This boob loves his tube

Television has gotten a bad rap. Television takes more of a beating than eggs in a Martha Stewart soufflé, deflecting criticism to continually challenge, entertain and infuriate viewers.

Television is not a wasteland. Unless you subscribe to Spice, it’s not a boob tube. It’s a complex, living organism, constantly growing and expanding to reflect society and taste. A handful of channels brought the world into our homes, and the promise of the digital age added unlimited selection and choice.

I have no problem defending television. Imagine opening a treasure chest and finding I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, Mary Tyler Moore, All In The Family, M*A*S*H, Law & Order, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons and Star Trek. All worth more than their weight in gold. So many shows have come and gone over the years. Some deserve early graves, while others have passed away prematurely.

TV-on-DVD allows us to embrace our past, to reconnect with the shows that held our hands through life. It’s important that we protect our past, to give these shows the respect they deserve. They’re our history, our friends. As a public service, here’s my quarterly rundown of television programs currently available on DVD. No commercials. Complete and uncut. In order of broadcast. Perfect for college and collectors.

Situation funny

Alice

Linda Lavin inherited Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning role (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) in the spirited series about a single mother working in a small Phoenix diner to make a better life for her son and herself. This Warner Home Entertainment DVD sampler includes six fan-favorite episodes, including the departure of sassy sidekick Flo (Polly Holliday).

Coach: The First Season

Universal Studios Home Enter-tainment scores a touchdown by cleverly packaging the first season of the Craig T. Nelson football comedy series in a faux pigskin playbook. As head coach of Minnesota State’s Screaming Eagles, Coach Hayden Fox (Nelson) constantly tries to balance his professional and personal life with comic complications.

Dharma & Greg: Season One

Hilarious clash of cultures when anal attorney Greg Montgomery (Thomas Gibson) meets and quickly marries spirited yoga instructor Dharma Finklestein (Jenna Elfman). Watching these two opposites attract and then deal with their collective parents and friends is funny stuff. Featurettes, commentaries and interactive Reaching Your Inner Dharma game. (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)

Entourage: Complete Second Season

Reality and fantasy blur in this hip HBO comedy series about a rising Hollywood star and his group of friends, who help him navigate the shark-filled waters of agents, starlets and studio executives. Adrian Grenier is excellent as Vincent Chase, whose second season storyline finds him leaping to the big screen in Jim Cameron’s Aquaman, teaming him up with ex-love Mandy Moore. (HBO Home Video)

Gimme A Break: Season One

Nell Carter kicks up her heels in this family comedy about Nell Harper, a housekeeper who ends up playing surrogate mom to a widowed police chief’s three daughters. Filled with heart, soul, hugs, and life lessons, Gimme a Break redefined extended families in the ’80s. Nineteen episodes on three discs, plus bonus episodes of Kate & Allie and Charles in Charge. (USHE)

The Golden Girls: Season Four

Highly acclaimed and popular comedy which proves life begins after 50 leaps into season four with more antics by Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White) and Sophia (Estelle Getty). Sharing a home in Florida, the four women use their collective strength and hope to turn their gray skies blue. Funny, touching, bawdy, the show has it all, including Quentin Tarantino in Elvis drag. (Buena Vista Home Improvement)

Grounded For Life: Season Two

The dysfunctional Finnerty family returns for more laughs in this offbeat comedy starring independent film favorites Donal Logue and Kevin Corrigan. Logue and Megyn Price play parents Sean and Claudia, working overtime to control their teenage daughter, Lily, and sons Jimmy and Henry. They don’t get much help from enterprising brother Eddie (Corrigan) or their always-present father. Twisted tales told through flashback. Bloopers, interviews, highlights. (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Home Improvement: Season Four

Season Four finds tool man Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) making strides in his marriage, family and show, but not without major complications. I love this show because it treats the characters and audience with respect, never reducing them to jokes. They deal with real problems in real ways. Watch Tim drop a beam on Jill’s (Pat Richardson) car, catch his sister-in-law in the buff, and deal with Jill’s continuing education. Blooper reel adds to the frivolity. (BVHE)

Joey: The Complete First Season

This Friends spin-off wasn’t very friendly to star Matt LeBlanc. After his friends move on, Joey (LeBlanc) packs up his bags and heads to Hollywood, where he moves in with his sister and nephew while pursuing his career as an actor. Hollywood can be a cruel town. Just ask Joey. (WHE)

