(Fox, Not Rated, DVD-$69.95 SRP)

The third season of 24, just for those trying to keep track, is the one featuring the super-virus super-agent Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) must stop before it's unleashed upon Los Angeles. As usual, he's got just 24 hours to break the case – 24 hours filled with a lot of running, a lot of betrayal, some idiocy, a few red herrings, and nary a bathroom break. Featuring all 24 episodes (fancy that), the 7-disc set also contains audio commentaries on select episodes, deleted scenes, featurettes, and extended version of the season premiere.

(HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$99.95 SRP)

I've tried watching the show 3 times now, but I can't decide if the first season of HBO's Carnivale is a work of surreal genius, or just an utter piece of crap. Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) is a troubled healer traveling with a carnival show in America's Midwestern dustbowl in the year 1934. Billed as a time of magic, Hawkins faces his greatest challenge in the evangelical ministry of Brother Justin Crowe (Clancey Brown), as a battle between the forces of good and evil begin. At least, that's the gist of it. All I can really say, due to my indecision, is to check it out for yourself and draw your own conclusion. The 6-disc set contains a behind-the-scenes featurette on the period costuming and 3 audio commentaries.

(Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$59.95 SRP)

With the aborted 13-episode run of Crusade, J. Michael Straczynski managed to completely decimate any of the goodwill he had build up over the course of the 5-year run of his mostly stellar Babylon 5. Where B5 was nuanced, well-written, and well-cast, Crusade was a bastardized mish-mash of lackluster writing, poor realization, and unfortunate casting. Hey, but now you can judge for yourself with the release of the complete run, which also features a few audio commentaries and a pair of behind-the-scenes documentaries (sadly, JMS does not admit the true origins of the concept in any of them).

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

Dodgeball is the only "sports" comedy I've seen that's even come close to capturing the giddy absurdist antics of Caddyshack – and that's quite an accomplishment. Many have tried and failed to find the right mix of characters and humor (the second closest was Baseketball), but this flick, about a ragtag group's entrance into the world of professional dodgeball in order to save their gym from being bought out by an evil corporate chain headed by the more-fun-when-playing-an-a** Ben Stiller, is gold. The anamorphic DVD contains an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, an outtake reel, and the original ending.

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

I used to be a huge Garfield fan as a kid. Heck, I used to clip the strips out of the paper and make albums of them. Now, though, I can't stand the overly-polished, formulaic nature of the strip – just can't read it, period. However, I still enjoy the Saturday morning cartoon, the second batch of 24 episodes of which have been released in the appropriately titled Garfield and Friends: Volume 2. There are still absolutely no bonus materials – which is a damn shame, because series writer/producer Mark Evanier is only a phone call away.

(Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP)

Fans have been clamoring for years to get a DVD release, and their plaintive cries are finally answered with the complete first season of Disney's Gargoyles. Many see it as a distant cousin to Warner's animated Batman, and I can certainly see the similarities in the use of action and darker-than-usual tone. The 2-disc set features an audio commentary on the 5-part premiere, a featurette, and the original show pitch by Greg Weisman.

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

Ah, season seven of M*A*S*H – the season it all went downhill. What was the sign that the show jumped the shark, replacing a fair chunk of its humor with heavy-handed polemics and proselytizing? A mustache. B.J. Hunnicutt's mustache, to be exact. Long gone were comedy staples like Maj. Frank Burns and Henry Blake, and star Alan Alda began to make a more active hand in the storytelling – unfortunately. Every once in awhile, there would be a flash of the old brilliance, like the rubber bathtub farce "Some Like It Hot." Sadly, they become fewer and farther between as the show marched towards its final season. Like the previous DVD releases, the sole bonus feature id the ability to turn of the show's laugh track.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$139.95 SRP)

The penultimate season of Star Trek: Voyager attempted to start wrapping up the threads of the previous 5 seasons, while setting the stage for the final season's journey home. Unfortunately, Voyager was never a very deep show – that honor lay with DS9 – and the threads were few and far between… Which is why it practically became "The Doctor Show" (my favorite character, mind you – love Bob Picardo). I will say that it wasn't as unbearable as the final seasons of Next Gen – you know, when every relative of every character came out of the woodwork – but it's certainly not up to the franchise's highs. The 7-disc set contains the usual bevy of featurettes, including an overview of the season, a spotlight on Chakotay and Robert Beltran, and more.

