Fargos second season is on Blu-ray and DVD this week, along with a number of other TV series.
Fargo: Year Two (FX/Fox, 2016, two discs, 10 episodes, featurettes). For the uninitiated, this FX cable show is not a direct continuation of the Coen brothers Oscar-winning Fargo movie, but it does retain the setting and the jet-black humor, along with a variety of eccentric characters (some innocent, some not) who become enmeshed in criminal activities. And if Season 2 is not quite as riveting as the first season, its still more compelling than most TV crime shows.
Set in 1979, this 10-episode story is a prequel to the events of Season 1 as it follows the investigation by a young state police offer and family man (Patrick Wilson) of a multiple murder in a Minnesota diner, leading to mob rivalries that stretch from Fargo, North Dakota, to Kansas City, Missouri. Also involved are a hapless butcher (Jesse Plemons) and his deluded, self-centered, wife (Kirsten Dunst). Co-stars include Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Brad Garrett, Nick Offerman and Adam Arkin.
The Irish R.M.: The Complete Collection (Acorn, 1983-85, six discs, 18 episodes, featurette). This comedy-drama, derived from a series of novels, follows an English military officer (Peter Bowles) who retires in 1897 to become a resident magistrate in pre-independence West Ireland, which is, of course, populated by eccentrics. Culture clashes arise as he attempts to adapt to rural life and the locals manipulate him.
Carole King: Natural Woman (Virgil, 2016, not rated, four bonus songs). This is a highly entertaining hourlong documentary about the popular singer-songwriter, who began writing hits (with her first husband) for other artists in the 1960s, and later became a solo writer and performer. Her hits include Its Too Late, I Feel the Earth Move, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and many more.
Racing Extinction (Discovery/Lionsgate, 2015, virtual field trip). Jane Goodall is one of the participants in this eco-documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) about Anthropocene Extinction, suggesting that industrial growth is changing the chemistry of the planet.
When Bette Met Mae (MVD, 2016, not rated). This hourlong offbeat documentary aimed at film buffs is built on an audiotape recording of a 1973 evening when Mae West was invited to the home of Bette Davis, whom she had never met. They banter about a wide range of show-biz and private-life topics as lookalike actors lip-sync their exchange, with film clips, photos and occasional narration by Sally Kellerman to put things in context.
The Best of Big Blue Live (PBS, 2015). BBC Earth 60-minute documentary about marine creatures that gather in Monterey Bay, California, each year to feed humpback whales, blue whales, sea lions, dolphins, orcas, sea otters, great white sharks, etc.
Deserts and Life (PBS, 2011, two discs, six episodes). Each episode of this miniseries chronicles the people, wildlife and culture of six deserts: the Namib in Africa, the Gobi in Mongolia, the Atacama in Chile, the Thar in India, the Great Australian Desert and the Judean Desert in Israel.
The Megafalls of Iguacu (PBS, 2016). The title falls in the heart of South America where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay intersect, are the focus of this hourlong documentary. The falls are more than 3 miles long, 300 feet high and home to a plethora of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects.
Frontline: Terror in Little Saigon (PBS, 2015). This hourlong documentary investigates a string of unsolved murders of Vietnamese-American journalists in U.S. cities between 1981 and 1990, leading to an anti-communist paramilitary organization attempting to restart the Vietnam War.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (Disney, 2015, not rated, music video). This animated TV movie introduced the Lion Guard series on the Disney Junior and Disney Channel cable stations, about prince Kion and his adventures with a variety of animal friends. This film and the subsequent series are a sequel to The Lion King, set between that film and the straight-to-video sequel Simbas Pride. (There was also an earlier TV series, Timon & Pumbaa.)
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Season 1, Part 1 (Warner, 2015, two discs, 13 episodes). These episodes are from the current Cartoon Network shows, the 12th animated series featuring Scoob and the Mystery Incorporated gang as they travel across the country in their Mystery Machine, encountering ghosts, zombies, sea creatures, aliens and Bigfoot, among others.
Shaun the Sheep: Sheep On the Loose (Lionsgate, 2007, six episodes, featurettes).
Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 (Lionsgate, 2009-10, two discs, 40 episodes, featurette, interactive games, music videos, photo gallery). More wacky antics with the stop-motion animated sheep and his pals as they bring chaos to the country farm where they reside. It's amusing for parents as well as kids.
Chuggington: Delivery Dash at the Docks (Anchor Bay, 2015, six episodes, featurette, coloring pages, two Badge Quest episodes). The title episode and five more are in this collection of Season 5 shows for preschoolers from the animated series about train-station trainees.
Transformers Rescue Bots: Adventures in Time and Space (Shout! Kids, 2012-15, five episodes). This spinoff series from Transformers follows Autobot first responders as they travel through time and space to protect the Earth.
