Weeds
Buy 'Weeds' Season 1 DVD
Nothing screams controversy like a suburban, stay-at-home, single mom selling pot door-to-door to her dysfunctional neighbors in an effort to maintain her family's uptown lifestyle. And that's only the beginning of the greatness that is "Weeds," Showtime's critically-acclaimed series about widowed soccer mom Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) who finds it hard to make ends meet until she starts her very own local pot-dealing business in the family-values town of Agrestic, California where she lives with her two young sons. Though marijuana plays a central, driving role in the series, it tends to jumpstart bigger issues and act as a metaphor for the things that always seem to dirty-up and ruin picture perfectness. The show's witty, dark humor is totally addictive and the characters are deeply relatable. Nancy Botwin is the endearing heroine who may be a woman with descending morals, but you'll always root for her in the end. You don't want to miss out on this HIGH-larious and HIGH-ly recommended series, so go grab Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (available on 6/12) on DVD and watch Season 4 this summer every Monday at 10pm on Showtime.
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Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
Buy 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 1 DVD
To say "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a cult classic is selling it WAY too short. Definitely one of the most successful movie-turned-TV series of all time, this is the show that launched Sarah Michelle Gellar to stardom and gave the term "Scoobies" life beyond the Saturday morning cartoon of the '70s. Full of pop culture references, quick quips and agonizingly great drama, this show was ahead of its time and beloved by its devout fans for its entire seven-year run. Yeah, it's the story of a high school girl who finds out she's the Chosen One and has to fight demons for a living, but it's much more than your typical teen drama. It's relatable, real, ridiculously clever, and just good old-fashioned fun that will draw you in from the first Xander-Cordelia exchange in Season 1. Groundbreaking for its time, it's still relevant now. The show ran for seven seasons on the WB and UPN and all are available right now on DVD, so get slaying!
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Arrested Development
Buy 'Arrested Development' Season 1 DVD
One of the smartest comedies of the 21st century, "Arrested Development" focuses on Michael Bluth (the 'normal one' in a family full of eccentric and spoiled nuts), who finds himself stuck running the family business and looking after his helpless mother and siblings after his father, George Bluth Sr., is sent to prison. The series is jam-packed with dozens of intertwining stories and a slew of perfectly cast guest stars. Enter the screwball world of "Arrested Development" with the complete series available on DVD.
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Rome
Buy 'Rome' Season 1 DVD
"Rome," HBO's ambitious and expensive series, gave viewers a delicious bite out of the glorious history of the Roman Empire, full of revenge, treacherous intrigues, incest, betrayals, bloody violence, corrupt power and explicit sex. The series revolves around the rise and bloody fall of Julius Caesar, the political power struggle between Mark Antony and Gaius Octavian Caesar that followed and, at the heart of the show, the story of two of Caesar's soldiers -- Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo -- who often found themselves right in the thick of all the action and left a profound, and usually accidental, influence on various events throughout Roman history. Even though "Rome" takes some considerable liberties with history, the epic saga's rich characterizations, engrossing storyline and superbly assembled cast far outweigh any complaints of historical inaccuracies. Each episode brims with edge-of-your-seat drama and can't-miss, hedonistic amusement, providing a visual masterpiece which leaves viewers breathless with anticipation for what's coming up next. "Rome" may have taken place thousands of years ago, but the lessons and morals still resonate today. Here's one history lesson you won't soon forget. HBO's ode to ancient times only aired for two seasons, but luckily both are available on DVD for your guilty-viewing pleasure.
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Freaks and Geeks
Buy 'Freaks and Geeks' Complete Series DVD
Sometimes life is so painfully awkward the only thing you can do is laugh. Thus is the premise of the Paul Feig and Judd Apatow ("40-Year-Old Virgin") coming-of-age series "Freaks and Geeks." Set in a suburban high school in 1980, brother and sister Sam (John Francis Daley) and Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) are desperately trying to figure out how to fit in. Former mathlete Lindsay falls in with the stoner-slacker Freaks (actors James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jason Segal and Busy Phillips). Sam, on the other hand, continues his friendships with the Geeks (actors Samm Levine and Martin Starr), despite the fact that this association will further alienate him from the rest of his freshman class. Although "Freaks and Geeks" was critically acclaimed and had a following of die-hard fans, NBC bungled the programming so badly with scheduling changes that it was extraordinarily difficult for fans to find the show. The network then abruptly canceled the series after airing only 12 episodes. Thankfully, Shout! Factory released the full season on DVD, which contains all 18 episodes with their original soundtracks intact.
