(Walt Disney, Rated G, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

I must have seen Aladdin about a half-dozen times in the theater. I couldn't get enough of both the visual pazazz and the sheer electricity Robin Williams brought to the character of the Genie… Imagine, a Disney film that was actually funny! What next? Rocketships? As part of their antici… pation theory of DVD release, Disney has finally released Aladdin on DVD in a 2-disc special edition. There are plenty of behind-the-scenes materials and interviews, but it their attempt to service both the collector and family markets make the overall result a pale imitation of real collector's editions like their old Tarzan and Emperor's New Groove sets. The soundtrack has also been re-released (Walt Disney Records, $12.98 SRP), containing the added demo for the deleted song "Proud of Your Boy," the rough storyboard of which can be viewed on the DVD.

(Shout Factory!, Not Rated, DVD-$19.95 SRP)

As a view into how the other half lives (the grossly rich "other half"), Born Rich is, at the very least, a fascinating portrait of what people on a vastly different social level think are life's challenges. Directed by a member of that elite group, 20 year-old Johnson & Johnson heir Jamie Johnson, the film interviews ten of his friends, and they often reveal startling aspects of their upbringing, value system, and outlook on life. Some are just as rudely snobbish as you'd expect (read: a**holes), but some are genuinely good people. The underlying thread to the good ones? Decent parenting. The DVD features audio commentaries and deleted scenes.

(Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

By the fourth season of Dawson's Creek, you wee either a fan or someone who reached for a gun every time the increasingly insipid "romp" shots of Wilmington kicked in. Although, somehow, James Van Der Beek's massive forehead managed to shrink over the years. Go figure. Bonus features include audio commentary on select episodes from executive producer Paul Stupin, plus the obligatory replacement of the show's pop songs with cheaper models.

(Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$14.95 SRP)

While Armageddon was pure popcorn, Deep Impact was the thinking man's planetary impact disaster movie. You laugh, but how can you not take a film seriously when the president is played by Morgan Freeman? And your testosterone-heavy savior is… Robert Duvall? See what I mean? Re-watch the film via the new special edition (filled with making-of featurettes and a commentary track with director Mimi Leder) and see for yourself. It's even got a Hobbit in it.

(Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$89.95 SRP)

I hate slasher films. I just do. Never liked 'em. It's not the fear factor… Probably not even the gore factor. It's more just the "eh" factor. Still, I know there are a ton of people out there who are gaga over the genre, and it's those fans who will probably snap up the 5-disc Friday the 13^th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan set, which collects all 8 of the original Paramount flicks (the last few outings are controlled by New Line). All of the films are remastered in anamorphic widescreen, with a bevy of featurettes including the 8-part " Friday the 13^th Chronicles," the 3-part "Secrets Galore Behind the Gore," "Crystal Lake Victims Tell All, "Tales from the Cutting Room Floor," "Artifacts and Collectibles," plus a slew of trailers.

Who knew October would turn out to be "Michael Moore Month" ? Of course there's the release of his powerful Fahrenheit 911 (Columbia/Tristar, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP), but there's also the new-to-DVD release of The Big One (Miramax, Rated PG-13, DVD-$19.99 SRP) which, while available separately, is also available in a collector's set with Bowling For Columbine (MGM/UA-Miramax, $29.98 SRP). The set also includes a brief bonus DVD of Moore during his book tour for Dude, Where's My Country?. As far as Fahrenheit extras go, there are numerous featurettes ("The Release of Fahrenheit 911," "Iraq, Pre-War," "Homeland security, Miami style," "Outside Abu Ghraib Prison," "Lila, D.C.," "Arab-American Comedians," "Condi 9/11," and "Bush Rose Garden"), as well as an extended interview with Abdul Henderson and the original theatrical trailer.

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP)

Season Two of Roswell finds resident aliens Max, Isabel, and Michael coming to grips with Tess's revelation of extraterrestrial origin, as well as the revelation that their show would soon be dropped by the WB and have to eke out a final season on the red-headed stepchild of broadcast TV, UPN. Like the first season DVD release, Season 2 has had its soundtrack replaced with cheaper songs "chosen by the original music team" – not that it's any big loss. The 6-disc set contains all 21 episodes in anamorphic widescreen, plus commentaries on 3 episodes ("Ask Not," "A Roswell Christmas Carol," and "Cry Your Name"), featurettes ("Making of Season 2," "Storyboard to Scene," "The Shiri and Majandra Show," and "Art of Compositing Roswell") and "A Little Something Extra for the Fans" video montage.

