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DVDs The Biggest DVD and BluRay Boxed Set Roundup Ever

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DVDs: The Biggest DVD and BluRay Boxed Set Roundup...</p><p> Ever! We're coming up on Black Friday and the holidays and that means boxed sets of your favorite TV shows, movie stars and more.</p><p> Since the studios believe DVDs and BluRays are on their way out, those companies are desperate to cash in whilepeople are still willing to fork over big bucks for lavish sets.</p><p> All this means that in the past few weeks, a TON of boxed setshave been released.</p><p> Here's my rundown.</p><p> I strongly favor those that are compact and will fit on your shelf alongside other DVDsin your library.</p><p> At the very least, I prefer slip cases that can be pulled out of sets and put on your shelf.</p><p> How many fans want tokeep a huge, bulky display case out on their coffee table 365 days a year? With so many shows available on streaming,studios should realize the best way to still lure people to buy a boxed set is a low price.</p><p> Clearly, that's not their opinion rightnow.</p><p> I ignore the prices except to single out those that are a bargain; otherwise I'd be complaining about every single release.And what matters most to me is a nice clean copy of the work itself; extras aren't so important though they're nice.</p><p> On the otherhand, I am glad to have a sonic screwdriver on hand for Doctor Who Day this Saturday November 23! Here we go! DOCTOR WHO COMPLETE SERIES 1-7 LIMITED EDITION BLURAY SET ($349.98 BluRay; BBC) DOCTOR WHO: THE VAULT -- TREASURES FROM THE FIRST 50 YEARS ($45.99 HarperCollins)FARSCAPE 15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ($149.98 BluRay; Cinedigm/New Video) THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($169.99 DVD; Image) -- Doctor Who is collected in one massive set that brings together all the adventures and specials of the past three Doctors -- Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and MattSmith -- for one of the best collections of family entertainment around.</p><p> Assuming youfind it entertaining to scare your kids and make them a little sad at times as well, thatis.</p><p> Relatively speaking, this reboot is a little darker and even a little sexier though stillvery family friendly, especially for the older kids.</p><p> This BluRay set contains all theseasons and specials in trim, compact BluRay sets that can be removed and sit nicelyon your shelf.</p><p> Extras include copious amounts on the discs plus a unique Doctor Whocomic book, collectable cards and other stuff, most notably a replica of the TenthDoctor's sonic screwdriver that doubles as a universal remote.</p><p> The series really does repeat well and younger kids will grow into it so it's ideal for a family's collection.</p><p> Now if only they would create a megaset on BluRay for the earlier Doctors (Tom Bakeranyone?) rather than churn out endless single releases of adventures on BluRay foryears to come.</p><p> Plus, older shows that aired 40 years ago should NOT come at apremium price, especially when there are so many of them.</p><p> If you buy this set andreally want to gild the lily, you can also buy the official history of Doctor Who from HarperCollins.</p><p> It's a very nice display book with loads of images from the series but it'sMay 15, 2014 This is the print preview: Back to normal view ยป Posted: 11/20/2013 1:37 pmalso a serious, in-depth look at the making of the show with loads of detail that will surely bring new insight to all but the most ardent, informed fan.</p><p> A nice touch in this hardcover book is the softish cover which makes it more pleasant for little ones to hold.</p><p> Farscape is a classic example of a cult TV series with a genuine cult following.</p><p> It's presented on BluRay with no muss or fuss in the packaging, just a complete selection of this show's entire run along with loads of extras like documentaries and commentary tracks.</p><p> They still don't have the rights to package the series-ending miniseries made years later but it isrepresented here by telling the story in a 16 page comic book.</p><p> Like earlier episodes of Doctor Who , BluRay here actually exposes some of the modest special effects this show had at its disposal -- it was dubbed Muppets in Space for its extended use of puppetry to create alien creatures, though the show is not geared towards kids at all.</p><p> However, great sci-fi lives anddies based on the writing and the performances, NOT by the special effects so it's no problem here.