The Couch Potato Report – December 24th 2006
This edition of The Couch Potato Report shines the spotlight on some box sets that are available for your holiday giving, or receiving.
More and more people are ignoring shows when they first play on television and instead they are picking them up once they are released on DVD instead.
This way – for episodic shows – they don’t have to wait week after week to see what happens.
For the shows that people still watch on TV, since they are fans, they want to own what they enjoy.
There is now also the option to purchase a big huge box set that contains every episode of a series, once it has finished it’s run.
If you have someone that you still need to get something for who falls into one of those categories, I have at least one show from each one to suggest.
And I will start with LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.
There are now three seasons of CRIMINAL INTENT available on DVD.
The show centers on the New York Police Department’s Major Case Squad and the very brilliant, offbeat Detective Robert Goren, as portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio.
Of all the LAW & ORDER shows that have been on the air over the years, CRIMINAL INTENT is my favourite as it shows you the crimes as they are planned and committed, and then we also get to see the detectives solving them and putting a case together for the District Attorney.
Of the three Box Sets for LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT that are available, my favourite is the 2002-2003 set for THE SECOND YEAR. The writing is at it’s best that season, and the cast is working really well together.
And even Detective Goren’s partner – played by Kathryn Erbe – starts to have more to say and do.
LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT is still on the air, but the next box set I will mention is from a show that isn’t.
ALIAS – THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON was the final season of that show.
In the show Jennifer Garner is Sydney Bristow, an international spy recruited out of college and trained for espionage and self-defense.
The fifth season of the show obviously started off where Season Four ended, and the cliffhanger from that year was one of the best ones ever on television.
I was a huge fan of ALIAS during it’s run, but I began to not have time to watch it every week, so this was one show I stopped watching when it aired, and just waited for the DVDs.
And I am glad I did as in real life Jennifer Garner got pregnant and the series went off air for a few months so she could have her baby, before coming back and wrapping up the show’s many loose ends.
They also made Sydney Bristow pregnant on the show and brought in some new people to fill the needs of the still-in-business spy agency.
The new cast wasn’t and isn’t bad, but it is the return of Sydney and Sark, and Irina, and Anna Espinosa, and maybe even the murdered Michael Vaughan, or whatever his name is, that will allow you to ride the fifth season of ALIAS to a very satisfying series conclusion.
Of course, now that the series is over, I want to go back again and watch it from the beginning.
Luckily I have the box sets for the five seasons, so I can do that.
If you don’t have them, you can get them individually or pick up the 29 DVD set ALIAS – THE COMPLETE COLLECTION – which has Seasons one to five and is packaged in a Rambaldi artifact box.
Fans of the show SIX FEET UNDER who don’t have the individual sets for the five seasons that that show was on, can also pick up one all-inclusive box set – the 25 disc set that is shaped like a grave for SIX FEET UNDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET.
SIX FEET UNDER is the superbly written and acted drama series that takes a very comical look at The Fisher Family and their associates.
All of the people we meet are quite dysfunctional, and most of them either work in or live at a funeral home.
In addition to every episode THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET for SIX FEET UNDER also has a wide array of bonus features, two-bonus soundtrack CDs, and an exclusive illustrated booklet with character obituaries and memories from the show’s creators.
I watched SIX FEET UNDER when it was on, but I never saw the first ten episodes, so this box set gave me the chance to go back, catch up on what I missed, and then keep watching.
And I will keep watching, as it is a superb show!
I will also keep watching THAT GIRL.
Before there was Mary Richards, Murphy Brown, or Ally McBeal there
was THAT GIRL.
The always-engaging Marlo Thomas starred in THAT GIRL as Ann Marie, a struggling actress living in New York City. In between trying to find jobs acting and modeling she spends time with her boyfriend, Don, and her parents.
THAT GIRL ran from 1966 to 1971 and history shows us that the title character was groundbreaking as an independent female forging her own way and forever changed the manner in which women were portrayed on TV.
Now you can relive history because the first two seasons of THAT GIRL are available on DVD.
And the thing I enjoyed about the show was the fact that it harkens back to a simpler time.
Seriously, when was the last time you saw gum used as a plot point on a TV show that wasn’t called McGyver?
If you have someone on your list who loves old TV shows, or is a fan of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, MURPHY BROWN or ALLY McBEAL, THAT GIRL would make a great gift for them!
SEASONS ONE AND TWO of the show are now available on DVD, and so is SIX FEET UNDER – THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET, SEASONS 1 through 5 of ALIAS and the first THREE SEASONS of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT.
They would also make great gifts!
Coming up on the next Couch Potato Report
Almost every Canadian is aware of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and Russia, but did you know we also played an eight game series against them in 1974?
Well, we did, and TEAM CANADA 1974: THE LOST SERIES is now available on DVD.
Also next week there are four new releases in the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection, and a part time bartender gets a chance to play in the NFL in INVINCIBLE.
I’m Dan Reynish. I’ll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that’s THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next time on The Couch!
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