From 'The Shield' to 'SpongeBob,' great TV on DVD gifts
Photo credit: AP Photo/LARRY WATSON | Calista Flockhart stars as the title character in "Ally McBeal," the new FOX comedy-drama.
TV DVD shelves can barely contain this year's abundance of big-box gift sets - square ones, wide ones, thick ones, "complete" ones.
You can't always tell: Is it just fancy packaging, or does it offer new content? Should you replace your season sets? What's worth the money?
Ultimately, the show's the thing. Better to buy smart writing, powerful production, cult classics or established nostalgia.
These suggestions pass that test. And many come in collectible / cool boxes to also wow your gift recipient.
Romantics, adrenaline junkies, kids, grandparents, cultists, sports nuts and quality lovers will all find something to celebrate among this season's top TV DVD gift sets.
(List prices below. Deep discounts often available.)
ALLY MCBEAL: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Calista Flockhart, the dancing baby, Robert Downey Jr., unisex bathrooms - what's not to love about this oh-so-'90s legal hour that paved the path now traveled by playful dramedies like "Desperate Housewives"? Creator David E. Kelley deftly used emotion-in-song to express young attorney Ally's inner yearnings, and all those original tunes are here among the 30 season-set discs.
Extras A 40-minute retrospective with new interviews leads a full disc of bonus features (vintage featurettes, crossover episode of "The Practice"). And there's a 32nd disc: a 12-track best-of soundtrack CD.
Why to buy? This is (finally!) the first American release of "Ally" season sets, all five separately packaged in standard-size cases, inside an impressive outer box. TV's sweetheart of the '90s deserves no less.
List price $200 (Fox)
THE SHIELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES
Michael Chiklis rewrote the good cop / bad cop book with his searing synthesis - a brawny detective who keeps L.A.'s meanest streets cleaner by terrorizing suspects while also enriching himself where possible. His four-man Strike Force prowls with fury - and effectiveness - leaving both their superiors and the public wondering whether to cringe or cheer. This FX drama's intensity of action, emotion and moral dilemmas launched the basic-cable drama wave, luring season-long guest stars like Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker.
Extras All insights from the existing seven season sets are here - dozens of in-depth filmmaker commentaries that serve as a virtual Film School 101, revealing behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, auditions and more. New is a 29th disc probing the Rampart police scandal that inspired the show.
Why to buy? "The Shield's" adult attitudes and take-no-prisoners approach led directly to "Rescue Me," "Mad Men" and other cable shows that keep pushing the envelope. Watching this innovator uninterrupted on DVD only confirms it's tops in the genre. This set's hardcover "book" package looks sharp, too. (Note that some discs inside the cardboard "pages" may be affected by stray glue. Some clean up OK; or Sony offers free replacements at 877-766-9496.)
List price $160 (Sony)
FUTURAMA: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 1999-2009
Matt Groening's animated spacecom isn't over till it's over: The canceled Fox series is going back into production for Comedy Central. That's why this "complete" set denotes the decade that made up the first adventures of Fry, Leela and Bender the robot, encompassing four DVD episode volumes and four direct-to-DVD movies.
Extras The 18 discs hold all the previously released bonus features. But it's what holds the discs that's spectacular - a 16-inch hard plastic Bender head, inside which discs sit stacked in their own slots, above an episode-guide booklet and limited-edition certificate. Detachable antenna, too!
Why to buy? Who doesn't need an awesome 16-inch hard plastic Bender head? (Even if you don't, buy, anyway. It'll only go up in value.)
List price $200 (Fox)
HOGAN'S HEROES: KOMMANDANT'S KOLLECTION
The '60s POW camp sitcom has been in perpetual reruns (now on Universal HD), yet never seems to age. Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner continue to cement their status as comedy archetypes, in simple stories whose very predictability is their charm.
Extras The sixth of the box's cardboard foldout season sets holds a new bonus 28th disc crammed with extras - hilarious new recollections from co-creator Al Ruddy, interview with Richard Dawson, clips of cast members on other shows ("Hollywood Palace" Christmas sketch!), MAD magazine parody, more.
Why to buy? Though all six seasons have been previously released, this is a compact package with delightful new extras illuminating TV's most improbable sitcom classic.
List price $180 (CBS)
OFFICIAL WORLD SERIES FILM COLLECTION
Watch the annual summary of baseball's fall classic evolve from rudimentary game films starting in 1943, into the TV era, and on to today's slickly edited storyline dramas. These 65 digests are also a window on the world: World War II-era film half-hours stiffly salute ballplayers in the service, while last year's 90-minute docu-video gets backstage access for Phillies' horseplay and rap remixes.
Extras The 20 discs are tucked into the cardboard pages of a wide hardcover "book," inside a hefty slipcase. Those pages beautifully highlight memorable moments with classic photos - Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch, Jackie Robinson stealing home, '69 Mets fans rushing the field after victory. (The book includes open slots to store future discs, starting with that just-released '09 Yankees story.)
Why to buy? Don't know what to get the baseball buff in your life? This is it.
List price $230 (A&E).
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE FIRST 100 EPISODES
The cartoon sponge and his pals from Bikini Bottom have charmed kids and adults alike for 10 years now. They show no signs of slowing down after the five seasons collected here (through 2007), already well into their next hundred episodes on Nickelodeon.
Extras A bonus 14th disc has the "SquareRoots" hour history / tribute, foreign-language scenes and more.
Why to buy? This compact set comes in a cool Lucite box, over a Lenticular slipcase, which goes over the standard DVD box holding seven plastic slimcases. It's a great way for parents to give the kids the plastic cases while keeping all collectible packaging safely elsewhere.
List price $100 (Paramount)
LESS COSTLY GIFT IDEAS (list prices often discounted)
THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION Legendary '50s live-TV era still packs a punch in eight rarely seen original dramas ("Marty," "Patterns," "Requiem for a Heavyweight"), plus fascinating interviews, commentary; $50, Criterion.
VISIONS OF EUROPE Box set of WLIW's panoramic travelogues includes 12 programs (Italy, France, Greece, Germany), plus bonus footage; $100, Acorn.
ZORRO: SEASON 1 / SEASON 2 Swashbuckling '50s Disney half-hour is film-level family fun with Guy Williams as the masked old-California vigilante, plus great on-disc extras, collectibles in fast-selling limited-edition tin; $60 each, Disney.
THE PRISONER (Blu-ray). Patrick McGoohan's '60s mind-games original is gorgeously remastered to eye-popping color clarity, with new 90-minute retrospective, commentaries, more (look-alike DVD set is not upgraded); $100 BD, A&E.
LOST: SEASON 5 (Blu-ray/DVD). Await the show's Feb. 2 final-season start on ABC with extras including time-shift explanations, DHARMA details, location scoop, more (BD adds interactive Lost University revelations); $60 DVD / $80 BD, out Tuesday from ABC Studios.
