Stuck inside? Don’t know what to watch/read/play/listen to? ComingSoon.net has got you covered. In this week’s CS Recommends our staff kicks off gives you solid tips on the best media to consume during your downtime, including Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One and more! Check out our picks below!
RELATED: November 3 Blu-ray, Digital and DVD Releases
MAX EVRY’S RECOMMEND: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Click here to purchase the complete Buck Rogers box set!
Click here to purchase just the pilot film!
Not long after the runaway success of 1977’s Star Wars, TV producer Glen A. Larson helped ABC rip it off to good effect with Battlestar Galactica. When that show hit, he thought, “Why not just rip off Star Wars again?” So came Buck Rogers starring the rascally Gil Gerard in a reimagining of the pulp character that had gained fame in syndicated comics and movie serials. Gerard’s version of the character is a swinging dick NASA astronaut who is frozen on a space mission and awakens 500 years later in the middle of an intergalactic conflict. The spaceship designs have the same kitbashed look pioneered in George Lucas’ epic, and there’s even a cute robot sidekick named Twiki voiced by Mel Blanc.
While the series lasted for two seasons it hasn’t had the same cultural revival that Galactica has had. Still, it’s a lot of fun, and if you don’t want to revisit the entire series you can simply pop in Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray of the original pilot movie, which was actually released in theaters and did $21 million worth of business in 1979. The movie is funny, very sexy (hello Pamela Hensley!) and features a lot of recycled or discarded effects and ship designs from Galactica. It was also co-written by Leslie Stevens of The Outer Limits fame.
KYLIE HEMMERT’S RECOMMEND: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Click here to purchase the 40th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray!
Click here to purchase the 40th Anniversary Edition on Digital!
Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will forever be a classic, even if it’s not for everyone. The movie’s brutality is meant to shock and horrify, with the main villain sporting skin masks and savagely killing the group of friends — two of them siblings — who happen to cross paths with Leatherface and his bizarre family that end up being cannibalistic psychopaths. The movie, which kicked off quite the franchise, is available on digital, but if you want to listen to some wild commentary featuring Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl, and Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of the Blu-ray. Not only do they share some fascinating behind-the-scenes info about the making of the movie, but they reveal a few jaw-dropping (and disturbing) truths that reveal just how intense it was filming the project.
GRANT HERMANN’S RECOMMEND: What’s New, Scooby-Doo?
Click here to purchase the first three seasons pack!
Click here to purchase the digital version!
Since his debut in 1969, there have been countless iterations of Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. as they head around the globe solving mysteries, but arguably the best since the original — if not possibly better — is the 2002 revival What’s New, Scooby-Doo? More tonally consistent than other past iterations, paying plenty of homage to the original series’ format while also updating it with wonderful meta-humor, a rocking soundtrack including the still killer theme song performed by Simple Plan and featuring the incredible voice work of Frank Welker, Grey DeLisle, Mindy Cohn, and Casey Kasem, it remains an absolute blast for longtime fans of the franchise and a great intro for those looking to get started.
MAGGIE DELA PAZ’S RECOMMEND: Tremors
Starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, Tremors is set in a small desert town in Nevada where two handymen are getting tired of their current dull setting. However, little did they know, their boring town is about to get much more interesting when they discover the existence of giant worm-like creatures hiding beneath the ground. Now, the duo must band together with a seismologist and the other residents in their town to find a way to escape and survive before the monsters completely devour them all.
This 1990 horror comedy film is definitely an underrated classic which delivers thrilling and entertaining sequences that will leave you on the edge of your seats. It’s a unique storyline and contained setting were two of the highlights of this monster film. I’ve always been a fan of underdog stories where normal people are pitted against seemingly unbeatable foes which I think Tremors does so well. That’s why it’s a shame that the follow-up sequels had failed to live up to the original which might be due to Universal losing the chance to keep its original stars in building up the franchise.
So, if you’re looking for a great creature feature, I highly recommend you check out or revisit Tremors!
JEFF AMES’ RECOMMEND: Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One
Click here to purchase on PS4!
Click here to purchase on Xbox One!
In case you needed more Doom: Eternal madness, Bethesda has slapped together a brand new DLC titled Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One, which continues the story of the Doom Slayer as he traverses three new blood-soaked levels of demon-packed carnage. Right out of the gate, I’ll say this: if you loved Doom: Eternal, then Ancient Gods will serve as a solid encore. If you hated Doom: Eternal and found the non-stop, in-your-face action more grating than fun, then it’s probably best to stay away. Ancient Gods pulls no punches.
You want Marauders — perhaps the most maddening villain ever concocted for a video game? You got Marauders. Like, a lot of Marauders. Need more Cyber Demons-juiced-up-on-buff-totems? Ancient Gods will give you two, sometimes three, at a time. Have you ever wanted to run around a foggy swamp besieged with acid-spewing plants and invisible Pinky Demons while fighting a Spider Demon possessed by a Spirit that can only be killed with a plasma rifle that runs out of ammo faster than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking competition? Ancient Gods has got you covered! It’s maddening. It’s insane. It’s Doom. And it’s awesome.
