These TV programs are all making their DVD debuts, led by an early '90s family series, a kids show and the third season of a campy '60s sitcom.
"Family Matters: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 1989-90, three discs, $29.98). Urkel … as in irksome … became the fan favorite on this series, the nerdiest of nerds very broadly played by Jaleel White. But he doesn't show up until episode 12.
Until then, the show is about a middle-class black family in the Chicago suburbs, with Reginald VelJohnson (the cop in the first two "Die Hard" movies) as the head of the household, complete with wisecracking wife and kids. From Urkel's appearance forward, however, it's more like a "Looney Tunes" cartoon.
Extras: full frame, 22 episodes
"Ghostwriter: Season One" (Shout! 1992-93, five discs, $39.97). Jamal and friends begin receiving cryptic messages on his computer from the title character, leading them to mysteries that need solving around their Brooklyn neighborhood. Family-friendly fan favorite for youngsters from the "Sesame Street" folks. Look for Samuel L. Jackson in three episodes and Spike Lee in two.
Extras: full frame, eight mysteries (34 episodes), casebook
"Mister Ed: The Complete Third Season" (Shout! 1962-63, b/w, four discs, $39.97). Mister Ed, the talking horse, continues to turn life upside down for Wilbur (Alan Young) and his unsuspecting wife (Connie Hines). Ed gets amnesia, runs off to join the circus — and Young gets to do double-duty in one episode, playing his own father (complete with Scottish accent). This set is dedicated to Hines, who died last December.
Extras: full frame, 26 episodes, audio interview with Young, trailers
"iCarley: iSaved Your Life" (Nickelodeon/Paramount, 2010, $16.99). Miranda Cosgrove returns as teen webcast host Carly in this tween comedy show. Paintball, guilt-ridden romance, wacky web comics and a visit to the dentist provide comic fodder.
Extras: full frame, five episodes, featurette, trailers
"Nip/Tuck: The Sixth and Final Season" (Warner, 2009-2010, five discs, $59.98). This raunchy soap opera about plastic surgeons wraps up its last season with Sean (Dylan Walsh) marrying Teddy (Rose McGowan) and Christian (Julian McMahon) being sued for divorce. Vanessa Redgrave returns as the mother of Julia (Joely Richardson, her real-life daughter).
Extras: widescreen, 19 episodes, featurettes
"Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season Three" (History/Blu-ray, 2009, three discs, $49.95). This harrowing series returns for a third season with drivers in Prudhoe Bay (250 miles north of the Arctic Circle), who have only three months to shuttle supplies over the ice via the most dangerous road in North America.
Extras: widescreen, 13 episodes, deleted scenes
"American Pickers: The Complete Season One" (History, 2010, three discs, $29.95). This reality show focuses on experts who rummage through junk to find historical or collectible items of worth.
Extras: widescreen, 12 episodes, featurettes,
"The Pluto Files" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). This "NOVA" episode looks at the recent scientific debate over the value of the dwarf planet Pluto.
Extras: widescreen, audio commentary, featurettes, outtakes
"My Lai" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). "American Experience" explores the gruesome chapter in the Vietnam War where villagers were massacred by a company of American soldiers, and asks if there are lessons to be applied to the current war.
Extras: widescreen
"Behind Taliban Lines" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). "Frontline" follows an Afghan journalist into Taliban-controlled areas where he gains access to fighters.
Extras: widescreen
"The Quake" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). Another "Frontline" episode, this one going into Haiti after the recent devastating earthquake.
Extras: widescreen
"Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). Three biology students pursuing Ph.D. degrees compete in a worldwide race to publish findings regarding the human appetite.
Extras: widescreen, featurettes, discussion guide PDF
"Sing-Along Travel Kit: The Wheels On the Bus" (Scholastic, 1990, three discs, $24.95). Kids ages 3 to 39 are the target of these musical DVDs containing animated literary classics, designed to keep them occupied on the road.
Extras: full frame, 15 stories, 13-song audio CD, featurette; activity booklet, crayons, travel tips
e-mail: hicks@desnews.com