John Lloyd "QI" is the smartest comedy show on British television, but few people know that we're also a major legal hit in Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Africa and an illegal one on BitTorrent. We also write books and newspaper columns; run a thriving website, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed; and produce an iPhone App and a sister Radio 4 programme. At the core of what we do is the astonishing fact - painstakingly researched and distilled to a brilliant and shocking clarity. In Einstein's words: 'Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.' Did you know that: cows moo in regional accents; the entire internet weighs less than a grain of sand; the dialling code from Britain to Russia is 007; potatoes have more chromosomes than human beings; the London Underground has made more money from its famous map than it has from running trains; Tintin is called Tantan in Japanese because TinTin is pronounced 'Chin chin' and means penis; the water in the mouth of a blue whale weighs more than its body; Scotland has twice as many pandas as Conservative MPs; Saddam's bunker was designed by the grandson of the woman who built Hitler's bunker; Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, it is explicitly illegal in Britain to use a machinegun to kill a hedgehog. "1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off" will make you look at the universe (and your socks) in an alarming new way.

Sean Lock, Felix Dexter United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Anamorphic Widescreen, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: 15 Storeys High is the cult tv comedy series written by and starring stand-up comedian Sean Lock. This comedy series follows the lives of two very different blokes who find themselves sharing a flat in a towerblock on a South London council estate. The flat's owner Vince (Sean Lock) takes in a new lodger - Errol (Benedict Wong) and it is not long before he realises he has made a dreadful mistake. 15 Storeys High also introduces us to some of the other towerblock occupants - wife-swappers, bible bashers, lap dancers, men who shout at the television and even a bloke who keeps a horse in his spare room. This release features the complete first and second series. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...15 Storeys High (Complete Series 1 & 2) - 2-DVD Set ( Fifteen Storeys High ) ( 15 Storeys High - Complete Series One and Two )

Arrested Development—one of the greatest comedies in the history of television—went out in a blaze of glory. The truncated final season packed more biting humor per minute than ever before. In only 13 episodes, dozens of intertwining storylines spun in all directions: In addition to the overarching story about the fractious infighting of the Bluth family and the family's housing development company being investigated for treason in Iraq (a plot arc that comes to a dazzlingly surreal conclusion), the put-upon "good son" Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman, Teen Wolf Too) pursues romance with a lovely British woman (Charlize Theron, Monster) who turns out to be woefully inappropriate; swaggering magician Gob (Will Arnett, Monster-In-Law) flees from his newly-discovered teenage son while still pandering for the affection of his self-absorbed father (Jeffrey Tambor, The Larry Sanders Show); flighty Lindsay (Portia de Rossi, Ally McBeal) and her sexually blurry husband Tobias (David Cross, Mr. Show) both get the hots for the family's new lawyer, Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio, Charles in Charge); and much, much more.

It's difficult to describe what makes Arrested Developmentso brilliant. The ensemble is uniformly superb (Jessica Walter, as the family's boozing, scheming matriarch, is particularly devastating this season) and the surprising guest stars (including Andy Richter, James Lipton, Justine Bateman, and many others) are perfectly cast; the characters' abominable behavior defies conventional television notions of "likability", yet they only grow more endearing the more you watch; the humour embraces wild slapstick and sharp satire, often within a single scene; and the nimble documentary style allows for sly glancing references to jokes and scenes from long-past episodes, rewarding devoted fans. But the key is that, no matter how screwball Arrested Developmentbecomes, the show offers a rich, textured, and wonderfully coherent world in which these characters feel genuine, a world completely unlike the flat, plastic simulacrum offered by the average sitcom. Arrested Developmentwas true to itself to the end. Its followers will cherish it forever. —Bret Fetzer

Damian Lewis, David Schwimmer, David Nutter, Tom Hanks, Phil Alden Robinson A richly-acclaimed World War II drama, and one that deserved the many plaudits it garnered, Band Of Brothers remains as compelling, gripping and moving as it was when it first appeared over half a decade ago. And now it makes a very welcome debut in high definition.

Across ten haunting episodes, Band Of Brothers follows the real-life story of the American army?s Easy Company, an elite paratrooper regiment, from their initial training through to the very end of the war. Along the way, not only do Easy Company take part in some of the most infamous battles and events of the War, but they also suffer many, often brutal losses. And Band Of Brothers pulls no punches in putting those moments across on screen.

But that?s not, ultimately, what Band Of Brothers is about. At it's heart, this is the tale of a group of men relying on one another to get them through unthinkable situations. And this camaraderie is brilliantly put across by the generally unknown cast of actors, many of whom turn in outstanding performances here.

The quality production values are sustained behind the camera, as Band Of Brothers? episodes are directed by the likes of Tom Hanks, Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams) and David Leland (The Devil Wears Prada). The show gives all the impression that little expense was spared in depicting the right visual look, and the results are on screen to be admired.

In short, Band of Brothers remains a vital, brilliant piece of television drama, and one that will stick in your mind long after the credits have rolled on the final episode. —Jon Foster

Rick Worthy When the final credits rolled on the end of Battlestar Galactica’s final season, you could be forgiven for thinking that’s your lot. Granted, there was one hell of an ending to wrap your head around, but the tale had pretty much been told. Or, as it turned out, it’d nearly been told. For Battlestar Galactica: The Plan wraps up the plot element that had never been fully addressed by the show during its run: just how did the Cylons put their dastardly scheme together in the first place.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan sets about answering that question with the help of lots of footage from the show across its run. Skilfully weaving new events around scenes that seasoned Battlestar fans will know oh-so-well, The Plan confidently fills in some of the gaps, and further fleshes out the Cylons are three-dimensional foes of extreme danger.

Is it a satisfying TV movie that comes out of the end of it? Just about, yes. It’s hard to argue that The Plan is entirely necessary, as all it adds is a little bit of gravy over the top of the main dish if anything. But it’s still a fun, clever addition to the Battlestar Galactica universe, and satisfyingly digs more and more into the plans of the Cylons that kickstarted the whole series off. —Jon Foster

Follow the progress of Rowan Atkinson's irredeemably wicked Edmund Blackadder throughout history in this complete box set of all four series—from the snivelling War of the Roses-era creep in the Shakespearean parody that was the first series, to his final and unexpectedly noble demise in the trenches of the First World War in Blackadder Goes Forth. In between, of course, we see Edmund at the court of giggly Queen Elizabeth I in Blackadder II, now transformed into the Machiavellian cad audiences came to love so well (thanks to a character overhaul from writing team Ben Elton and Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson’s note-perfect performance). Then in Blackadder IIIhe's still scheming, but this time has moved a little down the social ladder as butler to the congenitally stupid Prince Regent on the cusp of the 18th and 19th centuries. In all four generations Blackadder is accompanied (or should that be hampered?) by his faithful yet terminally stupid servant Baldrick (Tony Robinson); and if that wasn't bad enough he also has to put up with the incompetence, pomposity and one-upmanship of a host of other contemporary hangers-on wonderfully played by regular costars Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnery, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson and Rik Mayall. Taken as a whole this sharp, cynical, occasionally satirical, toilet humour-obsessed and achingly funny saga deserves to stand alongside Fawlty Towersas one of the best ever British sitcoms. —Mark Walker

Michael Cumming Chris Morris'Brass Eyeis a brilliantly funny spoof on current affairs media that carries on where his previous The Day Todayleft off. The show ran for one single, contentious series in 1997, to be followed by an even more controversial one-off in 2001. While these episodes might cause offence to those not versed in Morris' satirical methods, and while one occasionally suspects his work is informed by a dark seam of malice and loathing rather than a desire to educate, Brass Eyeremains vital satire, magnificently hilarious and, in its own way, fiercely moral viewing.

Brass Eyesatirises a media far too interested in generating dramatic heat and urgency for its own sake than in shedding light on serious issues. Morris mimics perfectly the house style of programmes such as Newsnightand Crimewatch, with their spurious props and love of gimmickry. Meanwhile his presenter—an uncanny composite of Jeremy Paxman, Michael Buerk and Richard Madeley among others—delivers absurd items about man-fighting weasels in the East End and Lear-esque lines such as "the twisted brain wrong of a one-off man mental" with preposterously solemn authority. Much as the media itself is wont to do, each programme works itself up into a ridiculous fever of moral panic. Most telling is the "drugs" episode, in which, as ever, real-life celebrities, including Jimmy Greaves and Sir Bernard Ingham, are persuaded to lend their name to a campaign against a new drug from Eastern Europe entitled Cake. The satirist's aim here isn't to trivialise concern about drugs but to point up the media's lack of attention to content.

A response to the ill-conceived News of the Worldwitch-hunt, in the wake of the Sarah Payne affair, the 2001 "paedophilia" special was the most supremely controversial of the series. It followed the usual formula—duping celebs such as Phil Collins into endorsing a campaign entitled "Nonce Sense", urging parents to send their children to football stadiums for the night for their own safety and mooting the possibility of "roboplegic" paedophiles—and prompted the sort of hysterical and predictable Pavlovian response from the media that Brass Eyelampoons so tellingly.

On the DVD:Brass Eyeon DVD includes brief outtakes, such as "David Jatt" interviewing celebrities about breeding hippos for domestic purposes, an hilarious exchange with Jeffrey Archer's PA ("He's a very wicked little man") as well as trailers for the paedophilia special.—David Stubbs

Bryan Cranston, Dean Norris, Vince Gilligan No one would confuse the desperate dad Bryan Cranston plays in this character-driven drama with the fun-loving Hal from Malcolm in the Middle. In Breaking Bad, Walter White lives in the suburbs with his wife—and wears tighty-whiteys—but the similarities end there. During the pilot, the cash-strapped chemistry teacher finds out he has inoperable lung cancer. He and Skyler (Deadwood's Anna Gunn) have one son, Walter Jr. (R.J. Mitte), and a daughter on the way. With two years to get his affairs in order, Walter comes up with a wild plan: he and former student Jesse (Aaron Paul), a drug dealer, will open a meth lab.

In the hands of creator Vince Gilligan (The X-Files), Bad's first season plays like the improbable offspring of Weeds and The Shield. With nothing left to lose, the Albuquerque 50-year-old uses his death sentence as a catalyst to break every rule he's ever followed while keeping his family—including Skyler's radiologist sister, Marie (Betsy Brandt), and her DEA agent husband, Hank (Dean Norris)—out of the loop. Throughout these seven episodes, Walt takes on a hostage, a dead body, and a partner who likes to sample his own product. Based on the description alone, it shouldn't work as well as it does, except Gilligan and company keep the situations psychologically believable and Emmy winner Cranston makes Walt surprisingly sympathetic as he swings between compassion and self-interest. As he tells his students, "Chemistry is the study of change", a statement that applies equally well to the show, since Walt ends up in a very different place than where he began. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Adam Bernstein, Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, Johan Renck, Terry McDonough As Breaking Bad's first year concluded, chemistry teacher Walt (two-time Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston) and his meth-making partner, Jesse (Emmy-nominee Aaron Paul), hooked up with drug kingpin Tuco (Raymond Cruz), and the money started to roll in. They expected some degree of danger—but not a homicidal maniac. When DEA agent Hank (Dean Norris) starts to close in on Tuco, he kidnaps the duo, who eventually escape, but the experience creates a host of new complications, leaving Jesse temporarily homeless and driving a wedge between Walt and his pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), and their 15-year-old son, Walt Jr. (R. J. Mitte). In his commentary, creator Vince Gilligan explains that the "chickens come home to roost" in season 2 as Walt's criminal activity catches up with him. In effect, he lives out the psychological version of The Fly, with his double life merging into one, such that he starts to become as ruthless as Tuco. Hank, meanwhile, gets a promotion that expands his jurisdiction to El Paso, while Skyler takes an accounting job that could cause her to "break bad" in season 3.