(Walt Disney, Not Rated, DVD-$32.99 SRP each)

Each year around this time (barring last year's "delay"), I've eagerly looked forward to the latest batch of releases from the Walt Disney Treasures line. You know the ones I'm talking about – the limited edition, tin-encased, unedited and restored collections of Disney cartoon and live action classics, from the Complete Goofy to Davey Crockett. This year, instead of the usual 4, there's only three titles being released – Mickey Mouse in Black & White: Volume 2 (which, with previous releases, now completes the entire Mickey run from B&W to color), The Complete Pluto: Volume 1, and the complete premiere week of The Mickey Mouse Club . Leonard Maltin continues to be an engaging and informative guide, including placing now-culturally insensitive material in its proper historical context so these cartoons no longer have to be locked away in the vaults (the early Mickey cartoons abound with stereotypes). The sets continue to have a choice selection of bonus material, including interviews and featurettes. My only regret is that they come out only once a year.

(HBO, Not Rated, DVD-$44.95 SRP)

No one can say that Everybody Loves Raymond is a thinking man's comedy, a la Frasier, Seinfeld, or classic Simpsons. No, Ray Ramano's sitcom vehicle is an amiable, rote family comedy that managed to earn its place as a comedy classic mostly through its wonderful cast – particularly Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, and Peter Boyle. Nowhere is this more evident than the "hitting the groove" second season  which – surprise, surprise! – you can now get on DVD, replete with audio commentaries, bloopers, and deleted scenes. Odd how that works, eh?

(Fox, Not Rated, $19.98 SRP)

Ever since the initial DVD release of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy, fans have bemoaned the quite a few things, including the editing of the audio commentaries, the deletion of an in-character Stewie & Brian commentary on the episode "Road to Rhode Island," and – most of all – the editing of "Road" to remove a pre-9/11 Osama bin Laden joke. With the massive success of the DVD sets and Family Guy's imminent return to television, we've got a double-dip "Best Of" disc that actually delivers enough incentives to make it a must-have for any fan – including the restoration of the character commentary on the now unedited "Road." The Family Guy: Freakin' Sweet Collection also features the MacFarlane-chosen episodes "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," "To Live and Die in Dixie," "I Am Peter Hear Me Roar," and "Lethal Weapons" (with brand-new commentaries on all but "Weinstein"). In addition, you get a pair of featurettes with MacFarlane talking about his new show, American Dad, and the upcoming fourth season of Family Guy.

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

You know, Will Smith is getting a (much-deserved) reputation as the king of schlock sci-fi remakes and adaptations. As if the abysmal Wild Wild West weren't enough, we've not got the atrocious I, Robot, wherein Smith bastardizes Isaac Asimov's classic stories by playing a "robophobic" detective hot on the trail of a murderous robot whose gone against the Three Laws of Robotics (one of which should have been "Movies should never assault the intellect of the viewer"). This film just makes me ill. So very ill. The DVD contains an audio commentary with director Alex Proyas and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, a making-of featurette, and a photo gallery.

(New Line, Not Rated, DVD-$39.99 SRP)

Okay, so I've just spent about 4 days digging my way through the mountain of materials contained within the 4-disc Lord of the Rings – Return of the King: Extended Edition. By now, you should be well acquainted with these expanded editions – an extended version of the film spread across 2 of the discs, a bevy of audio commentaries, and rounded out by 2 discs of documentaries, stills, artwork, and other production ephemera. First off, we've got over 50 minutes of brand new footage added to The Return of the King, the major highlights of which include the resolution of Saruman and Grima's fate at Isengard, Gandalf's showdown with the Witch King on the battlements of Minas Tirith, and the Mouth of Sauron scene in front of the gates of Morgul. The majority of the other additions are basically character moments and scene expansions (as with the Extended Editions of the previous 2 films), but the overall effect is mostly positive – there's just a heck of a lot to digest. The appendices this go round are chock full of all the production stories we've come to expect, but theirs is a definite melancholy to the whole affair, as you clearly feel that a major chapter in the lives of the participants is drawing to close – not to mention a landmark in filmmaking, and a beloved trio of flicks (who knows if we'll ever get The Hobbit…). The only disappointment I have, though, is the lack of the long-promised and oft-mentioned blooper reel… I guess that will be in the eventual uber-super-duper edition down the line. Either way, this is a fine capper for a 3 year cinematic journey. Also available is the Collector's Gift Set (New Line, Not Rated, DVD-$79.92 SRP), which includes the Extended Edition, the Howard Shore: Creating "The Lord of The Rings" Symphony DVD, and a Sideshow/Weta polystone sculpture of Minas Tirith (the companion piece of which, Minas Morgul, is available exclusively to owners of the set via Sideshow).

