Badly drawn 'Boy' - 12:04am

Just in from Universal are the full specs for the 10/22 debut of About a Boy, the Hugh Grant hit that was huge in Britain and a bit of a sleeper here in the US this past spring. Available in both widescreen and full screen versions with English 5.1 Dolby Digital surround tracks, plus extras including a making-of featurette, deleted scenes with commentary by the Weitz Brothers, outtakes, 2 music videos, "Killing Me Softly" sing-along karaoke, "English to English" dictionary, "Santa's Super Sleigh" lyrics, production notes, filmographies and trailers. Retail is $26.95.

More Universal October titles include the direct-to-video chiller The Demon Within, due on 10/8 and presented in full frame only and English Dolby Digital 5.1, and no extras aside from production notes and trailers. Retail is $26.95. Also on the way are two new Bob Hope double features, Louisiana Purchase/Never Say Die, Sorrowful Jones/The Paleface and Monsieur Beaucaire/Where There's Life, all presented in full frame and mono, with filmographies, production notes and trailers as extras. Retail is $24.95 a pop.

Nice girls don't explode - 12:04am

New from Anchor Bay is another batch of the weird and the wonderful, i.e., cult faves we're all embarrassed to admit we actually like. Hitting shelves on 10/8 is the Mad Mission series, including the original Mad Mission, Mad Mission II: Aces Go Places, and Mad Mission III: Our Man from Bond Street. Each is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and mono, and extras include trailers.

Next up are two new entries in Anchor Bay's The Hammer Collection, To the Devil a Daughter and Fear in the Night, starring Joan Collins. Both include new anamorphic widescreen transfers and English mono tracks (Fear also includes a French mono dub), and extras include trailers on both, and the "To The Devil...The Death Of Hammer" featurette on To the Devil a Daughter, and on Fear in the Night an audio commentary with filmmaker Jimmy Sangster and Hammer Films historian Marcus Hearn.

Finally, 10/8 will also see the release of the much-maligned Tobe Hooper shocker Spontaneous Combustion, presented in a first-ever 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with an English mono track. Retail for all of the above is $19.95 each.

Rough trade - 12:04am

I never thought I'd see it, but on 11/26 Elite Entertainment will release I Spit On Your Grave: The Millennium Edition, a new reissue of the notorious Meir Zarchi revenge pic. Featuring a new anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS(!) 5.1 surround tracks, extras include 2 audio commentaries, by writer and director Zarchi and cult film guru Joe Bob Briggs, additional interviews, a still gallery, text reviews, trailers and TV spots. Retail is $24.95.

Also on tap from Elite is the Richard Franklin cult flick Patrick, arriving on 10/22. Presented in a new 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and with an English 2.0 stereo track, the only extras are trailers. Retail is $24.95.

Street date alert - 12:04am

Rounding out today's news are some new street dates. On 11/5, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment will bow the acclaimed indie drama The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, and from MGM, watch for The King Is Alive on 10/29 and the Christina Ricci comedy Pumpkin a week later on 11/5. Stay tuned for specs...