With a fairly meager release schedule the next couple of weeks, I thought this would be a good opportunity to point you toward a few things that you may not have heard about, but are definitely worth discovering.

"Saxondale": The Complete First Two Seasons

Tommy Saxondale (Steve Coogan) is a well-educated man. He's well-read, well-traveled, and in many ways is one of the smartest people you could ever meet. He's also a divorced pest controller with anger management issues who still hasn't quite left his days as a rock roadie in the 1970s behind him. What that adds up to is one of the most complex, yet funniest television characters in some time.

Like many sitcoms, each episode of "Saxondale" has a formula. It begins with Tommy finding a way to stick it to The Man in his anger management class. It doesn't always work out the way he'd hoped, but Tommy's not toning himself down anytime soon.

In spite of the step-by-step formula of all 13 episodes of the first two seasons (the British have never been ones to do 22 shows a year), "Saxondale" is quite unique in terms of its characters and where the comedy is found. First off, on most shows Tommy would simply be a fool with a long-suffering thin wife who, with a magical roll of the eyes, would set him straight. But his long-time girlfriend Magz (Ruth Jones) is a sweet plus-sized woman who doesn't merely put up with Tommy. They have their disagreements but these two are very much in love. Even when Tommy completely makes a mess of things, which is often, she's right there beside him.

Tommy's only employee in his pest control business is young Raymond (Rasmus Hardiker), whose wide eyes bear out his innocence. He genuinely likes Tommy and, while he's not an idiot, he's not quite sharp enough to realize when Tommy is putting his foot in his mouth or just generally spewing nonsense, which is a great deal of the time.

Steve Coogan has always been a big success in Britain, going back to the mid-nineties with "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge" and its follow-up series, "I'm Alan Partridge" (an absolute classic). He's never really taken off in the U.S. however, which is a shame because he is simply one of the most gifted comic actors and writers in the world today.

Even so, it can take a few episodes to really get on "Saxondale's" wavelength. There's not really anything quite like it. The character is a true original and astonishingly well-developed. Once you really sink your teeth into it, you'll find something pretty wonderful.

I also highly recommend two Coogan films, 2002's "24 Hour Party People," in which he plays one of the most important musical figures to never sing a note or pick up an instrument, Tony Wilson, and 2006's "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story." Both films are written and directed by the tandem of Frank Cottrell Boyce and Michael Winterbottom, and each is a terrific showcase for Coogan.

And now the time has come to stand up for undoubtedly one of the dumbest movies ever made. A film that is unquestionably and unapologetically stupid at every turn. It may kill brain cells. You may walk away from it dumber than you were when you sat down to watch it.

But you know something? It's also one of the funniest and yes, most underrated movies in the known universe. It is the "Citizen Kane" of Dumb Comedy.

It's difficult to describe because much like its title character, "Pootie Tang" is "too cool for words." Released in the summer of 2001, this brain child of Chris Rock's was a box office and critical bomb. It's a shame because I'd have been first in line for "Pootie Tang 2."

Pootie Tang (Lance Crouther) is a crime fighter, pop star, actor, pitchman for healthy foods, "cobbler," and all around cultural icon. Ever since he was a small boy Pootie has spoken his own language.

"We couldn't always tell what he was saying," his best friend (or "main damie" in Pootie speak) Trucky explains, "but we always knew what he meant."

You'd certainly hope so when Pootie is saying things like "sepatown," "sa-da-tay," and "I'm gonna sine your pitty on the runny kine."

In spite of, or more likely because of, Pootie's unique spin on the English language, his is the most recognizable and beloved face on the planet. He gets kids to say "da-nay-no" to fast food, and releases a best-selling single that is actually total silence. "Pootie don't need no words. Don't even need no music!"

None of this sits well with Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn...seriously), the head of "corporate America." With the help of Ireenie (Jennifer Coolidge) and Dirty Dee (Reg E. Cathey), Lecter has a plan to bring Pootie Tang down. It adds up to a deeply idiotic but undeniably hilarious 80 minutes.

The film, written and directed by Louis C.K. co-stars Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock (in three roles), and Bob Costas as himself. "I know Pootie Tang," he declares after Pootie falls from grace. "And this is not the Pootie Tang I thought I knew!"

Don't say "da-nay-no." Pick this one up the next time you go to the video store. "Wa-da-tah."

Also New to DVD and Blu-Ray

Now Available - The Office: Season 5

Fringe: Season 1

Crank 2: High Voltage (R) - 7.5/10

The New World (Extended Cut) (Blu-Ray)

Silverado (Blu-Ray)

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubbzy Goes Boo



9/15 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PG-13)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 4 ("What's your bean situation?")

The IT Crowd: Season 3 ("This Jen, is the internet.")