the national parks

If you haven't checked out Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS yet, now you can actually buy it. The 12-hour series hit DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 6, and offers a stunning look at our national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades, and the Gates of Arctic in Alaska.

When you think about it, it's truly amazing how these natural wonders have become part of our lives, even if we've never been to them. Burns covers 150 years of the parks, starting with the concept in the mid-1800s and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Andy Garcia, Sam Waterston and others.

The cool thing about the DVD / Blu-ray sets is that you get three hours of bonus material, including a making-of featurette, Musical Journeys Through the National Parks, Contemporary Stories and Outtakes.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Not only is The Lola Falana Show on DVD now, I didn't even know there was a Lola Falana Show. I knew that there was a Lola Falana (that's a fun name to say: Lola Falana Lola Falana Lola Falana). She was a dancer and actress who was pretty well known back in the 70s, but her TV show escaped my radar. This set includes guest stars Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cosby, Sonny and Cher, and Muhammad Ali.

There's also a Heeere's Johnny: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson "Holiday Set." It looks like the same set that I've owned for a couple of years (several DVDs split up into different categories: Timeless Moments, Standup Comedians, Carson Country, and the original Ultimate Collection disc), but with a special Christmas disc thrown in, with three classic episodes.

• Ally McBeal - Season 1 and Complete Series
• Astroboy - Vols 1 and 2
• Blood Ties - Season 2
  

• At 8, ABC has a new FlashForward, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.
• CBS has a new Survivor, then new episodes of CSI and The Mentalist.
• NBC has new episodes of SNL Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Community, and The Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8, followed by a new Fringe.
• The CW has a new Vampire Diaries at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• PBS has a new episode of The National Parks at 8.
• At 9, Food Network has a new Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin, then a new Ace of Cakes.
• MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory at 9, followed by new episodes of Bully Beatdown, Nitro Circus, and Pranked.
• Spike has a new TNA Wrestling at 9.
• ESPN2 has the WNBA Basketball Finals at 9.
• At 9:30, Cartoon Network has a new Stoked.
• At 10, FX has a new It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• Lifetime has a new Project Runway at 10, then a new Models of the Runway.
• Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Atlanta at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

America's preeminent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, the guy that made the Civil War must-see viewing, is hard at work on a new project. PBS will broadcast Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea in Fall 2009. In 12-hours, divided over six episodes, Burns will explore the places like Yellowstone, the Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, et al, as well as the people who were instrumental in the creation of these landmarks.

Like who? Start with Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir. In the Ken Burns style, you can be sure to learn things about the parks that you never knew, stuff that were not in the tour books from the AAA.