Great gifts for the entertainment lovers in your life

Hard up for holiday presents? Don't cop out with a gift card. After all, who knows if that store will even be open two weeks after Christmas? Besides TV, movies and music offer an abundance of personalized options for just about everyone on your gift list.

Check out the ideas below from our esteemed experts in the field. If White Zombie isn't exactly Dad's cup of tea, perhaps that tea will warm his cockles if served in an Edward R. Murrow coffee mug from the grass roots media watchdog group Free Press. And in this day and age, who can't find a use for a keychain-ear-bud-wrap-bottle-opener and a USB beverage chiller? Shop on!

For TV fans

• "Batman: The Complete Animated Series" (Warner Home Video, $107.92)

Why it's great: "Batman: The Animated Series" helped raise the bar for American TV animation when it made its debut in 1992. Using a vintage look and subdued color palate that its creators called "dark deco," the show combined beautiful drawing with intelligent, witty scripts. This set includes all 109 half-hour episodes, a full disc of new bonus features and an illustrated booklet. Batman has rarely looked better.

- Matt Arado

• Edward R. Murrow quote coffee mug (Free Press at freepress.net/shop, $13)

Why it's great: Who can argue with the TV sentiment, first stated by Edward R. Murrow 50 years ago: "These instruments can teach, they can illuminate, and yes they can even inspire; but they can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use them toward those ends. - Otherwise, they're merely wires and lights in a box." Better yet, mug sales benefit the grass roots media watchdog group Free Press.

- Ted Cox

• ESPN Sportscaster Mic (ESPN, $15 at Toys-R-Us)

Why it's great: When the annoying TV play-by-play has you ready to go Elvis on the tube - hello, Dick Stockton - take matters into your own hands and call the game yourself with this authorized ESPN version of Mr. Microphone.

- Ted Cox

• Best bang for your buck: LG 42PG20 42-inch plasma HDTV ($878 at Abt)

Why it's a great value: Sure, it's a lot of bucks, but a stocking stuffed with bang as well. A year ago, this TV would have been almost twice the price, but now nutcracker-jaw-dropping plasma-screen TVs have come down well under $1,000. You can even go under $500 with a 22-inch LCD screen, such as the Samsung LN22A450, selling at Abt for $429.

- Ted Cox

For film buffs

• "Iron Man," wrapped and ready (Paramount, $20)

Why it's great: Paramount saves you a few precious moments this holiday season with its "wrapped and ready" line of hit DVDs. Here is the single-disc version of "Iron Man," one of the best movies of the year, already wrapped for giving! Also available are wrapped versions of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Kung Fu Panda."

- Matt Arado

• The James Bond shirt collection ($12.99 to $39.99)

Why it's great: Celebrate the return of Daniel Craig as the greatest 007 since Sean Connery with a cool T-shirt or sweatshirt brandishing the griffin-with-a-gun design from the cover of the original 1960s paperback version of "You Only Live Twice." Go to cafepress.com/hmss for Q's complete inventory for men, women and kids.

- Dann Gire

• "Wanted" deluxe collector's set (Universal, $64.98)

>Why it's great:

- Matt Arado

bull; The Plush Brain Cell (MCA Store, $7.95)

Why it's great: Because everyone can use extra brain cells, even movie critics. This plush toy comes in the spindly shape of an actual brain cell, except it includes two eyes. Just the thing to keep on your desk for inspiration. Other Microbe Plush Toys include dust mites and germs responsible for the common cold. Go to mcachicagostore.org.

- Dann Gire

bull; "The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration" (Paramount, $72.99)

Why it's great: Francis Ford Coppola's "Godfather" films (well, the first two, anyway) are considered to be among the best American films ever, and they've never looked better than on these DVDs. The first two chapters underwent a painstaking restoration supervised by Coppola, and the third chapter, released in 1990, was digitally remastered. This set includes brand-new bonus material about the restoration and the film series as a whole. Set aside a weekend to savor this set.

- Matt Arado

bull; Best bang for your buck: The Entertainment Earth action figures and collectibles (all prices)

Why it's a great value: Joker bobbleheads. Original "Star Trek" communicator replicas. Alien action figures. Firefly Serenity ornaments. All of these and a zillion other pieces of movie memorabilia are yours at a range of price points at entertainmentearth.com.

- Dann Gire

For music lovers

bull; "SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years" (Mergerecords.com, $199)

Why it's great: This subscription-only box set from the famed indie label keeps giving, as its content will appear in snail mailboxes throughout 2009. The bulk will be material from Merge's vaults slotted onto 14 compilations by curators such as David Byrne, Amy Poehler and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. Other goodies include a remix CD (contributors include Caribou, Junior Boys, Battles and Tortoise's John McEntire), a disc of covers (by names like Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene), a new comedy CD by Tom Scharpling (writer for TV's "Monk") and Jon Wurster (drummer for Superchunk, the band that started the label) and a softbound book featuring the cover art for every album released by Merge.

