Give the gift of entertainment this season, with a book, movie or album that is perfectly suited to your loved ones’ tastes. Best part? These gifts are readily available all around town in big box stores, independent mom-and-pop shops and online. Here are some picks for those final gifts.
‘Star Trek Discovery: Season 1’
‘The Orville: The Complete First Season’
For the sci-fi fan in your life, there’s a couple of strong options. The new streaming “Star Trek” series is now available in a physical copy, as is Seth MacFarlane’s underrated homage to “Next Generation.” “Discovery” is a very serious, modern take on the franchise, while “Orville” is a sillier take, though still grounded in serious “Trek” tropes. (“Trek: Blu-ray, $50.99; DVD, $41.99; “Orville," DVD, $29.99)
‘Dungeons and Dragons: Art and Arcana — A Visual History’
In a world where you can now wear your geek cred on your sleeve, this massive tome is the perfect coffee table book for your favorite fantasy fan. Clocking in at nearly 450 pages, this whopper chronicles the game’s history with hundreds of interviews, photos, artwork and more. ($50)
‘Sid Caesar: The Works’
If you know someone who is already a fan of the great Sid Caesar, this is a no brainer, but for anyone who loves comedy, this is a history less on the early days of television humor, with skits, shows and more from the seminal funny man. Keep an eye open for a slew of comedy icons, like Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Imogene Coca, Nanette Fabreay, Neil Simon and Larry Gelbart, to name a few. (DVD, $49.99)
‘Mission: Impossible — 6 Movie Collection’
For the action junkie, this set includes all of Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” movies, including the most recent, “Fallout.” (Blu-ray, $59.99; 4K, $125.99)
‘The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together’
Any film buff in need of a gift will likely savor this expansive look into the catalog of perhaps our greatest living filmmakers, with interviews, critiques and more. Written by film critic Adam Nayman. ($40)
‘Springsteen on Broadway’
Whether or not you were able to see Bruce Springsteen’s performance on Broadway, this complete live performance is a must-own, featuring some of his most iconic songs as well as the stories behind the tunes. (CD, $18.99)
‘Mary Poppins Returns Soundtrack’
Featuring songs composed by Tony Award-winner Marc Shaiman (“Broadway’s “Hairspray,” "Catch Me If You Can), this soundtrack features some soon-to-be favorite tracks from this sequel, not to mention vocal performances by Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Broadway’s favorite son, Lin-Manuel Miranda. ($13.99)
Carl Reiner on ‘Sid Caesar: The Works’
Carl Reiner, 96, was a long time cohort of Sid Caesar, whose career is honored with the new DVD collection, "Sid Caesar: The Works." amNewYork spoke with Reiner about the comedy icon.
What do you see as the legacy of Sid Caesar?
Without Sid Caesar, the sketch comedies we know today would not have existed. He brought to it an artistry that had not been there before. First of all, he was so gifted, just naturally gifted.
How did New York City inform the comedy on the show?
Well, we were all New Yorkers. And we were all born and bred in New York. And I think the comedy anybody does reflects who they are, where they are born, what religion they are. And the only thing you can do false is lie. You tell the truth about how you feel about things, you’re like anybody else; you suffer the same indignities. We were New Yorkers at heart and it reflected the fact that we were. We were also Jews at heart, but we tried not to be too Jewish.
So looking at your shows, the work you guys did . . . who do you see upholding that legacy?
Oh, there are a lot of great comedians that have come and gone. I was thinking of one the other day that nobody remembers and I’m looking to get a tape of him. Richard Jeni, do you remember him?
Richard Jeni. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, he was one of those guys who broke it open in a different way. And Sid, of course, was one of those guys. . . . Sid once said the three funniest words I ever heard. When he finally made it . . . he was in the millionaire class. And he bought a house out . . . in Long Island and put in a three-hole putting green. He had a big pool. And we went to visit him one day and he’s swimming the pool — we’re all in the pool — he’s lying on his back, floating on his back, and looking up, he looked at the putting green, he looked at that, he looked at his diving board and quietly he said, “Isn’t this better?” Like we should have thought of it before. But he was a funny man, a funny man.
