If there’s one thing that rubs my rhubarb, it’s double/triple-dipping when it comes to home video releases. When a studio releases and re-releases the EXACT same movie over and over on DVD with slightly different packaging and a few different (and usually insignificant) extras, it’s a slap in the face of consumers. Their marketing people might as well be in the next room with the door open, laughing at us and how stupid we are because they’ll release these things and we, as hungry as we are to have the “newest, shiniest” versions of things, will simply snap them up. It happens more often than you might think–look at the myriad releases of the Evil Dead films and the James Bond films, for example.

Far more excusable, and in fact quite welcome and exciting, are the instances when the re-releases contain alternate versions of films, such as extended or director’s cuts versus “theatrical” cuts. Again, this can be a con on the part of the studios, but when these films offer true substantive changes to the film experience, then they are worthwhile purchases, if only just for comparison to the original releases. The prime example of this for geeks is, of course, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy; once the extended cuts of each film were available on DVD, there simply was NO reason whatsoever to hold on to the theatrical cut DVDs, if you bothered to buy them at all. Other good examples are the director’s cuts of Kingdom of Heaven and Troy, both of which profit immensely from additional footage being added back into the film to allow each story’s characters and interpersonal dramas to be more fully fleshed out. This week we have what is sure to be another fine example of this phenomenon: Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut.

We’ve known for a while now, since before the film was released in theaters in March 2009, that Watchmen’s home video release would see THREE different iterations:

• Watchmen (Theatrical Cut) – released July 17th, 2009: included Theatrical cut of film;

• Watchmen (Director’s Cut) – released July 17th, 2009: director’s version included 24 minutes of additional footage plus the “Tales of the Black Freighter” animated film as a separate feature;

• Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut – released November 10th, 2009: includes director’s version with “Tales of the Black Freighter” WOVEN INTO the cut, extending the film to 215 minutes (original theatrical cut ran 162 minutes).

From the descriptions, it really looks like the Ultimate Cut is the ONLY version worth owning, particularly if you’re a fan of Watchmen and you felt that the film version that played in theaters simply didn’t live up to the source material, despite director Zack Snyder’s darned-near slavish efforts at reproducing the look and feel of the Watchmen’s world. If you felt that way (and I know I did, though I’m far from a die-hard Watchmen fan), then this release is the one for you.

And to add to the Watchmen goodness, here are some deals on other Watchmen merchandise from our friends at Entertainment Earth. I mean seriously, what better stocking stuffer for the wanna-be Rorschach in your family than a Rorschach mask and fedora? (Note how I don’t point out how scary the idea of a “wanna-be Rorschach” in anyone’s family really is–”scary” IS relative, after all.) Happy Holiday shopping!

Hour 1 of Episode 14 begins with a drop from a movie we never get tired of here at PTG, John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, featuring Kurt Russell in perhaps his most memorable role, at least among cult classic fans, Jack Burton:

Jack: Not so fast there, gentlemen.
Lo Pan: Is it too much to ask, Thunder, kill him for me!
Jack: What’s that gonna solve, Dave? Too many people around here droppin’ like flies and where’s that gettin’ you? Nowhere, FAST. Ah, you know what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like this?
Thunder: Who?!
Jack: Jack Burton! ME!

The highlight of this hour is our interview with Luis Gutierrez, Marketing Director for Bad Apple Comics here in Orlando. Luis chats up Bad Apple’s subscription service, store locations, and upcoming events, including this weekend’s car meet in front of the South Orange Blossom Trail location to promote the new film “Fast and Furious.” We also get his thoughts on how Bad Apple works to stand apart in a market crowded with competition from other comic book stores, how he feels Bad Apple will adjust to the current economic downturn, and the vacation destination he looks forward to the most each year: DragonCon!

Also in this hour, thoughts on DC’s Justice League of America #31, featuring the fallout from the Final Crisis and New Krypton storylines as felt by the League itself, and a review of Smallville’s latest episode, “Hex”, which featured the debut in Smallville continuity of Zatanna Zatara, played by the gorgeous Serinda Swan, ALSO from Vancouver, BC. First, Kristin Kreuk (Vancouver), then Erica Durance (Calgary) and Laura Vandervoort (Toronto), and now Serinda Swan, all Canadians. Seriously, it may be time to move. In any case, enjoy, and stay tuned for Hour 2 being uploaded tomorrow night!