- Jeff Pizek

bull; White Zombie, "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" (Geffen/UMe, $79.98)

Why it's great: You'd be hard-pressed to find a hard rock fan younger than 30 who doesn't like White Zombie, and even harder pressed to find someone who owns the band's entire catalog. This comprehensive chronological box set offers the whole shebang, from their inception as artsy NYC noise rockers to their demise as reigning industrial/sludge radio trashoholics. Their small-run independent EPs ("Gods on Voodoo Moon," "Pig Heaven," and "Psycho-Head Blowout") are here, along with all four full-length albums and every soundtrack or compilation appearance. A fifth disc, not available with the digital version, is a DVD containing music videos and live performances.

- Jeff Pizek

bull; "Johnny Cash: Chapter Verse" (BiblesOnDVD, $29.95)

Why it's great: You heard the Man in Black express fear of the Lord in his music. Now, hear him read the Word of the Lord! The centerpiece of this two-disc set is a DVD containing more than 19 hours of Johnny Cash narrating the New King James Version of the New Testament with on-screen synchronized text, plus a photo tour of the Holy Land and an introduction by singing scion John Carter Cash. An accompanying CD offers more fuel for the faithful, as it compiles 14 Cash recordings of gospel tunes such as "The Miracle Man" and "The Greatest Cowboy of Them All" (non-Christians: both of those songs are about the same guy). Whether for spiritual or kitsch value, this one's a must for the Cash collector.

- Jeff Pizek

bull; Best bang for your buck: "The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present" (Simon Schuster, $16)

Why it's a great value: The tastemakers behind music site Pitchforkmedia.com and Chicago's annual Pitchfork Music Festival take you on a tour of the past thirty years in this book. Broken into chronological chunks, the writing is informative and largely passionate in true music geek fashion. It transcends your average list book by documenting and cross-referencing major developments in rock, pop, hip-hop, dance and experimental music while casting light upon unique entities and sub-subcultures for readers who want to dig deeper. Naturally, it focuses on the underground, where innovation typically takes place, but shout-outs to household names like AC/DC, Madonna and Jay-Z ensure that it casts its "greatest songs" net wide enough to snag anyone interested in modern music.

- Jeff Pizek

For video gamers

bull; "Dead Space" (Electronic Arts, $59.99)

Why it's great: If you want to give someone a real nightmare before Christmas, this is the game to get. In a season and industry often dominated by sequels, Dead Space proves that new concepts really are worth trying. The truly terrifying survival horror game is almost as fun to watch as it is to play so after the gift giving is over you can turn out the lights and be prepared to jump as your friend tries to shoot his way through a spaceship filled with horrific, undead monsters.

- Samantha Nelson

bull; "Rock Band 2 Special Edition" (MTV Games, $189.99)

Why it's great: Getting this game for someone you hang out with often can be a lot like getting a gift for yourself. It's made to be played with four people rocking out on guitar, bass, vocals and drums. The easy integration of new players of any skill level, huge variety of songs to fit any musical tastes, cooperative features to encourage you to work together with your band members and the fact that it really can appeal to anyone who loves music, not just gamers, makes Rock Band 2 the best party game on the market. It's one game that people will want to open up and start playing immediately.

- Samantha Nelson

bull; Bevy (Mophie, $15 list price, from mophie.com) and USB Beverage Chiller (CoolIT Systems, $25 list price, from coolitsystems.com, Amazon and Target)

Why it's great: The Bevy is a keychain-cum-ear-bud-wrap-cum-bottle-opener. Combine it with the USB Beverage Chiller and you're good to go with a cool brew or a Dew wherever you're gaming or listening to music.

- Ted Cox

bull; Best bang for your buck: "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King" (Blizzard Entertainment, $39.99)

Why it's a great value: If value is defined by bang for your buck then there is no better deal than "World of Warcraft." There is a reason dedicated players often clock their time played in days rather than hours. "Wrath of the Lich King" only adds more content to a world where there's always something more to do, whether it's raiding dungeons with nine friends, doing battle against other players or just trying to gather every quest available. The expansion requires the original game and its first expansion to play so this is best given to someone who either is currently playing but hasn't picked it up yet or might be looking for a reason to get back online. But even if you're tacking on another $39.99 for all the earlier content the price still makes it the best deal around as it's a game players often enjoy regularly for years.

- Samantha Nelson

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=255412">Connick, Crow highlight new holiday releases <span class="date">[12/04/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=255154">Naughty or nice? Metropolis offers both for the holidays <span class="date">[12/04/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=255044">Season's beatings: 10 antidotes for holiday music burnout <span class="date">[12/04/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>