Fargo: Year Two (FX/Fox, 2016, two discs, 10 episodes, featurettes). For the uninitiated, this FX cable show is not a direct continuation of the Coen brothers Oscar-winning Fargo movie, but it does retain the setting and the jet-black humor, along with a variety of eccentric characters (some innocent, some not) who become enmeshed in criminal activities. And if Season 2 is not quite as riveting as the first season, its still more compelling than most TV crime shows.
Set in 1979, this 10-episode story is a prequel to the events of Season 1 as it follows the investigation by a young state police offer and family man (Patrick Wilson) of a multiple murder in a Minnesota diner, leading to mob rivalries that stretch from Fargo, North Dakota, to Kansas City, Missouri. Also involved are a hapless butcher (Jesse Plemons) and his deluded, self-centered, wife (Kirsten Dunst). Co-stars include Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Brad Garrett, Nick Offerman and Adam Arkin.
The Irish R.M.: The Complete Collection (Acorn, 1983-85, six discs, 18 episodes, featurette). This comedy-drama, derived from a series of novels, follows an English military officer (Peter Bowles) who retires in 1897 to become a resident magistrate in pre-independence West Ireland, which is, of course, populated by eccentrics. Culture clashes arise as he attempts to adapt to rural life and the locals manipulate him.
Carole King: Natural Woman (Virgil, 2016, not rated, four bonus songs). This is a highly entertaining hourlong documentary about the popular singer-songwriter, who began writing hits (with her first husband) for other artists in the 1960s, and later became a solo writer and performer. Her hits include Its Too Late, I Feel the Earth Move, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and many more.
Racing Extinction (Discovery/Lionsgate, 2015, virtual field trip). Jane Goodall is one of the participants in this eco-documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) about Anthropocene Extinction, suggesting that industrial growth is changing the chemistry of the planet.
When Bette Met Mae (MVD, 2016, not rated). This hourlong offbeat documentary aimed at film buffs is built on an audiotape recording of a 1973 evening when Mae West was invited to the home of Bette Davis, whom she had never met. They banter about a wide range of show-biz and private-life topics as lookalike actors lip-sync their exchange, with film clips, photos and occasional narration by Sally Kellerman to put things in context.
The Best of Big Blue Live (PBS, 2015). BBC Earth 60-minute documentary about marine creatures that gather in Monterey Bay, California, each year to feed humpback whales, blue whales, sea lions, dolphins, orcas, sea otters, great white sharks, etc.
Deserts and Life (PBS, 2011, two discs, six episodes). Each episode of this miniseries chronicles the people, wildlife and culture of six deserts: the Namib in Africa, the Gobi in Mongolia, the Atacama in Chile, the Thar in India, the Great Australian Desert and the Judean Desert in Israel.
The Megafalls of Iguacu (PBS, 2016). The title falls in the heart of South America where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay intersect, are the focus of this hourlong documentary. The falls are more than 3 miles long, 300 feet high and home to a plethora of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects.
Frontline: Terror in Little Saigon (PBS, 2015). This hourlong documentary investigates a string of unsolved murders of Vietnamese-American journalists in U.S. cities between 1981 and 1990, leading to an anti-communist paramilitary organization attempting to restart the Vietnam War.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (Disney, 2015, not rated, music video). This animated TV movie introduced the Lion Guard series on the Disney Junior and Disney Channel cable stations, about prince Kion and his adventures with a variety of animal friends. This film and the subsequent series are a sequel to The Lion King, set between that film and the straight-to-video sequel Simbas Pride. (There was also an earlier TV series, Timon & Pumbaa.)
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Season 1, Part 1 (Warner, 2015, two discs, 13 episodes). These episodes are from the current Cartoon Network shows, the 12th animated series featuring Scoob and the Mystery Incorporated gang as they travel across the country in their Mystery Machine, encountering ghosts, zombies, sea creatures, aliens and Bigfoot, among others.
Shaun the Sheep: Sheep On the Loose (Lionsgate, 2007, six episodes, featurettes).
Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 (Lionsgate, 2009-10, two discs, 40 episodes, featurette, interactive games, music videos, photo gallery). More wacky antics with the stop-motion animated sheep and his pals as they bring chaos to the country farm where they reside. It's amusing for parents as well as kids.
Chuggington: Delivery Dash at the Docks (Anchor Bay, 2015, six episodes, featurette, coloring pages, two Badge Quest episodes). The title episode and five more are in this collection of Season 5 shows for preschoolers from the animated series about train-station trainees.
Transformers Rescue Bots: Adventures in Time and Space (Shout! Kids, 2012-15, five episodes). This spinoff series from Transformers follows Autobot first responders as they travel through time and space to protect the Earth.