Jameson, Jerry

Touched by an Angel - The Complete First Season

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007

Touched by an Angel wasn't the first TV show with a heavenly theme, but it set a new standard for a compassionate portrayal of Christian themes on television. Roma Downey, with flowing brunette locks and a soft Irish lilt, plays Monica, a divine case-worker sent from town to town to lend an angelic hand. Sometimes it's as simple as helping a dying man reach out to those he loves before it's too late; sometimes she has to face the Devil himself--in the closing episode of the first season, Monica is sent to make sure an AIDS hospice opens despite the opposition of white supremacists being led by Satan (played by John Schneider, formerly of The Dukes of Hazzard). Earthy Della Reese plays Tess, Monica's supervisor, who takes an active role in quite a few cases. Touched by an Angel is unlikely to persuade dubious viewers to join the faith, but though all episodes resolve themselves through the intervention of God and his divine messengers, the show's view of humanity has hope and dignity.

Touched by an Angel also features an impressive array of guest stars, ranging from country music star Randy Travis to Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show) to Marion Ross (Happy Days); one episode, about a radio talk-show host fighting with her teenage daughter, features Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), James Marsden (X-Men), and Jack Black (School of Rock), all before their careers took off. Touched by an Angel: The Complete First Season has the first 13 episodes from 1994-95 and, as a bonus, the two-part series finale from 2003. --Bret Fetzer

Touched by an Angel - The Second Season

Watch as monica continues to mature as a caseworker but still needs the firm-but-loving supervision of tess. Also watch as new angels join the ensemble: gloria an angel for the 21st century & andrew the angel of death. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007 Starring: Roma Downey Valerie Bertinelli Rating: Nr

Touched by an Angel swiftly amassed a devout following, drawn to the TV series' clear Christian values and the warm performances of Roma Downey (she of the creamy complexion and lush pre-Raphaelite hair) and Della Reese as Monica and Tess, two angels sent to help troubled human beings. The first season had the additional virtue of exploring the ordinary yet complex emotional problems of troubled marriages, rebellious teens, and coping with the death of a loved one, in stories that were (with a few exceptions) cleanly written and down-to-earth--though, of course, everything was resolved by divine intervention. The second season, regrettably, dives into melodrama: A pregnant woman is trapped in a bank vault after her husband tries to rob the bank; a lawyer meets up with an old girlfriend, not knowing that her wicked ambitions caused his best friend to commit suicide; a postal worker sends atheistic replies to children's letters to God--and it turns out that he's an Auschwitz survivor. Even episodes grappling with what could be compelling material, like a stripper who feels responsible for her daughter's birth defect, get pushed over the top when Tess saves the day by creating a hot air balloon out of thin air. Certainly, God can accomplish miracles, but the second season of Touched by an Angel loses sight of his subtlety and mysterious ways. Nonetheless, fans will continue to take comfort in the show's message about divine love.

Episodes feature a wide range of guest stars: Movie actors like Elliott Gould (M*A*S*H) and Stacy Keach (Fat City); old television hands like Hal Linden (Barney Miller) and Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley); non-actors like poet Maya Angelou and singer Natalie Cole; and such, well, lesser celebrities as Kathie Lee Gifford (Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.) John Dye joins the series in this season as Andrew, a handsome angel of death. --Bret Fetzer

Walker, Texas Ranger - The First Season

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 06/12/2007

An unofficial Chuck Norris fact: With apologies to Al Gore, global warming does not cause hurricanes. They are caused by the wind generated by Chuck Norris' flurry of roundhouse kicks to the head. Which is why this seven-disc set will blow you away. After Norris's movie career stalled, Walker: Texas Ranger revived his career and catapulted him to international icon status of Hasselhoff proportions. He has since been transformed into an affectionate punchline for the likes of Conan O'Brien and the purveyors of the Official Chuck Norris facts website ("Those aren't credits that roll after Walker: Texas Ranger. It is actually a list of fatalities that occurred during the making of the episode."). Co-created by future Oscar-winner Paul Haggis (Crash), Walker: Texas Ranger is a tailor-made vehicle for Norris, whose eponymous character dispenses somewhat suspect justice. "You screwed up," one particularly nasty miscreant tells Walker. "You forgot to read us our rights. Walker obliges, but not before kicking him into submission, "You have the right to remain silent." Walker's methods may perturb Asst. D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson), but they sure come in handy when she is menaced, Cape Fear-style, by the recently freed corrupt sheriff she sent to jail ("Borderline") or kidnapped by a cult leader ("In the Name of God").

There are three crucial elements for a great Walker episode: A particularly vile villain (drug dealers, rapists, baby-stealing politicians), coolly delivered Chuck-isms ("When I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you," reprised from the great Code of Silence), and, to quote Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), Walker's new, more by-the-book partner, the "squinty-eyed make-my-day stuff" that Walker punishingly dispenses near the 40-minute mark of nearly every episode. When you've got Chuck Norris, you don't need A-list guest stars, but Walker's first season does feature some familiar faces, including the future Spider-Man Tobey Maguire ("The Prodigal Son"), Stuart Whitman ("The Reunion"), and a post-Wonder Years Danica "Winnie" McKellar ("Stolen Lullaby"). Norris may not be Oscar or Emmy material, but watching Walker unfailingly lay out the bad guys and making the guilty pay is the essence of comfort television. As Trivette says, "I hate to admit; the man is good." In short: don't mess with Texas! --Donald Liebenson

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season One

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/29/2008 Run time: 840 minutes Rating: Nr

Season one of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman captures the popular television series at its most charming and original: a gently feminist, 19th-century Western with mythic overtones, a Gunsmoke-like vision of small-town constancy, and an audacious love story that might best be described as Buckskin Bronte. British actress Jane Seymour scrubbed away her accent to play Michaela Quinn, fifth daughter of a well-to-do Boston physician who encouraged her to get a medical degree despite social obstacles.