If this AMC hit lacked a sense of humor, it just might be too hard to take. Aside from Walt's incurable illness and Hank's post-traumatic stress disorder, there's a head crushing, a shooting, an explosion, and an overdose. Though Walt and Skyler get few humorous moments, Jesse, Hank, and ambulance-chasing attorney Saul (Mr. Show's Bob Odenkirk, an inspired addition) make the most of theirs. Jesse even gets a girlfriend (Krysten Ritter), who comes with a wary father (John de Lancie)—but there's still more shadow than light (not counting those panoramic desert shots). Strong stuff, but it's impossible to look away. Extensive extras include commentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes on every episode. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play.

Please note the UV copy is only compatible in participating regions, please visit the UV website for full details.

 

With Jesse (Aaron Paul) back on his side, pressure of Walt's criminal life starts to build as Skyler (Anna Gunn) struggles to keep his terrible secrets. Facing resistance from sometime adversary and former Fring lieutenant Mike, Walt tries to keep his world from falling apart even as his DEA Agent brother in law, Hank (Dean Norris), finds numerous leads that could blaze a path straight to Walt.

  Actors Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Steven Michael Quezada & Giancarlo EspositoYear 2013Screen WidescreenLanguages English - Dolby Digital (5.1)

Winner of two 2010 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Bryan Cranston and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season returns, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the best show on television." Even though his cancer's in remission, chemistry teacher-turned-meth maker Walter White (Cranston) still can't catch a break. his wife (Anna Gunn) has filed for divorce, his DEA agent brother-in-law (Dean Norris) is out to bust him and a Mexican cartel just wants him dead. But with his family's future still at stake Walt cooks up a deal that will make him a fortune, a scheme with a terrible price. Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson.

Joss Whedon Vampire-slayer Buffy Summers moves to Sunnydale, a Californian community located above the "Hellmouth", a phenomenon which explains the local graveyard's overpopulation of vampires and other supernatural beings. Angel, a mysterious loiterer, starts flirting with Buffy and gives her helpful tips on how to cope with the local nasties. However, he turns out to be a vampire, which complicates the future of their relationship. Buffy makes friends with school outcasts Willow, a computer nerd, and geeky Xander. But she excites the enmity of high-school princess Cordelia. The season's prime villain is the Master, a Nosferatu-looking vampire lurking under the town. Giles, Buffy's mentor, looks things up in books and demonstrates the exact same look of puzzlement actor Anthony Head used to demonstrate in those horrifying instant coffee ads. —Kim Newman

Joss Whedon After the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayerbecame a ratings success the show was renewed with a bigger budget and twice as many episodes. Seeds are sown through the early episodes for many of the stunning plot developments later in the season: there's a slow burn for the relationships building between Buffy and Angel (no surprise), Giles and Jenny (nice surprise), and Xander and Cordelia (huge surprise). Most importantly, we're introduced to important semi-regulars Spike and Drusilla ("School Hard"), Oz ("Inca Mummy Girl") and fellow Slayer Kendra ("What's My Line Part 1"). Their appearances tackle youth issues such as sibling rivalry, sexual maturity and rejection.

But nothing that came before it prepared audiences for the latter half of season 2. In the extraordinary double act of "Surprise" and "Innocence" every aspect of the show grows up in a big hurry: the result of Buffy sleeping with Angel is a series of tragedies everyone is powerless to predict or prevent, a piece of powerful storytelling conveyed with pared-down dialogue and remarkable performances from the young cast. All of these threads are tied together then torn apart by the two-part finale "Becoming". With a cliffhanger ending to rival The Empire Strikes Back, the second chapter of Buffy The Vampire Slayercloses in tantalising style leaving everything at stake. —Paul Tonks

On the DVD:The computer-animated menu opens this gorgeous box set in style with a tour through a dark and oppressive cemetery, a lavish display of graphics that's all the more impressive when compared to the uneventful DVD for the first season. Most of the extra features are concentrated on the last disc, which includes the obligatory biographies, trailers and TV spots that add little value to hardcore fans but serve as a good introduction to the world of Buffy for non-adepts. The three featurettes are captivating: "Designing Buffy" offers a wealth of information about the set designs, and even includes a walk through of Buffy's home;"A Buffy Bestiary" features every monster from the second season, and "Beauty and the Beats" explores the make-up artistry and special effects. There are also brief cast interviews, in which James Masters ("Spike") reveals his American accent. All in all the extras make a worthy accompaniment to the spectacular season 2 episodes, though one might regret that Joss Whedon did not offer a commentary on the double bill season finale "Becoming". —Celine Martig

Joss Whedon Action-packed Season Three develops major characters and plot lines brewing over the last couple of years. The Mayor, this season's major baddie, wants to become an invincible demon by slaughtering everyone at Sunnydale High's graduation ceremony but he's going to torture them all by giving his speech first. Bad-girl vampire-slayer Faith wants to get one over on Buffy and becomes even more rotten. Angel comes back from hell but isn't sure what to do about his girlfriend. Willow meets her evil gay vampire duplicate from another dimension. Xander loses his virginity but still has to contemplate his essential uselessness. Cordelia gets less whiny and has to work in a dress-shop when her father becomes bankrupt. Giles wears tweed and drinks tea, though it is revealed that he used to be a warlock and in a punk band. Besides the soap opera, there are monsters, curses and vampires (inevitably). —Kim Newman

On the DVD:The DVDs are presented in a standard television 4:3 picture ratio and in a clear Dolby sound that does full justice both to the sparkling dialogue and to the always impressive indie-rock and orchestral scores. Special features include an overview of Season Three by its creator Joss Whedon, and by writers Marti Noxon, David Fury, Doug Petrie and Jane Espenson and documentaries on the weapons, clothes special effects of the show and the speech/verbal tone which makes it what it is-"Buffyspeak". The episodes "Helpless", "Bad Girls", "Consequences" and "Earshot" have commentaries by, Fury, Petrie, director James Gershman and Espenson, in which we find out some fascinating details about the way the scripts mutate and about the particular illuminations added to scripts by actors' performances. After complaints about the Season 2 DVD packaging, the disc envelopes include a protective coating. —Roz Kaveney

Joss Whedon In its fourth season, Buffy the Vampire Slayerhad to change its formula radically. Two major characters—the vampire-with-a-soul Angel and Cordelia, the queen bitch of Sunnydale High—had gone off to be in their own show, Angel, and soon after the start of the season Willow's werewolf boyfriend Oz left when Seth Green needed to concentrate on his film career. Buffy and Willow started college, where they met new characters like Riley, the All-American Boy with a double life, and Tara, the sweet stuttering witch; but Xander and Giles found themselves at something of a loose end. Several characters were subjected to the radical re-envisioning possible in a show that deals with the supernatural: the blond vampire Spike came back and soon found himself with an inhibitor chip in his head, forced into reluctant alliance with Buffy; the former vengeance demon Anya became passionately smitten with Xander.

Not all fans were happy with the central story arc about the sinister Dr Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) and her Frankensteinian creation Adam, though Crouse's performance was memorable. The strength of Season Four was perhaps most in impressive stand-alone episodes like the silent "Hush", the multiple dream sequence "Restless" and the passionate, moving "New Moon Rising", in which Oz returns, apparently cured, only to find that Willow is no longer waiting for him. This was one of the high points of the show as a vehicle for intense acting, perhaps only equalled by "Who Are You?", in which the evil slayer Faith takes over Buffy's body and Sarah Michelle Gellar gets to play bad girl for once. —Roz Kaveney

On the DVD:BuffySeason 4 was a hit and so is this sublime box set. The commentaries for "The Initiative", "This Year'sGirl", "Superstar" and "Primaveral" are all well above average, but are nothing compared to "Hush" and "Restless" where Joss Whedon gives out all the information and insights any fan would dream of. The four featurettes included are a pleasure to watch, especially the evolution of the sets for the show. The scripts, trailers and cast biographies complete the set and make for a decent addition to your Buffy archive. The soundtrack is in 2.0 Dolby surround, but the image is as grainy and dark as the previous seasons on DVD. —Celine Martig

Joss Whedon The fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayeris about illusions and the truth that they often reveal; suddenly Buffy has a younger sister, has always had a younger sister. Michelle Trachtenberg as the moody, gawky Dawn achieves the considerable triumph of walking into an established stock company of well-known characters—Xander, Willow, Giles and so on—with the perfect assurance of a long-term member of the cast. Of course, nothing is as it seems; even Glory, the mad brain-sucking beauty in a red dress who is the villain of the year, turns out to be even more than she seems. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy manages to convey heartbreak, self-involvement and real heroism as her relationship with her emotionally dense soldier boyfriend Riley hits the shoals and the blonde vampire Spike starts to show an altogether inappropriate interest.

This season is also about the hard truth that there are some enemies it is impossible to fight. Even being around Buffy and Dawn is dangerous for their friends, as Glory and her minions proceed by a process of elimination. The eventual confrontation, when it comes, is genuinely shocking. Meanwhile, the vampire Spike's obsessed desire for Buffy takes them both to some very strange places and Willow and Tara have their love tested in the most gruelling of ways. And in the quietly upsetting episode "The Body", the cast produce their most impressive performances yet as they have to deal with another enemy they cannot fight. —Roz Kaveney

Joss Whedon The sixth series of Buffy the Vampire Slayerfollowed the logic of plot and character development into some gloomy places. The year begins with Buffy being raised from the dead by the friends who miss her, but who fail to understand that a sacrifice taken back is a sacrifice negated. Dragged out of what she believes to have been heavenly bliss, she finds herself "going through the motions" and entering into a relationship with the evil, besotted vampire Spike just to force her emotions.

Willow becomes ever more caught up in the temptations of magic; Xander and Anya move towards marriage without ever discussing their reservations; Giles feels he is standing in the way of Buffy's adult independence; Dawn feels neglected. What none of them need is a menace that is, at this point, simply annoying—three high school contemporaries who have turned their hand to magical and high-tech villainy. Added to this is a hungry ghost, an invisibility ray, an amnesia spell and a song-and-dance demon (who acts as rationale for the incomparable musical episode "Once More With Feeling").

This is a year in which chickens come home to roost: everything from the villainy of the three geeks to Xander's doubts about marriage come to a head, often—as in the case of the impressive wedding episode—through wildly dark humour. The estrangement of the characters from each other—a well-observed portrait of what happens to college pals in their early 20s—comes to a shocking head with the death of a major character and that death's apocalyptic consequences. The series ends on a consoling note which it has, by that point and in spite of imperfections, entirely earned. —Roz Kaveney

Joss Whedon The seventh and final series of Buffy the Vampire Slayerbegins with a mystery: someone is murdering teenage girls all over the world and something is trying hard to drive Spike mad. Buffy is considerably more cheerful in these episodes than we have seen her during the previous year as she trains Dawn and gets a job as student counsellor at the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High. Willow is recovering from the magical addiction which almost led her to destroy the world, but all is not yet well with her, or with Anya, who has returned to being a Vengeance demon in "Same Time, Same Place" and "Selfless", and both women are haunted by their decisions.

Haunting of a different kind comes in the excellent "Conversations with Dead People" (one of the show's most terrifying episodes ever) where a mysterious song is making Spike kill again in spite of his soul and his chip. Giles turns up in "Bring on the Night" and Buffy has to fight one of the deadliest vampires of her career in "Showtime". In "Potential" Dawn faces a fundamental reassessment of her purpose in life.

