Gallery: 12 Last-Minute Entertainment Gifts for the Geek in Your Life
01Breaking Bad: The Complete Series on Bluray
Look at the calendar. There are only nine days till Christmas, and even fewer days for shipping. If you haven't finished your gift shopping -- and believe us, you're not alone -- then the end is nigh. We've picked out a potpourri of our favorite entertainment-related gifts for last-minute purchases that will help you appear as thoughtful and punctual in your present-buying as we know you wanted to be in your heart. *Breaking Bad*: The Complete Series on Blu-ray ---------------------------------------------- __Buy it for__: *Breaking Bad* fans, people who should be *Breaking Bad* fans Here it is, the *Breaking Bad* present to end all presents: all six seasons of the hit AMC series on Blu-ray, packed into one miniature money barrel. Each season is separated into a circular stack of plastic trays held together by small magnets, which snap into the barrel for easy storage. These, too, contain their own small pleasures: each translucent layer is embossed with images from pivotal moments in the show, from the pink teddy bear’s eye to those final, fateful keys on the pool table. All 62 episodes are here, along with more than 55 hours of special features and a few extra knick-knacks like a Los Pollos Hermanos apron. But for true fans, the real treat will be the two-hour documentary about the filming of the final six episodes, which takes you behind the scenes of some of the most climactic moments of the series and delves into the powerful emotional bond between the cast and crew that helped them create a truly remarkable work of television. Cranston in particular emerges as the heart and soul of the entire enterprise, a man whose humility, levity and talent not only elevated the quality of the entire show but earned the admiration of everyone around him. "How you feel?" Cranston asks his co-star Aaron Paul in the documentary after they finish reading the script for the final episode together. "It’s perfect," replies Paul. If that sums up the *Breaking Bad* sentiments of anyone on your Christmas list, this gift might just be perfect too. And hey, if you can't get a hold of the special edition, you can always get that final season on [DVD](http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bad-The-Final-Season/dp/B00EEDNR9A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386968794&sr=8-2&keywords=breaking+bad+season+6) -- or buy [individual episodes](http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Money-HD/dp/B00EHA0YHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386968794&sr=8-1&keywords=breaking+bad+season+6) online. —*Laura Hudson*
02To Be Or Not To Be: A Choosable Path Adventure
*To Be or Not to Be: A Choosable Path Adventure by Ryan North, William Shakespeare and YOU.* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __Buy it for__: Fans of Shakespeare, *Choose Your Own Adventure*, or comics. Which is pretty much most people, right? The high concept behind *TBONTB* is already simple and brilliant enough to be worth your attention -- really, how could anyone resist "What if Shakespeare's *Hamlet* was a *Choose Your Own Adventure* book?" -- but it's the execution of the idea that makes the book so worthwhile. North's affection for -- and frustrations with -- the original play are apparent throughout, but this is far more than a gimmicky recreation of Shakespeare's work. Instead, *TBONTB* allows the reader to play as multiple characters both familiar and unfamiliar, and step outside of the main story for one of any number of possible plot directions, including leaping into a parallel timeline at one point (Fans of the original play can also follow that timeline in specially-marked entries, with added commentary about the decisions being made.) As if that weren't enough, the entire book is illustrated by the likes of Kate Beaton, Chip Zdarsky, Dylan Meconis and David Malki amongst many, many others, each one adding to the sense of new life being breathed into the old text. Consider it the best English lesson you never got in high school -- or, at least, something that could make Shakespeare seem as contemporary today as it was when originally written centuries earlier. —*Graeme McMillan*
03Gone Home
