TV on DVD is one of the greatest things to happen to television since the remote control. No longer must we rely on reruns to get caught up on a TV series or to watch our favorite episodes. The ability to own an entire season of a show and watch it commercial free is convenient but only if you’re the kind of person who wants to watch a TV show over and over again. Some shows are great but not necessarily worth owning while others never seem to get old. From ‘Seinfeld’ to ‘The Office’ and from ‘Farscape’ to ‘Lost’. Here are some of our favorite TV DVD sets.
Below is a list broken into categories, of some of the DVD sets we think are worth owning or at the very least, renting:
Best Weekend Binge DVD Set
Sometimes its Saturday and there’s nothing to do. This is the perfect time to binge on the entire season of a great show.
‘24’ – Season 1 – I know there are some people out there who watch ‘24’ now but never saw the first season. If that’s the case, you’re missing out! The thing that’s great about ‘24’ is that the second (literally) that one episode ends, you’ll want to know what happens next. Intensely suspenseful and well written, the first season of ‘24’ is a fantastic introduction into Jack Bauer’s character.
‘Alias’ – Season 1 – The show ended last season but that’s no reason not to watch the first season! Many would say that the first season was the best season of the series. In it we’re introduced to a grad school student named Sydney Bristow who leads a double life. To her friends, she’s a student who also works at a bank but her real job is working for a government agency as a spy. It’s like ‘Felicity’ meets James Bond. Girls and guys alike will find ‘Alias’ entertaining and addicting.
Best Series-That-No-One-Has-Seen DVD Set
A lot of amazing shows just never find a big enough audience on television, even after years on the air. Once they hit DVD, it's the perfect opportunity to discover series' that you might have missed.
‘Farscape’ – Season 1 - It ran for five years on the Sci-Fi channel and was lavished in critical acclaim, but still, very few people have actually seen 'Farscape'. It's the story of astronaut John Crichton, lost in a distant part of the universe, on a ship, a living ship of escaped prisoners. On his journey to find a way back home, he encounters wonders and creatures beyond imagination. Most of all though, the show was about building characters and relationships, and the cast and writing is simply brilliant. Part of the problem for 'Farscape' though, was simply that the show didn't lend itself very well to episodic television. It's not the kind of thing you can jump into two seasons in, watch one episode, and fall in love with. The show works best when you've watched every episode, every week, from beginning to end. Miss one episode and suddenly you're out of the loop, the jokes go over your head and the characters' always evolving relationships stop making sense. That makes DVD the ideal place for one of the best science fiction shows in the history of television to wow audiences. It'll cost you, but buy 'Farscape Season 1' and dive in, watching episodes back to back, binging on frelling great, character driven television. All at once is the way 'Farscape' was made to be watched. On DVD, you'll never miss an episode.
Best Catch-up DVD Set
There are some great shows on TV that take a couple of seasons to catch on. Many have been late getting on the bandwagon for some fantastic shows. Renting or purchasing one or two of the earlier seasons of a show is a good way to see what all the fuss is about before trying to watch the new episodes.
‘Veronica Mars’ – Season 1 – I know I tend to gush about this show but in truth, I wasn’t a fan until earlier this summer when I purchased season 1 on DVD. Veronica is a high school student who works part time as a detective for her dad. She became somewhat of an outcast after she lost her best friend, Lilly the year before to a brutal murder that remains unsolved. Veronica spends most of her non-school time solving mysteries, the biggest one being figuring out who killed Lilly. It’s a smart show that’s both enjoyable and easy to follow.
‘Entourage’ – Season 2 and/or 3 - HBO can be kind of pricey so I can understand why there are a lot of people that haven’t seen ‘Entourage’. The episodes are usually just under 30 minutes and center on an up and coming movie star and his friends. Vince could be the next big thing in Hollywood but deep down he’s just a regular guy from Queens enjoying a seemingly unlimited supply of money, women and fame. He keeps his friends Eric and Turtle close by as well as his B-list brother Drama. Along with watching the humorous and occasionally dramatic antics of Vince and his pals, Vince’s agent Ari and Ari’s assistant Lloyd add a significant amount of funny to the show.
Best DVD Set To Re-watch
Pretty much any show that you’re willing to purchase on DVD is going to be one you’re willing to watch multiple times but there are some shows that never seem to get old.
‘Lost’ – Season 1 – The first season of ‘Lost’ was fantastic and definitely worth watching at least 2 more times. Each episode is well written and suspenseful… even if you’ve already seen it before. Learn how the survivors of the plane crash meet and begin to discover the secrets of the island that will soon become their home.