Buffywas always a show about female empowerment, but it was also a show about how quite ordinary people can decide to make a difference alongside people who are special. And it was also a show about people making up for past errors and crimes. So, for example, we have the excellent episodes "Storyteller", in which the former geek/super villain Andrew sorts out his redemption while making a video diary about life with Buffy; and "Lies My Parents Told Me", in which we find out why a particular folk song sends Spike crazy. Redemption abounds as Faith returns to Sunnydale and the friends she once betrayed, and Willow finds herself turning into the man she flayed. Above all, this was always Buffy's show: Sarah Michelle Gellar does extraordinary work here both as Buffy and as her ultimate shadow, the First Evil, who takes her face to mock her. This is a fine ending to one of television's most remarkable shows. —Roz Kaveney

Carnivale The second season of HBO's Depression-era gothic—John Steinbeck by way of Tod Browning—picks up where the first left off. Professor Lodz (Patrick Bauchau) is dead. Ben (Nick Stahl), the show's protagonist, appears to be the culprit. Samson (Michael J. Anderson) helps him dispose of the body. Later he tells the other carnival workers that Lodz "took a powder." Lila (Debra Christofferson) doesn't buy it. Meanwhile, Sophie (Clea DuVall), who lost her mother to fire the previous year, feels unmoored without her guidance. A few states away, Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) harbors ever greater delusions of grandeur—and inappropriate thoughts about his sister, Iris (Amy Madigan). In "Alamagordo, NM," he decides to establish a temple, which he dubs Jonestown, er, Jericho. At the same time, life amongst the carnies, who are heading towards Justin's California, is becoming increasingly tense. Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), for instance, is starting to see dead people—like Lodz—and Stumpy (Toby Huss) is no longer able to keep his gambling in check. As with the first season, the action continues to alternate between the carnival and the congregation. What binds the two is a man named Scudder (John Savage), who has connections to Ben and Justin. Although writer/creator Dan Knauf had planned to tie things up between seasons three and six, HBO did not renew Carnivàle a second time. Nonetheless, a surprising number of questions are answered, like the identity of "Management" (voiced by an un-credited Linda Hunt) and whether Ben and Justin will have a final showdown. The answer to the latter question is: Yes, they will—and there’ll be casualties. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Martin Dennis Couplingis a witty, instantly addictive series that charts the tangled sex lives of a close-knit group comprising "exes and best friends": womaniser Jack, hapless nice guy Steve, "strange and disturbing" Jeff, uninhibited Susan, neurotic Sally and manipulative Jane. The obvious frame of reference is Friends(Steve and Susan are the Ross and Rachel equivalent), but this series also echoes Seinfeldin its coinage of catchphrases and plot lines (in episode one, Steve tries to dump Jane, who refuses to accept). But it's no mere British clone of US sitcoms: Couplinghas its own fresh and provocative take on relationships. At one point, a furious Susan discovers that Patrick not only had a videotape of the former couple having sex, but that he also taped over her. —Donald Liebenson

Martin Dennis Steven Moffat's second series of Coupling, first broadcast in 2001, is a brilliant consolidation of all those neuroses, small deceits, obsessions and personality tics that struck such a resonant chord when Steve, Susan and their four friends were first unleashed on us. Comparisons with Friendsitself are tiresome and lazy: Couplingis an intrinsically British comedy that picks apart the trivial and the mundane in everyday relationships and takes them on surreal journeys, leaving the participants hilariously bemused and rarely any wiser.

Its success is due to the magical combination of Moffat's very funny scripts and the talents of six extremely likable actors, including Jack Davenport (Steve) and Sarah Alexander (Susan). But it's Richard Coyle's Jeff, whose sexual fantasies and putting-your-his-in-it propensities exert a compelling fascination, who really keeps you watching through your fingers as you hold your hands to your face in disbelief.

Breasts, bottoms and pants are the basis for most of the conversational analysis when these friends get together as a group, as couples, as girlfriends or as mates, invariably becoming metaphors for the state of a relationship or situation. Individual viewpoints and terrors are explored through respective memories of the same event and what-if scenarios. Chain reactions inevitably ensue, fuelling comedy that is based almost entirely on misunderstanding.

On the DVD:Coupling, Series 2on disc is presented in 16:9 anamorphic video aspect ratio, together with a crisp Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack; Mari Wilson's sensuous version of "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" for the theme tune deserves a special mention. Extras include disappointing interviews with writer Steven Moffat and Jack Davenport, which are mainly an excuse to repeat several major scenes from the series in full. The "Behind the scenes" feature is also a let-down: it's just a not very funny record of a cast photo shoot. —Piers Ford

Martin Dennis The third series of Coupling, first aired in 2002, takes fans of the BBC's comedy of sex, manners and modern relationships into new realms of engaging surrealism, leaving those irritating comparisons with Friendstrailing in its wake. The men are constantly in pursuit of a basic grasp of the "emotional things" that make women behave the way they do. The women analyse everything to death. But thanks to Steve Moffat's scripts, tighter and quirkier than ever, these characters are living, breathing human beings rather than cynical ciphers for comedy stereotypes.

The performances are as strong as you'd expect from an established team, with actors such as Jack Davenport (the ever-perplexed Steve), Ben Miles (unreconstructed chauvinist Patrick), Sally Alexander (dryly intelligent Susan) and Kate Isitt (neurotic Sally) wearing their roles like second skins. But in the surreal stakes, it's Richard Coyle as Jeff, wondering aloud what happens to jelly after women have finished wrestling in it, and Gina Bellman as Jane, musing on the importance of a first snog in identifying what men like to eat, who really raise the laughter levels. All things considered, this is superior comedy for all thirtysomethings—genuine and putative. —Piers Ford

Coupling Season 4: feel free to insert your own "four-play" joke, or for that matter, your own "insert" joke. Sex is still topic 1 for the intertwined group of "exes and best friends", but in this pivotal season there are momentous "relationship issues" that will upend all their lives (insert your own "upend" joke while you're at it).

Susan is pregnant, inspiring in Steve nightmares about his own execution and unflattering comparisons of the birth process to John Hurt's iconic gut-busting scene in Alien. Missing in action is the Kramer-esque Jeff (although he makes something of a return in the season finale). Joining the ensemble is Oliver, who is more in the Chandler mode as a lovable loser with the ladies. These inevitable comparisons to "Sein-Friends" are no doubt heresy to Coupling's most devoted viewers. Indeed, this series does benefit from creator and sole writer Steven Moffat's comic voice and vision. He provides his ever-game cast some witty, funny-‘cause-it's-true dialogue, as in Oliver's observation that "Tea isn't compatible with porn". This Britcom is also less inhibited in language and sexual situations than its American counterparts. In the cleverly-constructed opening episode, in which the same "9-1/2 Minutes" are witnessed from three different perspectives, Sally and Jane can do what was left to the imagination when Monica and Rachel offered to make out in front of Joey and Chandler. The birth of Susan and Steven's baby ends the six-episode season on a satisfying and surprisingly moving grace note. A bonus disc takes viewers behind the scenes with segments devoted to bloopers and interviews with cast and crew. —Donald Liebenson

To quote New York movie critic Jay Sherman, voiced to Master Thespian perfection by Jon Lovitz, "it stinks" that The Criticlasted all but two seasons. "I used to have a show on ABC," Sherman bitterly remarks at one point, "for about a week." The show, created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss of Simpsonslegend, fared no better when it moved to Fox, and little better when re-run on Comedy Central. But it did garner a devoted following, and thanks to DVD and the Internet, "the last hope of fading stars" (according to one of the ten "Webisodes" contained in this three-disc set), Jay Sherman lives! Television's saddest sack is the host of a TV review show, Coming Attractions. He must deal with the slings, arrows, and outrageous misfortunes heaped upon him by his ex-wife, adoptive WASP parents, and ratings-desperate Ted Turner-esque boss. On the movie front, The Criticis no less inside than the similarly ill-fated Action, but its hilarious parodies of classics and contemporary blockbusters, from the musical "Apocalypse Wow" to "Dennis the Menace II Society," make it much more accessible to any multiplex-goer.

The Critictook particular glee in zinging Howard Stern, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Woody Allen and Soon-Yi. (We pause to praise the show's unsung heroes, Maurice Le Marche and Nick Jameson, who provide uncanny celebrity impersonations each episode). Some references have a longer shelf life than others. Conan O'Brien, at the time a fledgling talk-show host, certainly got the last laugh on a spied newspaper headline, "Conan Replaced by Dancing Chicken." And the series' best episode, in which Jay reunites an estranged Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel, plays now as a touching tribute to the original Thumb and Thumber. The Criticis poised for discovery. Is it too much to hope that, as with Family Guy, voluminous DVD sales may spark interest in creating new episodes? —Donald Liebenson

Allan Kroeker, David Solomon, David Straiton, Dwight H. Little, Elodie Keene From Joss Whedon comes a new groundbreaking show starring Eliza Dushku as Echo, an operative in an underground organization that provides hired personas for various missions.

Disc 1: 230 Minutes
Forced Trailers: Wolverine, Joss Whedon Properties Trailer, I Love You Beth Cooper, Nobel Son, Wrong Turn 3, The KeeperGhostEpisode Commentary with Joss Whedon and Eliza DushkuThe TargetStage FrightGray HourTrue Believer
Disc 2: 230 Minutes
Man on the StreetEpisode Commentary by Joss WhedonEchoesNeedsA Spy in the HouseHaunted
Disc 3: 229 Minutes
Briar RoseOmegaEpitaph OneEpisode Commentary by Jed Whedon and Maurissa TancharoenOriginal Unaired Pilot - "Echo"Commentary w/ Cast & CrewDeleted ScenesMaking DollhouseComing Back HomeFinding EchoDesigning the Perfect DollhouseA Private Engagement

Ricky Gervais Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of celebrity. Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) is back and more miserable than ever in this darker and devastatingly funny finale to the Emmy-winning series. Though his sitcom When the Whistle Blows rates six million viewers, he is, as ever, mindful of the critics' barbs and jealous of colleagues landing the prestige film roles he covets. "I'm not proud of having Britain's No. 1 catchphrase," he grouses (actually, he has sunk to No. 3, now trailing "You are the weakest link, goodbye"). Worse, he has become a right bastard, arrogantly treating crewmembers and his one true friend, Maggie (a heartbreaking Ashley Jensen), like dirt. Andy finally drops his clueless and incompetent agent (series co-creator Stephen Merchant) and quits the show. "Don't worry about me," he proclaims. "The phone won't stop ringing."

Unlike the finale of The Office, this super-duper-sized episode really has no loose ends to tie up. In Andy's humiliating comeuppance (he sinks to portraying an alien on Dr. Who and joins the desperate housemates on Celebrity Big Brother), Gervais has the perfect vessel with which to rail against soul-sucking celebrity, degrading tabloid culture, and "the gutter press." As for Andy and Maggie, those longing for some kind of Tim/Dawn hookup may not get exactly what they want, but they will get what they need in the lovely final scenes. A-listers having a laugh at their own images have always been one of Extras' special treats. The finale features jaw-dropping cameos by Clive Owen and George Michael, performing community service yet again. —Donald Liebenson

Both series of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s triumphant Extras are united in this box, and with nothing more than a Yuletide special planned beyond these episodes, it’s a great chance to catch up with this star-packed, offbeat programme.

Unlike their previous The Office, Gervais and Merchant have delivered a less accessible but no less rewarding programme with Extras. It starts with Andy Millman, a ‘background artist’, sitting in the shadows of a variety of different shows, before, in the second series, he gets his own spot in the limelight.

What’s helped characterise the series, of course, has been the continued presence of star names in cameo roles. These range from Hollywood bigshots—Samuel L Jackson, Kate Winslet and Harry Pott.., sorry, Daniel Radcliffe—and continue through to familiar faces from British TV—step forward Les Dennis, Ross Kemp and Barry from EastEnders. Most of the plaudits, though, rightly go in the direction of the splendid Ashley Jensen, who emerges as the most likeable and rounded of all the show’s characters.

There’s little danger, it seems, that Extras will dethrone The Office from the top of its creators’ CVs, but thanks to its strong writing, its measured mix between melancholy and amusement, and some superb performances, it more than carves a very strong niche for itself. —Jon Foster

Daniel Kaluuya, Johnny Harris

It’s criminal, really, given the sheer outright quality of Family Guy that more people aren’t willing to give it a try. For while it tends to draw comparisons to The Simpsons—after all, it is a family-based animated comedy show—Family Guy very much has a voice of its own. It’s also less worried about catering to a family demographic, something the writers have little problem making the most of.

Season four has plenty of evidence for why the show shouldn’t be overlooked. Picking up the story of the family Griffin, this time more of the background characters are allowed into the limelight, and that’s really to the programme’s benefit. That’s not to say the main players are out of sight, and the quite wonderful baby Stewie has plenty of air time, but there’s a real ensemble feel.

