"Brrrrrrrr...." - 12:49pm

Yep, hard to believe, but the big 4th quarter announcements are already starting to come in, so expect another huge Christmas buying season, perhaps the biggest yet for the DVD format. Certainly one of the most highly-anticipated is Fox's animated mega-hit Ice Age, just announced for a 11/26 street date. Included on the two disc set will be widescreen and pan & scan versions, English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks (sorry, no DTS), the HBO First Look special , audio commentary with the directors, six deleted scenes with commentary, "Sid on Sid Silhouette" on scenes, "The Making of ICE AGE" documentary, multi-angle scene exploration, "Scrat" interstitials, "Blue Sky" featurette, Design and Sid Character Development still galleries, three interactive games "Playing Darwin" flip book, "Hide and Eek" and "Frozen Pairs," trailers, TV spots, and the Academy Award-winning animated short "Bunny." ROM extras include two games "Sid Shreds" snowboarding challenge and "Super Dodo Ball," plus a host of printables including ornaments, "Ice Digest" magazine, Fun Fact coloring book, "Shoe Box Theater," and "Hanging With The Herd Make-Your-Own" mobile, "Sub-Zero Heroes" board game, 12-month Migration calendar, "Word Find/Jumbles," and paper doll cutouts. Retail is $29.95.

More BTTF - 11:02am

Hey McFly! Check out the official Back to the Future website for the latest on the Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy. Full specs and new, ugly box art have just been released to major retailers, and the details look pretty good. The set is due to finally make its long-awaited DVD bow on 12/17 in both widescreen and pan & scan editions, with a retail price of $54.95.

Big fat E.T. - 12:01am

Just in from Universal are the final specs for that big fat E.T. Ultimate Gift Set, debuting on 10/22. As you know, it will be available for a limited time only, retail for $70, and come in a big fat shiny silver box as seen to your right. Contents include the two-disc widescreen collector's edition of the 2002, a third disc with the 1982 theatrical cut of the film presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English and French 2.0 Dolby surround tracks only (no 5.1 mixes are included), a bonus CD with the film's soundtrack, a senitype and the complete script.

The final specs for the disc of extras (also available in separate pan & scan and widescreen editions of the 2002 20th Anniversary Edition) is as follows: "20 Years Later With Steven Spielberg" introduction, the "The Evolution Of E.T." documentary, three new making-of featurettes "John Williams Live Orchestra," "Space Exploration" 3-D interactive journey into space, and "Reunion" with the cast and crew, an isolated music score (live from the 2002 Shrine Auditorium premiere in Los Angeles), and the "E.T. Archives" with production and publicity stills. DVD-ROM extras include "E.T. Facts" trivia, the "Help E.T. Find His Way Home" interactive game, an "E.T. Read-along" and the Total Axess web portal.

Bound to be disappointing to collectors is that the film's theatrical trailers, deleted scenes and additional rare footage will only be available via the Total Axess portal and will not be included on the DVD-Video portion of the disc. Now, let's just hope the 1982 version of the film gets as good of a transfer as the 2002 version...for $70, it better.

Also just announced from Universal is a 9/24 street date for the recent family comedy hit Big Fat Liar. In a nod to the "It's a kid flick so who cares about widescreen?" contingent, this one is presented in big fat full frame only, along with an English 5.1 Dolby surround track, audio commentary by Frankie Muniz, director Shawn Levy and writer Dan Schneider, making-of featurette, deleted scenes, an interactive backlot map and tour, the "Are You A Big Fat Liar?" truth-telling game, trailers, and additional DVD-ROM games, downloadables and weblinks. Retail is $24.95.

Nobody does it better - 12:01am

You knew it was coming, now here it is. MGM has announced the first wave of new Bond reissues to tie in with the Thanksgiving release of the new Bond big-screen epic, Die Another Day. Arriving on 10/22 is The Bond Collection Volume 1 (version 2.0?). This 7-disc set features the mismatched assortment of Dr. No, Goldfinger, Man with the Golden Gun, Spy Who Loved Me, Licence To Kill, GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. (Here's an idea for MGM - why not just release The Connery Collection, The Moore Collection, and a third set with all the rest!?) The set will knock you back $124.95 list, and each disc will also be available separately for $19.95 a pop.

Now, is there anything new in this collection? Actually, no. Whether that's good news or bad news is up to the fans, but tech specs and features are all exactly the same as the previous Bond releases, right down to the same ugly packaging. (Click box above for a blowup.) MGM will be releasing two more sets of these Bond classics through next spring, when the latest Bond adventure will hit DVD. While I'm sure many would have liked to have seen something new on these sets (DTS tracks, anyone?), but just as many who missed the original sets the first time around will probably be pleased nonetheless...