Get Smart: The Complete Collection [TimeLife.com]

For anyone who grew up in the '60s "Get Smart," was as much of a must-see for those with a developed sense of humor as "The Daily Show." Disguised as a sitcom, it was also a penetrating satire on the Cold War. It is undoubtedly a TV classic, but it also seems relevant -- and funny -- today. And now the whole collection is available from Time Life. All 138 original episodes of the Emmy® Award-winning series, each remastered and restored for flawless clarity on 25 DVDs. There are also 9 hours of bonus materials, including never-before-seen bloopers, interviews and commentaries and rare TV footage, It all comes in a special phone booth collector's box with photos and booklets for each season. It is therefore our top pick of the year.

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Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition [Paramount]

Love it or hate it, "Twin Peaks" became one of television's most talked about and watched series. This is surely the definitive editions, with all 29 episodes plus both the original and European versions of the pilot. The series garnered 18 Emmy® nominations over the course of its two-season run and co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, as well as a large number of the cast and crew are participating in this new 10-disc collection. The set also includes "Greetings from Twin Peaks" collectable postcards and a plethora of special features, including cast and crew interviews and rare footage and deleted scenes. The image has been newly remastered and viewers have the option of enjoying the episodes in either new 5.1 Surround Sound or the original 2.0 network television audio.

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Simon Schama's Power of Art [BBC]

What do eight works of art from different eras have in common? Why choose these eight as, ostensibly, the most significant? Does art (or rather "Art") still have anything to tell us about human nature and civilization? Is visual imagination still relevant? Well, Simon Schama aims to tell you. Traversing time from the world of baroque Rome to revolutionary Paris via the civil-war massacres of 20th century Spain and the excitement of avant-garde 1950s New York, Schama uses a combination of dramatic reconstruction, spectacular photography and his idiosyncratic personal style to tell stories that provide necessary context to these masterpieces. Extras features include revealing and funny commentary tracks by Schama and his co-producer.

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Sicko [Genius]

Michael Moore's documentary looks at the state of the insurance-based healthcare system in the United States, and compares it with the universal healthcare systems available in other countries, such as France, Canada, Britain and Cuba. His conclusions are that healthcare is more accessible, more affordable and of a higher quality in other countries. Indeed, the U.S. is the only industrialized country without free health care provided by the government, and with millions of people who cannot seek medical help when in need and therefore many people die, while health insurance companies maximize profits by denying as many health care claims as possible.

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My Hero 1 & 2 [BBC]

Sci-fi comedies are hard to do, let alone sci-fi sitcoms. American TV may have tried with Mork and Mindy, but the result was lackluster, and I'd be hard-pressed to even call it sci-fi. On the other hand, the BBC had done a fantastic job at this hybrid genre, first with Red Dwarf and now with My Hero. The beauty of the show is in not bothering with FX -- which stateside define sci-fi -- and instead concentrating on character-based comedy.

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Shaw Brothers DVD set [Genius]

Genius has released four martial arts masterpieces by Hong Kong's famed Shaw Brothers on DVD, as they should be seen: In their proper aspect ratio, in the original Mandarin and Cantonese, and with a crisp transfer. Add oodles of extras and this is a must-have collection for any action fan.

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Rowan Atkinson Live! [A&E]

Most Americans know Rowan Atkinson as the modern Tati, Mr. Bean, from a couple of rather middling movies. A few anglophiles may know him as Mr. Bean and The Black Adder from the British TV series that made him famous, and which are far better than his cinematic forays. But I suspect few know how versatile Atkinson's comedy can be and how inspired a writer of witty sketches he can be. Well, here's your chance, since this is one of funniest DVDs to be released this year.

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