Hour 2 of Prime Time Geek’s 13th Episode kicks off with the taiko drums that us BSG fans have come to know and love, the music that’s been part of the lead-in for arguably the best show on television these past six years. I could think of no better lead-in for this hour of PTG than that music, since a big part of the hour is taken up by discussing Parts II and III of “Daybreak,” the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.

Riveting, thrilling, heartbreaking, triumphant, and yes, flawed, Galactica’s final episode does not, by any means, answer all of our questions, and that’s been a source of frustration for many among the legion of fans across the country that have reacted since the episode aired last Friday night. I find it amazing and a little depressing that there would be so much outcry, so many complaints, about the show and its handlers not tying up every one of the show’s loose ends into a neat little bow, not handing up explanation after explanation for the mysteries that have vexed us, for not dumbing the show down in its final hours into something less than stellar just so that absolutely everyone can say, “I get it now.” The number of complaints and criticisms saddens me because its seems clear to me that had Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and the show writers actually done just that, come up with clean, neat answers to ALL of the show’s conceits, that there would STILL be complaints, but instead those complaints would sound more like, “Oh, it’s too neatly packaged up.” Galactica never pandered to our sensibilities by giving us easy answers. It always, ALWAYS left us with ambiguity, and so I feel that leaving a few things for us to make up our own minds about is fitting. There’s also a complaint out there that the end was too predictable, and to that charge I ask, “do we really need shock and surprise simply for the sake of shock and surprise?” Have we been so spoiled by all the times this show has taken a turn we did not expect over the last six years that when something actually goes in a way that’s less than surprising, we feel cheated? That’s simply insane. No, the finale was not perfect, and there were decisions made that left me wishing for something different, certainly. But the brilliance of that 2 hours and 11 minutes far outshined its shortcomings, and I, for one, will argue its merits to anyone who feels as though the whole effort should be written off as poor or lazy writing simply because it didn’t spell everything out for us in black and white.

Who watches the Watchmen? Well, quite a few people this weekend, as expected, but not quite as many as I’m sure Warner Bros., DC Comics, and Legendary Pictures were hoping would.

Here’s the breakdown of the box office numbers from ‘Watchmen’ this past weekend, as compiled by David Pierson of the Los Angeles Times:

Superhero blockbuster “Watchmen” dominated the weekend box office by grossing an estimated $55.7 million, scoring the biggest opening of any film this year.

The much-anticipated adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name cements the draw of director Zack Snyder, who also directed the hit “300.”

Although there was some industry expectation that it would do so, “Watchmen” fell short of matching the $70.9 million that “300″ took in during its opening weekend in March 2007. (for Pierson’s full article on ‘Watchmen’ dominating the weekend box office, click HERE)

I had a feeling this might happen after seeing the sparse crowd outside the theater where I saw the film at 8:50PM on Opening Night. Yes, the room itself was full, but it should have been packed SOLID and sold out long before 8:50. Now it might have been a different story out at more popular theaters here in Orlando like AMC’s Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney or Cinemark’s Universal Cineplex at Universal Studios Citywalk. But at this AMC at Altamonte Springs, well, I remember seeing bigger crowds to see Taken with Liam Neeson earlier this year.

Pierson’s article gives a quote which is quite telling about Warner’s hopes for this film: “I actually hope so,” said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution at Warner Bros. [when asked about the film's potential to win over broader audiences beyond the 'fanboys'] “I’m sure word of mouth will help.”

Seriously, listening to the crowd file out of the theater after the film was over, and hearing laughter, bewilderment, and frustration dominating people’s chatter, I can’t say I share Fellman’s optimism.

Mad Mario the Assassin, and PTG’s High Lord of Home Theater, joins me for both hours of Prime Time Geek this week, and though his Assassin’s Creed costume (pictured above) is certainly scary in its attention to detail, as you can plainly see, I lived to tell the tale. In all seriousness, it’s a GREAT two hours, possibly some of PTG’s best so far, so I hope you enjoy this hour and Hour 2, to be uploaded Tuesday evening.