The headstrong Quinn moves to rough-and-tumble Colorado Springs to set up a practice, faces stiff resistance from the locals, witnesses the brutality of white America's expansionism, and generally experiences a classic Western transformation from privilege to pioneering. Along the way, Quinn makes a heartfelt connection with the mysterious Sully (Joe Lando), a laconic outsider/cowboy-knight-errant/widower preserving his broken heart. While the series' pilot may be the best thing in this set, there is a lot to enjoy about further episodes (with such guest stars as Johnny Cash and Robert Culp) exploring Quinn's hard-won admiration from town skeptics. Dr. Quinn creator Beth Sullivan admirably balances the many influences and narrative forces at work; some of the best shows are idea-driven, such as "Portraits," which deals with prejudice. --Tom Keogh

Walker, Texas Ranger - The Third Season

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008

Three seasons of dispensing his own brand of roundhouse-kicking justice have not slowed Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris). As an appreciative observer remarks at one point during season 3, "You still have all the moves, Walker." Whether going undercover as a cocaine dealer in Miami or "delivering a little pain" against white supremacists, Russian mobsters, street gangs, IRA terrorists, heroin smugglers, or vengeful ex-convicts, Walker is "a damn one-man army" who "walks the walk and talks the talk." No one delivers Chuck-isms such as, "The bigger they are, the harder they hit" like Norris. Walker, Texas Ranger's third season is a bit edgier than seasons past. The language is a tad cruder and the action more graphic. The episode "The Juggernaut," about a wife beater terrorizing a woman's support group, is particularly rough stuff. In the explosive season opener, "Blown Apart," a Bible-quoting mad bomber unleashes a holocaust of fiery destruction that even Walker cannot defuse in time. Among the season's most memorable episodes is "Final Justice," in which Walker discovers that the man who killed his parents when he was a boy is still alive, leading to a most dangerous game in which Walker becomes the prey of this hunt-happy racist (portrayed by John Vernon, best known as Dean Wormer in Animal House). In "Deep Cover," Walker partners up with a female cop played by world champion kickboxer Kathy Long, who, as an actress, makes a great world champion kickboxer. "Blackout" opens intriguingly with an amnesiac Walker waking up in a casino office clad in a tuxedo, holding a gun and lying next to a dead body. Chuck Norris commentary would have been a real kick, but then again, he is a man of action, and this season does deliver for Walker fans. --Donald Liebenson

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season Two

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/29/2008 Run time: 1260 minutes Rating: Nr

Walker, Texas Ranger - The Complete Second Season

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/05/2008

In the second full season of Walker: Texas Ranger (this is, technically, season 3), a somewhat reigned-in Walker (Chuck Norris) is less Dirty Harry and more by-the-book, providing, of course, that the book has plenty of pictures of criminals being subdued with roundhouse kicks to the head. In one episode, Walker's partner, Jimmy Trivette (Clarence Gilyard), suggests serving a warrant his way, "nice and easy." There's just one thing: Walker never, ever, does anything nice and easy. He does it nice and rough, and when you're dealing with the likes of drug dealers, bank robbers, assassins, cattle rustlers, the Japanese mob, and vengeful escaped convicts, that's the only way to do it. "If you come back here," a bigoted sheriff warns Walker in the episode "Badge of Honor," "you'd better bring an army because you alone just ain't gonna cut it." Actually, that'll cut it just fine. What makes Walker so satisfying is that justice may be delayed, but it is never denied. In the episode, "Mean Streets," Walker goes undercover to protect the homeless from a band of rich kids who are preying on them and videotaping the attacks. If this were, say, Law & Order, the kids' parents would hire an elite defense team and the kids might get off scot-free. That's not the way they roll on Walker: Texas Ranger. With the kids in custody, viewers are promised an "easy" conviction.

What really kicks this season into high gear is the show's new theme song, "Eyes of a Ranger," performed by Norris himself. Jeff Foxworthy has joked, "If an episode of Walker: Texas Ranger has changed your life, you might be a redneck." Granted, Walker may not be life-changing TV à la Oprah, but there is considerable spiritual uplift in watching an incorruptible hero tossing Texas' scum of the earth into the back of his pickup truck and taking them to jail. We join Asst. D.A. Alex Cahill (Sheree J. Wilson) in raising a glass to Walker. "Here's to the Texas Rangers," she toasts in one episode, "the best there are." --Donald Liebenson

Airport Terminal Pack (Airport/Airport '75/Airport '77/Airport '79 - The Concord)

Contains: airport: airport 1975 and the concorde: airport 79. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/08/2005 Run time: 471 minutes

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman - The Complete Season Three

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/29/2008 Run time: 1363 minutes Rating: Nr

Touched by an Angel - The Third Season (Vol. 1 & 2)

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 03/20/2007