The rapid-fire, razor-sharp wit and writing quality that’s become the trademark of the show is present and correct too, and the quality of the episodes on offer put season four up there as not quite the finest series of Family Guy to date, but it nonetheless runs things very close indeed. If you’ve not taken the plunge yet, you’ve really, really been missing out… —Jon Foster

Seth McFarlane, Alex Borstein

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein

The debates have already been raging across the Internet over whether Family Guy has peaked, whether it’s the funniest show on television at the moment, and whether it’s better than The Simpsons, or some way behind it. Yet while most will agree that season five isn’t the best the show’s creators have produced, don’t let that blind you to the sheer joy contained within this DVD set.

The highlights of Family Guy for many, of course, are Stewie the ingenious baby and the family’s dog Brian (arguably the sanest one of the lot), and both are in fine form here. And while this series again allows many of the supporting characters a space in the limelight, it’s Stewie and Brian who remain responsible for some of Family Guy’s funniest moments. Bluntly, there are plenty of them.

Still, there’s little getting away from the fact that season five lacks the spark that energised the superb first two or three series, and as a result, there are episodes here that are good where they were once great. There are, still, plenty of examples of the old magic, and it’s still primarily a real pleasure that’s pretty much guaranteed to raise laughs from those who don’t mind their entertainment with a bit of edge. But it’ll be interesting to see where Family Guy goes from here, and whether its real glory days are permanently consigned to the past. —Jon Foster

Family Guy shouldn't work at all. Even by the witless standards of modern television, it is breathtakingly derivative: does an animated series about the travails of a boorish, suburban yob with a saintly wife, a hopeless son, a clever daughter and a baby sound familiar at all? Even the house in Family Guy looks like it was built by the same architects who sketched the residence of The Simpsons.

However, Family Guy does work, transcending its (occasionally annoyingly) obvious influences with reliably crisp writing and the glorious sight gags contained in the surreal flashbacks which punctuate the episodes. Most importantly, the show's brilliance comes from two absolutely superb characters: Stewie, the baby whose extravagant dreams of tyrannising the world are perpetually thwarted by the prosaic limitations of infanthood, and the urbane family dog Brian—Snoopy after attendance at an obedience class run by Frank Sinatra. Family Guy does not possess the cultural or satirical depth of The Simpsons—very little art in any field does. But it is a genuinely funny and clever programme. —Andrew Mueller

The second series of Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom Family Guy continues with its own brand of acerbic pop-culture satire mixed with gleefully tasteless comedy. Even though the chaotic Griffin household bears more than a passing resemblance to The Simpsons, and their neighbours are uncannily like those from King of the Hill, the show's combination of extended flashbacks, surreal fantasy sequences and delightful non sequiturs ("Math, my dear boy, is nothing more than the lesbian sister of biology") refreshes the familiar formula. And any show that features Adam "Batman" West guest starring as the demented Mayor of Quahog must score points for bizarre originality.

Highlights of the 15 episodes here include Peter discovering his feminine side ("I Am Peter, Here Me Roar"), Stewie and Brian on an eventful road trip ("Road to Rhode Island"), Peter annexing his neighbour's pool and inviting the world's dictators round for a barbeque ("E Peterbus Unum") and, as a bonus episode, the irreverent "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", which was deemed "too offensive for TV". It may be lowbrow scatological farce, but unlike its big-screen live-action cousins (think Farrelly Brothers), Family Guy is always warm-hearted and never vicious.

On the DVD: Family Guy, Series 2 is spread across two discs that boast Dolby 5.1 sound but standard 4:3 picture. There's no "Play All" facility (something else this release has in common with The Simpsons on DVD) and there are no extras other than the "bonus" episode. —Mark Walker

The third season of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy finds television's most dysfunctional cartoon family even more animated than usual. As MacFarlane himself noted, he was inspired to go for broke, thinking that the series—already juggled like a hot potato in the US TV schedules (at one point, it aired opposite the mighty Friends)—had been cancelled. Just as This Is Spinal Tap walked the fine line between "clever and stupid", so Family Guy gleefully mocks the line between "edgy and offensive".

Like The Simpsons, Family Guy lends itself to multiple viewings to catch each densely packed episode's way-inside "one-percenter" gags (so-called by the creators because that is the percentage of the audience who will get them), scattershot pop-culture references, surreal leaps and gratuitous pot shots at everyone from, predictably, Oprah, Kevin Costner and Bill Cosby to, unpredictably, Rita Rudner. Also like its Springfield counterpart, this series benefits from a great ensemble voice cast, with surprising contributions from a no-less-stellar roster of guest stars. —Donald Liebenson

Much praised and much missed after its premature cancellation, Fireflyis the first SF TV series to be conceived by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffyand cocreator of Angel. Set five centuries in the future, it is a show where the mysterious personal pasts of the crew of the tramp spaceship Serenitycontinually surface. In fact, it's a Western in space where the losers in a Civil War are heading out to a barren frontier. Mal Reynolds is a man embittered by the war, yet whose love of his comrades perpetually dents his cynicism—even in the 14 episodes that exist we see him warm to the bubbly young mechanic Kaylee, the preacher Book, the idealistic doctor Simon, even to the often demented River, Simon's sister, the psychic result of malign experiments.

Fireflyis also about adult emotional relationships, for example Kaylee's crush on Simon, the happy marriage of Mal's second officer Zoe and the pilot Wash, the disastrous erotic stalemate between Mal and the courtesan Inara. Individual episodes deal with capers going vaguely wrong, or threats narrowly circumvented; character and plot arcs were starting to emerge when the show was cancelled. Fortunately, the spin-off movie Serenityis planned; and in the meantime, what there is of Fireflyis a show to marvel at, both for its tight writing and ensemble acting, and the idiocy of the executives who cancelled it.

On the DVD:Fireflyon DVD is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 with Dolby Surround Sound. It includes commentaries on six episodes by various writers, directors, designers and cast members as well as featurettes on the conception of the show and the design of the spaceship Serenity, four deleted scenes, a gag reel, and Joss Whedon singing the show's theme tune, more or less. One of the things that emerges from all of this is how committed to the project everyone involved with it was, and is—unusually, you end up caring as much for the cast and crew as for the characters. The discs have subtitles in English and Spanish and the option of listening to the soundtrack dubbed into Spanish or French. —Roz Kaveney

Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Akiva Goldsman, Alex Graves, Bill Eagles, Bobby Roth, Brad Anderson Easily one of the most interesting and unusual science fiction shows of recent times, Fringe comes from J.J. Abrams, the very same man who had a hand in Lost, Alias and the quite brilliant recent Star Trek movie reboot. And while this may be lower profile than some of those projects, it’s nonetheless equally as worthy of attention.

The central concept is actually quite similar to The X-Files, with a core of three main characters investigating what they call ‘fringe science’. This manifests itself with a series of unusual situations and happenings, that the team proceed to investigate and try and get to the bottom of.

The Fringe crew consists of FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop and the quite brilliant creation that is his father, Walter Bishop. Walter, played expertly by John Noble, is like every mad scientist in the world wrapped into one wonderful character, and Fringe is often at its strongest when he’s is stage centre.

This first season of Fringe runs for 20 episodes, all of which are included on this set, and it does occasionally struggle to find its feet. That’s no surprise given the show’s infancy, but it also hits some spectacularly good highs, including a marvellous cameo in the season finale that’d be remiss to spoil here. It also throws in a smart underlying narrative, and leaves things finally poised for the already-commissioned second season. In short, a strong show, and one with real potential to get even better. —Jon Foster

Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson

Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson

Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv

Dwayne Carey-Hill

Dwayne Carey-Hill

David X. Cohen The last of the four commission direct-to-DVD spin-off movies for Futurama, Into The Wild Green Yonder fortunately leaves us salivating for more. Will we get them? Possibly, but for now, it’s perhaps wiser to deal with what we’ve got.

Into The Wild Green Yonder continues the environmental theme that has underpinned many of the specials, with the plan this time surrounding Amy’s dad, Leo Wong, and his desire to sweep away part of the galaxy so that he can build a golf course (the biggest of its type in the universe, naturally). As this plan unfolds, Fry manages to pick up some mind-reading abilities and Bender embarks on an affair, amongst other events. And while Into The Wild Green Yonder does focus tightly on a handful of characters, leaving some of the others a little short-changed, the star attractions here all get plenty of time.

And that’s been one of the strengths of these DVD spin-offs. Running to the best part of 90 minutes, they’ve taken their time to set things up, and made the most of the extended running time. Into The Wild Green Yonder is no different, and really benefits—albeit at the cost of one or two slower moments—from having a bit more space. The end result is a very funny, enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes, and one of the best of the spin-off movies, too. Here’s hoping though that for Futurama, this isn’t actually the end… —Jon Foster

Peter Avanzino The latest feature-length DVD spin-off from Matt Groening's terrific Futurama, The Beast With The Billion Backs picks up directly after the recent Bender's Big Score, and the momentum and fun from that production comes along with it.

The story of The Beast With The Billion Backs follows, as you may have guessed from the title, the arrival of a strange creature on Earth. Said creature then takes control of Fry, who becomes the Pope of a brand new religion that soon begins to exert its grip on the planet. And without giving too much away, the panic and paranoia becomes just one part of an ambitious animated adventure, that makes a fair few points among its many, many laughs.

The good news for fans of Futurama is that The Beast With The Billion Backs really delivers, with more guffaws and a better all-round script than the mightily enjoyable Bender's Big Score. It's not without the odd problem, and still doesn't quite manage to match the highs of the TV show at its finest, but it's a very welcome fresh addition to the Futurama universe.

Two further direct-to-DVD movies are in the works at the time of this review being written, and with them comes continued hope for a full-on revival of one of the funniest animated programmes of the past ten years. It may not make suitable family viewing, but Futurama is brilliant television, and The Beast With A Billion Backs offers plenty of evidence as to why. Strongly recommended. —Jon Foster

Set in the year 3000, Futuramais the acme of sci-fi animated sitcom from Simpsonscreator Matt Groening. While not as universally popular as The Simpsons, Futuramais equally hip and hilarious, thanks to its zippy lateral-thinking contemporary pop cultural references, celebrity appearances (Pamela Anderson and Leonard Nimoy are among a number of guest stars to appear as disembodied heads in jars) and Bender, a distinctly Homer Simpson-esque robot. Part of Futurama's charm is that with decades of sci-fi junk behind us we've effectively been living with the distant future for years and can now have fun with it. Hence, the series stylishly jumbles motifs ranging from Lost in Space-style kitsch to the grim dystopia of Blade Runner. It also bridges the gap between the impossible dreams of your average science fiction fan and the slobbish reality of their comic reading, TV-gawping existence. Groening himself distinguishes his two series thus: "The Simpsonsis fictional. Futuramais real."

The opening series (premiered in 1999) sees nerdy pizza delivery boy Fry transferred to the 31st century in a cryogenic mishap. There, he meets the beautiful, one-eyed Leela (voiced by Married with Children's Katey Sagal) and the incorrigible alcoholic robot Bender. The three of them join Fry's great (x30) nephew Professor Farmsworth and work in his intergalactic delivery service. Hyper-real yet strangely recognisable situations ensue—Fry discovers he is a billionaire thanks to 1,000 years accrued interest, Leela must fend off the attentions of Captain Kirk-like Lothario Zapp Brannigan, and Fry accidentally drinks the ruler of a strange planet of liquid beings. —David Stubbs

On the DVD:As with the earlier Fox release of The Simpsons, Season 1this otherwise excellent three-disc set is let down by clunky menu navigation. There are way too many copyright warnings, no "Play All" facility, and you have to click back and forth to begin each new episode or find the additional features. By way of compensation, the menus look great and there's a goodly selection of extras on each disc. The entertaining commentaries are by Matt Groening and various members of his creative team, including producer David X Cohen and John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender) and Billy West (Fry). There are a handful of deleted scenes for certain episodes, plus the script and storyboard for the very first episode and an interactive stills gallery. The 4:3 picture is pin-sharp as is the Dolby 2.0Surround.—Mark Walker

Matt Groening's second series of the 31st century sci-fi sitcom Futuramamaintained the high scripting standards of the first as well bringing improved digital animation. Couch potato Fry now seems thoroughly reconciled to his new existence, transported 10 centuries hence to "New New York" and working for Professor Farnsworth's delivery service. He's surrounded by a cast of freaks, including the bitchily cute Amy (with whom he has a romantic brush) and Hermes, the West Indian bureaucrat. Most sympathetic is the one-eyed Leela (voiced by Katey Sagal). Like Lisa Simpson, she is brilliant but unappreciated; she finds solace in her pet Nibbler, a tiny creature with a voracious, carnivorous appetite. By contrast, Bender, the robot, is programmed with every human vice, a sort of metal Homer Simpson with a malevolent streak.