</p><p> This imaginative fish out ofwater tale about a US astronaut sucked into a wormhole and a struggle for existence far away from home is unquestionablyunique.</p><p> The Twilight Zone has never been matched as an anthology series -- not even by Rod Serling (sorry Night Gallery fans).</p><p> It's also been the gold standard for what can be accomplished on DVD and BluRay, boasting some of the best remastering and most elaborate extras ever seen for a TV series.</p><p> It simply doesn't get any better than the definitive deluxe versions.</p><p> But manypeople -- like me -- don't give a toss for all those extras.</p><p> So they're finally making the series available in a stripped downversion with just the episodes in pristine condition at a lower price.</p><p> It should be a much lower price but the intent is a good oneand makes sense after the definitive versions have been out for a while and had their chance to make their money back.</p><p> Iunderstand the desire not to step on your own sales, but the people who want the elaborate sets will pay for them.</p><p> The restnever will but might be enticed by much cheaper versions of the show.</p><p> This is a step in the right direction and they've done itwith one of TV's all-time classics.</p><p> MAMA'S FAMILY THE COMPLETE SERIES ($199.95 DVD; StarVista/TimeLife)-- Has there ever been a stranger journey for a sitcom than Mama's Family? It began as a series of sketches on The Carol Burnett Show known simply as The Family.</p><p> They were notable for their biting humor and screaming fights -- I couldrelate -- with family members invariably getting reduced to insulting one another.No one was better at the abrupt put-down than Mama, played by CarolLawrence with understated aplomb.</p><p> Unlike other shows with their set-up andpunchline style, this really felt like the way families talked to each other.</p><p> I thinkthe groundbreaking Roseanne took some inspiration from it.</p><p> But as the sketches continued, something strange happened.</p><p> The tone of them became darker anddarker, with the insults more venomous and the humor less apparent.</p><p> It was likewatching a Neil Simon play morph into an Ibsen play right before your eyes.</p><p> Bythe end of that variety series, I used to dread the appearance of The Family sketches -- how nasty were they going to be? -- but I never looked away.</p><p> This may have been exaggerated in my young child'smind, but that's how I remember it.</p><p> Despite the show's ending, they weren't done with this characters.</p><p> They were spun off intoa TV movie called Eunice and that was spun off into a primetime sitcom on NBC.</p><p> Mama and the rest were notably softenedfrom their sketch days, since everyone felt viewers needed more empathy for the cast week in and week out.</p><p> It was animmediate hit, right down to Harvey Korman's silly introductions spoofing Alistair Cooke of Masterpiece Theater.</p><p> Bu the network moved the show around its schedule, ratings collapsed and the show was cancelled after two seasons.</p><p> But theyweren't done yet! It was revived as a syndicated series and exploded in the ratings again.</p><p> The characters were dumbed downeven further, with Mama's insults becoming standard sitcom fare and the general IQ approaching the dumber yokels on GreenAcres or The Beverly Hillbillies.</p><p> The show ran for four more seasons and only ended because Lawrence decided it was time to put away that grey wig once and for all.</p><p> This hefty boxed set contains all six seasons of the sitcom, along with a colorfulbooklet filled with images and some solid extras.</p><p> One could fantasize about the ideal set that included all the sketches fromThe Carol Burnett Show and the TV movie but that's churlish.</p><p> It's amazing the show survived and that it's two incarnations have been brought together here.</p><p> Plus, these are -- with a few unavoidable exceptions -- the original broadcast versionscomplete with Korman's intros -- not the edited for rerun versions earlier season sets contained.</p><p> Best of all, the single seasonscan be pulled out and placed in your library if you choose.</p><p> If you or someone you know owns one of those massive CarolBurnett sets, you can watch all the sketches contained there and then move onto the NBC sitcom and the first run series andhave your mind blown about how very different the same set of characters can be when seen in different settings.</p><p> BRUCE LEE THE LEGACY COLLECTION ($119.99 BluRay/DVD; Shout!) -- LikeJames Dean, Bruce Lee is a magnetic presence on screen in everything he did.</p><p> Buthis actual film output isn't so great.