New DVD Spin: Dr. Who, Flight of the Conchords, Colbert Report

The "We Like to Watch" Discs of the Week:

Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series (BBC Warner)

Oh, these last three years have been gold for us long-time fans of BBC TV's Doctor Who. For starters, we finally get to come out of the closet and display our Dalek toys proudly because this newly regenerated incarnation of TV's longest-serving science fiction series has become not just a national institution in the UK; it's a U.S. and international hit, and has picked up more serious, non-fanboyish awards than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at. These last three years have been hit or miss (a Doctor Who tradition since 1963), but when it hits it's some of the best sci-fi on TV (at times some of the best TV on TV).

With David Tennant returning for his second year as the wayfaring Time Lord (redefining "the DTs" for swoony fans worldwide), Season 3 starts strong with the arrival of the Doctor's new companion, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), in a good old-fashioned monster romp that transports a London hospital to the moon, where we find blood-sucking aliens, rhino-headed galactic stormtroopers, and the revelation of interstellar Magic Markers.

Other adventures pit the Doctor and Martha against ancient witches in Shakespeare's Globe Theater, a super-traffic jam billions of years in the future, and a malevolent force plunging a starship crew into a sun. The low points here are the "Daleks in Manhattan" two-parter, which does everything wrong, and (I can hear the fan forums gnashing now) the three-part season finale that resurrects the Doctor's arch-nemesis, the Master. While there's much to enjoy in John Simm's energetic turn as the evil Time Lord, those three episodes prove once again that series' creator Russell T. Davies really shouldn't be the one writing the season cappers.

However, some of the best stories the series has seen, ever, come from its two best writers -- Paul Cornell's chilling, moving two-parter "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood" drives home both the Doctor's alienness and his humanity, and Steven Moffat's scary, enthralling "Blink" is worth the DVD set all by itself (and has us scouring the TV listings for more from young guest star Carey Mulligan, who's going to around for a long, long time).

All 13 eps are here, along with the feature-length Christmas special "The Runaway Bride," in 1.78:1 widescreen and DD 5.1 sound. They're of course uncut, which shouldn't need to be mentioned unless you've seen these only in their whittled-down Sci Fi Channel airings, in which case it's a bonus. This series' DVD sets have been generous with the extras, and this time we get episode commentaries from the cast, producers, writers, directors and others; selections from David Tennant's Video Diary; this season's thirteen "Doctor Who Confidential" episodes (totaling 2 1/2 hours); "Music And Monsters" (one hour) connects the "Doctor Who Confidential" entry for "The Runaway Bride" to the live "Children in Need Concert" of music from the show (joined on stage by David Tennant and assorted alien hordes); trailers and previews.

For devotees of old-school Doctor Who, this week also sees BBC Warner DVD releases of two lesser serials from 1982 with Peter Davison playing the Doctor: Doctor Who: Time-Flight and Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity. Although these are by no means the best of the Peter Davison years, the DVD releases of "classic" Doctor Who are always superbly produced with painstaking restorations and quality extras.

Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season (HBO Home Video)

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement transfer their stage act -- "formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo a capella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" -- to HBO in this wry, low-key, sublimely surreal comedy series. The first year's twelve eps are here on two discs, in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Surround 5.1 audio. As our own Jace at Televisionary said here after the season ender originally aired, it's "a series that has continually managed to surprise, dazzle, and make me roar with laughter at every turn." It's a cult fave in the making, so catch up before Season Two takes off with new episodes in 2008.

The Best of The Colbert Report (Comedy Central / Paramount)

When network news drops the ball, Comedy Central snaps it up and runs with it -- and scores. He's not fair and not balanced, but Stephen Colbert (rather, "Stephen Colbert") is the man who speaks "truthiness" to power. Politics and the culture war receive their well-earned satire punch lines through some of Colbert's beloved regular bits such as "Better Know a District," "The Word," "Cooking with Feminists," the Star Wars "Green Screen Challenge," appearances by "Papa Bear" O'Reilly, Sean Penn, Barry Manilow, Stone Phillips and more.

There are no exclusive extras and, seriously, this single disc delivering just under three hours of compiled "best of" highlights is a mighty slim come-on to the citizen-heroes of Colbert Nation. But it looks great and sounds fine in DD 2.0. Besides, any more could turn into an entitlement program -- for bears!

(Not to be confused with The Best of Michael Bolton, which also hits the streets this week.)

Opus n' Bill in a Wish for Wings That Work (Universal Studios)

Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat get animated in Pulitzer Prize-winner Berke Breathed's 1991 Bloom County Christmas special that originally aired on CBS. Opus has one aspiration in life: to be able to fly. Unfortunately, destiny -- or evolution -- has cruelly left his species flightless. That is, until Bill the Cat coughs up a wild idea. Can a crisis involving Father Christmas make Opus' aeronautic dream come true? The cast includes an uncredited cameo by Dustin Hoffman as a cross-dressing cockroach. The DVD is merely bare bones for this 24-minute favorite, boasting only DD 2.0 English audio and optional English subtitles. Still, it's right at home next to your copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The King of Queens: The Complete Series (Sony)

All nine seasons on 27 discs re-packaged in an "IPS truck"-shaped box that looks clever in the store but becomes an awkward sore thumb on your DVD shelf. The whole thing is pricey, but we thank this show for giving steady good work to Patton Oswalt and Jerry Stiller, and for almost convincing us that guys like Kevin James can be married to Leah Remini. New extras exclusive to this box set are "200th Episode Celebration," "Character Profiles," "Series Retrospective," "Thanks to the Fans," and "The Writers of King of Queens."

Project Runway: The Complete Third Season (Weinstein Company)

The third bitch-and-stitch year of Bravo's glam-dunk hit arrives on four discs. The set includes 15 extended episodes with footage not seen on television. It's haute couture, sweetie.

Read about more new DVDs.

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Mark Bourne

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