New Spy DVDs Out Today

Today CBS/Paramount releases the fourth and final season of the fantastic spy Western The Wild Wild West. After taking a dip with the (still quite enjoyable) third season, the series finishes with a bang. Season 4 boasts a lot of really great episodes, even if many of them are sadly missing Arte (whose name is consistently misspelled on this season's packaging). Series co-star Ross Martin suffered a serious heart attack necessitating a parade of guest partners for Robert Conrad's secret service agent Jim West. Highlights of Season 4 include the Mission: Impossible-ish opener, "Night of the Big Blackmail," the Jules Verne-inspired tentacled undersea madness of "Night of the Kraken" and Dr. Loveless' last appearance, "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge." Unfortunately not included are the two TV movie reunions, so your Wild Wild West collection still won't be quite complete, but hopefully Paramount will release those on their own down the line. I hope to have my full review posted later today.

Also out today, from Universal, is Bionic Woman - Volume One. This is not the classic Lindsay Wagner sci-fi series, but the first (pre-strike) half of the single season of the all-new, Alias-inspired, Michelle Ryan version. While the show had a great advertising campaign and generated a lot of excitement, I found the pilot severely underwhelming, and didn't end up tuning in again, though I did hear it got better. Whatever the case, it hasn't been renewed for a second season.

Finally, there's one I missed last week because I thought it was coming out this week. Last week
Fox unleashed single and double-disc versions of rated and unrated cuts of last fall's neo-Eurospy, videogame-inspired actioner Hitman. Since its release, the movie has garnered new interest from Bond fans eager to see Quantum of Solace's Bond Girl Olga Kurylenko in action. She doesn't get too much to do in Hitman, but she does look good doing (or not doing) it.