In one of the best episodes, Bender is given a "feelings" chip in order to empathise with Leela after he flushes Nibbler down the toilet. Elsewhere, Fry falls in love with a Mermaid when the team discover the lost city of Atlanta, Fry and Bender end up going to war after they join the army to get a discount on gum, and John Goodman guest stars as Santa Claus, an eight-foot gun-toting robot. Brimful with blink-and-you'll-miss-them hip jokes (such as the sign for the Taco Bellevue hospital) and political and pop satire, Futuramaisn't a stern warning of things to come but rather, as the programme-makers put it, "a brilliant, hilarious reflection of our own materially (ridiculously) over-developed but morally under-developed society."

On the DVD:Futurama's four-disc package presents the show in 4:3 with a Dolby Digital soundtrack. Among the many extras here are audio commentaries, storyboards, trailers, mock ads for "Soylent Chow" and "Human Rinds" and deleted scenes, including one from "Bender Gets Made" in which he seeks to evade the Robot Mafia by changing his identity. —David Stubbs

Good news, everyone, the third series of Futuramais just as funny as ever—irreverent, boundlessly inventive, warmhearted and chock full of in-jokes, sight gags and fleeting references to all manner of pop culture icons and obscure genre classics. In fact, if the show has a problem it's this very fecundity: it's all so lovingly crafted that scarcely a frame goes by without something both funny and clever going on: when a horse wins a race by a quantum fraction, Prof Farnsworth fulminates "You changed the result by observing it!"

Recurring minor characters (Elzar the chef, the robot mafia, the mutants in the sewers) pop up unexpectedly throughout, providing another wink to dedicated fans; like Red Dwarf, this is a show that loves the genre it sets out to spoof. Shame, then, that the show has had a troubled broadcast history and never quite found the mainstream appeal of its stablemate The Simpsons.

This year, Fry and the Planet Express team find themselves stranded on a planet of unfeasibly large women ("Amazon Women in the Mood"), standing in for psychotic Robo-Santa ("A Tale of Two Santas", with John Goodman reprising his evil robot) and variously falling in love with each other and sundry other humans, aliens, man-bots, fem-bots, virtual reality constructs and even the Planet Express ship itself.

On the DVD:Futurama, Series 3comprises 22 episodes on four discs (see below for complete episode list). As with previous series DVDs the animated menus are a treat and there's a selection of bonus features including deleted scenes, storyboards, selected episode commentaries, animatics, "How to draw" tips and more. Best of all, though, each disc now has a "Play All" facility for the first time. Sheer heaven. —Mark Walker

No more good news everybody—this fourth series of Futuramais the show's last. By turns frenetic and far-sighted, Matt Groening's futuristic comedy provided belly-laughs for self-confessed SF nerds, but somehow failed to connect with a broader audience, even though it was often funnier and sharper than stablemate The Simpsons. So now bid farewell to the Planet Express team—Fry, Leela, Zoidberg, Bender, Amy, Hermes, Prof Farnsworth—as well as to kindly Kif, cloned Cubert, megalomaniac Mom, mutants in the sewer, the cast of robo-sitcom All My Circuits, swashbuckling space lothario and William Shatner wannabe Zapp Brannigan, Elzar the four-armed chef, and all the other characters that made Futuramasuch a unique experience.

This fourth and final year has all the elements that fans enjoyed so much—but also those elements that partially explain its cancellation. Recurring characters are great if you've watched the show before, as are the in-jokes; and the many parodies of classic science fiction are fine for the initiated, but risk leaving other viewers out in the cold. The show's strengths and perceived weaknesses are exemplified in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", in which the original cast of Star Trekplay themselves: hilarious for Trekkers, but not really for anyone else. Elsewhere we find Leela discovering her real parents aren't aliens at all but in fact live in the sewers; Kif getting pregnant; Fry discovering the fossilised remains of his faithful pet dog; and Bender being converted to steam power. Despite some ups and downs, it's still the funniest animated show on TV. Those responsible for cancelling it can bite my shiny metal …

On the DVD:Futurama, Series 4DVD box set includes a "Play All" function on each disc. Multifarious extras include cast and crew commentaries, deleted scenes, animatics, galleries and Easter eggs. —Mark Walker

Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey

Ben Fuller John F.D. Northover Paul Wheeler (IV)

Joe Thomas, Simon Bird, Gordon Anderson

David Attenborough, Oprah Winfrey Narrated by: David Attenborough

Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, Phil Abraham

Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks

Emelle, January Jones, Alan Taylor

Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss From the off, Mad Men was reaping plaudits and acclaim, as critics and audiences lined up to declare it one of the best new modern drama series that television has brought us. What’s perhaps even more impressive, though, is that it’s kept this going. That, four seasons in, it’s not just managed to keep up the elegant stylings that got many to sit up and take notice in the first place. But that it’s delivering some terrific television as it does so. Season four puts added emphasis onto Don Draper, expertly played by Jon Hamm, and this in turn throws the spotlight onto the people closest to him. Furthermore, Mad Men, as always, finds room to explore the supporting characters, with several compelling threads to follow. Without giving too much away, the show also picks up from the events at the end of season three, and the characters concerned find the ride just a little bumpier than they might have been expecting. It’s a terrific show. Played by a cast of characters who inhabit their roles expertly, Mad Men is what happens when a group of people who are genuinely expert at their jobs come together at just the right time. In a decade that has seen a collection of excellent television series laying claim to our time and attention, Mad Men stands proud as one of the finest of the lot. —Jon Foster

Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks

Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant It feels both inaccurate and inadequate to describe The Office as a comedy. On a superficial level, it disdains all the conventions of television sitcoms: there are no punch lines, no jokes, no laugh tracks and no cute happy endings. More profoundly, it's not what we're used to thinking of as funny. Most of the fervently devoted fan base that the programme acquired watched with a discomfortingly thrilling combination of identification and mortification. The paradox is that its best moments are almost physically unwatchable.

Set in the offices of a fictional Slough paper merchant, The Office is filmed in the style of a reality television programme. The writing is subtle and deft, the acting wonderful and the characters beautifully drawn: the cadaverous team leader Gareth, a paradigm of Andy McNab's readership; the monstrous sales rep, Chris Finch; and the decent but long-suffering everyman Tim, whose ambition and imagination have been crushed out of him by the banality of the life he dreams uselessly of escaping. The show is stolen, as it was intended to be, by insufferable office manager David Brent, played by cowriter Ricky Gervais. Brent will become a name as emblematic for a particular kind of British grotesque as Alan Partridge or Basil Fawlty, but he is a deeper character than either. Partridge and Fawlty are exaggerations of reality, and therefore safely comic figures. Brent is as appalling as only reality can be. —Andrew Mueller

On the DVD: Series 1 is tastefully packaged as a two-disc set appropriately adorned with John Betjeman's poem "Slough". The special features occupy the second disc and consist of a laid-back 39-minute documentary entitled "How I Made The Office by Ricky Gervais", with cowriter Stephen Merchant and the cast contributing. Here we discover that Gervais spends his time on set "mucking around and annoying people", and that actress Lucy Davis (Dawn) is the daughter of Jasper Carrott; as well as seeing parts of the original short film and the original BBC pilot episode; plus we get to enjoy many examples of the cast corpsing throughout endless retakes. There are also a handful of deleted scenes, none of which were deleted because they weren't funny.

Series 2 is a single-disc release, but the extra features are enjoyable nonetheless. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant feature in a gleefully shambolic video diary—highlights of which include Gervais flicking elastic bands at his cowriter and taping their editor to his swivel chair. The ubiquitous Gervais also mockingly introduces some outtakes (mostly of him corpsing throughout dozens of takes) and a series of deleted scenes, notably of Gareth arriving in his horrendous cycle shorts. —Mark Walker

The two-part conclusion to The Office bids farewell to David Brent and his long-suffering co-workers in a surprisingly poignant not to say dignified manner. Supposedly accompanied by the fly-on-the-wall documentary crew three years after his highly undignified exit from Slough-based paper merchants Wernham Hogg, the first part reveals Brent as a travelling salesman by day and D-list "celebrity" by night, enduring humiliating club appearances organised by his clueless manager. But Brent can't keep away from his old stamping-ground in Slough, especially with the imminent prospect of the annual Christmas party. As much to spite suave rival Neil as anything else, Brent is on an agonisingly painful hunt for a date to bring along.

Back at Wernham Hogg, lovelorn Tim has to endure not only the officious behaviour of Gareth, now his manager, but also a cheerless existence bereft of Dawn, who is living in Florida with boorish fiancé Lee. Matters are brought to a head for all concerned—including Lee and Dawn, flown over specially for the occasion—when they finally gather in the office for the party.

As ever the script is full of priceless one-liners (witness big Keith's chat-up spiel, as he promises "at least one orgasm" to any woman), and the show is peppered with those direct appeals to camera (Tim's weary "I don't believe he just said that" look, Brent's desperate self-justificatory "Eh?"), as well as achingly effective silences that simultaneously enhance the fly-on-the-wall conceit and heighten the comic effect. Without descending into the sentimental or the trite, somehow The Office closes for business on a genuinely heartwarming note.

On the DVD: This single disc has good, if unexceptional, bonus features. There's a behind-the-scenes documentary in similar format to those on the previous releases, a commentary from Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais on Episode 2, a funny and deservedly self-congratulatory featurette on the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, the full video of David Brent's single "If You Don't Know Me By Now" plus a recording session for "Freelove Freeway" (with Noel Gallagher on backing vocals). —Mark Walker

David Mitchell, Robert Webb

David Mitchell, Robert Webb

Becky Martin

Becky Martin The multi award-winning and critically acclaimed comedy returns to DVD for a fifth series. Peep Show continues to delve into the innermost thoughts of Mark (David Mitchell) - the conventional one seething with inner rages and desires - and Jeremy (Robert Webb) - the loose cannon full of expressed rages and desires - but seething with even more rage on the inside.

Mark and Jeremy are entering their 30s with failed marriages behind them, few prospects, and a sense of impending crisis. Time is running out for them to sort out their lives. Jeremy's mother appears on the scene and it soon becomes clear why he's ended up as he is. Mark goes speed dating, and discovers money can buy you love. Jeremy and Superhans (Matt King) play at a Christian Rock Festival; the flat suffers multiple burglaries and the boys endure their worst ever night out - at the theatre.

Extras:
BEHIND THE SCENES with Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong guiding you through the production process, from how they get ideas for the series, read throughs and rehearsals with cast, to shooting on set and on location to the final product!

PEEP SHOW RELATIONSHIP TREE - your guide to whose slept with whom throughout all the Peep Show series'… this is a trip through Mark and Jeremy's love lives throughout series 1-5, with clips and graphics to explain the various connections!

DELETED SCENES

SOPHIE'S POV - existing scenes from episode 6 written by Sam and Jesse from Sophie's point of view.

David Attenborough David Attenborough

Ed Bye The third series of Red Dwarfintroduced some radical changes—all of them for the better—but the scripts remained as sharp and character-focussed as ever, making this a firm candidate for the show's best year. Gone were the dull metallic grey sets and costumes, gone too was Norman Lovett's lugubrious Holly, replaced now by comedienne Hattie Hayridge, who had previously played Hilly in the Series 2 episode "Parallel Universe". New this year were custom-made costumes, more elaborate sets, the zippy pea-green Starbug, bigger special effects and the wholly admirable Robert Llewellyn as Kryten.