‘The Office’ – Season 2 – ‘The Office’ is one of those shows that I can’t seem to get enough of. Some of the episodes are so brilliantly hilarious that they never seem to get old. The second season of ‘The Office’ won the Emmy for best comedy for a reason. There’s two ways of watching the series though. You can watch all of the episodes in order and follow the various character plots (mainly the Jim/Pam will-they-wont-they romance) or you can watch the episodes out of order based on which ones you think are most hilarious. In truth though, it doesn’t matter how you watch them because they’re all great.
Best Cancelled Show DVD Set
Some shows get cancelled well before their time but that doesn’t make them any less worth watching.
‘Freaks and Geeks’ – The show was about a group of kids back in the 80’s who were on the outskirts of the social circuit in high school. Sam and his friends are the geeks. They like Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars and prank-calling people. They’re used to getting wedgies, made fun of and occasionally beat up for being dorks. Sam’s sister Lindsey and her friends are the freaks. They cut class, throw parties, listen to Led Zeppelin and generally look down their noses at all of the normal high school kids. In the end though, they’re all good kids just trying to make it through high school alive.
‘The Comeback’ – Similar to ‘The Office’, ‘The Comeback’ is a show within a show. It centers on Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow) and her attempt to regain the fame she once had back in the ‘90’s’. She’s followed around by a camera for a reality show called ‘The Comeback,’ which will attempt to capture her second chance at success. Kudrow does a fantastic job in the role of Valerie Cherish. Cherish is in some ways, a sad character because she wants so badly to be back in the spotlight but at the same time, its easy to find yourself rooting for her to succeed. HBO cancelled the show after one summer and replaced it with ‘Lucky Louie’ (which also got cancelled).
‘Firefly’ – Joss Whedon’s attempt at Sci-fi was unfortunately cut off after half a season but that doesn’t make the show any less worth watching. It’s about a group of renegades 500 years in the future who live on a spacecraft and make their living as smugglers. In a nutshell, they’re space cowboys but it’s not as corny as it sounds. The characters are great, the writing is great (of course) and the show managed to pick up a strong but loud following which resulted in the movie Serenity. My suggestion, if you haven’t watched the movie yet, watch the TV show first. Getting to know the characters makes the movie even better than if you were to see it without watching the show.
Best Bonus Features DVD Set
I’ll be honest, I’m not overly enticed by bonus features because I rarely have time to sit and watch all of the extra stuff but there are some DVDs that have bonus stuff that is much fun to watch as the actual episodes themselves.
‘The Office’ – Season 2 – While season 1 was funny, season 2 is where the show really came into its own. As I said earlier, I just couldn’t get enough of season 2 of ‘The Office’. If you’re a fan of the show, you might feel the same way, in which case, the DVD set is perfect. It has the entire collection of those fake “The More You Know…” PSAs, the webisodes, bloopers/outtakes and deleted scenes for every episode. Normally I don’t always enjoy deleted scenes because either they’re not edited so they’re all choppy or because they’re just not worth watching (which is most likely why they were cut from the episode) but in the Season 2 ‘Office’ DVD set, all of the deleted scenes are as funny as the episodes themselves. It almost makes me think the show could work with hour-long episodes.
Best Vintage DVD Set
I consider “vintage” to include anything prior to this century.
‘Seinfeld’ – Any Season - You would think after all these years, the funniness of ‘Seinfeld’ would’ve worn off by now but strangely enough, it hasn’t. It’s occasionally dated but for the most part, the humor is standing the test of time and has become classically hilarious.
‘Married With Children’ – Season 3 – The Bundys are the stereotypical American family and while the show is a bit dated now, its still hilarious. The first two seasons were ok but it wasn’t until season three that the show really came into its own and the characters all seemed to find their niche. Some of the best episodes were in this season including one of my all time favorites, “The Camping Show”, in which the Bundys and the Rhoades go camping and all the women end up getting their periods. The set also includes the episode "I'll See You in Court" which was never allowed to air on television.
Best Buy-The-Whole-Series DVD set
Even the best series have one or two seasons that seem to pale in comparison to the others and just aren’t worth owning. For example, seasons 2 and 3 of ‘24’ or season 4 of ‘Alias’. It’s a rare thing when a series is fantastic from beginning to end but it does happen.
‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ – ‘Buffy’ managed to get better and better with each season. The full set is seven seasons long and follows ‘Buffy’ from her first day at Sunnydale High School all the way through to her early adult years. Killing demons and saving the world is what she and the Scoobies are best at.
‘The Office’ (The BBC Edition) – Before you ask - yes, it really is as good as everyone says it is. The entire series consists of two seasons and the special follow-up Christmas episode. It’s definitely worth owning in its entirety. The British version of ‘The Office’ was a bit dryer than the American remake but that doesn’t make it any less hilarious or worth watching.