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

There are many films from my childhood that I place upon a pedestal merely for sentimental reasons, despite glaring deficiencies in quality. You know exactly the type I mean. But then there's Mary Poppins, a film I loved as a kid, a statement I am not ashamed to make as it still holds up as a stellar film, with songs I know by heart to this day (having to sing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" in elementary school certainly helps). The remastered 2-disc 40^th Anniversary Edition is a welcome presentation of the film, with a fine audio commentary (with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Karen Dotrice, Richard Sherman, and Robert Sherman), a brand new making-of documentary, and a few more surprises. Also worth picking up at the same time is the 2-dic remastered version of the soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, $18.98 SRP), featuring a second disc full of demos and a rare story session with P.L. Travers.

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

So what happens when a sequel to a popular flick makes its way into theaters? There's the synergistic re-release of the original film on DVD, of course, usually with "added features" meant to make the purchase enticing, even if you already own it. Such is the case with Meet the Parents, which brings nothing new to the table except additional deleted scenes and outtakes, plus featurettes on the film's cat wrangler and a piece on lie detectors from the polygraph expert employed by NBC's unfortunate Meet My Folks series. The kick in the pants, though, is that this edition does not duplicate the special features from the original release, meaning you can't get rid of that old disc.

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

I hate to admit this, but there's something horribly addictive about the completely dysfunctional mixture of incompatibility and idiocy rampant in the marriage of singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. Yes, it's a train wreck, but the first season of Newlyweds really is a tacky Sonny & Cher for the new millennium. The 2-disc set features all 10 episodes, plus additional footage, interviews, and videos.

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

What do you do for a Princess Diaries sequel when you've already made your lead character the titular princess? Contrive a marriage stipulation, of course! So that's where we're at in Princess Diaries 2, as Princess Mia (Anne Hathaway) must find a significant other with the help of the always-welcome Julie Andrews. It's not as fresh as the first film, but they manage to pull the whole affair off well enough – though I hope they put it to rest before Son of the Princess. The DVD contains an audio commentary with director Garry Marshall and Andrews, bloopers, deleted scenes, a making-of, and a tacky music video.

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

Quantum Leap was always a gimmicky show, and that truly began to take hold during the show's second season. I mean, the stories became secondary to seeing just who Sam Beckett would leap into each week, be… A cop? A secretary? A monkey? Wait – that came later. Still, the show was held together by the Scott Bakula's performance, along with Dean Stockwell's  ever-helpful (not really) Al.

(Paramount, Rated PG, DVD-$19.95 SRP)

The parade of souped-up re-releases continues with the 2-disc special edition of Top Gun, a film that does not hold up terribly well as years go by. Still, there's a rather sizeable fan base out there who still dig Maverick and have "Danger Zone" on their iPod, so this one's for you. Bonus features include an audio commentary (with Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott, and Naval experts), 4 music videos (yes, you can get your Kenny Loggins fix before your breath is taken away), TV spots, a multi-part making-of documentary, multi-angle storyboard with optional Tony Scott commentary, interviews, and vintage featurettes.