The benefits of the show's changes are apparent from the outset, with the mind-bending hilarity of "Backwards", in which Kryten and Rimmer establish themselves as a forwards-talking double-act on a reverse Earth. After a modest two-hander that sees Rimmer and Lister "Marooned", comes one of the Dwarf's most beloved episodes, "Polymorph". Here is the ensemble working at its best, as each character unwittingly has their strongest emotion sucked out of them. Lister loses his fear; Cat his vanity; Kryten his reserve; and Rimmer his anger ("Chameleonic Life-Forms. No Thanks"). "Body Swap" sees Lister and Rimmer involved in a bizarre attempt to prevent the ship from self-destructing. "Timeslides" delves deep into Rimmer's psyche as the boys journey haphazardly through history. Finally, "The Last Day" shows how completely Kryten has been adopted as a crewmember, when his replacement Hudzen unexpectedly shows up.

On the DVD:Red Dwarf, Series 3two-disc set maintains the high standard of presentation and wealth of extra material established by its predecessors. Among other delights there are the usual "Smeg Ups" and deleted scenes, plus another fun commentary with the cast. There's a lengthy documentary, "All Change", specifically about Series 3, a tribute to costume designer Mel Bibby, Hattie Hayridge's convention video diary, and—most fascinating—the opportunity to watch "Backwards" played forwards, so you can finally understand what Arthur Smith's backwards-talking pub manager actually says to Rimmer and Kryten in the dressing room. —Mark Walker

Ed Bye By the end of this fourth year, Red Dwarfhad completed its metamorphosis from a modest studio-bound sitcom with a futuristic premise to a full-blown science-fiction series, complete with a relatively lavish (by BBC standards) special-effects budget, more impressive sets and more location shooting. Despite the heavier emphasis on SF, the character-based comedy remained as sharp as ever. Witness the Cat's reaction to Lister's pus-filled exploding head; Kryten's devastatingly sarcastic defence of Rimmer; or, the classic scene that opens the series, Lister teaching Kryten to lie.

In "Camille", Robert Llewellyn's real-life wife plays a female mechanoid who transforms into something else entirely, as does the episode, which by the end becomes a delightful skit on Casablanca. "DNA" comes over all SF, with lots of techno-speak about a matter transmogrifier and a RoboCophomage—but in typical Dwarffashion, turns out to be all about curry. "Justice" sees Rimmer on trial for the murder of the entire crew, while Lister attempts to evade a psychotic cyborg. Holly gets her IQ back in "White Hole", but wastes time debating bread products with the toaster. "Dimension Jump" introduces dashing doppelganger Ace Rimmer for the first time—he was to return in later series, with diminishingly funny results. Here his appearance is all the better for its apparent improbability. Finally, "Meltdown" goes on location (to a park in North London) where waxdroids of historical characters (played by a miscellaneous selection of cheesy lookalikes) are at war. Only intermittently successful, this episode is really memorable for Chris Barrie's tour-de-force performance, as Rimmer becomes a crazed, Patton-esque general.

On the DVD:Red Dwarf, Series 4, like its predecessors, comes as a two-disc set complete with full cast commentary for every episode, an extensive retrospective documentary (mostly featuring the cast reminiscing), deleted scenes and lots of other fun bits of trivia. —Mark Walker

It's brown alert time all over again for Red Dwarffans with the fifth season of the much-loved sci-fi/comedy series. Episode-wise, it's business as usual for the crew of the Red Dwarf—that is, if one considers encountering an alien squid that squirts a despair-inducing hallucinogen ("Back to Reality", later voted the best episode of the series by viewers and Stephen Hawking!), evil (and not particularly bright) versions of the crew ("Demons and Angels"), a virus that causes insanity ("Quarantine"), and a trip to a moon created entirely from the mind of the insufferable hologram Rimmer ("Terrorform") business as usual.

In short, it's six hilarious episodes, highlighted by the typically terrific writing of creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (who also direct two episodes). As with the previous deluxe DVD releases, Series Vfeatures a wealth of supplemental features, the most intriguing of which is a look at the failed attempt to recreate the show in America (with U.K. cast member Robert Llewellyn and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Terry Farrell as Cat). Also included are cast and fan commentaries, featurettes on the show's "science" and villains, special effects tests, blooper reels, and a sampling of Grant and Naylor's BBC 4 radio sketch "Dave Hollins, Space Cadet", which served as the inspiration for Red Dwarf. Dedicated DVD owners will also be rewarded by Easter eggs lurking throughout the menus. —Paul Gaita

Series 6 is possibly the most eagerly awaited of the Red DwarfDVD sets, due to its acclaimed third episode, "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", which earned the program an International Emmy Award in 1994. However, the five other episodes in the series have their own share of absurd laughs, and the two-disc set features enough supplemental features to keep even the most demanding RDfan happy. The crux of series 6 is that the Red Dwarfhas been stolen (no thanks to Lister, who can't remember where he left it), and the crew must recover it; their pursuit brings them in contact with brain-consuming aliens ("Psirens", with guest star Jenny Agutter), a polymorph that turns Rimmer and Cat into their alternate identities from Series V ("Emohawk—Polymorph II"), the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse tricked out as gunslingers ("Gunmen of the Apocalypse"), an army of Rimmer clones ("Rimmerworld"), and finally, their own future selves, who turn out to be particularly awful (worse than the present-day ones, that is), and cause a cliffhanger ending that just might spell the end for the Red Dwarf crew.... In short, series 6 more than earns its popular status among Red Dwarf's fanbase, thanks to its sharp writing (sadly, it would be the last series to feature scripts by co-creator Rob Grant) and energetic performances. And the double-disc set matches the quality of the programs with some terrific extras, including commentaries by the RD crew and fans (the latter on "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" only), and featurettes on composer Howard Goodall and series director Andy de Emmony; these are rounded out by the usual collections of "smeg-ups" (bloopers), deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and another episode of the "Dave Hollins, Space Cadet" radio sketch that inspired the show. And again, the most patient of viewers will find Easter eggs on the menus (happy hunting). —Paul Gaita

Alan Sepinwall A mob boss in therapy. An experimental, violent prison unit. The death of an American city, as seen through a complex police investigation. A lawless frontier town trying to talk its way into the United States. A corrupt cop who rules his precinct like a warlord. The survivors of a plane crash trying to make sense of their disturbing new island home. A high school girl by day, monster fighter by night. A spy who never sleeps. A space odyssey inspired by 9/11. An embattled high school football coach. A polished ad exec with a secret. A chemistry teacher turned drug lord.

These are the subjects of 12 shows that started a revolution in TV drama: The Sopranos. Oz. The Wire. Deadwood. The Shield. Lost. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 24. Battlestar Galactica. Friday Night Lights. Mad Men. Breaking Bad.

These 12 shows, and the many more they made possible, ushered in a new golden age of television — one that made people take the medium more seriously than ever before. Alan Sepinwall became a TV critic right before this creative revolution began, was there to chronicle this incredible moment in pop culture history, and along the way “changed the nature of television criticism,” according to Slate. The Revolution Was Televised is the story of these 12 shows, as told by Sepinwall and the people who made them, including David Chase, David Simon, David Milch, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, Vince Gilligan and more.

One of the hallmark seasons of The Simpsons, season 7 features some of the strongest episodes produced during the show’s run. Considering that this is The Simpsons we’re talking about here, that’s saying a lot, but this collection deserves the accolades.

Broadcast in 1995, season seven features several signature episodes, including Part II of "Who Shot Mr. Burns," "Bart Sells His Soul," and "Two Bad Neighbors" where former President George Herbert Walker Bush moves into the neighborhood (an episode gamely playing on the former President’s open dislike for the show). One of The Simpsons’s most definitive episodes, "Treehouse of Horror VI" famously broke the third wall by using the then-groundbreaking CGI technology to render Homer first in a 3-D world, then in real life, (despite the evolution in his form, he naturally ends up in an erotic cake shop). As the producers openly note on the commentary, it was a big deal at the time, and super expensive, which is why they could only do a few minutes of footage in CGI (some fans will particularly enjoy the revealing commentary on this one, as the producers explain the many visual puns and math jokes appearing in the background of the 3-D world). It’s a great example of how The Simpsons continued to play with its visual style and take creative risks years into its run. In fact, one of the best episodes on this collection, "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" proves just how far the look and style of the show really came during that time. Hosted by actor Troy McClure (voiced by the late comic great Phil Hartman), it presents never-before-seen outtakes and original footage from the show’s debut days on The Tracey Ullman Show, while taking a few self-referential digs at show creators Matt Groening, James Brooks, and Sam Simon. Other gems include "Homerpalooza" where Homer thanks guests The Smashing Pumpkins for their gloomy music because it has made his kids "stop wishing for a future I can’t possibly provide," and "Bart the Fink" where Bart inadvertently gets Krusty the Klown busted for tax "avoision."

Along with the 25 episodes there are extensive commentaries, featurettes, and deleted scenes all of which add immense value to the set and will give die-hard fans another excuse to spend more hours in front of the TV. It’s another benchmark collection from a show that, up to this point, doesn’t seem to know its own limits. —Dan Vancini

The argument will rage long after the boxset of The Simpsons: Season Nine has been released about when exactly America’s finest television animated export actually peaked. Some arguably, with genuine gusto, that it was a year or two before this series was first shown. Most purists though satisfy themselves that it’s the single digit seasons where the best of The Simpsons, and there’s certainly plenty of gold in this latest set.

Boasting twenty five episodes in all, and backed up by the superb selection of extras we’ve come to expect from Simpsons boxsets, there are some terrific episodes to be found. The 200th episode of the show, for instance, "Trash Of The Titans" makes compelling viewing out of, literally, sanitation, while "The City Of New York vs Homer Simpson" is likewise outstanding, as Homer trots off to recover his car.

Truth be told, for this reviewer’s money, The Simpsons: Season Nine isn’t the equal of the two boxsets that preceded it, and it certainly has its fair share of easily forgettable episodes. But these are still in the minority, with the bulk of this set being as representative of the great writing, humour and wry observations we’ve come to expect from The Simpsons. Cracking value for money, too.—Simon Brew

Jim Reardon Pete Michels Even as we arrive at season ten, these Simpsons DVD boxsets remain irresistible. Put together comprehensively and with real care, this latest release upholds the standard for terrific (and many) DVD extras to back up and complement the episodes themselves.

Season ten of The Simpsons features 23 episodes, spread across four discs, and there are some belters contained within. "Lard Of The Dance", for instance, finds Homer and Bart trying to steal and sell grease, against the backdrop of Lisa’s school dance. "Lisa Gets An ‘A’" meanwhile sees the Simpsons’ eldest daughter getting addicted to videogames, while "Mayored To The Mob" throws in Mark Hamill and a science fiction convention. Quite brilliant stuff.

The lazy argument though is that by season ten, The Simpsons was on the slide, but there’s plenty of compelling evidence in this boxset to counter that. Sure, not every episode’s a classic, but there are a lot of laughs and much entertainment to be gleamed here.

Furthermore, when you factor in the commentaries, deleted scenes, sketch gallery and look at the upcoming film, once again the stops have been pulled off for a distinguishable TV collection. Again, The Simpsons—in more than one sense—sets the standard that the others look up to. —Jon Foster

David Silverman, Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Bob Anderson, Mike B. Anderson

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner Season 12 of The Simpsons flies in the face of the contention that it’s the earlier runs of the show where you’ll find the gold. Granted, it’s been tough to keep the standard up to the levels of the show at its finest, but here we find some majestic and inspired Simpsons moments.

Season 12 doesn’t have, it should noted, the calibre of guest voice star of previous runs. That said, it’s still the core adventures of Homer, Maggie, Lisa, Marge and Bart that form the heart of the fun. Particular favourite highlights of The Simpsons’ twelfth season include Lisa’s relationship with the tree hugger, Homer’s brand new gossip website, the moment where Homer suddenly (and temporarily!) gets a burst of intelligence, and the wonderfully titled Worst Episode Ever. There’s also the very welcome return of Sideshow Bob, as voiced by Kelsey Grammar.

