‘Black Friday’ list of
suggested complete series DVD lists
by John Stahl

Complete series sets of DVDs are among my favorite gifts to give and receive. They are almost always something that the other person wants but would not buy for themselves. They also provide the proverbial hours of entertainment.

Our current lousy economy makes this a particularly good year to give these sets; I regularly see new releases of sets that would have cost around $150 online going for $80 or less.

The only downside to the lower prices is that many sets lack the special packaging that used to be mores standard for these releases. For example, the “Seinfeld” set comes in a box shaped like a refrigerator and the “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” set comes in box that looks like a spy’s attaché case.

In the spirit of these scaled-down times, my descriptions of my “Black Friday” recommendations will be sparse. I ask that you please refer to my earlier reviews of these sets or e-mail me at tvdvdguy@gmail.com with any questions regarding them.

1. “Farscape” is my top choice for 2009; this sci-fi drama is very clever, the complete series set has good extras that the sets of individual seasons lack, and it is a show that fans will enjoy seeing again and that sci-fi and action aficionados who are unfamiliar with the show should enjoy discovering.

2. Picking the 1950s Disney adventure series “Zorro” as my second choice is cheating a little because each of the two seasons is sold separately. However, the episodes are very good and the packaging and special features are exceptional.

Each set comes in a good-quality black tin box. They include certificates of authenticity that show that they are part of limited edition. The sets also include collectible “Zorro” pins and photos of series star Guy Williams.

3. “The Land of the Lost” is my third choice. This wonderfully kitschy ‘70s kids show, which stars teen idol Wesley Eure and his very sexy open shirt and cutoffs, about a family that gets lost in a land of dinosaurs and lizard people is great fun. Based merely on the trailers that I have seen and my knowledge of Will Ferrell movies, I expect that the series is also much better than the recent film and know that Ferrell’s smile does not come close to competing with Eure’s pearly whites.

Additionally, “Lost” comes in a lunch box that it very appropriate for that type of show from that era, but I am still disappointed that it lacked a thermos.

4. “It's Garry Shandling’s Show” would have earned second place if it came in special packaging. The episodes in this very clever pre-“Seinfeld” show about a comedian and his friends and family are very funny, and this set is the only one in my list that includes both detailed episode information and essays on the special nature of the show.

5. I am adding “Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVI” to the list even though it is not a complete series set; this show that involved a human host and two puppets that looked like robots mock dismally awful movies comes with a wonderful collectible figure of Tom Servo, who was one of the robots.

Also, the set includes the hilarious treatment of the painfully awful 1950s Mexican film “Santa Claus.” I remember having to stop eating my Corn Pops because I kept spitting them out in fits of laughter when I first saw this Christmas episode.

I would also like to give the following complete series sets special mentions even though I do not own most of them; what I know about them make them seem very cool.

A release of the Fox episodes and the four recent direct-to-DVD movies of the animated sci-fi comedy series “Futurama” from “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening seems incredibly good. It comes in packaging that looks like the head of Bender the robot in the same type of container that preserves the heads of 20th century celebrities and politicians.

Based on my blu-ray set of Season 4.0 of the modern “Battlestar Galactica” series, I expect that the blu-ray set of the entire series is frakkin’ awesome. It additionally has what seems to be an endless amount of special features that entertain, inform, and help make sense of this rather complex series.

I do own the complete series set of the police drama “Homicide: Life on the Streets” but have not had a chance to watch any of it. Getting all 122 episodes, “Law and Order” cross-over episodes” and a “Homicide” movie for $60 from deepdisount.com was almost petty larceny. I look forward to watching this one.

I would love to hear from anyone who agrees or disagrees with this list; I am also glad to offer additional gift suggestions. My e-mail is tvdvdguy@gmail.com.

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