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

When 4,400 missing persons mysteriously reappear in a single day, in the exact state in which they disappeared, there's more than meets the eye as its discovered that each of the victims returned with a little something extra that may very well change the human race. And there you have the premise of The 4400, a surprisingly decent sci-fi series brought to you by many of the creative talents behind the phenomenally good (and much-missed) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

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

Irwin Winkler's biopic of legendary composer Cole Porter, De-Lovely really should be a better film than it is – I mean, it's got Kevin Kline in the title role, portraying the fascinatingly complex Porter, whose life deserved a biopic. Sadly, it deserved a better biopic than this, which plods along in a muddily schizophrenic manner, looking for a voice. Bonus materials include an audio commentary from Winkler and Kline, a second commentary with Winkler and writer Jay Cocks, making-of and music featurettes, deleted scenes, a TV spot, and more.

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

The unrated director's cut of King Arthur advertises that it "Contains Intense Footage Not Shown in Theaters." It's a shame that none of it in any way makes up for what a mess this film is. As tales of Arthur go, there's more to be found in Disney's Sword in the Stone than this disaster. Bonus features include a commentary with director Antoine Fuqua, a making-of featurette, and an alternate ending with optional commentary.

(Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

What happens when you take a classic thriller and seek to update it in a patently half-assed way? Well, you wouldn't be far from the mark if you selected the Denzel Washington-fueled remake of the The Manchurian Candidate as your example, which never succeeds in capturing the flair or intelligence of the original. Sad, really. The packed-to-the-gills DVD features an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary, outtakes, and more.

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

After Rushmore, Election, My So-Called Life, Popular, and Freaks & Geeks, I felt a bit leery towards Napoleon Dynamite. I mean, here was another quirky teen high school comedy and frankly, after the high quality of some of the aforementioned titles, did we need another one? Well, I was won over by the titular character, an afro'd dreamer with a unique taste in clothes and perpetually lidded eyes who launches into an altogether odd campaign to get his mustachioed friend Pedro elected class president. It's funky, it's off-kilter, it's worth experiencing for yourself. The DVD features an audio commentary, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, and more.

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

While the fourth season of The Simpsons was by far its best, there were certainly very few clunkers during the show's 5^th season . In fact, the only one I find absolutely marginal (the worst insult I can come up with for this particular season) was the episode featuring Bart's elephant. Otherwise, it's classic Simpsons from start to finish, although it begins the trend that would eventually lead to the mediocrity of seasons 8 and above, as plots became heavily accelerated and self-references – as opposed to the sly pop culture and obscure ones of yore - began their rise to dominance. In regards to bonus features, the Simpsons sets have become pretty predictable by now – audio commentaries on all the eps, deleted scenes, the 100^th episode featurette, an audio intro with Matt Groening, and a few easter eggs here and there.

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

Jonathan Frakes, I know you're capable of more than Thunderbirds. I know this. You're a smart, funny, creative guy – yet in your two major post- Trek films (Clockstoppers being the first), all you've managed to churn out is uninteresting kiddie-fare, hobbled by poor scripts and boring direction. What happened to the guy behind First Contact? Fans of Gerry Anderson's classic supermarionation series will probably see your film as blasphemy, but I prefer to see it as a prime example of unrealized potential. Since few saw it in theaters, audiences can see for themselves now that it's own disc. The DVD includes an audio commentary with Frakes and a behind-the-scenes featurettes mostly highlighting the vehicles and effects.

(Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$139.95 SRP)

First off, I've got to praise Paramount for their dedication towards getting the complete runs of the Trek series out on DVD within the same year, unlike the slow, drawn-out approach of other studios. Having said that, I find I have mixed feelings about the end of Voyager's run with the release of Season Seven. On the one hand, it's still a pretty mediocre series, even though it gains a few notches on the quality scale when compared with the pathetic monstrosity that is Enterprise. However, Voyager did possess a cast I cared about – from Picardo's Doctor and Phillips' Neelix, to Russ' Tuvok and McNeill's Paris – and I miss not having those actors around. Maybe that's why Voyager's non-ending still grates so much, as we journey seven years with these characters to get no real resolution beyond "They get home." No sign of what happens to anyone but Neelix, who gets his send-off in the penultimate episode. That was wrong. The characters – and the audience – deserved more. Still, that's all in the past, and I'm sure you have opinions of your own. As far as extras go, we wrap-up with an overview of the season, a final science installment with Andre Bormanis, a profile of Bob Picardo and The Doctor, a look at the finale, and a behind-the-scenes look at the Borg: 4-D ride at Vegas's Star Trek Experience (and the usual easter eggs).

