Here are some of the latest TV shows to land on DVD, led by the debut of a 1960s sitcom with Patty Duke in two roles.
"The Patty Duke Show" (Shout! 1963-64, b/w, six discs, $44.99). Fresh from her Oscar win for "The Miracle Worker," 16-year-old Duke switched gears to do this amusing sitcom, a "sibling-rivalry" comedy about twin cousins — one a typical '60s Brooklyn teen, the other a sophisticated Scottish intellectual.
The show has a pleasant supporting cast, led by the always stable William Schallert as the dad, Jean Byron as the mother and John McGiver in an amusing recurring role as Schallert's apoplectic newspaper boss.
But Duke's remarkable talent is what makes it work. She's so convincing at playing both characters that it really begins to feel as if they are different actors after awhile.
Extras: full frame, 36 episodes, featurette (including new interviews with Duke, Schallert, etc.), trailers; 12-page booklet
"Life on Mars: The Complete Series" (ABC, 2008-09, four discs, $39.99). This remake of the British series of the same name is also quite good, despite its being prematurely canceled. Jason O'Mara is the modern-day police detective who goes back in time to 1973 … or is he hallucinating in a hospital? The culture-clash elements keep the humor in the front seat, and co-stars Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Michael Imperioli and Lisa Bonet are all good.
Extras: widescreen, 17 episodes, deleted scenes, featurettes, bloopers
"Midsomer Murders: Set 13" (Acorn, 2006, four discs, $49.99). These four feature-length mysteries pit clever veteran police detective Barnaby (John Nettles) against missing people, decades-old crimes catching up with the perpetrators, family rivalries at a glassworks factory and a reuniting of rock stars who start dying off one by one. This police procedural remains highly entertaining and Nettles is great.
Extras: widescreen, four episodes, text biography/filmographies
"Ultraman: the Complete Series" (Mill Creek, 1966-67, four discs, $14.98). This is the original Japanese show that debuted as a campy kids program on U.S. TV in 1972, produced by the creator of "Godzilla" and "Mothra." A team of scientists battles everything from aliens to prehistoric monsters, with one member taking on the role of superhero Ultraman. Still fun for fans.
Extras: full frame, 39 episodes, in Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed in English (as shown on American television), featurettes
"Traffik: 20th Anniversary Edition" (Acorn, 1989, two discs, $39.99). This is a remastered reissue of the acclaimed British miniseries that was later turned into Steven Soderbergh's 2000 multiple-Oscar-winning film about drug trafficking. Here it is Pakistan heroin that is smuggled and a British government minister who discovers his daughter is an addict. As with the film, this miniseries juggles several story lines. Bill Paterson, Lindsay Duncan and, in her film debut, Julia Ormond star.
Extras: full frame, six episodes, extended version of Episode 6, featurettes, text production notes/filmographies, photo gallery
"Day Break: The Complete Series" (Mill Creek, 2006, two discs, $14.98). This fantasy police procedural has Taye Diggs as a police detective who is framed for murder, and when he wakes up the next day finds himself reliving the same events. Think of a more serious riff on "Groundhog Day." Diggs is good, but the series was canceled prematurely.
Extras: widescreen, 13 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes
"Man Stroke Woman: The Complete Series" (MPI, 2005-07, two discs, $29.99). Sometimes funny, often filthy British sketch comedy that has been compared to both "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "Saturday Night Live." Maybe if they'd been on Showtime.
Extras: widescreen, 12 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, bloopers, text biographies
"Cobra: The Complete Series" (Mill Creek, 1993, four discs, $14.98). Michael Dudikoff stars in this action series as an AWOL Navy SEAL who is shot and awakens to an offer of a new identity with a crime-fighting unit dedicated to victims who haven't been able to find justice.
Extras: full frame, 22 episodes
"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Complete Series" (Mill Creek, 2002-03, four discs, $14.98). This is the 21st-century remake of the '80s animated series.
Extras: full frame, 39 episodes, audio commentaries, featurette, scripts for each episode, PDF comic of unproduced 40th episode
"Mickey's Christmas Carol" (Disney, 1983, $19.99). The title cartoon plus three more Christmas-themed shorts, "The Small One," "Pluto's Christmas Tree," "Santa's Workshop."
Extras: full frame, four cartoons, trailers; collectible litho print
"A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa: Extended Edition" (Disney, 2008, $19.99). This TV special features Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Uma Thurman, Jane Krakowski and others.
Extras: widescreen, extended (by 10 minutes) version, deleted scenes, featurette, music video, trailers
"Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving: 10th Anniversary Edition" (Disney, 1999). 29.99). A reissue of the title cartoon, and the Winnie the Pooh shorts "The Magic Earmuffs" and "The Wishing Bear" make their DVD debut.
Extras: full frame, two shorts, featurettes, trailers; collectible stocking
"Treasury of Classic Bedtime Stories" (Scholastic, 2009, four discs, $29.95). Children's stories include "Curious George Rides a Bike," "Corduroy," Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel" and many more.
Extras: full frame, 28 stories
"A Very Brave Witch" (Scholastic, 2009, $14.95). The title story, along with such other Halloween stories as "By the Light of the Halloween Moon," "The Witch in the Cherry Tree," etc.
Extras: full frame, eight stories
e-mail: hicks@desnews.com