It’s not just premiere week for the new TV season; it’s DVD box set week for the last TV season. (Because heaven knows you wouldn’t want to release last season’s set any earlier than the week the new season debuts; that might give viewers a chance to catch up, and that would be a terrible, terrible mistake.) Anyway, your intrepid correspondent recommends the Emmy-winning Modern Family, the should’ve-been-at-least-Emmy-nominated Community, and the oft-derided-but-actually-enjoyable Bored To Death. (The Community DVD is noteworthy especially for its clever set of bonus features, including a very funny and surprisingly touching “employee review” conducted by creator Dan Harmon.) If you prefer your TV a little more vintage, a couple of classic PBS docu-series are now available on DVD: Middletown and Joseph Campbell & The Power Of Myth. (Reviews of both will be coming to the DVD section in future weeks.) And if the the bleak verité of Middletown doesn’t thoroughly depress you, pick up the latest volume of Criterion’s Eclipse series—dedicated to the despairing “actuality dramas” of Canadian documentarian Allan King—and finish the job. Then, once you’ve been through the ringer, lighten the hell up with Criterion’s sparkling new Blu-ray of Charade, a stylish and frivolous Euro-adventure starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
American Beauty
Dreamworks Blu-ray, $29.99
Being Human: Season Two
BBC Warner, $49.98; Blu-ray, $59.98
Bored To Death: The Complete First Season
HBO, $39.98; Blu-ray, $49.99
Castle: The Complete Second Season
ABC, $45.99
Charade
Criterion Blu-ray, $39.95
Community: The Complete First Season
Sony, $39.95
Date For Hire
Maverick, $19.98
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Sixth Season
ABC, $45.99
Eccentricities Of A Blonde-Haired Girl
Cinema Guild, $29.95
Eclipse Series 24: The Actuality Dramas Of Allan King
Criterion, $69.95
The Experiment
Sony, $24.96; Blu-ray, $30.95
Fantomas: The Complete Saga
Kino, $34.95
Gamera Vs. Guiron/Gamera Vs. Jiger
Shout! Factory, $19.93
Gamera Vs. Gyaos/Gamera Vs. Viras
Shout! Factory, $19.93
Hell’s Kitchen: Season Three
First Look, $24.98
He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown
Warner, $19.98
How I Met Your Mother: The Complete Season Five
20th Century Fox, $39.98
Human Target: The Complete First Season
Warner, $39.98; Blu-ray, $49.99
Law & Order SVU: Year Eleven
Universal, $59.98
The Mentalist: The Complete Second Season
Warner, $59.98
Middletown: The Complete Series
Icarus, $44.98
Mr. Palfrey Of Westminster: Complete Collection
Acorn, $49.99
Modern Family: The Complete First Season
20th Century Fox, $59.98; Blu-ray, $69.99
Ondine
Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
The Power Of Myth: The Complete Series
Athena, $49.99
Robin Hood
Universal, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98
The Secret In Their Eyes
Sony, $28.95; Blu-ray, $38.96
The Secret Of Moonacre
E1, $24.98; Blu-ray, $24.98
Spartacus – Blood & Sand: The Complete First Season
Starz/Anchor Bay, $59.97; Blu-ray, $79.97
Stomp The Yard: Homecoming
Sony, $24.96; Blu-ray, $30.95
Stripped Naked
Anchor Bay, $19.97
30 Rock: Season Four
Universal, $49.98
Tinker Bell And The Great Fairy Rescue
Walt Disney, $29.99; Blu-ray, $39.99
Triple Dog
Well Go USA, $24.98; Blu-ray, $26.98
Two And A Half Men: The Complete Seventh Season
Warner, $44.98
(Untitled)
Screen Media, $24.98; Blu-ray, $29.98
Vigilante
Blue Underground Blu-ray, $29.98