Gone Home --------- __Buy it for__: Mystery fans, Gen Xers, new or reluctant gamers It's 1995. After a college year abroad, you arrive for the first time at the new house your parents bought during your absence and find it completely empty. Where did your family go? Who left that sobbing message on the answer machine? What's going on? The only way to find out is to investigate the house, room by room, in *Gone Home*, one of the best video games of 2013. As the game progresses, you slowly piece together what happened during the year you were gone – and what happened to your loved ones – by examining the ephemera you find around the house: discarded letters, concert tickets, receipts, photos, playable mixtapes. The answer is unexpected and deeply affecting. There's no shooting, no complex controls and the whole experience only takes about two to three hours. It's the perfect gift for parents or friends who don't have decades of experience with gaming or dozens of hours to invest, but still want a good story that might even make them feel feelings. [Download it now](http://store.steampowered.com/app/232430/) on Steam for $20. --*Laura Hudson*
04Plush direwolves
__Plush Dire Wolves__ --------------------- __Buy it for:__ Traumatized fans of *Game of Thrones* Season 2 Watching or reading *Game of Thrones* can be a heart-wrenching experience, and what better palliative than a very huggable plush dire wolf? Currently, only three of the Stark direwolves [available at Thinkgeek](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1546/#tabs) -- Summer, Grey Wind, and Ghost -- are available, with promises of the rest eventually (personally, I'm holding out for Nymeria). Hopefully, they're also machine washable, so you'll be able to get out the inevitable crust of dried tears. --*Rachel Edidin*
05S.
*S.* ---- __Buy it for__: That person in your life that really enjoys reading -- especially to the point where they'd rather disappear into a book for a week or so instead of actually talking to a real person (Alternatively, that person who still misses *Lost*). Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go, *S.* -- the meta-novel by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst that is, for at least three of its different levels of narrative, a book about the power of books -- the very definition of the gift that keeps giving. Filled with Easter eggs and references to events and people both real and fictional, *S.* ends up being more than "just" a book, as anyone who finds themselves reading and re-reading the various pieces of ephemera tucked between the pages trying to uncover even more hidden clues and meanings therein can attest. *S.* is a love letter to books, an exploration of what the medium (and the print format in general) can offer than others can't, and a patented J.J. Abrams "mystery" story all at once. It's something that will take over your life if you let it -- or, at least, let you escape from your family during the holidays without having to leave the house. And isn't that exactly what you want to give your loved ones at this time of year? —*Graeme McMillan*
06Diesel Sweeties shirts
__Diesel Sweeties T-Shirts__ ---------------------------- __Buy it for:__ That friend who loves ironic t-shirts. You know the one. Ever wonder where onscreen geeks get their archly cynical t-shirts? Odds are reasonably good that they come from [Diesel Sweeties](http://store.dieselsweeties.com/collections/t-shirts), an offshoot of the comic strip by R Stevens, and outfitter of everyone from [Scott Pilgrim](http://store.dieselsweeties.com/products/pixel-skull-ringer-tee-shirt) to [Evil Wil Wheaton](http://store.dieselsweeties.com/products/electric-sheep-shirt). Stevens stocks a wide range of t-shirts with his signature pixel art, snappy text, and designs from Warren Ellis, Erika Moen, and others. *-Rachel Edidin*
07Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities
*Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __Buy it for__: That Guillermo del Toro superfan in your life (there's probably more than one) Guillermo del Toro is a visionary director, because he visualizes *everything*. For the two decades that he has been making films he's also been creating detailed notebooks laying out the look and feel of everything he films. He also has extensive collections of books and other, yes, curiosities. This book has a look at all of them – sketches of Hellboy, visions of Pale Man, you name it. As fans of his films know, del Toro's imagination is a dark, monstrous, amazing, and fun place, and *Cabinet of Curiosities* is an incredibly cool glimpse into it from the director himself. It also has great commentary, a foreword by James Cameron, and an afterword by Tom Cruise. (Yes, really.) There's also insights from other curious fellows like Neil Gaiman and John Landis. No nerd library is complete without it. ($60) —*Angela Watercutter*
