Now that the fall season is here, TV will be a bigger part of my life again, even though some of my major favorites won’t return until January or later. But during the off-season, TV on DVD really helps fill the gaps. I’m going to mix this list between shows I have and shows I’d want to own. As usual, the list is unranked.
Shows that I have on DVD:
Freaks and Geeks, The Complete Series (1 season) – Even if you didn’t belong to one of these high-school subgroups, this show brings back the memories in a great way, especially if your time in teenage hell was in the late 1970’s-early 1980’s. You’ll laugh, you’ll wince, you’ll be glad you don’t have to go back.
The Simpsons, Seasons 1-10 – This is as much Simpsons history as is available on DVD right now. When Tall Paul and I merged our DVD collections, we were pleasantly surprised to find no duplicate seasons; instead, we completed each other. (Aw!)
Scrubs, Seasons 1-4 – Again, this is every season currently available. I will get seasons 5-7 as they’re released. This medical comedy’s blend of utter outlandishness and earnestness just works for me.
Lost, Seasons 1 and 2 – Season 3 is pending, and hopefully will be out in time to get on my Christmas list. Someday we’ll have to sit down, watch a bunch of episodes straight through, and see what 20-20 hindsight helps us figure out…
The West Wing, Seasons 1-3 – These are the only seasons I want to own, from the show’s creative and inspiring early years.
Alias, Seasons 1-4 – I will eventually get Season 5 so I can complete the set, and because I actually didn’t watch much of it when it was still on. But the first two seasons of this show were awesome.
Gilmore Girls, Seasons 1-4 – Another show whose early seasons were stellar. I’m ambivalent about completing my set with seasons 5-7, although since I never did get to see how things wrapped up for Lorelai and Rory, I probably will get them one of these days.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. , The Complete Series (2 seasons) – Tall Paul introduced me to this one, which I never got around to checking out during its original run. It’s a bizarre mix of Western and science fiction, smart and funny, and Bruce Campbell totally rocks the title role.
Shows that I want on DVD:
WKRP in Cincinnati – It took forever for this show to finally come out on DVD, and I’m sure that it will be pretty dated in some respects, but it had some classic characters – Dr. Johnny Fever! Les Nessman! – and inspired my short-lived career dream of working in radio.
Ed – This actually isn’t available on DVD yet. But this 2001-2005 series about Ed Stevens, the “bowling alley lawyer,” and the other residents of Stuckeyville, Ohio, is one I’m really looking forward to watching again some day.
I haven’t thought about WKRP in forever! 🙂
Angelika – It actually took a long time to come out on DVD at all; it wasn’t till the past spring. Squabbles over the music rights, IIRC.