts that primarily focus on DVD and Blu-ray releases.
Technical and proverbial personal problems (as well as a Covid-accelerated shift in the marketing of physical media) prompted discontinuing the enhanced Matt Nelson Reviews site that stemmed from Unreal TV. Those 1,000s of posts getting irrevocably lost was an unfortunate consequence.
Needing to cut way back on these posts was the main reason for resurrecting Unreal TV.
A guiding philosophy for the below choices comes from the early 2000s teen scifi cult classic series "Roswell." The gift-giving guidelines from that series are that a present should be something that the other person wants but would not buy for himself or herself.
Further guidance comes from the companion series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The wisdom from those mid-20s actors playing teens is that gift certificates are just like money except for being less useful.
A personal pet peeve is when a donation is made in my name to a charity.
Fully separating the wheat from the chaf has been a lagniappe. CBS Home Entertainment and Film Detective have both released some awesome titles and are very supportive of the incredible shrinking reviewer who is trying to share the news about cult titles. These elements support putting CBSHE and Detective titles under the tree.
The CBSHE recent "Star Trek" OS CS BD set deserves strong praise. This stunning (pun intended) collection of the one that showed that cerebral sells and that almost literally launched 1,000 ships is at the top of the make-a-wish list of your not-so-humble reviewer.
"Trek" OS is representative of the "TV Land" section of the extensive CBSHE library, which literally runs the gamut from the '50s to the present. An all-time fave is the (reviewed) EPIC 65th anniversary CS DVD set. The value of this desert-island worthy set is that it proves that westerns have much more substance than saloon fights and cattle stampedes.
A ripped-from-today's-headline story as to "Gunsmoke" is as fresh as this morning. A visiting friend remarking that her husband still watches the series prompted showing her my CS set. Her eyes lit up, and convincing her to buy her husband a set was far from futile.
The aforementioned carnage as to the demise of Matt Nelson Reviews includes the loss of the post on the CS DVD set, which is the personal fave of the CBSHE 2021 releases, of "Beverly Hills 90210." This literal trend setter is the one that has launched 1,000 imitators and parodies. The epicness this time includes S1 of the hilarious 2019 series "BH90210."
Detective fully embracing the sublime, the ridiculous, and the sublimely ridiculous make it a best friend of your not-so-humble reviewer. These (often 4K) releases featuring equally entertaining and educational Ballyho Films documentaries is the icing on the cake.
The (reviewed) "Eegah" release, which includes the riff-heavy "Mystery Science Theater 3000" version of this cult classic, is an all-time fave. The wonderful performance by B-caliber character actor Arch Hall, Jr. and the hilariously cheap production make this one must see.
Saving one of the bests for last, the unparalleled Detective gift set of four Sherlock Holmes films plus a plethora of collectibles is a must-have and give. This perfect gift for anyone who loves classic films and accompanying SWAG, including a 13-month Sherlockian calendar and a notebook for fans who are not clueless, is the epitome of the "Roswell" theory.
The deadline for ordering the "Holmes" set is November 26, 2021. The blessing-in-disguise as to the December 21, 2021 release date is that it allows giving the lucky recipient a placeholder gift such as a stuffed dog that represents "The Hound of the Baskersville" or a similar Holmes-themed gift and having that loved one deduce the real gift that should arrive in time for an awesome New Year's Eve movie marathon. A post on this set is scheduled for early January 2022.
The bottom line this time is that awesome loot under the tree delights kids of all ages. These gifts being equally delightful and surprising is the icing on the gingerbread person. CBSHE and Detective releases check all these boxes.
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