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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Lost is officially in "beginning of the end" mode, Harry Potter faces a familiar foe and Meryl Streep and Amy Adams face off.

Pick of the Week

For people who can't time travel without feeling a little sick: Lost: The Complete Fifth Season

If there were ever a show that I had wished I had lent more of my concentration (and patience) with, it'd probably be Lost, ABC's uber hit of a drama that was the biggest of big deals during its first season run in the 2004-05 television season. I missed out on the phenomenon's freshman frame when it was regularly giving its audiences pleasureful Lost-gasms on a weekly basis, but caught up before the season two premiere by watching Lost the way it was supposed to be watched: successive, back-to-back, uninterrupted viewing on DVD. I was pretty hooked at that point. In fact, the day of the season two finale, I drove (on a whim) about three hours and change for the sole purpose of watching the final episode with my sister, who also considered herself a fan at the time. I may have just embarrassed myself.

Then over the course of another season or so, Lost – in my opinion – lost momentum. I stopped watching, and honestly, I don't miss it. Sure, every now and again I'll catch myself up on its storylines and mythology by feasting on one of its many recap episodes. But the magic of the series, my friends, is surely gone for me.





So, what does this have to do with Lost: Season Five? As you may have already surmised, I have yet to see a second of it. Even so, critical praise seemed pretty high for this particular season, and long-time fans who didn't give up on the show like I had found much to appreciate. I'm not saying I'll start tomorrow or anything, but perhaps my curiosity for season five (and bits of four, which I also hear is quite good) will get the best of me and I'll just catch myself up already. That is, of course, if I don't cheat and watch the series finale a few short months from now like everyone else.

Disc includes: Lost on Location featurette, Building 23 & Beyond featurette, An Epic Day with Richard Alpert featurette, Making Up for Lost Time featurette, Mysteries of the Universe: The DHARMA Initiative, bloopers, deleted scenes, audio commentaries

For people who wonder what Daniel, Rupert and Emma are going to do with themselves when Harry Potter comes to a close for good: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Special Edition)

Like Lost, it's quite extraordinary that the theatrical adaptations to J.K. Rowling's classic book series will be all but wrapped up before we know it. Had the final chapter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, not been split into two parts, the boy wizard's final opening weekend at the box office would have commenced in November 2010. Instead, the disgustingly successful Warner Bros. franchise has one more summer blockbuster bow in its sights before the thing leaves us for reals.

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