The television season has come to its annual May- sweeps end.
“House” and “The Office”? Both closed for the season. “Lost” won’t be found again until early 2010. Even this year’s “American Idol” has been crowned.
Although some series — see “Burn Notice,” “True Blood” and “Army Wives,” among others — will crank out new episodes over the summer, many viewers may be seeking ways to fill that TV void. Consider this handful of recently released or upcoming TV DVDs, each packed with compelling episodes you may have missed when they originally aired. All should make for solid summer entertainment.
There are only so many times and ways that a person can say, “Watch ‘Friday Night Lights.'” The high school football drama recently got renewed for two more seasons on DirecTV and NBC, and its exceptional third season is now available on DVD ($30). If you missed Seasons 1 and 2, both are on DVD, as well.
“Twilight” has made the entertainment industry a little vampire crazy. But if you can’t beat ’em, you may as well suck the blood. Or at least check out “True Blood,” Alan Ball’s wicked HBO drama that stars Golden Globe winner Anna Paquin as a waitress with a thing for a 173-year-old night crawler.
“Pushing Daisies” — perhaps the only show in TV history to focus heavily on death yet remain relentlessly cheery — is about to take its last, low-profile bow on ABC. The final three episodes will air in the TV equivalent of the basement morgue, on Saturday nights, starting this Saturday.
If you never took the opportunity to get acquainted with Ned (Lee Pace), an endearingly earnest pie-maker with a knack for briefly reviving the deceased, by all means, do it on DVD; Season 1 is available now, and Season 2 debuts July 21.
“Top Gear,” the BBC reality show that specializes in car worship and airs stateside on BBC America, finally made its U.S. DVD debut last month with “Top Gear 10,” a set that includes every episode from the program’s 10th season. (You ask: “Is it possible to start with Season 10, or will I be totally confused?” I respond: “It’s a show about cars. You’ll be fine.”)
Your friends talk about it. Your co-workers talk about it. Even your mother recently tried to launch into a discussion of the Dharma Initiative. It’s time to surrender and jump on the “Lost” bandwagon before the final season of the show begins early next year. The recently aired fifth season won’t arrive until December, but for Blu-ray owners itching to start from the very beginning, Seasons 1 and 2 debut in that format on June 16.
Ah, summer. It’s the perfect time for heavy drinking and excessive cigarette smoking. At least it is in the world of “Mad Men,” the acclaimed AMC series that returns in August with its third season.
Before Don Draper (Jon Hamm) brings his brand of ’60s-sexy back, check out Season 1e (available now) and Season 2.
