20 years already? 'Independence Day' is back on Blu-ray

You've probably seen it on cable a hundred times. You may have bought the original VHS release and subsequently upgraded to DVD. And now, with a sequel on the way in June, Fox hopes you're willing to buy another copy of "Independence Day."

Director Roland Emmerich's sci-fi smash is newly available in a 20th anniversary Blu-ray package that boasts restored transfers of both the 1996 theatrical version and the extended version that made its debut on laserdisc (remember those?). Special features include a host of carry-overs from previous home editions, the best of which are fake newscasts shot for the film and a mockumentary about making contact with the film's alien invaders.

There's also a new 30-minute feature called "Independence Day: A Legacy Surging Forward" that will undoubtedly try to get you excited to see "Independence Day: Resurgence" at a theater near you on June 24.

I'm already excited - I was among the hundreds of people who packed the old Woodfield 1&2 theaters on the Schaumburg mall's perimeter to see the first screening of "Independence Day" on July 2, 1996. The cheering began before the curtains went up. (Yes, they had curtains.)

We watched "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Will Smith become a movie star, Jeff Goldblum become an intergalactic hero and Bill Pullman deliver a speech that would make any real president proud. "Independence Day" wasn't a movie, it was an event - an event I saw eight times at various suburban theaters. If the sequel can capture that magic, it's going to be another fun (and potentially expensive) summer.

<h3 class="briefHead">More great TV characters</h3>

Last week's column in which 10 colleagues and I drafted a dream team of TV characters inspired a second round of sorts on my Facebook page. Among those mentioned: Dana Scully ("The X-Files"), Denny Crane ("Boston Legal"), Zoe Washburne ("Firefly"), Paulie Walnuts ("The Sopranos"), Stringer Bell ("The Wire") and, my choice, George Costanza ("Seinfeld").

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.