Kate & Allie: Season One

Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James sparkle in this comedy about two single mothers living together while looking for a new start. Allie (Curtin) arrives from a life of luxury with her two children, Chip and Jennie, while Kate (James) and her daughter, Emma, welcome them into their comfortable, but now cramped, two-story home. Excellent comic timing, smart scripts and a sense of empowerment make the six episodes from Season One a keeper. Interviews, gag reel, bonus episode and ’80s television flashback retrospective complete the package. (USHE)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season Four

After four years of producing the news at WJM-TV, Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) begins to question her loyalty and obligations. Season Four explores the breakup of Lou Grant’s (Ed Asner) marriage, Mary’s attempts to push him out the door, and his relationship with Rhoda (Valerie Harper). Meanwhile, Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) learns that her husband is having an affair with happy homemaker Sue Ann Nivens (Betty White). (Fox)

Roseanne: The Complete Fourth Season

The parade of guest stars continues in Season Four, with Martin Mull, Bonnie Bramlett and Sandra Bernhard joining the cast. The 25 uncut episodes include husband Dan’s foray into big business, Roseanne working at a lunch counter, birth control, second weddings and the classic Halloween and Thanksgiving episodes. Interviews and commentaries. (ABE)

Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show

Phil Silvers’ groundbreaking service comedy arrives in a 50th anniversary three-disc set, including 18 classic episodes and a gunnysack of extras. Silvers is brilliant as the scheming Sgt. Bilko, who uses his men to connive his way through his tour of duty at Fort Baxter. Filled with great patter, visual gags, razor-sharp double takes and a roster of guest stars, Sgt. Bilko is a con game worth investing in. DVD includes historical artifacts, commentaries, tributes, reflections, award and audio highlights. (Paramount)

Step By Step

The Odd Couple meets The Brady Bunch in this comedy about two single parents (Patrick Duffy, Suzanne Somers) who wake up married one morning. Now they have to tell their children. Of course, the tribes are as different as night and day, making for continuing complications and misunderstandings, all ending with messages about how family is your best friend. So true. Fan favorite compilation features six episodes from all seven seasons. (WHE)

Strangers with Candy

Comedy Central’s hilarious series stars Amy Sedaris as 46-year-old former junkie and whore Jerri Blank, who decides to return to high school for her diploma. For three seasons, user, loser and boozer Jerri attempts to fit in with her peers, trashing political correctness with every effort. Co-creators Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert co-star as teachers of questionable morals. Uncut and totally subversive, Strangers with Candy is like an after school special on acid. Complete series in a catchy binder, with plenty of homework extras like deleted scenes, interviews, commentaries and more. (Paramount)

That ’70s Show: Season Four

Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and friends continue to find their way through the ’70s in Season Four. When Donna (Laura Prepon) returns Eric’s promise ring, the breakup ripples through the lives of Eric’s friends and family. Eric is given the opportunity to see his future without Donna, deciding to live with the pain, and experience the awkwardness after she starts dating Kelso’s (Ashton Kutcher) brother. Other complications include parental abandonment, first love and the loss of Eric’s bat cave. Featurettes and commentaries. (Fox)

Wings: Seasons One & Two

Laughter takes flight in this long-running comedy that finds estranged brothers Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian Hackett (Steven Weber) reunited when they decide to run a small commuter airline out of Nantucket Island. Assisted by an eccentric crew of friends and employees, the brothers attempt to work out their differences in order to make Sandpiper Air a success. Well-cast and -written workplace ensemble comedy. (Paramount)

Crime time

Boston Legal: Season One

David E. Kelley’s Emmy Award-winning comedy-drama sneaks a peek behind the personal and professional lives of the attorneys of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. Starring James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen, Boston Legal remains true to the Kelley formula, mixing offbeat humor into topical storylines. The result is a scathingly funny show with lots of bite. Deleted pilot, featurettes, more. (Fox)

The Closer: Season One

After a high-profile crime is committed in Los Angeles, the LAPD sends in their Priority Murder Squad. Kyra Sedgwick is dynamic as Brenda Johnson, an Atlanta-based CIA agent hired to head up the special squad. Despite rubbing coworkers the wrong way, Johnson gets the job done. The cable crime drama crackles, thanks to Sedgwick’s conviction, a strong supporting cast and intriguing storylines. Unaired scenes. (WHE)

Medium: Season One

Paranormal crime drama stars Emmy-winner Patricia Arquette as Allison DuBois, a mother and wife who happens to have psychic abilities, which she shares with the local DA. The creators nail the family dynamic, giving All-ison a strong support system as she explores her gift. Outstanding in every sense of the word. Extended scenes, featurettes, gag reel, reflections and more. (USHE)