08The Twilight Zone Collection
__*The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series* DVD Box Set__ -------------------------------------------------------- __Buy it for:__ *Twilight Zone* enthusiasts you want to spent less than $200 on As opposed to the *Definitive Collection* set – which included original Rod Serling promo spots, isolated score soundtracks, audio commentary, and a bunch of other extra features – this *Complete Series* set is both cheaper and simpler: it only contains the series' 156 episodes themselves, no bells or whistles at all. The target audience for this one is easy: it's for the more, well, *seasoned* members of your family, the ones who love *The Twilight Zone* in all its time-frozen creepiness – perhaps they watched it when it aired on television in the '60s – and who still play DVDs and/or Blu-Rays, the ones who don't care about flashy stuff like "special features" and "behind the scenes looks" and all that. This is an econo-*Zone* package (well, at [around $150](http://www.amazon.com/The-Twilight-Zone-Complete-Collection/dp/B00EEEHLKU), it's about as econo-*Zone* as a six-season collection can get), one that says "Hey I know you like this" at the same time saying "Hey, I'm not TOTALLY made out of money." (Something about this one seems like it's a smart grandkids-to-grandparents group gift, too.) In any case, Image Entertainment – the company who licenses *The Twilight Zone* for box sets like these – already put the more elaborate *Definitive Collection* on production moratorium, anyway. --*Devon Maloney*
09Dangerous Women
*Dangerous Women* ----------------- __Buy it for__: George R. R. Martin fans Judging by the five to six-year gaps between the last two volumes of George R. R. Martin's *Song of Ice and Fire* novel, the next book – *Winds of Winter* – could still be a long time coming. Impatient *Game of Thrones* fans have been biding their time with *WoW* preview chapters and all-new map concordances, but if that's not enough for the loved one on your list, you can give them the most precious gift of all: an all-new ASOIAF story by Martin. A few caveats: It's not a contemporary *Game of Thrones* tale, but rather a story about a war involving the Targaryen ancestors of Daenerys set 200 years earlier; it's also the final short story in *Dangerous Women*, a sci-fi/fantasy anthology co-edited by Martin about "the supposedly weaker sex’s capacity for magic, violence, and mayhem" -- and the other stories aren't set in Westeros. If you can get past that, however, you may find yourself enjoying the non-Martin stories just as much, thanks to its slew of dangerous heroines who are every bit as as ruthless as Cersei, strong as Brienne and cunning as Arya. --*Laura Hudson*
10Personalized gift cards
__The Most Thoughtful Last-Minute Gift of All: Personalized "Gift Cards"__ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- __Buy it for:__ Close friends you have no idea how to shop for Okay, let's say you seriously don't know what to get someone. It might be your cousin, who you haven't seen since you were 15 and playing pogs on your aunt and uncle's dining table because he went and moved three states away for college and never came back. Or it might just be a coworker, one whom you got in the Secret Santa handout and seriously have NO idea what this woman does in her spare time. Regardless of who it is, let us be the ones to say it: Don't use gift cards to give up. Don't do it! Why, you ask? Oh come on, you know why, deep down: It's because you're better than that. Gift cards, while functional, are absolutely impersonal by themselves, regardless of your insistence that "everybody likes an iTunes gift card." Sure, that might be true, that everybody does enjoy music and movies and ebooks they buy themselves, but it's only one step above saying "everybody likes money." Money and symbolic money alike, while welcome, say nothing of you, and basically negate much of the point of giving gifts. With a gift card, you force yourself backwards into the blackened oblivion of Christmases Forgotten. And how fun is that? Instead, embellish. This isn't a call