(MGM/UA, Rated PG-13, DVD-$26.95 SRP)

Like Kevin Smith's Dogma before it, many people attacked Saved! sight unseen, believing it to be some kind of attack on their religious values. In truth, Saved! is quite a beautiful, pointed commentary on pervasive hypocrisy amongst those most dogmatic in their belief system. There's also a touch of Mean Girls in its portrayal of the power of social cliques within the Christian High School depicted (Mandy Moore's queen bitch is almost an archetype). For the open-minded, the film is definitely worth a spin. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary (with director/co-writer Brian Dannelly, producer Sandy stern, and co-writer Michael Urban), a second audio commentary with Jena Malone and Mandy Moore, a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, bloopers, and the original theatrical trailer.

(Criterion, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

I don't know whether to be impressed or frightened that Tanner '88 – a collaboration between Robert Altman and Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau that placed fictional candidate Jack Tanner (Michael Murphy) amongst legitimate movers and shakers during the 1988 presidential election – manages to still be relevant today. This was filmed during a downturn in Altmam's career, but either the subject matter or the collaboration makes this one of his finest pieces, and the fact that the fictional candidate interacts with political players like Bob Dole, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, and Ralph Nader makes the reality-blurring all the more effective. The 11 episodes are supplemented with cast introductions and a video conversation between Altman and Trudeau.

(BCI Eclipse, Not Rated, DVD-$12.95 SRP each)

Some company's deserve to be commended for bringing certain releases to DVD. Never in my life did I think that someone at some company (BCI Eclipse, to be exact) would have the truly genius notion of putting the "classic" After School Specials on DVD. But someone did, and I'm thrilled. The first two sets are from the years 1976-77, and contain 4 episodes each – and what hilarious time capsules they are. Everything Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, and Stephen Colbert parodied in their brilliant After School spoof Strangers with Candy can be found in these original "very special stories," from the heavy-handed lessons to the stilted dialogue and awkward period flourishes. Still, one can respect that they had their hearts in the right place – even if they seem horribly dated today. I can't recommend these enough. Heck, make a viewing party out of it.

(PBS, Not Rated, DVD-$59.99 SRP)

There's a lot of history – and a lot of anecdotes – inherent in any attempt to document the history of the Great White Way, but the 6 hour PBS documentary Broadway: The American Musical goes a long way towards realizing that nigh-impossible task. Packed with rare clips and interviews aplenty, it's almost an oral history of an American artform built upon the foundations of cultures (and people) from around the world, yet realized as something wholly new. The 3-disc set contains additional interviews and performances. Also worth picking up is both volumes of Broadway's Lost Treasures (Acorn Media, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRPeach), which spotlights even more rare performances from years past.

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)

Say what you will about Bernie Mac, but my favorite King of Comedy is Cedric the Entertainer. Don't ask me why – it just is. So it should in no way surprise you that I dug his variety show, Cedric the Entertainer Presents. The 3-disc set contains the complete run of the short-lived series (which includes 6 episodes that never made it to air).

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP)

It's not the deluxe all-out uber-edition of the film (although, frankly, I don't even know what that would be), but you can now get the extended cut of Broken Lizard's Club Dread. Over 15 minutes have been added back into the film, and the disc also includes some material duplicated from the earlier release, including audio commentaries with the team, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and the original theatrical trailer.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$89.95 SRP)

You know, there's really not a lot of different ways to describe CSI. It's pretty much the same show, week in and week out… Sort of like comfort food… Although you won't want to be eating during the average episode. Just know that the complete Fourth Season contains commentaries on 7 episodes and a complete tour of the production process from script-to-screen.