The writing of The Simpsons, as evidenced here, remains witty and sharp, and while perhaps there aren’t so many of the belly laughs of the earlier years, season 12 still more than justifies its purchase price. At least half the episodes here are ones you’ll be looking, we’d suspect, to watch again. Factor in too the usual high quality selection of extras, and long after most series have folded, we continue to find The Simpsons on fine form. —Jon Foster

The classic to clunker ratio is still extraordinarily high, though The Simpsons' sixth season could give some devoted viewers pause. The show that takes cheeky delight in mooning television convention gives us "Another Simpsons Clip Show" and its first season-ending cliffhanger, "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" And, as does Bart in "A Star Is Burns," we should all feel a little dirty at the "cheap cartoon crossover" appearance of Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz), designed to give a boost to the ill-fated animated series The Critic. But this is just beard-stroking tongue-clucking regarding a season that delivered episodes that rank in the hallowed The Simpsons pantheon, among them, "Homer Badman," in which lust for a gummy Venus de Milo, peeled from the behind of an unwitting babysitter, makes Homer the object of feminist protest and tabloid TV fodder, and "Homer the Great," in which Homer is discovered to be the Chosen One to lead the secret society, "The Stonecutters" ("Who holds back the electric car/Who made Steve Guttenberg a star?/We do!"). Several episodes take their inspiration from classic films and books: Hitchcock's Rear Window ("Bart of Darkness"); Michael Crichton's Westworld and Jurassic Park ("Itchy and Scratchy Land"); and Stephen King and Ray Bradbury ("Treehouse of Horror V").

This season's roster of guest voices is also especially impressive, including Winona Ryder as "Lisa's Rival," Meryl Streep as Rev. Lovejoy's bad-seed daughter ("She's like a Milk Dud," a smitten Bart laments. "Sweet on the outside, poison on the inside"), the late Anne Bancroft in "Fear of Flying"; Patrick Stewart in "Homer the Great"; Mel Brooks and Susan Sarandon in "Homer vs. Patty and Selma," and Mandy Patinkin as Lisa's future fiancée in the surprisingly moving "Lisa's Wedding." There has, of late, been a feud a-brewin' between fans of The Simpsons and Family Guy. Which show is funnier? Has The Simpsons lost it? Is Family Guy a Simpsons-wannabe? Hey; Can't we all just laugh along? Best to just marvel at another exemplary Simpsons season that, to quote Homer in "Lisa's Rival," delivers it all: "The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles." —Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com

David Silverman Wesley Archer From practically the first episode, broadcast in 1989, The Simpsons impacted on planet TV like a giant multi-coloured meteor. With a claim to being the defining pop cultural phenomenon of the 1990s—hip, fast, sharp and primary—there was nothing even in rock & roll to match this. The Simpsons is possibly the greatest sitcom ever made. Although the animation was initially primitive, never before had cartoon characters been so well drawn. There had been loveable middle-aged layabouts on TV before, but Homer Simpson successfully stole their crown and out-slobbed them all in every department ("The guys at the plant are gonna have a field day with this," he grumbles in "Call of The Simpsons" as he watches scientists on a TV news item who can't decide whether he is incredibly dense or a brilliant beast). However, in this first series he isn't quite yet the bloated man-child he would become in later series; instead he's a growling patriarch with a Walter Matthau-type voice. His sensible half Marge's croak, meanwhile, has yet to settle down, while the vast cast of minor Springfield characters have yet to find their place. Bart, however, was a smash from the start: dumb as Homer but spiky-haired and resourceful, he sets out his manifesto in "Bart the Genius"; while "Moaning Lisa" spotlights his over-achieving sister and is a good early example of the series' clever handling of melancholy bass notes.

Throughout its life there's always been confusion as to whether The Simpsons is a show for kids or adults, but with allusions in these first 13 episodes to Kubrick, Diane Arbus, Citizen Kane and (in a very satisfyingly anti-French episode) Manon des Sources, it should already have been clear that this was a programme for all ages and all IQs from 0 to 200. Dysfunctional they may have been, but the Simpsons stuck together, and audiences stuck with them into the 21st century. —David Stubbs

On the DVD: The packaging is good but the 13 episodes are spread very thinly here, with just five each on discs one and two . The commentary track is intermittently interesting though a tad repetitive, as creator David Groening is joined by various other members of the team. The third disc has some neat extra stuff, including outtakes, the original Tracey Ullman Show shorts and a five-minute BBC documentary, but is again fairly brief. The menu interfaces are pretty clunky, annoyingly forcing you to watch endless copyright warnings after each episode and with no facility to "play all". The content is wonderful, of course, but three discs looks like overkill. —Mark Walker

First aired in 1990-91, the second series of The Simpsons proved that, far from being a one-joke sitcom about the all-American dysfunctional family, it had the potential to become a whole hilarious universe. The animation had settled down (in the first series, the characters look eerily distorted when viewed years later), while Dan Castellaneta, who voiced Homer, decided to switch from a grumpy Walter Matthau impression to a more full-on, bulbous wail. The series' population of minor characters began to grow with the inclusion of Dr Hibbert, McBain and attorney Lionel Hutz, while the writers became more seamless in their ability to weave pastiche of classic movies into the plot lines. While relatively "straight" by later standards (the surreal forays of future seasons are kept in check here), Season Two contains some of the most memorable episodes ever made, indeed some of the finest American comedy ever made.

These include "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", in which Homer is reunited with, and ruins the business of, his long-lost brother ("He was an unbridled success—until he discovered he was a Simpson"), "Dead Putting Society", in which Homer lives out his rivalry with neighbour Ned Flanders through a crazy-golf competition between the sons ("If you lose, you're out of the family!") and one of the greatest ever episodes, "Lisa's Substitute", which not only features poor little Lisa's crush on a supply teacher voiced by Dustin Hoffman but also Bart's campaign to become class president. "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!", warns Martin, the rival candidate. By way of a retort, Bart promises faithfully, "A vote for Bart is a vote for anarchy!". —David Stubbs

On the DVD: The Simpsons, Season 2, like its DVD predecessor, has neat animated menus on all four discs as well as apparently endless copyright warnings, but nothing as useful as a "play all" facility. The discs are more generously filled than Season 1, however, and each episode has an optional group commentary from Matt Groening and various members of his team. The fourth disc has sundry snippets including the Springfield family at the Emmy Awards ceremony, Julie Kavner dressed up as Bart at the American Music Awards and videos for both "Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble" (all with optional commentary). There are two short features dating from 1991: director David Silverman on the creation of an episode and an interview with Matt Groening. TV commercials for butterfinger bars, foreign language clips and picture galleries round out the selection. Picture is standard 4:3 and the sound is good Dolby 5.1. —Mark Walker

First broadcast in 1991 the third series of The Simpsons contains a clutch of candidates for "Best Simpsons Episode Ever". Homer is on such appallingly good form throughout this series that a reasonable case can be made for asserting that he has superseded the importance of his Greek namesake in the annals of culture and civilisation.

The opening "Stark Raving Dad", for instance, features a guest appearance by an un-credited Michael Jackson, who plays an obese white inmate whom Homer meets while confined to a mental institution. Other standout episodes include "Like Father, Like Clown", in which Krusty reveals he is estranged from his Rabbi father; this is The Simpsons at the height of its powers, mature, ironic, erudite and touching while bristling with slapstick and Bart-inspired cheek. "Flaming Moe's" features Aerosmith and sees Homer invent a cocktail which desperate, sleazy bartender Moe steals from him. "Radio Bart" is another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole. Finally, there's "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes", in which Danny DeVito reprises his role as Homer's brother, regaining the fortune Homer lost him by inventing a Baby Translator.

Immensely enjoyable at anything from a primary to a doctoral thesis level, this third year of the show demonstrates conclusively that The Simpsons is quite simply, and by a large margin, the greatest television programme ever made. —David Stubbs

By its fourth series, The Simpsons had come far enough for Lisa to make a self-referential joke about Dustin Hoffman's and Michael Jackson's pseudonymous guest voice appearances in series 2 and 3, respectively. In this series, no less than Elizabeth Taylor (in two episodes), Bette Midler and even the reclusive Johnny Carson blessed The Simpsons with their iconic presences. Awhile back, US magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked the top 25 Simpsons episodes. Five gems from series 4 cracked the top 12, including the (debatable) choice for No. 1, "Last Exit to Springfield". Other episodes that loom large in the Simpsons legend are "Mr Plow" (you know the jingle: "Call Mr Plow / That's my name / That name again is Mr Plow"), "Marge vs. the Monorail", featuring a Music-Man-style extravaganza, and "A Streetcar Named Marge", the episode that outraged New Orleans residents, who heard their fair metropolis referred to as "a city that the damned call home".

The Simpsons smartly subverts traditional family sitcom convention, but anyone who thinks the show doesn't have a heart is advised to watch "I Love Lisa" and "New Kid on the Block", two fourth-series gems that absolutely nail the agony and ecstasy of unrequited crushes ("You won't be needing this", a heartbroken Bart fantasises his babysitter saying while dropkicking his heart into a wastebasket in "New Kid"). While the Simpsons' celebrated ensemble gets all the glory, we must pause now to praise the peerless writing staff, among them George Meyer, Al Jean, Jon Vitti, John Swartzwelder, David Silverman and Conan O'Brien. One can only marvel in astonishment at the alchemy that went into creating, week after week, such essential episodes as "Kamp Krusty", "Streetcar", the profane and profound "Homer the Heretic" and "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (and that's just disc 1!). The animators, too, rose to the occasion, particularly in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", with its dead-on, ultra-violent sinking of the seminal Disney cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Another benchmark in The Simpsons' rise to the TV pantheon is its very first clip show. What Homer says about donuts in "Monorail" holds true as well for The Simpsons itself: is there anything this show can't do? —Donald Liebenson

Sixteen seasons (and counting) of pop culture-rocking brilliance, the first four of which have already been gloriously archived on DVD. But in the words of Krusty the Clown: "What has The Simpsons done for me lately?" Well, how about all 22 episodes of season 5, each accompanied by commentary, deleted scenes, and other encyclopedic extras that hopelessly devoted Simpsons fans crave, no, demand? Season 5 is perhaps not as classics-packed as the third or fourth seasons, but no self-respecting Simpsons fan should be without the episodes "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", featuring George Harrison, "Cape Feare", one of Sideshow Bob's (and guest voice Kelsey Grammer's) finest half-hours, "Rosebud", "Springfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" and "Bart Gets Famous", with the Springfield-sweeping catchphrase "I didn't do it". Plus, the star power this season is impressive: Michelle Pfeiffer as Homer's comely, donut-loving co-worker in "The Last Temptation of Homer", Albert Brooks as a self-help guru who unleashes "Bart's Inner Child", Kathleen Turner as the creator of Malibu Stacy in "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", and, as themselves, the Ramones ("Rosebud"), James Woods ("Homer and Apu"), Buzz Aldren ("Deep Space Homer"), and even Robert Goulet ("Springfield").

But it is the writers and the core ensemble cast who exhibit, to quote "Deep Space Homer", "the right... What's that stuff?" Series milestones include the first appearance of yokel Cletus in "Bart Gets an Elephant" and Maggie's infant nemesis, The Baby with One Eyebrow in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badasssss Song" which also happens to be The Simpsons' 100th episode. Add in a very good "Treehouse of Horror" episode, (which outs Ned Flanders as the Devil and Marge as the head vampire), and one Emmy-nominated musical extravaganza ("Who Needs the Quick-E-Mart" from "Homer and Apu"), and you have a Simpsons season that's not just great, it's DVD-box-set great. —Donald Liebenson

Edgar Wright Spacedis a sitcom like no other. The premise is simple enough: Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) and Tim (Simon Pegg) are out of luck and love, so pretend to be a couple in order to rent a flat together. Downstairs neighbour and eccentric painter Brian suspects someone's fibbing, and almost blows their cover with their lecherous lush of a landlady, Marsha. Fortunately he soon falls for Daisy's health-freak friend Twist, while Daisy herself goes ga-ga for pet dog Colin. Tim remains happily platonic with lifemate Mike; a sweet-at-heart guns 'n' ammo obsessive. The series is chock-full of pop culture references. In fact, each episode is themed after at least one movie, with nods to The Shiningand Close Encounters of the Third Kindproving especially hilarious. Hardly five minutes goes by without a Star Warsreference, and every second of screen time from Bill Bailey as owner of the comic shop where Tim works is comedic gold. The look of the series is its other outstanding element, with slam-zooms, dizzying montages, and inspired lighting effects (often paying homage to the Evil Deadmovies). It's an affectionate fantasy on the life of the twenty-something that's uncomfortably close to the truth.