Hour 1 starts off with my thoughts on this season’s most anticipated movie, Watchmen, as I braved the crowds on the Friday night prior to check out the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s Hugo-Award-winning classic. The review is spoiler-free, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, have no fear, listening to this block won’t threaten your movie-viewing experience. After the first break, Mario gives his always sage “avoid these blu-rays like the plague” advice, focusing on The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor , and Max Payne , with a little tidbit at the end about Saw IV. We wrap the hour with some thoughts on DragonCon, the huge Fantasy/Sci-Fi convention that takes place every September up in Atlanta, as Mario and his lovely wife, Tobey (who joined the live chat under the moniker of, well, ‘madmarioswife’ of course!) are DragonCon veterans who have many stories to share about the event and always come home from it every year with hundreds of photographs of folks in costume.

And speaking of Tobey, she is, as we talk about during the hour, the designer of Prime Time Geek’s logos, which you can now sport on a number of different apparel choices on sale at the Prime Time Geek Swag Store, powered by printfection.com. Stop by the store and check it out!

So this year as far as “geek movies” are concerned, the BIG one is, obviously, Watchmen. More than a few people out there are looking forward to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well. Star Trek, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Terminator: Salvation, and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra will get us through the summer months, and in the winter we get Robert Downey, Jr., not as Tony Stark, but as someone with an even more distinguished pedigree, Sherlock Holmes. Not exactly a quiet year, by any means. However, it turns out that 2009 is just the beginning.

Warner Bros. announced their official slate of release dates for 2010 AND 2011, and when blended with the schedule that Marvel Studios has had in place for a while now … well, geez, I hope ticket prices at the box office don’t go any HIGHER. Here’s the rundown for 2010, including both Marvel Studios AND Warner Bros. genre films (thanks to Matt Brady over at www.newsarama.com for compiling all this so neatly):

Iron Man 2: May 7th, 2010
Twilight: Eclipse: June 30th, 2010
Thor: July 16th, 2010
Jonah Hex (based on the Western-style comic from DC, starring Josh Brolin and John Malkovich): August 6th, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part One: November 19th, 2010
Green Lantern: December 17th, 2010

Add to that The First Avenger: Captain America on May 6th, 2011 and BOTH The Avengers AND Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on July 15th, 2011, and you’ve got what amounts to a “golden age of geek” at the movies for the next three years.

I still maintain that the success of Watchmen in a few weeks is CRITICAL to this trend continuing. The buzz from overseas is VERY good – even in its theatrical version, the film is dense, compelling, challenging to viewers, everything that an adaptation of Moore’s work should be (though he himself would never admit it). Fans of the graphic novel should be pleased enough to want to see what the extended versions will have to offer when they come to DVD and Blu-Ray. The questions remain: will the visuals be enough to draw the curious non-Watchmen afficionado to the big screen beyond opening weekend? Will word of mouth after opening weekend draw new and return crowds? If the film is successful on these levels, then we should continue to see Warner and Marvel Studios continue their ambitious plans, because there will be more confidence in the bankability of pursuing less-recognized properties, as they will soon HAVE to do, as most of the “A-List” comic book properties have been done or are in production.

IF Watchmen, for some reason, FAILS to meet the studios expectations, however, then it might signal the beginnings of comic-book-movie burnout among moviewatchers, and having this deluge of genre films bombarding movie going audiences for the next two years may cause a serious backlash.

Sure, why not?

We saw it with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, released in both theatrical and Extended Cut versions on DVD. More recently, we saw it with the release of the Blade Runner Five-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition, which featured FIVE different cuts of the movie (at least it was all in one package, as opposed to LOTR’s double-dip).

Now, we’re hearing straight from director Zach Snyder (300), that Watchmen, easily the most eagerly-anticipated box office release of the Spring, will come to home video in three separate, distinct cuts, starting with the theatrical cut on DVD and blu-ray in July. Here’s Snyder talking about his plans for the release (Thanks to Rob Allstetter, the author of www.comicscontinuum.com and someone who has to be one of the hardest working journalists covering comics and comic-related TV and film out there right now to do what he does EVERY day, for posting this story on Wednesday):

“We’re hoping that we do, at the time of relase of the DVD release in July, they release a director’s cut, which is three hours long,” Snyder said at the Watchmen press junket on Wednesday. “In the fall, they’re going to do the Black Freighter cut, which is all the ins and outs of the Black Freighter, which is the comic book within the comic book. We shot all of those. The final result of that is like a 3-hour, 30-minute/25-minute version of the movie which is everything. It’s the kitchen sink version.