(Fox, Rated, PG-13, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

I could call The Day After Tomorrow a ludicrously implausible piece of neo-Irwin Allen popcorn disaster filmmaking, but that would be an exceptionally long-winded way of describing such a purely sensationalistic piece of eye-candy. Does global climate disaster story make sense? In a very cursory way, sure. But really, this is all about the bang and the special effects, and director Roland Emmerich swaps out the aliens of ID4 with clouds, water, and snow just fine. The New York deluge sequence is certainly memorable, with the effects work through the film being quite exceptional. But that story… well… I guess we really shouldn't care. Special features include a pair of audio commentaries and deleted scenes (for some unknown reason, they stuck the behind-the-scenes footage in the DVD-ROM ghetto).

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

Not as star-studded as Punk'd or as puppety as Crank Yankers, the second season of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment still manages to elicit a smile and a chuckle with its Candid Camera-esque set-ups of regular people, even if I've yet to understand why people don't see through Kennedy's often shoddy disguises. The 4-disc set contains all 23 episodes, plus select episode commentaries from Kennedy and alternate marks for some of the segments.

. (Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

Inspired by Lars Von Trier's Danish miniseries Riget, Stephen King couldn't seem to woo audiences with his take on the material, Kingdom Hospital. Perhaps his off-key portrayal of a haunted hospital with a living staff almost as disturbing as whatever supernatural ghoulies may be about just proved too left-field for broadcast TV audiences. You can judge for yourself with this 4-disc set containing all 13 episodes, plus audio commentaries with King and the crew, featurettes, and an essay written by King exclusively for the set.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$27.95 SRP)

Does anyone not know about Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd? Does anyone not understand that it's Candid Camera pranks on celebrities, guided by Kutcher? Anyone? Well, the second season is more of the same, including audio commentaries, additional segments, a behind-the-scenes look at the Outkast punking, and deleted scenes.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)

With one release, the whining of geeks the world over is forever silenced. That release is the complete first and second seasons of The Ren & Stimpy Show. That's 32 episodes (including the infamously unaired "Man's Best Friend," which really wasn't worth the wait) including such landmarks as "Space Madness" and "Powdered Toastman." A few of the episodes are presented uncut, and I think the reinstatement of some of the changes Nickelodeon made in order to tone down the content were actually good decisions – John K. unchecked is a force of chaos, often unfunny (see the disastrous R&S revival on Spike). Unfortunately, the set gives entirely too much time to John K. (a little of which goes a long way) with audio commentaries and a creation featurette, but the "Sven Hoek" pencil test is quite a nice addition. But wither Bob Camp and Billy West? To listen to John, you'd think it was a Kricfalusi-centric universe we lived in.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

If you were to set Cheers in a taxi company and replace the bar patrons with cab drivers, you'd pretty much get Taxi. Heck, it even starts with a rather highbrow woman seeking employment and encountering the motley crew (Marilu Henner in Taxi, Shelley Long in Cheers). There's no Reverend Jim (Christopher Lloyd) yet in the first season, but I won't hold that against it – it's still got Andy Kaufman as Latka and Danny DeVito's legendary Louie De Palma.

(Universal, Rated PG, DVD-$14.95 SRP)

Seeing as how this is a major campaign year, it should be no surprise that just about every political documentary sitting on shelves is being released on DVD. The latest is Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker's inside view into the inner circle of Bill Clinton's '92 campaign staff, The War Room. It's a brilliant insight into the inner-workings of a heated political campaign, especially entertaining since one of Clinton's key advisors was the always-colorful James Carville. It's also fun that the very first line spoken in the film, by a Clinton staffer during the primaries, is, "We've had some problems with Kerry people ripping down our signs."

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$39.98 SRP)

In a landscape littered with viewers wondering more "Why?" than What About Jim?, it restores some semblance of my belief in the essential goodness of humanity that Arrested Development was renewed for a second season. Criminally ignored by audiences during its first season, it's easily one of the best written series on television, with an ensemble cast that legends are made of. If you've yet to experience the exploits of the eccentric Bluth family, pick up the complete first season. All 22 episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen (a rarity for a comedy), with a trio of audio commentaries featuring the cast & crew, a behind-the-scenes featurette, MT&R's Q&A session with the cast and creator Mitchell Hurwitz, deleted/extended scenes, the TV Land special " Arrested Development: The Making of a Future Classic, producer Ron Howard's look at the show, original songs, and promo spots. Sadly, they didn't not include the bumpers of family patriarch George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor) hosting Fox's New Year's Eve AD marathon.