for making "IOUs good for one neckrub" or something creepy like that; it's a suggestion that you make a simple addition to a gift card or certificate that makes it personal. A brief train of thought instantly turns you into the One Who Made An Effort. For that niece, you know your brother got her [an iPod touch](http://deadspin.com/my-kids-insane-christmas-wish-list-annotated-1476311653) for her birthday; maybe give her an iTunes card with a proviso attached: it can only be used to purchase "25 of the best songs on earth" — and give her a blank CD, too, so she can burn you a copy. (At the very least, that'll help you understand the big deal about One Direction.) For the coworker – the only thing about whom you actually know is that she's got a sense of humor – give her a Groupon giftcard with a note attached that says "for use on one ridiculously frivolous Groupon Good that was always [just too insane](http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-star-wars-light-saber-or-darth-vader-helmet) to spend actual money on." (See also: ThinkGeek, Etsy, or the Reddit Marketplace, depending on the type of workplace.) If you're fancy, you could even print these provisos on real cardstock. Pick up on one detail about the person you're putting money into – not "this person likes movies," but "this person quotes Judd Apatow movies incessantly" – and everyone will feel a little better about the whole ordeal. Hell, they might even remember it. --*Devon Maloney* *Image: Flickr/[401(K)2012](http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6710895025/in/photolist-be26hD-93Fudi-7YLNa5-czBVq7-ebCrLp-be1Xvv-7Ld6Y4-ds7xsw-8bf4ed-8bbM68-7A1VCZ-cybYz5-8FRFR5-be22H8-8d668d-cYsq8o-gxBhSz-dicCJy-8rmSaK-95Fxvn-8jDcpN-81gsuL-dCQ9dC-8FRFTQ-9RrWXM-9Ww2pz-8K8n3g-esHNgK-7HHrCw-93aaYA-ag311v-9R6bha-a2327W-9WyPm6-8qxee7-8ZaEH7-8SJaBb-e1THKX-94RpAp-dF9Rv5-8d64kN-993vZE-aVZkV8-8Q1Hkx-dDzLcj-8HpKzP-8HpKDD-ddAePf-7DbyrY-fLtWyd-8Z7FdT)*
11Fast and Furious 6
*Fast & Furious 6* DVD ---------------------- __Buy it for__: Anyone who would normally get one of those "a charitable donation has been made in your name…" gifts If you have someone on your gift list who is both a philanthropist and a lover of fast-car movies, this year there's a perfect gift. Instead of making a donation in their name, buy them a copy of *Fast & Furious 6*. Following the tragic and untimely death of *Fast* star Paul Walker last month, the movie's studio [Universal Pictures announced](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fast-furious-6-dvd-proceeds-661814) that proceeds from the sales of the DVDs would go to Walker's charity, [Reach Out WorldWide](http://www.roww.org/) – which helps get expert first-responders to the natural disaster areas (Walker founded it following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti). In addition to giving your loved one the gift of charity, you'll also be giving them the gift of a pretty great movie. Like the previous *Fast* flicks, it has great (if completely improbably) action and tons of fun banter between Walker's Brian and Vin Diesel's Dom. It also has The Rock and Michelle Rodriguez. And Ludacris. And Gal Gadot – the actress just tapped to be your new Wonder Woman. So it's basically the gift that really, really keeps on giving. ($35 for Blu-ray/DVD combo pack) —*Angela Watercutter*
12Book of Jezebel
*The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Lady Things* ----------------------------------------------------------------- __Buy it for__: Your mom If your mother enjoys blogs she's probably heard of Jezebel – the internet's home for whip-smart (and funny) feminist discourse online. But even if she doesn't like blogs – or feminism – she should still get a copy of *The Book of Jezebel*. Compiled by the site's founding editor Anna Holmes, the "encyclopedia of lady things" has the kind of entries that, like the site that spawned them, are as funny as they are real. Entries range from long explanations of, say, former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln to "puberty: Is fucking horrible." It's not meant to be read front-to-back as it is leafed through when the need for LoLs arises (like that time of the month, amirite ladies?). Also, it's currently out in hardcover, so it'll make an excellent coffee table book that you too can flip through when you visit the woman who brought you into this world – and can take you out. ($27) —*Angela Watercutter*