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

I will state up front, for the record, that I thought Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica "re-imagining" was complete and utter crap. Boring, annoying, and just plain awful – that about sums up my reaction. Yet, somehow, a large enough chunk of viewers saw past all that and gave the miniseries the ratings necessary to move onto a series. Shame on you. But, you know, whatever. The miniseries is hitting DVD just in time for the launch of series on the Sci-Fi Channel, with a making-of featurette, Sci-Fi's Lowdown special, and an audio commentary.

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

As films go, Garden State is about as formulaic as you can get, as writer/director Zach Braff stars as Andrew Largeman, a Jersey native who returns to his garden state hometown after a 10-year estrangement from his family. There's the expected desire to reconnect with the past, discover oneself, and eventual falling in love with the beautiful girl you never would have expected (Natalie Portman), but what elevates the flick above the formula is Braff's witty script and a cadre of performers (including Braff) who bring their A-game. The DVD features an audio commentary, outtakes and bloopers, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette.

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

I'm just going to assume that Mike Judge's divided focus – what, with a new film in production - is the reason for the delay in the release King of the Hill's 3^rd season , but why hold up a set that has zero special features (not even the brilliant character commentaries that enlivened the previous sets)? Ah well, at least it's hear. The set also features on of my favorite episode, as Buckley's Ghost makes his grand finale to Dream Factory's "Life in a Northern Town."

(Columbia/Tristar, Rated R, DVD-$28.95 SRP)

Okay, so Resident Evil: Apocalypse basically picks up exactly where the first RE film left off – zombie fighter Alice (Milla Jovovich) has emerged from the  underground hell of the Hive facility to a world where the zombie-making T-virus is running rampant. And, as a viewer, I pick right back up where the first film left me, looking at a loud piece of cinematic garbage that never should have been allowed to exist. Bonus materials include a trio of audio commentaries (what, this is somehow The Lord of the Rings?) deleted scenes, outtakes, featurettes, and a poster gallery.

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

I was never one of them, but I know there were plenty of people who never missed an episode of Sex and the City during its 6 season run, and now they can own the entirety with the release of Season Six: Part 2, which wraps up all of the plotlines that had dangled for years, including the final will she/won't she with Mr. Big. And the answer? Bonus features include audio commentaries and deleted scenes.

(Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.95 SRP)

Why is it that the Brits have to do it so much better than us? We put out a gore-heavy schlocky-but-satisfying remake of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead , and Brits Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright counter with a comedic take, titled Shaun of the Dead. Pegg stars as Shaun, a workaday zombie who shuffles through his life, to the consternation of his girlfriend (Kate Ashfield) and the indifference of his best mate and worst influence, Ed (Nick Frost). When real zombies enter the picture, laying waste to their town, Shaun is forced to step up and lead a group of survivors (including his girlfriend's friends, his Mom, and Ed) to safety at a local pub. Brilliant. Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, casting tapes, Pegg's video diary, interviews, and special effects comparisons.

(Columbia/Tristar, Not Rated, DVD-$39.95 SRP)

As I've mentioned before, Hogan's Heroes> found levity in the second World War, and M*A*S*H managed to do the same for the Korean conflict, but Vietnam has been a tough nut to crack on TV, be it comedy or drama. Besides China Beach , the only other show that approached the subject was Tour of Duty. Focusing on a group of diverse characters as they brave the Southeast Asian terrain, it played like the TV version of Platoon – and managed to pull it off. The 4-disc Tour of Duty: The Complete Second Season, which features all 16 episodes from the show's sophomore run.

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

I'm usually not a big fan of romantic comedies – and I hate tennis – so it's a bit odd that I actually enjoyed Wimbledon, which is a romantic comedy about two tennis stars who hook up during their race for the Wimbledon cup. I attribute just about all of my goodwill towards to the presence of stars Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst – the former as the down-on-his-luck player who's affair with Dunst's rising champion suddenly reenergizes more than just his failing career. The DVD features a slew of featurettes.