TV on DVD

This post is mostly in response to Marc & Katie's request for my recommendations of the best seasons of great TV shows to watch on DVD.

I love TV. I love it way more than movies. Why? Because I like watching characters evolve over a long period of time; I like watching stories that take years to develop; and I like getting to the end of an episode and wondering what's going to happen next. Plus, I kind of have A.D.D. so the shorter running time is perfect for me.

So here are some of my favorite shows, and my recommendations for the best seasons:

COMEDIES:

• Arrested Development: In my opinion, this one is a must see! It only ran three seasons and the third was cut short, but it was fantastic. You have to watch all three.
  
• Seinfeld: Ran 9 seasons, and they were all good. Seasons 1, 2 & 9 were maybe not as good as the others, and I personally think season 6 was the best.
  
• Everybody Loves Raymond: Another one that ran 9 seasons, and they were all good, but again 1 & 9 not as much. Season 4 is the best.
  
• Psych: Currently on hiatus in the middle of its third season. This is a quirky show on the USA network about a private detective that pretends to be a psychic to get work from the Santa Barbara Police Department. It's a good, funny show. Both seasons 1 & 2 are good.
  
• Monk: Another quirky detective show on the USA network about an obsessive-compulsive. Currently on hiatus in the middle of its seventh season. They're all great, but I'm gonna say season 5 is the best.
  
• Northern Exposure: A little bit older show than most of the ones I watch, but it's still good. That sentence, I suppose, implies that I think new shows are better than older ones. Well, yeah, I guess in general that's what I think. Anyway, the show ran 6 seasons but didn't really get going until season 3. Season 3 or 4 is probably the best.
  
• Sports Night: Only ran 2 seasons, because ABC kept moving it around and you couldn't find it, but this is one of the best TV shows of all time! Both seasons are spectacular, especially season 2 after they removed the obnoxious laugh track.
  
• Animaniacs: Yeah, everyone knows this was a great show. Three volumes on DVD now, and the first one is the best.
  
• Desperate Housewives: Season 1 was great, since then this show has sucked pretty bad. Luckily, season 1 ties up most of the loose ends that it introduces, so you can watch just the first season then stop.
  
• Scrubs: A really hit & miss comedy. Getting ready to open up its 8th and final season later this fall. The most recent 6th & 7th seasons have sucked, but the first five were much better. Seasons 1 & 5 are the best.
  
• The Office: Just started its fifth season, and they've all been fantastic. If I have to narrow it down, I'd say season three is the best one, and season 4 is close behind.
• Newsradio: Great show until Phil Hartman died, then season 5 just plummeted. Seasons 1 & 2 are the best though.
  

DRAMAS:

• 24: Seventh season starts in January, hope it's better than the last two, because seasons 5 & 6 weren't nearly as good as the others, which is to say they were still a lot better than most of the stuff on TV but not as good as they should have been. Season 1 is the best though, by far.
  
• Lost: One of the two best shows on television (maybe ever). Season 5 premieres in January, and I can't give you a best season because you have to see them all from the beginning.
• Prison Break: The other of the two best shows (maybe ever). Simply cannot recommend just one season, because you have to see it all from the beginning. Okay, I'll admit season 3 was not quite as good as the first two or the fourth that just started a few weeks ago, but even season 3 is better than most other shows on television.
  
• House: Great medical drama, with a twist. Just started its fifth season, and I'd say season 4 was the best so far.
  
• Alias: Ran five seasons, and I don't think I've ever seen a show tank as badly as this one did in its last year. Wow, it just got ridiculous. It reinvented itself every season, so each one has its own arc and could sort of be viewed individually (if it weren't for the nail-biting cliffhangers in each season finale). On the whole I guess I'd say season 1 was the best, but season 4 had some great episodes.
  
• The West Wing: Had a great run for 7 seasons, and they were all good except for season 5, which sucked. I'd recommend watching from the beginning, but if you want me to pick out the best it was season 4 -- the writing this year was impeccable.
  
• The X-Files: Strong 7-season run, then they kept it going for two more years. In other words, seasons 8 & 9 sucked, season 1 was just okay, and season 7 was mostly good but had some pretty bad missteps. In my opinion, season 6 was the best.
  
• Boston Legal: I love this show, but it's definitely not for everyone. I suppose what I mean is it's definitely not for Republicans, but it's fantastic. It just started its 5th and final season and I'm sad to see it go. Season 2 is the best.
  

ONE SEASON ONLY:

• The Black Donnellys: This one was cancelled early due to a competitive time slot and an admittedly slow-paced pilot. But it was a great show, and wraps up pretty effectively in its thirteen episodes.
  
• Kidnapped: A great pilot but it slowed down a little afterwards. Still, I thought the show was pretty good, and you get a nice, tight conclusion at the end of the 13 produced episodes.
  
• The Practice: This predecessor to Boston Legal actually ran 7 seasons, but the first is the only one available on DVD.
  
• Daybreak: A decent show, akin to Groundhog Day, only it's a drama about a police officer. Not a great show, but a good one. I enjoyed it.
  
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Too expensive to produce and not enough people watching led to this shows early demise. Admittedly it's slow-paced, which usually means I'll hate it, but not with this one. I thought this was a really good show.
  

SOPHOMORE SEASON:
There's no reason for me to go through each of these shows. Suffice it to say that they've all just wrapped up their first seasons, and they've all been renewed (for good reason). I definitely think they're all worth checking into.

• Life (NBC)
  
• Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
  
• Chuck (NBC)
  
• Burn Notice (USA)
  
• Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
  
• Samantha Who? (ABC)
  
• Damages (FX)
  

NOT ON DVD (BUT SHOULD BE):

• The Wonder Years: Can you believe they haven't released this on DVD yet?
  
• Happy Family: An obscure sitcom of a couple of years ago, starring John Larroquette and Christine Baranski. It suffered miserably from painfully bad promos, but the show itself was hilarious. Really a shame that it only ran one season.
  
• Journeyman: Only ran one strike-shortened season last year before cancellation, and I can tell you why: the first four episodes weren't very good. However, it got a lot better and actually developed into a really good show.