“It’s really three different movies in a lot of way. I think the theatrical versions, which is radically strange in its own way, fits IMAX. I think the director’s cut, which is almost three hours, is pretty most of the stuff that we shot, 99 percent of the stuff that we shot, which I like by the way.”

Snyder goes to describe the director’s cut version as “more violent … [its] slightly more sexy. It’s more Manhattan nudity. It’s just more of everything.”

Here’s my question: is this going to be one of those situations like LOTR where once you see the director’s cut or the Black Freighter cut or whatever, you’ll realize you shouldn’t have bothered with the theatrical version? Seriously, did ANYONE (aside from me, because I rarely get rid of things) hold on to their theatrical edition DVD editions of LOTR once the Extended Cuts were available? Because honestly, this takes away from my desire to see this movie in the theaters, somewhat. I’ve said all along that the cuts the studio demanded for the theatrical release could do nothing but harm a TRUE adaptation of Alan Moore’s work. No real fan of the graphic novel is likely to be satisfied with what hits the screens March 6th. More than likely, they’ll walk out thinking, “Hope they get it right in the extended version.”

Time will tell. In the meantime, Watchmen fans, best start putting aside money for this “triple-dip” over at Best Buy or Amazon …

In Hour 1 of PTG Episode 8, entertainment reporter and LOST Blogger Jon Lachonis, a.k.a. Doc Arzt, calls in to talk about discovering the wonder that is ABC’s LOST, its unique approach to storytelling, and his academically-informed approach to talking and writing about the show in his blog and in his book, Lost Ate My Life: The Inside Story of a Fandom Like No Other. The conversation also touched on a few non-LOST-related topics, namely the new direction for NBC’s Heroes and the upcoming Watchmen film. MANY thanks again to Howey Davenport from the muchedumbre board for making our conversation with Jon possible!

Also in this hour, the DC Comics Spotlight falls on Action Comics #874 and the Superman villain we all know and love as Zod, as Zod promises to be a character to watch out for in the upcoming Superman: World of New Krypton series beginning in March. Finally, Hour 1 wraps up with me listing the many VALID reasons why G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra might NOT suck, after all. And if it DOES suck, it won’t be nearly as bad as the film from which the song at the end of this hour originates, G.I. Joe: The Movie. Don Johnson, the late Burgess Meredith, and Sgt. Slaughter all provided voice for that mess … such a waste, but damn if that opening theme isn’t catchy. I’m singing it now even as I type these words … Who can turn the tide? G.I. Joe!

In Hour 1 of this week’s Prime Time Geek, the DC Spotlight falls on Final Crisis #7 and the “death” of Batman (no, REALLY this time!), we say a fond farewell to Ricardo Montalban, who was beloved by most for his role as “Mr. Roarke” on Fantasy Island, but was revered by Star Trek fans for his depiction of Khan Noonian Singh in the Original Series and in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and we cover Watchmen, Iron Man 2 and (oddly enough) live-action Cowboy Bebop casting news. Also, Michael Poley of the sketch comedy group Night of the Night Wolf calls into the show to talk about his group, their videos and live performances, and their particular brand of comedy. Check it out, and check back at midweek for Hour 2 …

And speaking of Bat-time, it APPEARS that time FINALLY ran out for ol’ Bruce Wayne in DC Comics, as “Final Crisis” #6 hit the stores on Wednesday, and while everyone was out buying issues of Amazing Spider-Man #583 guest starring President-Elect Barack Obama, Batman got hit with some serious Darkseid nastiness and was left a dessicated corpse. Or so it SEEMS … Find more about that AND the end of the “New Krypton” story in Superman comics, along with Watchmen movie news, Keanu Reeves in the live action film adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, JC Martinez’s weekly tech segment focused on advances in touch-screen technology announced at CES last week, and last but certainly not least, an interview with Night of the Night Wolf Comedy Group member Michael Poley! Night of Night Wolf will be performing LIVE at Stardust Video and Coffee in Winter Park later that night, but Michael will take time out from his preparations to talk to us about NONW’s third show at Stardust and what folks going to show can expect. Here’s the promo for the show:

Gonna be a great episode, so don’t miss it, tomorrow night at 6PM EST!