The second series finds the gang at 23 Meteor Street a little older, but definitely none the wiser. Tim's career is hampered by severe hang-ups over The Phantom Menace. Daisy's career is just plain non-existent. There is still a spark of sexual tension between them, but it's overshadowed by Brian and Twist getting it on. Propelling the seven-episode series arc is the threat of Marsha discovering that none of the relationships are what they seem, Mike's increasing jealousy and a new love interest for Tim. That's the basis for a never-ending stream of in-jokes and references that easily match the quality of the first series. Tim has a Return of the Jediflashback, then déjà vu in reliving the end of The Empire Strikes Back. There are spoofs of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Robocop, The Sixth Senseand comedy rival The Royle Family. There are guest spots from Bill Bailey, Peter (voice of Darth Maul) Serafinowicz and The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith. Every episode is packed with highlights, but this series' guaranteed geek pant-wetting moments have to be the mock gun battles, slagging off Babylon 5and learning that "The second rule of Robot Club is: no smoking." Jessica Stevenson won a British Comedy Award for this year. It deserved a whole lot more. —Paul Tonks

On the DVD:This three-disc collector's edition contains all the extras from the previous DVD releases, plus a host of brand new features including music promos, cast interviews, and an in-depth and specially filmed documentary featuring interviews with cast members including Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson, Nick Frost, cameo actors (Bill Bailey, David Walliams, Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith) and journalists. It also includes a tour made by Simon, Jessica and Edgar of different show locations with clips of archive footage from the very first programmes Simon and Jess appeared in together.

Martin Wood A feature-length adventure that bases itself around the universe of Stargate SG-1, Continuum makes the most of the increased budget clearly available, and serves up a hugely enjoyable, action-packed slice of science-fiction that makes you wish they'd all hurry up and make the next instalment.

Stargate: Continuum follows on from the earlier feature-length The Ark Of Truth, and it focuses on a staple storyline of science fiction television, the alternate timeline. In this instance, it's an Earth where the Stargate simply hasn't been discovered, and nobody has any knowledge of the crew's adventures.

Wisely using this story mechanic as a basis rather than the main thrust of Stargate: Continuum, the action soon focuses on a well-realised attempt by the Ba'al to conquer Earth. It's exciting stuff, and while the credits arguably roll a little too early, it's very welcome work from the SG-1 favourites that builds up to a strong outing for all concerned. And in the midst of them is the returning Richard Dean Anderson as O'Neill, and very welcome he is too.

Stargate: Continuum makes good use of both the extended running time that a feature offers, as well as the extra resources that were clearly available in front of and behind the camera. It's inevitably going to be enjoyed most of all by SG-1's fanbase, but there's plenty in here too for the casual science-fiction enthusiast. —Jon Foster

Robert C. Cooper

Steve Zahn, Wendell Pierce, David Simon, Eric Overmyer As Treme opens, a group of New Orleans residents are celebrating their first "second-line parade" since Hurricane Katrina blew through the city and across the Gulf Coast just three months earlier. Folks are strutting and dancing, a brass band is blowing a joyful noise—it's a celebration of "NOLA's" resilience and proud spirit ("Won't bow—don't know how," as they say). But there's darkness just below this shiny surface, and anyone familiar with The Wire, cocreator-writer David Simon's last show, won't be a bit surprised to find that he and fellow Treme writer-producer Eric Overmyer aren't shy about going there. The New Orleans we see is a city barely starting to recover from what one character calls "a man-made catastrophe… of epic proportions and decades in the making." Many people's homes are gone, and insurance payments are a rumor. Other locals haven't come back, and still others are simply missing. The people have been betrayed by their own government, and New Orleans's reputation for corruption is hardly helped by the fact that the police force is in such disarray that the line between cop and criminal is sometimes so fine as to be nonexistent. Bad, but not all bad. NOLA still has its cuisine, its communities, and best of all its music, which permeates every chapter, from the Rebirth Brass Band's "I Feel Like Funkin' It Up" in episode 1 to Allen Toussaint and "Cha Dooky-Doo" in episode 10. There's Dixieland and zydeco, natch, but also hip-hop and rock; there are NOLA stalwarts like Dr. John, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, and the Meters (as well as appearances by Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, and others), but plenty of younger, lesser knowns, too. Whether we hear it in the street, in a club or a recording studio, at home, or anywhere, music is the lifeblood of the city and this series, and it's handled brilliantly.

Treme has a lot of characters and their stories to keep up with. There's trombonist Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce), a wonderful player but kind of a dog, especially to his current baby mama and his ex-wife, LaDonna (Khandi Alexander), a bar owner who's desperately searching for her missing brother. There's Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), a writer preoccupied with telling the world what's really going on in the city, and his wife Toni (Melissa Leo), a lawyer and thorn in the side of the authorities. There's Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn), a well-meaning but annoyingly clueless radio DJ, his occasional girlfriend Janette (Kim Dickens), who's struggling to keep her restaurant open, and Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters), who returns from Houston, finds his house in ruins, and sets about rebuilding it. You might not like all of them. Not all get through the series unscathed, or even alive. But that's part of the deal. The show feels authentic: dialogue (natural, plain, and profane), story lines, locations, camera work, the utter lack of gloss and glamour—this is no Chamber of Commerce travelogue. It's not a documentary either, but there are moments when it's just down and dirty enough to pass for one. —Sam Graham

Steve Zahn, Wendell Pierce Brand new in cellophane. Complete Season 2 Treme HBO Series. Unwanted gift.

Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Frank Darabont, Ernest R. Dickerson, Guy Ferland, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Michelle Maxwell MacLaren Arguably the biggest hit of the US 2010 television season, the apocalypse drama The Walking Dead pulls the zombie subgenre out of its overexposed doldrums and finds, ironically enough, the humanity and emotion beneath its rotting shell. Produced by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and Gale Anne Hurd (Aliens) and based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead follows a band of Atlanta-based survivors of a viral outbreak that has caused the dead to rise up and consume the living. The group's nominal leader is a sheriff's deputy (Andrew Lincoln) who wakes from a gunshot-induced coma to find the world in disarray and his wife (Sarah Wayne Callies, Prison Break) and son missing. His search for his family and the survivors' attempts to make sense of their lives in the wake of the outbreak is handled with intelligence and sensitivity, which helps to elevate the show beyond the grindhouse take on zombies, which favours spilled guts over character development. That's not to say that the blood doesn't flow plentifully here: the special effects are on par with zombie-movie mayhem, but again, they aren't the show's raison d'être. Solid performances, including Jon Bernthal as Lincoln's partner, Jeffrey DeMunn as the group's leading rationalist, and Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus as a pair of trouble-making rednecks, and gripping suspense make each of the first season's six episodes compelling from start to finish for both horror fans and those who dislike the genre as a whole.

The two-disc set of The Walking Dead's first season includes all six episodes, as well as a number of making-of extras, including the show's conception and production, a talk with Robert Kirkman (he's a fan), a look at the makeup by KNB Studios, and the show's panel at the 2010 ComicCon. All of the principal players on both sides of the camera are given adequate screen time to discuss their vision for the show, its influences (George Romero, naturally), and the challenges of depicting the end of civilisation on a budget. —Paul Gaita

Dominic West, John Doman, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Deirdre Lovejoy Directors: Brad Anderson, Clark Johnson, Clément Virgo, Edward Bianchi, Gloria Muzio

Picking up after the dramatic events of its maiden season, the second series of The Wireachieves something really rather special: it even manages to outclass the first.

For those fresh to the show, surely the best, most intelligent piece of scripted drama to emerge from America in the last decade, the actual premise is fairly simple. Across the thirteen episodes of its season, it charts one case, and the numerous influences upon it. So it devotes roughly equal time to those committing the crimes as it does to those chasing them.

This time, the Baltimore Police Department have twin worries. There's the continuing, festering narrative of events from the season before, along with a new problem when a container of dead bodies turns up at the nearby docks. After initial battles over whose statistics the bodies will be attributed to, a fresh case begins for the embattled officers of the Major Crimes Unit.

Yet season two is about much more than the case itself. Bubbling under the surface are characters with real problems, that take their toll on the day-to-day, while at the docks themselves there are union struggles underway, which also have a part to play. Thanks to, frankly, superb scripting, these various narrative threads are woven together quite brilliantly, and the result is perhaps the finest series of The Wireto date. And that's no small feat.

If you're one of the many who have let The Wirefly under their radar thus far, then you're urged to rectify that. Clearly season one is the logical starting point, but begin your adventure in the knowledge that this second series is simple exceptional. For the rest of the US television industry, this is the standard to aim for. —Simon Brew

Corruption is rife throughout The Wire: The Complete Third Season, which picks up the further adventures of the Baltimore Major Crimes Unit as they continue to wage war on drugs. Only as this is The Wire, that's just the beginnings of their problems. Once again, the show that's rightly being acclaimed as one of America's finest and most intelligent dramas covers the story from all areas. There's the investigating cops on one hand, their targets on the other, and the small matter of heavy political influence both with the Police Department itself, and from the Mayor's Office too.

Cleverly sowing the seeds for the series that'll follow, while lacing the narrative with a wealth of challenging ideas to deal with there and then, season three isn't perhaps the finest of The Wireto date, but it sure does run things close. From its willingness to explore a solution of tolerance to the problem in hand, through to the political ambitions of one man determined to make a name for himself, and the small matter of a drugs operation riddled with in-fighting, it's compelling drama.

It's also unequalled in recent times, courtesy of its outstanding writing, measured performances and willingness to take some bold gambles. Put bluntly, The Wire: The Complete Third Seasonis a quite brilliant piece of television drama, and easily rewards a purchase. —Simon Brew

Even if you missed the first three seasons (the character guides and thorough episode recaps on HBO's website are recommended), and with only one season left, it's not too late to get in under The Wire. In fact, season 4 is an accessible introduction for those who know The Wireonly by its street cred as arguably the very best show on television. For them especially, this season will be, as befitting its theme, a real education. Without resorting to melodramatics that other ratings-challenged series employ to gain that frustratingly elusive audience, The Wireshakes things up this season in a way that is true to the series and its characters. A major character, Dominic West's McNulty, plays a minor role as a contented street cop and family man, while a former supporting player, Jim True-Frost's Roland Pryzbylewski, goes to the head of the class as a new eighth grade teacher at beleaguered Edward Tilghman Middle School. It may take a couple of episodes to orient yourself to the Baltimore backrooms, squad rooms, classrooms, and street corners where The Wire's intense dramas play out, and new viewers may miss something in character nuance, but they will easily grasp the big picture. A politically motivated shake-up sends Major Crimes detectives Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Greggs (Sonja Sohn) to Homicide. The gloves come off in the mayoral race between black incumbent Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman) and idealistic white challenger Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen). Gang leader Marlo (Jamie Hector) quietly and deliberately becomes the city's new drug kingpin, managing to subvert all surveillance efforts. Meanwhile, while "Prez" tries to reach his students, four highly at-risk kids will be drawn into the drug trade.

Mere synopsis does not do The Wirejustice. The series deftly juggles its myriad storylines and characters, all of whom make an impression, from Marlo's cold-blooded enforcers, Snoop (Felicia Pearson) and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe), to boxing instructor "Cutty" (Chad L. Coleman), determined to keep his young charges off the corners. There is not a false note in the performances or the writing. Richard Price (Clockers) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) again contributed episodes. That this series has only been nominated for only one Emmy (for writing) is a travesty. As engrossing as the finest novels and in a class by itself, this isn't television; it's The Wire. —Donald Liebenson

Brand new and factory sealed