All right, first up today: Be sure to check out Michael Coate’s Still Boldly Going: Celebrating “Star Trek“ on its 50th Anniversary column in the event you missed it yesterday. It’s a fun and fascinating roundtable discussion featuring some of the very best Treksperts in the business. Don’t miss it.

Now then... we have some new announcements today...

Disney and Pixar have just set Finding Dory for Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand release on 11/15, preceded by the Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere release on 10/25.  [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you today...

First, as promised, we’re very proud today to present Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Digital Bits, entitled Still Boldly Going: Celebrating “Star Trek” on its 50th Anniversary! In this lengthy piece, Michael moderates a great roundtable discussion on the history of the beloved franchise with Trek luminaries Mark A. Altman, Jeff Bond, Robert Meyer Burnett, Marc Cushman, Daren R. Dochterman, Dorothy Fontana, Gary Gerani, David Gerrold, Edward Gross, Bill Kraft, Herbie J. Pilato, and Melinda Snodgrass. It’s a terrific discussion and a rare opportunity to hear from so many leading Treksperts all in one place. We hope you enjoy it and, as always… “Live Long and Prosper!”  [Read on here…]

This is just a quick post to let you all know that our own Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section as usual with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Just click on RELEASE DATES & ART in the menu above. As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it!

- Bill Hunt

All right, as many of you know, Thursday marks the official 50th Anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek: The Original Series debuted on NBC TV way back on September 8, 1966.

As is probably true for many of you, Star Trek’s played an enormous role in my life. It was my first favorite TV show as a very young child, certainly my first exposure to science fiction of any kind, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that my moral compass – the very principles I believe in (a more optimistic future, the idea that we’re stronger working together, that exploration is one of the most noble things Humanity can do, that it’s our differences that make us greater, etc) – all come from classic Star Trek. The series certainly fostered my curious nature and lifelong interests in science, astronomy, writing, and spaceflight technology. Over the past decade, my love of the franchise led to the discovery of Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey-Maturin” series of historical novels, which begin with Master and Commander (upon which the 2003 Russell Crowe film was based) – they’re essentially Star Trek stories set in the 19th Century.  [Read on here…]

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with another quick column, but we have some great stuff for you to check out...

First, I’ve turned in an in-depth review of Warner’s The Iron Giant: Signature Edition on Blu-ray. Trust me, the disc is not to be missed. It includes both the theatrical and Signature versions of the film, plus new extras, and nearly all of the legacy DVD special features too. The disc streets next Tuesday (9/6). Check out my review here.

Also today, our old friend Jack Jameson weighs in this afternoon on Arrow Video’s new Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set, which includes the films Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable, and Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song, plus extras. The series stars Meiko Kaji of Lady Snowblood fame, who was the inspiration for Uma Thurman’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.  [Read on here…]

All right, today’s post is going to be a quick one, as I’m celebrating my 26th wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, Sarah. But we do have a couple bits of very good news for you…

The first big announcement today is that CBS, Paramount, and the estate of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry are officially releasing a 3-disc Blu-ray collection on 12/13 called Star Trek: The Original Series – The Roddenberry Vault. Produced by our old friend Roger Lay, Jr., who created many of the amazing features for the recent Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays, this set will contain 12 classic Original Series episodes (specifically The Corbomite Maneuver, Arena, Space Seed, This Side of Paradise, The Devil in the Dark, The City on the Edge of Forever, Operation – Annihilate!, Metamorphosis, Who Mourns for Adonais?, Mirror, Mirror, The Trouble with Tribbles, and Return to Tomorrow) along with 3 new documentaries, including Inside the Roddenberry Vault (featuring Rod Roddenberry looking at long-lost film reels), Star Trek: Revisiting a Classic (a retrospective look at back at the making of the series), and Strange New Worlds: Visualizing the Fantastic (a look at the series’ visual effects and futuristic technology).  [Read on here…]

First things first today...

Our own Tim Salmons has just posted another new Pick-Ups/Dailies Blu-ray review, this time featuring a look at Arrow Video’s Microwave Massacre: Special Edition. Do check it out.

Also, the good Russell Hammond has posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and street dates. Remember, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support The Bits and we really do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

We’ve got a couple things for you today, and obviously a bit of sad news to report. But first things first...

Our own Tim Salmons has checked in with another new Blu-ray review, as part of his latest Pick-Up/Dailies column for the week, this time featuring his thoughts on Ken Russell’s new Crimes of Passion: Special Edition from Arrow Video. The disc is now available, and Tim says that while the film is a bit of challenge, it’s worth a look on disc. Do check out his review.  [Read on here…]