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The Wire
Buy 'The Wire' Season 1 DVD
The biggest misconception about this highly acclaimed (and highly addictive) series is that "The Wire" is a show about inner city drug dealers. In actuality, the riveting series uses Baltimore's gritty drug underworld as a vehicle to tell the stories of the harsh realities of other urban institutions -- law enforcement, city government, labor unions, the media, and the education system -- and shows viewers how the characters from these vastly different worlds aren't so far apart and even must turn to each other to get what they want. You'll be shocked to find yourself sympathizing with the bad guys, becoming skeptical of the good guys, and realizing just how difficult it is to change a culture hopelessly embedded in crime and corruption. "The Wire" ran on HBO for five seasons; the first four seasons are available now on DVD and Season 5 drops in August.
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The Office (BBC)
Buy 'The Office' (BBC) Season 1 DVD
If you didn't think you could find a boss more socially awkward and inappropriate than Michael Scott, a bigger brown-noser than Dwight Schrute, or an office more inefficient than Dunder Mifflin, wait until you get a look at what's going on across the pond at Wernham Hogg -- yet another poorly-run paper company with a suburban office full of characters who produce huge laughs, but little actual business. Many fans argue that it's even funnier than the American version, thanks to its bone-dry wit, super-honed subtly, and of course, Gervais' genius (not only did he play boss David Brent, he also created, wrote and directed the show). We'll let you be the judge. Both seasons (12 episodes total) and the two Christmas specials are included in the "The Office -- The Complete Collection BBC Edition" DVD.
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Mad Men
Buy 'Mad Men' Season 1 DVD
If there's one show that was a shoo-in for this list, it's "Mad Men," the Golden Globe-winning drama set in the 1960s world of advertising that premiered on AMC last summer and is back for Season 2 in July. Created by former "Sopranos" executive producer Matthew Weiner, this show delves deep into New York's very un-PC, male-dominated advertising industry of a completely different era which featured constant smoking, drinking in the office, a good-old boys network and various cultural mores we aren't used to in this day in age. It's a fascinating snapshot of a time many of us don't even remember, and the cast is phenomenal, led by Jon Hamm, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his portrayal of Don Draper, an ad man with a very mysterious past. Watch the Season 1 DVD, which is available in July to get hooked just in time for Season 2 which starts later in July.
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Damages
Buy 'Damages' Season 1 DVD
When the FX show "Damages" premiered last July, we were immediately strapped in to a roller coaster ride full of twists, turns and shocking revelations. In Episode 1 we found out that attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) would do anything to take down greedy billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), and we also learned that novice attorney Ellen Parsons' (Rose Byrne) fiancé had been murdered, and (oh yeah) Ellen herself was in jail for the murder -- and we still had 12 more episodes to go! The plot twists come fast and furious on "Damages" as each layer of the story is delicately peeled away to reveal just how far people will go to protect themselves and the ones they love. Definitely watch the first season of "Damages," which is sure to pick up multiple Emmy nominations, before the second season premieres in 2009.
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Friday Night Lights
Buy 'Friday Night Lights' Season 1 DVD
Every Friday night, the people of Dillon, Texas gather to watch the Dillon High Panthers do what they do best -- play football. But for the rest of the week, life for this community is far from fun and games. The head coach, the talented players, the faculty, the students, the passionate fans, and their families all face various challenges and obstacles on and off the field. Without argument there isn’t another show on television that is more real or endearing than "Friday Night Lights." And it's no coincidence that "FNL" Season 1 is the most borrowed DVD in our entire collection.
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Sports Night
Buy 'Sports Night' Complete Series DVD
Before Peter Krause was a brooding undertaker on "Six Feet Under" and Felicity Huffman went suburban on "Desperate Housewives," they starred in "Sports Night," an Aaron Sorkin sitcom set behind the scenes of a Manhattan-based SportsCenter-esque news show. "Sports Night" premiered in 1998, and although it may feel surprisingly dated with an unabashedly liberal point of view, a laugh track (which disappears by the end of the first season) and frequent exterior shots of the NYC skyline, Twin Towers and all, the show is classic Sorkin, featuring rapid-paced dialogue that flies around in circles (and sometimes right over your head) and spectacularly talented actors like Robert Guillaume ("Benson"), who plays the wise and loving Managing Editor Isaac Jaffe, and Josh Charles ("Dead Poets Society"), who portrays the confident and likeable co-anchor Dan Rydell. The show ran on ABC for two seasons, both of which are available on DVD in one box set.
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Lost
Buy 'Lost' Season 1 DVD
You probably have plenty of friends who insist you should be watching "Lost." Well, there's nothing better on the tube right now, so why not take their advice? Anything is possible on "Lost." With flashbacks, flash forwards, multiple mysteries, time jumps and characters that could be killed off at anytime, you never know what to expect next. Where are the survivors of Oceanic flight 815? Jump in with the Season 1 DVD and come up with your own theories. And if you become hooked, Seasons 1-3 are available now on DVD but you'll have to wait until December for Season 4.
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