There is plenty of other worth owning DVD sets out there. Feel free to comment with your favorites!
Now onto TV this week. The fall season is upon us and that means some of your favorite shows are probably starting up a new season this week.
”Desperate Housewives” (ABC) 9:00 pm
Listen To The Rain On The Roof - (Seaon Premiere!) In the finale of last season, Gabrielle had thrown her cheating husband out, Mike was hit by a car and Bree was engaged to the man who hit him. What will the new season bring?
”Brothers and Sisters” (ABC) 10:00 pm
Patriarchy- (New Series Season Premiere!) –The premise of this show is that a group of siblings are pulled together when their father dies and they’re left to run the family business. What does the show have going for it though? ‘Alias’ director, Ken Olin will be directing the show and starring in it are Sally Field, Ron Rifkin and Callista Flockhart, among others.
”The Class” (CBS) 8:00 pm
The Class Visits A Hospital - (New!) – The second episode of the new sitcom could help determine whether this show is going to be worth watching every week. In this episode, the gang meets up at the hospital after a car accident.
”How I Met Your Mother” (CBS) 8:30 pm
The Scorpion An The Toad- (New!) – Since Ted has a girlfriend now, Barney decides to focus his attention on finding a new woman for Marshall whose finally starting to get over Lily.
”Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (NBC) 10:00 pm
The Cold Open- (New!) – The pilot episode showed a lot of promise. In the second episode, Matt and Danny try to pull together the first show while Jordan deals with a religious group that’s protesting the Crazy-Christians sketch before its even aired.
”Heroes” (NBC) 8:00 pm
Pilot- (New Series Season Premiere!) – A scientists carries on his fathers research of ordinary people with extraordinary powers. Around the world there are people who find they can fly, turn back time, walk through fire, read thoughts, tell the future and much more. This could be the new must-watch show of the season… or it could be a huge disappointment. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!
”Help Me, Help You” (ABC) 9:30 pm
Pilot- (New Series Season Premiere!) – Ted Danson plays a therapist whose got as many problems in his own personal life as his patients do.
”Boston Legal” (ABC) 10:00 pm
New Kids On The Block- (New!) – Denny’s internet romance creates some problems at the firm and the new lawyer has to defend a client who killed a judge.
”Jericho” (CBS) 8:00 pm
Fallout- (New!) – The pilot episode of this new series showed a small town in Kansas as it survived what they would later learn was some kind of attack on the country. It was confirmed that both Denver and Atlanta were hit by some kind of nuclear bomb with no confirmation about anywhere else in the country as all the power is out. In the new episode, the wind blows in radioactive air and the town has to take cover.
”Justice” (Fox) 9:00 pm
Wrongful Death- (New!) – A woman dies in a roller coaster accident but lawyers don’t get involved until the parent company of the amusement park accuses the woman of staging her own death. ‘Justice’ doesn’t strike me as the kind of show I’d need to watch every week in order to enjoy it but it is an easy hour of television. The big payoff of the episodes come at the end when they show us what really happened.
”My Name Is Earl” (NBC) 8:00pm
Jump For Joy- (New!) – Tivo ‘Smallville’ and read about ‘Survivor’ tomorrow because ‘Earl’ is on! In the second episode of the new season, Earl seeks the help of the richest man in Camden County, a crazy guy played by none other than Burt Reynolds.
”The Office” (NBC) 8:30 pm
The Convention (New!) – Michael and Dwight head to Philadelphia for a convention and Ryan goes out on a double-date with overly-chatty Kelly.
”Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) 9:00 pm
I Am A Tree (New!) – The group campaigns to get Izzie reinstated, Addison takes some time off from the hospital and Burke’s parents walk in on Cristina and Burke in an awkward situation. I think we can also expect to see Meredith’s reaction to finding her underwear tacked up on a bulletin board at the hospital.
”Men In Trees” (ABC) 9:00pm
Sink Or Swim - (new!) – The town of Elmo gets dumped by their sister town after Elmo’s oldest citizen dies. The people of Elmo enlist Marin to attempt to woo another town into sistering up with them. I like ‘Men In Trees’ because the town is charming, the characters are likable and Marin Frist (played by Anne Heche) is a great lead character in the show.
The Green Mile (FX) 8:00 pm
This film is one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King book ever made. Starring Tom Hanks, Barry Pepper and Michael Clarke Duncan, the story is about the events that took place one year on death row in a Louisiana prison in the post-depression era.
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Special thanks to Cinema Blend Owner, Josh Tyler for contributing the ‘Farscape’ DVD suggestion and information.