</p><p> Lee outshines the material mostly and you're leftwith the bitter expectation that he would have accomplished so much more if fatehadn't intervened.</p><p> An earlier version of this set didn't have the best possible mastersso trust Shout! to make good -- they pulled the sets, secured the proper ones andreissued it as soon as possible.</p><p> So here we have four key Lee films on DVD andBluRay in various configurations (dubbed English and original language with subtitles and so on), two documentaries (including one of them in two versions) and copious other extras.</p><p> It comes in a very handsome coffee table book with sterling images ofLee taken from his films and his life.</p><p> It's such a large-sized book it won't fit on yourDVD shelf or even most bookcases without jutting out.</p><p> And I'm not a fan of having to slide discs into cardboard pockets or sleeves.</p><p> But quite simply The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, Way Of The Dragon and Game Of Death have never looked better and probably won't for years to come.</p><p> DEXTER THE COMPLETE SERIESCOLLECTION ($459.99 BluRay; Showtime/Paramount)WEEDS THE COMPLETE COLLECTION($119.97 BuRay; Lionsgate) -- It's so, so hard toend a series properly.</p><p> If you're not a hit, you rarelyget the chance.</p><p> If you are a hit, it's hard to walk away from success and the best series you've ever made.</p><p> Dexter and Weeds both failed to end properly and at the right time, but both haveardent fans and a lot to recommend them.</p><p> Dexterof course stars everyone's favorite serial killer, aman (Michael C.</p><p> Hall, always brilliant anddeserving of an Emmy) scarred as a child andliving by a code: he only kills other serial killers.The series allows us to root for Dexter both as akiller (he's always trying to get away with stoppingbad guys) and a human (Dexter is increasinglytorn by his need for emotional growth, for genuine love and affection).</p><p> They reached the perfect finale in season five when Dexter came across a woman (Julia Stiles) who wassimilarly battered and ready to support him in his work and cuddle with him at night.</p><p> I could even see the ending: Dexter andhis woman driving through the streets of Miami, with Dexter's voice-over echoing the lines he delivered in the very first episode...only this time he wasn't alone.</p><p> Unfortunately, the series ran for three more seasons and not only did they not try and explore what Dexter would be like in a real relationship where he had nothing to hide, they moved on from Stiles and facedincreasingly absurd conflicts until the very unsatisfying finale left all realism behind.</p><p> This doesn't take away from the greatacting featured throughout and those first five, very daring seasons.</p><p> I'm not a fan of elaborate boxed sets but I have to admitthe concept for this one amused me: the discs are kept in a box just like Dexter's blood slide box, the case where he keeps arecord of all his conquests.</p><p> Unfortunately, it feels a little rickety and not nearly as substantial as one would expect so I'm leftwishing for the usual compact cases rather than this show piece.</p><p> It includes many other extras, especially a behind the scenesbook that features some great shots from the making of the show that's a nice keepsake.</p><p> An even more elaborate boxed setcontains the series in even more elaborate packaging with a creepy aura but I can't speak to its quality.</p><p> Weeds on the other hand is exactly as compact and portable as one could hope -- perfect for your library or for tossing in a bag when your family is on the run from rival pot-selling gangs.</p><p> Mary-Louise Parker is the star here of course though it would be nice if the packaging on the back featured more than a glimpse of other actors.</p><p> That makes this look like a one-person show.Parker is of course great as the housewife who turns to cannabis, breaking bad long before that high school chemistry teacherfollowed suit.</p><p> Like Dexter , it became increasingly improbable but it was always fun with Parker center stage.</p><p> You get the entire run, loads of extras and it's all contained in a translucent green case that makes you wonder if you're having flashbacks.</p><p> NAKED CITY THE COMPLETE SERIES ($179.98 DVD; RLJ/Image)COMBAT! THE COMPLETE SERIES ($229.98 DVD; RLJ/Image) WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE COMPLETE SERIES ($29.98 DVD; Mill Creek) -- You have to be realistic when hoping yourfavorite show will come out on DVD.