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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Tony Sopranos lives on, Firefly goes high-def and the Star Wars universe keeps expanding.

Pick of the Week

For people who can deal with minimal closure: The Sopranos

About a year and a half ago, David Chase played quite the trick on America. Remember this? Of course you do. Nearly 12 million tuned in for the series finale to one of America's greatest television shows of all time, only to have an ominously black screen staring back at them when the top of the hour came 'round. No clear cut catharsis. No happy ending for Mr. Tony Soprano. No nothing, really. Just an ambiguous ending with more loose ends than television viewers usually have to deal with.

And people couldn't shut up about it. A number of weeks went by, and people still were discussing possible interpretations to the finale of Chase's classic mob tale. Not to say the title wasn't deserving of such meticulous dissection. For the loyal viewers who had watched this pay cable phenomenon since 1999, they simply just didn't want the drama to fade too quickly for memory. At least not right away.

Well anyway, today HBO releases the entire series in one complete package, so fans can take yet another look at that ambiguous finale, as well as all the events that led to that final family meal in the diner. And typical of HBO, it carries a relatively steep $400 marketplace price tag.

Disc includes: Audio commentary, Interview with David Chase (moderated by Alec Baldwin), Supper With The Sopranos featurette, Paley Center for Media Seminar featurette, deleted scenes, spoofs and parodies, two CD soundtracks, 16-page episode guide





For fans of Westerns, but not necessarily ones starring John Wayne: Firefly: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

Anytime a show that's near and dear to BOP staffers' hearts gets released on DVD, it must get a plug in this space or I'm out of a job. Firefly would be one of those shows. Originally airing on Fox for the 2002-03 television season, the sci-fi series lasted just 11 episodes before being cancelled by the network. (The remaining three produced episodes later aired on Sci Fi Channel). Though the entire series has already been released on DVD, today marks Firefly's Blu-ray debut.

Best described as a Western in space, Firefly is set 500 years in the future, when humans have since moved on to a new star system. The series follows the nine renegade crewmembers aboard a "Firefly class" spaceship named Serenity.

In 2005 a sequel movie, Serenity, which takes place about two months after the events of the series finale, was released in theaters. Against a budget of nearly $40 million, the film could only muster a nudge over $25 million, despite receiving mostly favorable reviews from critics. For some time, there was talk of a potential sequel or two, but Joss Whedon has since shot down any of the rumors.

Disc includes: Audio commentary, Here's How it Was: The Making of Firefly featurette, Serenity: The 10th Character featurette, Joss Tours the Set featurette, Alan Tudyk's Audition, Joss Sings the Firefly Theme featurette, gag reel

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