Five Shows You Should Own

While many people are updating their DVD libraries with Blu-ray and HD-DVDs, there are still many consumers with a fondness for buying television series on regular DVD. If you go to Best Buy, you’ll see that the TV DVD section has grown exponentially over the last year. There are some great series out there that people may have overlooked in the past. I’ll try and compare them to some newer shows, but I whole-heartedly back these five shows up.

Sports Night
For those who love West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, this is Aaron Sorkin’s first television masterpiece. This series was on ABC for two seasons and while it was critically acclaimed, the general public ignored it. The show is a behind-the-scenes look at the cast and crew of the third-rated sports network and stars Peter Krause and Felicity Huffman (currently on Dirty, Sexy Money and Desperate Housewives). Here you can see the original walk and talk that made West Wing’s style so popular. True, the first few episodes have an annoying studio-insisted laugh-track, but the show quickly lands on its feet. The last few episodes do a wonderful job mirroring the series own demise with some fantastic self-referential plotlines. This is a must-have. Trust me.

Wonderfalls
For those who love Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me, this is Bryan Fuller at his sardonic best. Fox didn’t give a chance to this imaginative story about a sarcastic souvenir shop worker who is told to do things by knick-knacks in her store. People are brought together and mysteries are solved but Jaye don’t know if she’s hallucinating or not. Lee Pace (Ned on Pushing Daisies) appears in this series as Jaye’s older brother. This show has a fun edge to it and is not as schmaltzy as Pushing Daisies. This short series is just plain fun.

Extras
For those who love the original British version of The Office, Ricky Gervais is back as a movie extra who is trying to make it bigger in show business. The show centers on three individuals instead of an entire office staff, but this one allows for Gervais to have fun with other celebrities. The first episode has Ben Stiller directing a serious drama and yelling at a child. Episodes in the second/final season feature Daniel Radcliff hitting on anything that moves and Orlando Bloom getting shot down by an extra. This is really funny stuff.

Firefly
For those who love Buffy and Angel, this is another Joss Whedon hit (like you didn’t know). You say “space-western” and people look at you funny, but darn it all, Whedon pulls it off. There’s horses, saloons, space ships, prostitutes and loads of humour. Adam Baldwin (currently on Chuck) is wonderful as the menacing Jayne, while Nathan Fillion (currently on Desperate Housewives) is the picture-perfect Han Solo-ish captain. After you watch the series, go out and buy Serenity, the feature film follow up to the series. It’s too bad not enough people gave it a chance when it first came out.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
For those who love Seinfeld, this is ultimate follow-up. This show is basically about George Costanza to an exponential degree. Larry David (who George was primarily based on) basically plays himself as he goes through his day questioning every social custom imaginable. A lot of the script is improvised, so it sounds pretty authentic when the actors speak. Just imagine Seinfeld without Kramer and with a lot more foul language and awkward moments. There are six seasons available, each with ten episodes. You should start collecting.

Some other harder-to-find quirky television series that will definitely make you laugh with their irreverent and random cartoonish humour are Robot Chicken and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. And don't forget about the competitive antics of Kenny vs. Spenny. A Canadian classic with three seasons available.

Hope this helps.