</p><p> So many shows are not available (the list I have of shows I want is extremely long) thatyou're lucky if any company will make it happen.</p><p> Hoping for expensive remastering and loads of extras to boot is pie in the sky,especially when it's a smaller company tackling the release and funds are limited.</p><p> So just be glad Naked City is out at all.</p><p> It was the Law & Order of its day and has the all-star cast of actors who appeared on the show during its four season to prove it.</p><p> The list is endless, including William Shatner, Jean Stapleton, Gene Hackman and many many many more.</p><p> The show was agritty crime procedural so of course the quality of the tale varied from week to week.</p><p> Here, so does the picture and audioquality, though season one is the shakiest and the rest range from good to very good.</p><p> But it's great to have this iconic showavailable in one boxed set.</p><p> In contrast, we have Combat! This series has been packaged and repackaged again, as single seasons, complete series boxed sets and sets devoted to certain characters.</p><p> Here it is again. (If you're wondering why, big box stores like Walmart don't carry an extensive library of DVDs; they only stock new releases.</p><p> So if you want your set in stores for the holidays, you have torepackage it and pretend it's "new" so they'll put it on their shelves.) This is another landmark series, this one following a squadof soldiers after D-Day as they fight their way across France.</p><p> It lasted for five years -- longer than the US involvement in WWII.</p><p> Combat! was known for a relatively realistic take on war; like Star Trek it was usually the guest stars who joined the squad that were sitting ducks for injury or death but still, it was far more realistic than anything before.</p><p> Unfortunately, these are thetrimmed-down versions of episodes prepared for syndication, not the original full length shows.</p><p> Apparently the originals can'tbe found or no one can afford to restore them.</p><p> You can moan their fate or just knuckle down and get these versions to get a good sense of what this show was like, a show by the way that aired into the late 1960s as US involvement in Vietnam inexorably grew.</p><p> Best of all we have Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead Or Alive, playing the role of a bounty hunter that launched his career.</p><p> This trim, inexpensive set contains all three seasons of his TV series in very good picture and sound quality along with some modest extras.</p><p> You can literally watch McQueen finding his way into the part and the steely, sexy reserve that would serve himso well throughout his career.</p><p> Now that's what I call a killer deal.</p><p> RELEASED: THE HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERTS 1986-1998 ($59.98 DVD; Shout!) -- Sometimes a great cause can lead to great art.</p><p> More often it can lead to good intentions and good art, with someflashes of greatness.</p><p> That's certainly the case for the four concerts offered here.</p><p> They were created inthe heyday of bad concert editing, where quick cuts a la MTV were the order of the day.</p><p> Occasionallythings calm down and an artist steps up to ignore their own righteous intentions and deliver trulyimpassioned performances.</p><p> That happens at various times for Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, PeterGabriel and many others.</p><p> The four shows range in length from 71 minutes to a massive five hoursplus! You also get loads of extras like new documentaries, new interviews with the Boss and Sting,behind the scenes footage shot by tech-crazy Gabriel and even a late night jam session.</p><p> Mostimportantly, if it sends one more person to the Amnesty International website and inspires them to write one letter in support of a prisoner of conscience, this set will have done its job, DIGIMON THEOFFICIALSEASONS 1-4COLLECTION($229.95 DVD;Cinedigm/New VideoGroup) SAVED BY THEBELL COMPLETECOLLECTION($49.98 DVD;Lionsgate)BOY MEETSWORLD COMPLETECOLLECTION($99.98 DVD;Lionsgate) -- Digimonis short for digitalmonsters and if youknew that already, you know that you want this boxed setwith the first fourseasons of Digimon.It began as a toy petgeared towards boysto counter the digitaltoy pets popular withgirls calledTamagotchi.</p><p> Themain difference? Theboy's pets could fightone another.</p><p> Thatturned into a TVseries which hasspawned multipleiterations with multiple casts, not to mention mangas,feature films andmore.</p><p> This veryelaborate set is nicelycompact and loaded with 32 discs containing more than 200 episodes.