NCIS: The Complete First Season

This hybrid of JAG and CSI features Mark Harmon as Jethro Gibbs, a special agent who heads up an elite team that travels the four corners of the globe to solve cases. With terrorists, spies, kidnappers and killers on its roster, the team has its work cut out for it. Colorful characters, powerful storylines that catch you off guard and exotic locations make this series an entity to deal with. Commentary and featurettes. (Paramount)

N.Y.P.D. Blue: Season Four

Groundbreaking adult crime series improves with age, with Jimmy Smits on board as Detective Bobby Simone, exploring his relationship with Diane Russell, as Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) welcomes the birth of his son. Knowing where these story arcs are headed makes them even more poignant and memorable. Mature language and subject matter continue to make their mark on the series. Featurettes and commentaries. (Fox)

Destination drama

Huff: Complete First Season

What happens when the shrink needs a shrink? That’s the premise of this neurotic comedy starring Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig Huffstodt, who be-comes un-hinged after a teenage patient commits suicide. Lost and feeling alone, Huff reexamines his life and his place in it, forcing family, friends and patients to deal with his newfound neurosis. Commentaries, deleted scenes and featurettes. (SPHE)

Pretender: Season Four

After four seasons of looking for his family, Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) makes one final attempt to outwit the notorious Miss. Parker and claim his independence. Like The Fugitive, Jarod moves from one city to the next, using his genius to help others solve their problems while trying to solve his own. Double-length finale, commentaries, featurettes and more. (Fox)

Rescue Me: Complete Second Season

Things really heat up in Season Two of this incendiary drama about New York firemen. Co-creator Denis Leary earned an Emmy nomination as haunted fireman Tommy Gavin, trying to move on from the horrors of 9/11 even as his personal life falls apart. Realistic plot complications, dialogue and sexual hijinks distinguish this F/X cable offering with colorful characters, harrowing heroism and unexpected shocks. Featurettes, 35 deleted scenes, and bloopers. (SPHE)

Weeds: Season One

Desperation turns an ordinary mother into a pot dealer in this outrageous comedy-drama. Mary-Louise Parker is winning as recently widowed mom Nancy Botwin, so desperate to keep her kids out of the ’hood that she agrees to sell marijuana to supplement her meager income. How this arrangement plays out in suburbia is prime for laughs, and the cast delivers every witty observation with aplomb. If you take any of this seriously, you’re seriously high, dude. DVD features will give you a buzz. (Lionsgate)

Getting real

30 Days: Season One

Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock turns his documentary cameras on several hot- topic issues. The gimmick is watching Spurlock and others endure 30 days out of their element. Highlights include watching a homophobic man spend a month with a gay man in San Francisco, and a Christian spending time with a Muslim family. Differences of opinion, culture, race, it’s all there, warts and all, a mirror of our fears and prejudices. Commentaries, diary cam. (Fox)

That’s Funny

America’s Funniest Home Video branches out with this series compiling hilarious clips into theme episodes. Laugh along as host Rondell Sheridan guides us through 27 episodes of people being caught off guard or just making fools of themselves. (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment)

Out there

Amazing Stories: Season One

Steven Spielberg’s bold experiment to recreate the anthology series brought together major talent in front of and behind the camera. A-list performers, directors and writers took time from their schedules to contribute to the Amazing Stories, including Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland as pilots on a WWII mission who must scramble to save the life of a gunner. Behind the camera: Clint Eastwood, Robert Zemeckis, Burt Reynolds, Martin Scorsese. Twenty-four amazing stories on four discs, with over 20 minutes of deleted scenes. (USHE)

Masters of Horror: Deer Woman/Sick Girl

Showtime series of hour-long horror films by famous directors continues with two new entries. John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) continues to hang out in the wild with Deer Woman, a tidy little shocker about a detective investigating the brutal deaths of several men by what appears to be a deer. Director Lucky McKee recruits May star Angela Bettis to play an entomologist whose latest discovery transforms her into a lesbian bug-like creature. Both DVD include extensive behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes and more. (ABE)

Star Trek Fan Collectives

Paramount responds to fan demand by releasing two more editions of their Fan Collectives. Klingon and Borg are the latest additions, more than a dozen theme episodes slickly packaged in handsome four-disc boxed collections. Fans will understand the importance of these releases, bringing together similar story arcs from all Star Trek series. Throw in commentaries, featurettes and more, and fans will want to beam these boxed sets into their collections. (Paramount)