TV on DVD – Oct. 14, 2008

by Jane Boursaw

The Partridge Family: The Complete Third Season. Who knew cute little Danny Bonaduce would grow up to be a reality star with substance abuse issues? OK, maybe that’s not such a huge stretch, but there’s something comforting about the singing Partridge Family and their groovy bus. It’s good clean fun that ran from 1970 to 1974. You know what? I think I love you. Buy It.

Nash Bridges: The First Season. I love the buddy-stuff between Don Johnson and Cheech Marin, one of the coolest cop teams to ever take down the bad guys. Sadly, much of the original music on this set has been replaced by instrumental overdubs, and season one includes only eight episodes. Buy it anyway.

Survivorman: Collection 2. It takes a special breed of person to plop themselves down on an Arctic ice floe or Costa Rican rainforest and struggle to survive. Maybe watching it makes us feel we could make it, too, with a little ingenuity and resourcefulness. Whatever the reason, we love Survivorman in this house, and continue to marvel at Les Stroud‘s self-imposed adventures. Kinda glad I’m not married to him, though. Buy It.

Life With Derek: The Complete First Season. I have to include this because I have a tween in the household, so I subsequently watch a lot of Disney Channel shows. And they’re not half bad! Life With Derek stars Michael Seater as a kid in a blended family. It’s all good. Buy It.

That 70’s Show: Complete Giftset. The smoky basement scenes would be enough, but throw in an acerbic dad, a chirpy mom, and a slacker photo shop guy in the form of Tommy Chong, and you’ve got an avocado-colored winner on your hands. This complete-series gift set includes a whopping 32 discs in a nifty little box (which, admittedly, could have been kicked up if it was shaped like a couch or ping-pong table). Worth $160? I’d say so, if you love the show like we do. Buy it.

The Unit – The Complete Third Season. You’ve gotta take a second look at anything with David Mamet in the credits, and The Unit delivers his usual tense drama and MametSpeak dialogue. Buy season three here. Also available today is The Unit: Seasons 1-3. Buy it here.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – The Eighth Season. The papa of crime procedurals keeps it real with season 8, in which Grissom gets heartbroken, Catherine receives a threat, and Warrick’s life spirals out of control. Buy The Eighth Season here. Also available today is an awesome box set, CSI: Seasons 1-8. Buy it here.

Liberty’s Kids: The Complete Series. This animated, Emmy-nominated series is a great way for kids (and adults!) to learn about history. I know a few parents who use it for home-schooling. Tons of stars, too, including Walter Cronkite as Benjamin Franklin, and Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Michael Douglas, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Liam Neeson. Bonus features include: A Look Back At Liberty’s Kids with the series creators; Benjamin Franklin’s Newsbytes; Continental Cartoons; Now & Then; Mystery Guest Game; Original Pencil Test; 40-Page Collectible Booklet with fold out U.S. map. Buy It.