</p><p> They cover the two seasons of the original Digimon , one season of Digimon Tamers and one season of Digimon Frontier which dramatically switched up the entire concept of the series: instead of kids pairing up with their digimon partners, they became warriors themselves.</p><p> More series followed but they were made for different channels/partners, so this set stops here.</p><p> Given it contains more than 70 hours of television, that should be enough to start.</p><p> Just be prepared to buy lots of digimons if your kid gets hooked.</p><p> When it comes to live action shows and books and movies, kids like to watch adventures of kids slightly older than themselves.</p><p> So kids in middle school like to watch kids in high school, kids in high school like to watch kids in college and so on.</p><p> Of course,once you get hooked you remain faithful.</p><p> Which is why the biggest audience for Saved By The Bell is adults in their 30s.</p><p> Still, middle school kids may enjoy this dim-witted but very well cast Saturday morning series.</p><p> Elizabeth Berkeley, Mark-PaulGosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen and Mario Lopez are the big names that went on to greater success, but they'll always be these teenagers to people of a certain age.</p><p> This set contains all five seasons, though not the TV movie that aired between season four and five, annoyingly enough.</p><p> On the plus side, it's very inexpensive and compact and there are a few modest new extras.</p><p> In comparison, the sitcom Boy Meets World feels like Shakespeare.</p><p> It wisely avoided the trap of all TV shows starring kids.</p><p> It let its hero grow up by following him chronologically from middle school to high school to college.</p><p> Ben Savage is our hero and his world includes interracial romance (quite daring in its day) and the usual travails of being a kid.</p><p> It too is compact andinexpensive.</p><p> And it's out just in time to prepare people for the spin-off Girl Meets World set for 2014.</p><p> The fact that Savage will play the father of a girl entering middle school herself makes me feel very, very, very old.</p><p> DEAN MARTIN CELEBRITY ROASTS COMPLETE COLLECTION ($249.95 DVD; StarVista/TimeLife) THE NEW THREE STOOGES COMPLETE CARTOON COLLECTION ($29.99 DVD; RLJ/Image) HERE'S EDIE THE EDIE ADAMS TELEVISION COLLECTION ($49.99 DVD; EdiAd/MVD) -- Here are three labors of love Inever expected to get a release.</p><p> The Dean Martin celebrity roasts were disposable television and I'm sure Martin would beastonished that people still watch them today, not to mention continue the tradition on Comedy Central.</p><p> They're sporadicallyfunny and often dull, though always intriguing in a time capsule sort of way, unintentionally revealing the mindset of an era inthe comments that they make.</p><p> You get all 50+ roasts featuring notables like Ronald Reagan, Bette Davis, Johnny Carson,Lucille Ball and many more.</p><p> Happily, the sets come out and can be stored on the shelf or you can keep them in the keepsakebox along with a souvenir booklet and -- rather bizarrely -- a Dean Martin figurine.</p><p> Wouldn't a shot glass have been moreappropriate? Now, the Three Stooges never got respect during their career.</p><p> Saturday morning cartoons rarely got respect either.</p><p> So a Saturday morning cartoon starring the New Three Stooges? Double no respect! And yet, somehow, here they are, all 156shorts and 40 live action wrap-arounds created for its one and only season.</p><p> As a bonus, you get a disc of the Stooges singingChristmas carols. (You can't make this sort of stuff up.</p><p> Christmas carols!) Unfortunately, they've gone backwards in time to getthese, seemingly grabbing them from VHS tapes as far as picture quality and sound are concerned.</p><p> Rhino released some ofthese shorts long ago and they looked better way back when.</p><p> Happily, it is complete.</p><p> If you're wondering why there are only 40intros featuring the Stooges clowning around, it's because they just reused each intro three or four times in front of differentshorts.</p><p> Best of this batch is Here's Edie, the variety series starring and overseen by Edie Adams, the smart and sexy wife of comic legend Ernie Kovacs.</p><p> When he died unexpectedly, she was saddled with debt and launched this show in part to pay it off.</p><p> A Tony and Emmy-winning talent best remembered for her silly/sexy cigar commercials, Adams was a triple threat and proved ithere, singing and dancing and clowning around with everyone from Bob Hope to Duke Ellington.</p><p> Clearing the music rights forthis must have been a nightmare but it's great to see Adams coming into her own.