(Fox, Rated PG, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

I still can't bring myself to believe they made a Garfield movie. Yet, somehow, I can believe just how utterly awful it is. At least the irony of Bill Murray doing the fat feline's voice doesn't escape me – Garfield's longtime voice was Lorenzo Music, who provided vocals for Peter Venkman during the first season of The Real Ghostbusters.

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$26.95 SRP)

Puppets and humans, living and working together – mass hysteria. For some reason, Greg the Bunny has developed a bit of a cult following, and for the life of me I'm not sure why. At times it elicited a smirk, but often it just left me cold – which it shouldn't have, seeing as how it starred Seth Green, Sarah Silverman, and Eugene Levy as the humans who had to deal with the "Fabricated Americans" around them while working at the Sweetknuckle Junction TV show. If you were one of the fans who lamented its swift cancellation, you can now get the complete 13-episode run replete with commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, an interview with Seth Green and Greg the Bunny, puppet auditions, a wrap reel, and storyboards.

(Shout Factory!, Not Rated, DVD-$89.98 SRP)

It seems like it took forever (music clearance issues will do that), but the release of SCTV on DVD rolls right along with the release of the 5-disc Volume 2, containing 9 more episodes from the show's fourth season (the 90-minute programs that ran on NBC). Not only does this set have the Soviet hijacking of the SCTV satellite, the takeover of the network by the alien Zontar, the mysterious Doorway to Hell, and the epic Godfather parody, but it's also got my favorite SCTV episode of all – the SCTV staff Christmas party. This is the episode that found Johnny La Rue (John Candy) banished to the streets of Melonville on Christmas Eve, concluding with Santa granting Johnny's one wish – a crane shot. Classic. Bonus features include brand new audio commentaries (with Dave Thomas, Dick Blasucci, writer John McAndrew, and Catherine O'Hara, & Andrea Martin), an overview featurette on this show cycle, a featurette on the Juul Haalmeyer Dancers, a conversation with SCTV's writers, 1982 Emmy Award footage, and a video documenting the 1982 Norman Seef photo session with the cast.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$49.95 SRP)

I admit it took awhile for me to warm up to Spongebob Squarepants. I would run across it and wonder what in the heck was going on – to describe it as borderline bizarre would almost be an understatement. But then I began to get used to its weird rhythms and it surreal underwater environment and characters. I think the episodes contained within the 3-disc Complete Second Season are probably the strongest the show ever produced, before a level of burnout began to set in. In addition to the 39 episodes, there's audio commentaries, a featurette, and storyboards.

(MGM/UA, Not Rated, DVD-$69.95 SRP)

Now in its eight season (making it the longest-running sci-fi show in television history), Stargate SG-1 is like the Energizer Bunny, just going and going. A lot of that owes the excellent characters and writing (it's certainly not highbrow, but it's definitely engaging). The Seventh Season brought a lot of characters and plotlines to a close, paving the way for a rejiggered eighth season. The 5-disc set contains the usual complement of audio commentaries and featurettes (although it would have been nice to have the Sci-Fi Lowdown special).

(Anchor Bay, Not Rated, DVD-$79.98 SRP)

Are we already up to the penultimate Xena season on DVD? Crikey, how time flies. Spanning 10-discs of episodes and copious bonus materials, Xena: Season Five was the season of Xena' unexpected (and epically convoluted, yet entertaining) pregnancy. Bonus features include audio commentaries, cast & crew interviews, featurettes (on monster-making, 100^th episode B-Roll footage, and on-set footage), and deleted scenes.

(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$49.98 SRP)

One day, if there is any justice in the world, Topher Grace will be recognized as the sublime comic actor he is. Of course, I still hold out hope for Dream On's Brian Benben as well. If you doubt my own appreciation of Mr. Grace's talents, they're already fully on display during the first season of That 70's Show. As late 70's teen Eric Forman, Grace is equal parts Tom Hanks and Woody Allen, flustered and neurotic dealing with both his friends and his parents. Pick up said first season and see for yourself. The 4-disc set contains a featurette, promos, and trivia.