Not too many TV shows are coming to DVD this week, but there are some goodies, led by the long-awaited "Picket Fences." These titles are scheduled to be in stores on Tuesday.
TV series
"Picket Fences: Season One" (Fox, 1992-93, six discs, $59.98). Of all David E. Kelly's many TV series ("L.A. Law," "Ally McBeal," "Boston Legal," etc.), this is my favorite. A blend of mystery, soap opera, police procedural, courtroom legal wrangling, thought-provoking discussions and wacky (some would say "silly") comedy, this one has it all — and in the earliest of its four seasons, it was top-notch entertainment.
But, of course, this is coming from someone who's been a critic for 30 years, and critics always liked this show. Audiences were less enthused, so we'll see if it sells well enough to encourage future seasons on DVD.
The setting is Rome, Wis. — small-town America — and the central characters are the levelheaded Brock family, led by Jimmy (Tom Skerritt), the town sheriff, and his wife, Jill, a doctor. The myriad eccentric characters who surround them are played by an eclectic cast, including Holly Marie Combs ("Charmed") as their daughter, Lauren Holly ("NCIS") as a deputy, Zelda Rubinstein ("Poltergeist") as the sheriff's nosy receptionist, Fyvush Finkel as a "character" attorney and Ray Walston as the judge, who often gets the last word.
This season starts off with the murder of the Tin Man in a "Wizard of Oz" community production, followed by a kid who brings a severed hand to show-and-tell, a woman who runs her husband down with a steamroller and pleads "menopausal" ... you get the idea.
Perhaps it's an acquired taste. If so, I've acquired it.
Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes, featurette
"Perry Mason: Season Two, Volume One" (CBS/Paramount, 1958-59, b/w, four discs, $42.99). More great fun with this fine old courtroom series — which apparently sells well enough to keep making more DVDs but not quite enough to warrant full-season sets.
This is the first half of the second season, with Mason (Raymond Burr) getting more people to confess on the stand, aided by Della Street (Barbara Hale) and Paul Drake (William Hopper), despite the efforts of prosecutor Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins), who always seem to be going after the wrong person.
Extras: Full frame, 15 episodes
"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season Three, Volume One" (Fox, 1966, three discs, $39.98). Another half-season set, this one with the further adventures of the Seaview crew (led by Richard Basehart and David Hedison) as they encounter everything from monsters to a haunted submarine. Look for Jack Nicholson in an uncredited role in the last episode here.
Extras: Full frame, 13 episodes, featurette, photo gallery
Kids shows
"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Friendship Edition" (Disney, 1977, G, $29.99). This feature-length film, released in 1977, is comprised of three animated featurettes that had played in theaters earlier — one of which won the Oscar as best animated film: "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" (1966), "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" (Academy Award-winner for 1969) and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too" (1974).
These cartoons are from a more innocent time, and certainly more gentle than anything we see today, but they're not just for kids. Parents can enjoy them equally, as Pooh Bear, Rabbit, Tigger and Eeyore, among others, have adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. (With voices by Sterling Hollaway, Sebastian Cabot and Paul WInchell.)
Extras: Full frame, short cartoon: "A Day for Eeyore," featurettes, sing-along, art gallery, interactive game, trailers
"Animaniacs, Volume 3" (Warner, 1994-95, five discs, $44.98).
"Pinky and the Brain, Volume 3" (Warner, 1998, four discs, $44.98). At the other end of the spectrum, but equally enjoyable are Yakko, Wakko and Dot, wreaking havoc with their friends as they lampoon every aspect of pop culture you can think of. And Pinky and the Brain are fun, too, in a more monster-movie-specific way.
Extras: Full frame, 25 episodes ("Animaniacs"), 22 episodes ("Pinky"), featurettes
"The Powerpuff Girls: Season One" (Warner, 1998-99, two discs, $26.99). The animated series about superhero girls — thanks to a haywire experiment by Professor Utonium — who fight crime in between worrying about homework assignments.
Extras: Full frame, 13 episodes, Craig McCracken's student film, featurettes, "Space Ghost" episode, trailers
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com