</p><p> Extras include all her musical performancesfrom various shows with Kovacs and those Muriel Cigar ads.</p><p> A true labor of love.</p><p> BEVERLY HILLS 90210 THE COMPLETE SERIES ($349.99 DVD; Paramount)FAMILY TIES: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($220.98 DVD;Paramount) DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION($299.95 DVD; Vei/CBS) -- Some shows gained fame bylaunching in the once-quiet backwater of summer.</p><p> ThinkNorthern Exposure and American Idol.</p><p> But Beverly Hills 90210 is I think the only show to debut in the fall and then really find its audience by continuing to make new episodesand airing them in the summer.</p><p> It was practically the only newthing to watch in the summer of 1991 plus they had the addedbonus of featuring the sexy young cast in their swimwear.</p><p> Thegang must have been exhausted but it was worth it: the show turned into a phenomenon and ran for ten seasons.</p><p> It was essentially a soap for teens, but great casting helped tremendously: JasonPriestly, Shannon Doherty, Luke Perry,Brian Austin Green (who never quite madethe transition to a music career the wayDrake did from DeGrassi) and ToriSpelling all had substantial success on TV.I was a fan: here's my oral history of theshow as it reached its finale.</p><p> But I certainly didn't watch every episode of all tenseasons.</p><p> Here they are gathered togetherin a massive boxed set made to look liketwo high school yearbooks.</p><p> I really don'tlike sliding discs in and out of cardboardsleeves but this is clever packaging forthose who want to display their love for theshow on their coffee table.</p><p> For everyone else, it's bulky and hard to fit most anywhere.</p><p> Family Ties had good actors in the lead roles, notably Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross as liberal parents who findthemselves trying to relate to aconservative teenager.</p><p> It was a clever twiston the parent-child dynamic and perfectfor the age of Reagan.</p><p> But the showskyrocketed of course because of theimmense charm and talent of Michael J.Fox as Alex P.</p><p> Keaton.</p><p> The show wasalready doing pretty good by edging intothe Top 40 in its first two seasons.</p><p> But itreally took off when moved to Thursdaysand placed right after the instant smash hitThe Cosby Show.</p><p> Even talent like Fox's can use a lucky break.</p><p> Unfortunately, the series had already stopped exploring the unique angle it launched with and settledinto more familiar comic terrain but Fox always remained a delight.</p><p> The rest of the cast were definitely supporting him though.</p><p> Whenever an episode focused on another character, it was usually pretty thin stuff.</p><p> This boxed set is presented as a family album, including some nice photos.</p><p> But you have to slide discs in and out awkwardly and it won't fit on your DVD shelf or allbut the deepest bookcases.</p><p> As with so many other boxed sets, it's impressive looking but impractical.</p><p> Still, this is a fittingcollection for a pretty good sitcom with a great star.</p><p> Diagnosis Murder already had a star in Dick Van Dyke, one of TV's legends thanks to his eponymous sitcom that set the standard of sophistication for many workplace comedies to come.</p><p> Van Dyke was older now and looking for a cushy job a la Angela Lansbury's sweet gig on Murder She Wrote.</p><p> He found it with a guest spot on Jake And The Fatman (a series that was remarkably dependable in the ratings no matter how often it was moved around on the schedule).</p><p> Van Dyke played a medicaldoctor who helped solve a crime.</p><p> That led to three popular TV movies, with Van Dyke paired with his real life son Barry playinghis character's TV son, a homicide detective. (Van Dyke would also pepper the crew with family members.) Those led to aseries which was almost cancelled after two seasons but ran eight years in all.</p><p> And STILL they weren't done with it, deliveringtwo more TV movies to date.</p><p> This sturdy boxed set (more compact than most) contains the Jake and the Fatman episode, allthe TV movies and all eight seasons of the show.</p><p> You'll find an endless supply of guest stars of a certain age who were happyto appear since The Love Boat was in dry dock.</p><p> And of course, Dick Van Dyke's endless charm.</p><p> TWILIGHT FOREVER: THE COMPLETE SAGA ($74.99 BluRay; Summit) -- Obviously, ardent fans of the movies bought them as they came out on BluRay and DVD.</p><p> But ifyou're going to cap off a franchise like Twilight with an elaborate set, this is the way to do it.