tv shows on dvd

Battlestar Galactica creator Ron Moore's doomed Fox sci-fi pilot Virtuality is finally getting a DVD release. The pilot, billed as a TV movie when it premiered last year, is heading to DVD on May 4.

Fox showed little faith in the intriguing drama that followed a crew of astronauts haunted by a malfunctioning VR system and a bit of space madness. After ordering several changes to the show in order to make it more "mainstream," the network scrapped plans for a full series and dumped the premiere on a random Friday night last June with little promotion.

Needless to say, nobody watched.

The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in TV Squad's APB Podcast.

To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them to asktvsquad@gmail.com.

This week, I follow up on the last "Ask TV Squad" about TV shows on DVD and answer a question about which TV DVDs you should own.

By now you're probably just about done with Thanksgiving. Too much turkey, too much stuffing and just the right amount of pie (since there can never be too much pie) have no doubt left you in a post-feast stupor, without the energy to do much more than lie on the couch.

It's okay, though, because the new DVD market is feeling the same thing.

Thanksgiving is here, and in the television world that means just one thing: long, badly played football games.

Luckily for everyone who isn't a fan of the Detroit Lions (and even luckier for those who are), there are other things you can watch this year, thanks to a slew of new DVD releases issued this week. So in order to help you plan the perfect Lions-free holiday, we're here with our weekly breakdown of the top new TV DVDs of the week. Because when you're done passing the rolls, its time to pass the remote.

We've got the scoop on September's choice TV-to-DVD releases: We'll let you know when you should dole out your hard-earned dollars, and when a simple addition to your Netflix queue will suffice. -- By Janine LoGelfo

'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' (The Complete First Season) - HBO's series about a strong Botswana woman based on the popular Alexander McCall books has yet to be renewed for a second season -- while that mystery is being solved, familiarize yourself with this gem of a show. Jill Scott's portrayal of the iconic character Mma Ramostwe is like a breath of fresh air, and the show is surprisingly clean for HBO's sensibilities, featuring no profanity, explicit violence or sex throughout the whole season.
Buy or Netflix? Netflix (available Sept. 1)

Here are the highlights of this week's DVD releases. Enjoy!

'Entourage' (The Complete Fifth Season)

What This Season Is About: Vince (Adrian Grenier) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) are hiding out beachside in Mexico after the failure of 'Medellin.' Ari (Jeremy Piven) and Eric (Kevin Connolly) begin plotting Vince's rise back to the top, resulting in Vince getting cast in Martin Scorcese's version of 'The Great Gatsby.'

Why You Should Check It Out: Stellan Skarsgard, Jason Patric and Gus Van Sant guest star, as well as Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who plays herself in a recurring role as Turtle's new girlfriend.

Here are the highlights of this week's DVD releases. Enjoy!

'The Girls Next Door' (Season 5)

What the Season's About: This season chronicles the lead-up to the buxom blonde trio's flight from the Playboy coop. While we now know that Kendra and Bridget landed their own series, we will always remember their time in the mansion -- even if Hef doesn't.

Why You Should Check It Out: It's the last season that features Bridget, Holly and Kendra as Hef's girlfriends. While there is a season 6 in the works with all new Hef gal pals, the chemistry between these three will be hard to match.

Rent it on Netflix | Buy it on Amazon

Here's a taste of what's coming out on DVD this week:

'Family Guy' (Volume 7)

What It Includes: This three-disc set contains the last four episodes from season 6 and the first nine from season 7. Plus, each episode has its own commentary and deleted scenes and there's a Comic Con-related featurette.

Why You Should Check It Out: The twice canceled cult fave built so much momentum on DVD, it returned to TV in 2005. So watching it straight out of the box is like kicking it old school. But since it was just renewed through 2012, you don't have to worry about Stewie and Co. going anywhere anytime soon.

Here's a taste of what's coming out on DVD this week:

'The Shield' (Season 7, The Final Act)

What the Season's About: The final season of this gritty cop show follows Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) as he battles with former teammate Shane (Walton Goggins) and faces off against the Armenian mob. As if that's not enough, Vic's ex-wife plots against him to expose all the crimes the Strike Team has committed, and he faces losing his job or landing in jail.

Special Features: Episode commentaries, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette about the series finale and a season retrospective.

Here's a taste of what's coming out on DVD this week:

'Prison Break' (The Final Season)

What the Season's About: The title says it all: This is the final season of the fan favorite that was just canceled. While the series had its ups and downs, season 4 was seen as a resurgence as brothers Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) go after the group that destroyed their lives and discover that Michael's love may still be alive.

Special Features: Select episodes come with commentary and there are two featurettes – one about the final episode and one called "Director's World."

Here's a taste of what's coming out on DVD this week:

'The Closer' (The Complete Fourth Season)

What the Season's About: As L.A.'s lead investigator, Brenda Leigh Johnson has a special gift when it comes to getting criminals talking. But the real drama comes as she grapples with preparing for married life with fiancé -- and FBI agent -- Fritz.

Special Features: There's a blooper reel, deleted scenes and an informative featurette with actor Corey Reynolds and a real-life L.A. police detective.

Get ready to utter the biggest "At last!" since NBC put the Knight Rider remake out of its long and winding misery.

TV Shows on DVD reported MTV's official announcement earlier this morning that the entire sketch comedy series will hit store shelves on July 14th. That was followed by a trailer release of the DVD on The State's official site. It's going to have full commentary from the cast, four interview features on the troupe's origins and the show's many catchphrases, some unaired sketches and outtakes. It sounds like this five disc set will be chocked full of Stately goodness. You'll want to do a lot more than just dip your balls in it. Please keep those things to yourself.

Founding State member, writer and Role Models director David Wain was nice enough to give us his first interview (via IM, no less). He talked about the work that went in to getting things to this stage, why the announcement first appeared on cast member Joe Lo Truglio's site and what he and the rest of his crew hope to accomplish with their DVD.

TV Shows on DVD has long been my favorite site for finding information on both recent and upcoming DVD releases of television series, and I've linked to it on numerous occasions. After five years of providing quality content, the site has been acquired by TV Guide. In a message on the site, co-founder Gord Lacey explained that not much will change with the site itself, other than some integration between the site and TVGuide.com.

I always thought the site did pretty well on its own, but as Lacey points out, being part of TV Guide will hopefully give the site even more visibility and access to studios, resulting in even better coverage.

If the acquisition helps to raise the profile of TV Shows On DVD, I say "cheers" to my fellow TV-centric blog. It will remain my preferred choice for TV on DVD news and new releases.

Now this could be cool: imagine getting a DVD of an episode of your favorite TV show, say 24 or The Office or Lost, a mere 24 hours after it airs on television?

That's the plan that Amazon has. Their CustomFlix Labs, which is going to make quick DVDs available for special shows like Antiques Roadshow and The Westminster Kennel Dog Show, is looking to create instant DVDs for regular network shows as well. Much like iTunes does.

Is this a good idea? Would you rather buy a DVD or watch it on iTunes?

Every Tuesday morning here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, January 3, 2006:

• 1st & Ten - Season 1; Season 2
• Alien Nation - The Complete Series
• All in the Family - The Complete 5th Season
• Gunsmoke - 50th Anniversary Edition - Volume 1; 50th Anniversary Edition - Volume 2; 50th Anniversary Edition Giftset
• Have Gun Will Travel - Season 3
• Hunter - Season 3
• Silk Stalkings - Season 4