</p><p> You get ten discs, all five movies and loads of extras -- including some new ones -- in abeautifully designed, compact set.</p><p> You get two cover options: Bella and Edward clutch inone; Jacob stands alone in the other.</p><p> If you care intently about which cover you get or can't decide, then this is the set for you.</p><p> The better the film directors, the weaker themovies -- which is a lesson both for studios and film directors when choosing projects.</p><p> Butfans don't care.</p><p> They just want the complete saga and here it is, presented with the careand attention to detail a franchise like this deserves.</p><p> ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS:ABSOLUTELY ALL OF IT ($158.98 DVD; BBC) KEEPING UP APPEARANCESCOLLECTOR'S EDITION ($158.98 DVD; BBC) THE HOUSE OF ELIOTT COMPLETE COLLECTION ($99.99 DVD; Acorn) -- It might seem rude but I should say thesecollections of TV shows that aired more than 20 years ago do seem a tad pricey.</p><p> But putting that aside, Absolutely Fabulous has never looked better.</p><p> Early seasons enjoyed some nips and tucks in the remastering and this boxed set is trimmer and sleeker than previous editions and thinner is always better, darling.</p><p> The outrageous, desperate antics of Edwina and Patsyremain funny because at some level the series really does know that they are truly desperate.</p><p> They're not just pushing theenvelope to be outrageous because nothing dates faster than that.</p><p> But these women, as shrill and cartoonish as they appear, are women and their fears and prejudices are hilariously exaggerated examples of what many deal with every day.</p><p> Mind you, it's mostly just silly fun.</p><p> This set is contained in a neat pink purse covering that lets it fit on your DVD shelf but stand out in acrowd.</p><p> Keeping Up Appearances features Patricia Routledge as the hopelessly snobbish but middle class Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet," she'll fruitlessly insist).</p><p> It's comfort food, the Britcom your mother watches and rewatches every time its Britcom night on your local PBS station.</p><p> Still, Routledge is impressively funny and had the good sense to call it a day after fiveseasons, when clearly they had wrung out every possible bit of humor from the situation.</p><p> This set -- contained in a packageperfect for your garden party, complete with seeds to grow your own bucket, I mean bouquet -- contains every episode, thespecials and other extras.</p><p> The House Of Elliot is about two women struggling to make it in the world of fashion but it's decades and light years in sensibility apart from AbFab.</p><p> Here we are watching two sisters in 1920s London trying to make a go of it after their father unexpectedly died and left them broke.</p><p> Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard are the heart of the series and keep it always watchable.</p><p> It was created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, the team behind the brilliant Upstairs Downstairs, but put all thoughts of this show reaching that height out of your mind and you might enjoy it.</p><p> There was a hint of the strong drama itmight have become during season one.</p><p> But it soon failed to build on that and season two and three are soap opera anticsrescued by the cast and elevated a tad.</p><p> Best of all, the fashions on display really are absolutely fabulous. ***** Most titles listed here will be available in multiple formats and in multiple combinations, including DVD, Blu-ray, digitaldownload, video on demand, streaming and the like.</p><p> The format listed is the format provided for review, not all the formatsavailable.</p><p> It is often the most expensive version with the most extras.</p><p> Do check individual titles for availability in all their variousguises and price points.</p><p> Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the founder and CEO of BookFilter, a book lover's best friend.</p><p> It's a website that lets you browse for books online the way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of the way.</p><p> It's like a fall book preview or holidaygift guide -- but every week in every category.</p><p> He's also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It'savailable for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs and Blu-rays with the understanding that he would be considering them for review.</p><p> Generally, he does not guarantee to review and he receives far more titles than he can cover.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz