12 best hbo home video of the dvd boxed sets

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Journey to the Wild West in the sweeping, sensational epic drama Centennial: The Complete Series! Relive the grand hopes, dreams, loves, and adventures of generations of residents in Centennial, Colorado—from their risky attempts to establish a settlement in 1795 through the politics and power plays of the 20th century. With over 26 hours of content on DVD for the first time, this incredible set gives fans the opportunity to own the complete chronicle that showcases one of the finest casts ever assembled, including Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Timothy Dalton, Mark Harmon, Andy Griffith, Raymond Burr, Dennis Weaver, Lynn Redgrave, Sharon Gless, Stephanie Zimbalist, Sally Kellerman and many more. Based on James Michener's best-selling novel, this Primetime Emmy Award-nominated saga is a captivating look at the intertwining lives of the brave men and women in a fictional American town that endured the growing pains of a nation on the rise.



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Disc 2 - Centennial The Complete Series:

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Centennial: The Complete Series

Journey to the Wild West in the sweeping, sensational epic drama Centennial: The Complete Series! Relive the grand hopes, dreams, loves and adventures of generations of residents in Centennial, Colorado - from their risky attempts to establish a settlement in 1795 through the politics and power plays of the 20th century. With over 26 TV hours of content on DVD for the first time, this incredible set gives fans the opportunity to own the complete chronicle that showcases one of the fine casts ever assembled, including Richard Chamberlain, Robert Conrad, Timothy Dalton, Mark Harmon, Andy Griffith, Raymond Burr, Dennis Weaver, Lynn Redgrave, Sharon Gless, Stephanie Zimbalist, Sally Kellerman and many more. Based on James Michener’s novel, this Primetime Emmy saga is a captivating look at the intertwining lives of the brave men and women in a fictional American town that endured the growing pains of a nation on the rise.

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Friends: The Complete Series Collection (25th Anniversary/Repackaged/DVD)

This is a show about love and sex and careers and a time in life when everything is possible ... about the search for commitment and security ... and the fear of commitment and security. Most of all, it's about friendship--for when you're young and single in the city, your friends are your family.

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Friends: CSR (25th Ann/RPKG/DVD)

This is a show about love and sex and careers and a time in life when everything is possible... about the search for commitment and security... and the fear of commitment and security. Most of all, it's about friendship - for when you're young and single in the city, your friends are your family.

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John Adams (Repackage/DVD)

He is one of America's least understood and most underestimated Founding Fathers, the second President of the United States, John Adams. From HBO Films comes this sprawling seven-part miniseries event that depicts the extraordinary life of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government. Starring Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife Abigail, the miniseries chronicles the man who played a pivotal role in fostering the American Revolution and laying the building blocks of a republic--but whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Also with Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Dillane, David Morse, Danny Huston, Rufus Sewell, Sarah Polley, Justin Theroux and Guy Henry.

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Rome: The Complete Series (RPKG/DVD)

Every city has its secrets. This epic series follows generals and soldiers, masters and slaves, husbands and wives--all entwined in the furious historical events that saw the death of a republic and the birth of the Roman empire. The ensemble cast includes Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Kenneth Cranham and Ciaran Hinds.

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Over the course of five seasons, Bill Henrickson and his three wives (Barb, Nicki, and Margene) struggle to overcome a myriad of challenges they’re faced with while living a modern-day polygamist lifestyle. Bill is an independent businessman who runs a growing chain of hardware stores (Home Plus); the family later goes on to expand their business ventures to a Mormon-friendly casino in the middle of an Indian reservation; the family contemplates taking on a fourth wife; and as if that wasn’t enough on their plates, Bill decides to run for public office. In one of the most shocking moments of the series, on election night, new state Senator Bill Henrickson shook Utah to its core by outing his family as polygamists. Now, instead of being embraced for their honesty, the Henrickson family is engulfed by hostility from neighbors, Home Plus employees, casino partners, students at their kids’ schools and even fellow polygamists hoping to keep their personal lives private.

Big Love: The Complete First Season-Big Love, HBO's newest buzzworthy series, recalls Groucho Marx's blithe proposal to two women in Animal Crackers. "Why, that's bigamy," one of the women exclaims. Groucho responds, "Yes, and it's big of me, too." But Bill Henrickson's (Bill Paxton) situation is hardly a laughing matter. Bill is a modern-day polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his seven children and three "sister-wives": Barbara (Jeanne Tripplehorn, never better), the more mature anchor of the household; Nicki (Chloe Sevigny), who spitefully refers to her as "Boss Lady"; and recent addition Margene (charming Ginnifer Goodwin), insecure and childlike. A series that puts a human face on polygamy is brimming with prurient possibilities. Big Love's first two episodes are veritable commercials for Viagra, as Bill struggles to keep up with the demands of his spouses, with whom the sleeping arrangements are strictly scheduled. But once this more sensational aspect of "plural marriage" is dealt with, Big Love moves on to focus on the emotional, spiritual and financial pressures that beset Bill and his families. As the dreamlike opening credit sequence (scored to the Beach Boys' ethereal "God Only Knows") illustrates, Bill is a man on thin ice. He is carrying mortgages on three adjoining homes. A home-improvement store entrepreneur, he has just cut the ribbon on his second store and is planning a third. His wives, not immune to jealousies, vie for dominant position. And then there's Roman (Harry Dean Stanton; and any series that puts this venerable character actor and hipster saint in our homes on a weekly basis deserves our big love), the sinister leader of an outlaw fundamentalist compound, who has an escalating disagreement with Bill over the repayment of his loan that helped Bill build his fledgling empire ("There's man's law," he states ominously, "and there's God's law").

There are further complications that make Big Love so compelling. Bill suspects that his raw-nerved mother (Grace Zabriskie) may be poisoning his father (Bruce Dern). Nicki is a shopaholic accruing nearly $60,000 in credit-card debt. Overtures by new neighbors threaten to expose Bill's unorthodox and illicit living arrangements. The polygamy factor puts a subversive spin on traditional matrimonial melodrama. When Nicki plans her son's disastrous birthday party, her list of "immediate family" tops 150. When Roman, who is Nicki's father, arrives, Bill proclaims he is not welcome in his "homes." As with Rome, Big Love may require a little patience. But this fascinating portrayal of a shadowy subculture, the intelligent writing, and the estimable ensemble will soon make you feel like part of the families. --Donald Liebenson

Big Love: The Complete Second Season-Early on in Big Love's second season, closeted polygamist Bill Henrickson's kids come to him with a broken toy. "I can fix anything," he reassures them. If only his chaotic life were as easy to mend. Among the crises vying for his attention this season are finding out who was responsible for outing his wife, Barbara (Jeanne Tripplehorn), at the Mother of the Year ceremony; the investigation into the poisoning of his brother-in-law, Alby, for which he could be implicated in a cover-up; negotiating a deal to purchase a gaming company coveted by Roman (Harry Dean Stanton); and, in a "holy spirit sucker punch," meeting Ana (Branca Katic), a Serbian waitress who just could be wife No. 4. A Golden Globe nominee for Best Drama, Big Love further draws viewers into the polygamists' shadow world. "If they could show just one normal plural family for a change," someone remarks at one point. Grounded in "the principle," the Henrickson households are about as normal as you can get with the sister wives at once fiercely protective of the family, while at the same jockeying for position and influence. Nicki (Chloe Svigny) is beholden to her father, the prophet Roman (whom Bill aptly calls "venal, corrupt, the face of evil"), and duty-bound mother, Adaleen (Mary Kay Place). Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), the third and youngest wife, has absolutely no boundaries, and initiates a friendship with Ana, and agrees to be a surrogate mother for her unwitting neighbor. "Boss Lady" Barbara must come to terms with the sacrifices she made for her marriage. Meanwhile, Barbara's teenage son and daughter are at their own crossroads on deciding whether to follow their parents' path. Complicating matters even further are Rhonda (Daveigh Chase, the voice of Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch), the lying and manipulative child bride who runs away from Roman and the compound, Alby's sinister ascendancy, and Hollis Green, a rival polygamist patriarch and fierce fundamentalist with a penchant for branding those who cross him.

Season 2 further fleshes out television's most unconventional family drama. This set also includes three "prequels" that peek in on the Henricksons up to five years before the events of the first season. In one, Nicki suffers post-partum depression following the birth of her first son. In the second, Margene makes an indelible first impression in "Meet the Baby-Sitter." The third shows how Bill's three wives compel a move to the suburbs and into their three-home compound. This series has emerged from The Sopranos' shadow to earn some Big Love of its own. What happens next? As the Beach Boys sing during the haunting and etheral opening credits, "God only knows." --Donald Liebenson

Big Love: The Complete Third Season-Three seasons in, the popular HBO series Big Love remains a highly entertaining and rewarding viewing experience. The cast is enormous and the storylines are numerous, with each of these ten 60-minute episodes adding new wrinkles to the plotlines already being pursued. This is business as usual for those who've been on board from the start, but while newcomers may need a couple of episodes to get up to speed, viewers of all stripes will be inexorably pulled in by the show's tangled combination of drama and black humor, personal peccadilloes and internecine strife, and big time social and religious issues. There really is nothing else like this on the television landscape, and that's entirely a good thing.

As usual, the series centers on the anything-but-normal life of Salt Lake City businessman Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton). Bill’s a study in contrasts: while he has plenty of objections to modern Mormon mores (he and his family are no longer active members of the church), he’s committed to the practice of polygamy, which remains the single most controversial aspect of Mormonism despite having been officially banned. Bill, his three wives, Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), and their various children find themselves waging constant skirmishes on several fronts: with their nosy, judgmental neighbors, with the splinter Mormon clan headed by the evil, self-proclaimed holy man Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), and with the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But the Henricksons' most pitched battles, and they are legion, tend to be amongst themselves. Though the wives generally get along with one another, the jockeying for position is endless, and Bill's desire for a fourth spouse this season definitely doesn’t make things any calmer. Other ongoing storylines include Grant’s trial for rape (similarities to the real-life prosecution of Mormon fundamentalist Warren Jeffs are no coincidence), which presents a serious conflict for Nicki, who happens to be Grant’s daughter; Bill and his partner’s ongoing efforts to open a Mormon-friendly casino on Indian land; and sub-plots involving teen pregnancy, kidnapping, adultery, and a host of other lurid behaviors. And while there’s a certain amount of what may be perceived as Mormon bashing going on, the edifying sixth episode, "Come, Ye Saints," in which the family visits Mormon landmarks from Utah to New York, features several of the season’s most moving scenes. --Sam Graham

Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season-There are doses of both good and bad news accompanying this release of the 10 episodes comprising the fifth season of the HBO series Big Love. The bad news is that the fifth season is also the last hurrah for a show that's rarely been anything less than entertaining. But the good news is that cocreators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer and their cast and crew are bowing out with one of their strongest outings; at the very least, this season is consistently better than the somewhat haphazard one that preceded it. It's also the least amusing and most serious, as family patriarch Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn as Barb, Chloë Sevigny as Nicki, and Ginnifer Goodwin as Margene), their kids, and even their friends and business associates face their sternest trials yet. Much of that is self-inflicted by the idealistic and stubborn Bill, who, having previously won a seat in the Utah state senate, has decided not only to reveal that his is a family of polygamists (or, as they put it, observers of "the principle of plural marriage") but also to fight a very uphill battle for public acceptance of them and their kind. The consequences are many: since Bill neglected to reveal that little lifestyle tidbit before, many of those who voted for him, including employees at his Home Plus store, feel betrayed; he may be impeached as soon as he takes office; his kids are bullied; the mainstream Mormon church (a.k.a. the LDS, or Latter Day Saints) actively shuns the Henricksons; and archenemy Alby Grant (Matt Ross), Nicki's brother and heir apparent to the late, evil prophet Roman Grant, has revenge on his agenda. Meanwhile, Marge loses her gig pitching products on TV, Barb considers joining a reform sect that opposes polygamy, and Nicki, never a very appealing character in the first place ("spiteful, jealous, and mean" is her own description), becomes nastier than ever. Add to that the specter of jail time for a crime Bill didn't even know he committed, and you're looking at a tower of tribulation that's too tall not to fall.

As always, there is a lot going on here, and while each episode can theoretically stand on its own, newcomers to the series may have a tough time keeping up, at least at first. But it's worth the effort. Big Love is beautifully written, acted (others in the outstanding cast include veterans Bruce Dern, Mary Kay Place, Grace Zabriskie, and Ellen Burstyn), and realized. It will be missed. --Sam Graham

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For six electrifying seasons, no crime series proved more combustible than the Peabody Award-winning Justified. At the explosive center of the action, Western-style, gun-slinging U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) confronts murder, drugs, bank heists, mobsters, crime families, corrupt politicians and even his own tumultuous past – and never backs down. His ultimate adversary is the cunning, complex outlaw Boyd Crowder (Walter Goggins), but the real wild card is Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter), the mysterious woman torn between the two men and both sides of the law. From creator Graham Yost and based on legendary author Elmore Leonard’s crime novella “Fire in the Hole,” it all leads to a perfectly unexpected final showdown.

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Rome: The Complete Series (DVD)

Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic, Rome is the wealthiest city in the world, a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people, epicenter of a sprawling empire. But now, the city's foundations are crumbling, eaten away by corruption and excess...And two soldiers unwittingly become entwined in historical events, their fates inexorably tied to the fate of Rome itself. The entire award-winning, critically-acclaimed series will be available as a gift set, just in time for the holiday season.

Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that transfixed viewers with its lavishly mounted spectacle and human dramas of the historical figures and fictional characters. Set in 52 B.C., Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women." Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!). Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first episode alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey, and the viewer eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she'll do next.

Season 2 begins in the wake of Julius Caesar's assassination, and charts the power struggle to fill his sandals between "vulgar beast" Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and "clever boy" Octavian (Simon Woods), who is surprisingly named Caesar's sole heir. The series' most compelling relationship is between fellow soldiers and unlikely friends, the honorable Lucius Vorenus and Titus "Violence is the only trade I know" Pullo, who somewhat reverse roles when Vorenus is overcome with grief in the wake of his wife's suicide. Season 2 considerably ups the ante in the rivalry between Atia, who is Antony's mistress, and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) with attempted poisonings and sickening torture. Another gripping subplot is Vorenus's estrangement from his children, who, at the climax of the season opener are presumed slaughtered, but whose true fate may be even more devastating to the father who cursed them.

Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. In writing Rome's epitaph, we come to praise this series, not to bury it. Although two seasons was not enough to establish a Rome empire, it stands as one of HBO's crowning achievements. --Donald Liebenson

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The Sopranos: The Complete Series (Viva-Repackage/DVD)

For six seasons, fans have devotedly watched Tony Sopranos deal with the difficulties of balancing his home life with the criminal organization he leads. Audiences everywhere tuned in to see the mob, the food, the family, and who was next to be whacked. Celebrate the show that Vanity Fair called, "the greatest show in TV history", in the ultimate Sopranos keepsake. Over 3.5 hours of never-before-seen features. Bonus features include David Chases reaction to fans outcry over the serSecrets from the writers room Props stolen from the set Auditions of some of the cast The music selected and the meaning behind it Lost scenes saved from the editing room 33 Discs 28 discs of episodes 2 bonus discs Detailed 16 page episode guide

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Wire, The: The Complete Second Season (Viva/Rpkg/DVD)

(HBO Dramatic Series) The most unvarnished, uncompromising and realistic police drama ever returns for another hard hitting season. McNolty has been demoted to harbor patrol, Daniels is in the police archive dungeon, Prez is chafing in the suburbs and Gregs is stuck behind a desk. Meanwhile, on the docks of the Baltimore harbor, the rank and file scrounge for work and the union bosses take illegitimate measures to reinvigorate business, but a horrific discovery is about to blow the whole port inside out. While the detail is on ice, a new case begins...

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Classical Baby (Repackage/3-Disc/DVD)

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Cathouse: The Series

Returning to the site of two of HBO’s highest-rated adult documentaries girls” before, during and after sex. The series also includes footage of “workshops” designed to help customers (many of whom have come here with the blessing of their partners) learn about sex and become better lovers at home, as well as some wild-and-crazy revelry that takes place behind the scenes when the girls aren’t working. 2002’s Cathouse: AU and 2003’s Cathouse 2: Back in the Saddle: AU – these 2005 & 2007 Cathouse Editions, take viewers back to one of Nevada’s premier tourist attractions: the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel located in a sparsely populated desert community outside of Reno. In addition to up-close-and-personal interviews with Ranch management and the women who work there (many of whom appeared in the first two specials), 17- half-hour episodes will utilize hidden cameras in the brothel’s “party rooms” to eavesdrop on customers and “working

The oldest profession is probably one occupation that Mike Rowe will never get around to for his Dirty Jobs series. Until then, we have Cathouse, a reality series broadcast on HBO that goes behind closed doors at the BunnyRanch, a legal and licensed Nevada brothel that was the subject of two previous America Undercover specials. Owned by burly Dennis Hof and run with maximum efficiency by Madam Suzette, the BunnyRanch is, excuse the pun, always hopping. There is prurient interest in watching the ladies ply their trade (shown in graphic, but not overly explicit detail), but Cathouse puts a human face on prostitution. What's a nice girl like, say, Isabella Soprano, a former prom queen and honor roll student with an infectious smile and laugh, doing in a place like this? Loving it, she assures us, "I love being able to help people." Anyone looking for a gritty expose on prostitution is advised to look elsewhere. Outside of a couple of women who "don't have what it takes" or the odd this-brothel-ain't-big-enough-for-the-both-of-us personality clashes, the BunnyRanch gals are presented as happy hookers. Variety is the spice of this series. The encounters range from "freaky and kinky to romantic," and the ladies are nothing if not versatile. Nothing and no one faze them; not a just-married couple, a transgender, frequent phone calls and videos from someone aptly named "Diaper Boy," nor even an appearance by Dan Haggerty (don't worry, Grizzly Adams fans, you won't see him "bare" all). Come for the series, but stay for Cathouse: The Musical, a 40-min. special in which several of the ladies put their own provocative and saucy spin on the American songbook, including "Let's Do It," "Let's Misbehave," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "Why Don't You Do Right?" It gives the series, and this set, the requisite happy ending. --Donald Liebenson

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(HBO Dramatic Series) As the final war between Good and Evil looms two powerful avatars divided by fate share one mission. For Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin, the race is on to find the elusive Henry Scudder--and the fate of the world depends on who finds him first.

DVD Features:

Audio Commentary:3 Audio Commentaries with Creator Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein, Director Rodrigo Garcia and cast members Clancy Brown and Clea Duvall.

Documentary:"Magic and Myth: The Meaning of Carnivale"--half-hour documentary exploring the apocalyptic writing and mythology behind the show. Interviews with the creator, executive producer, and writers and directors of the show to get their take on the mythology, as well as independent contributors who have examined the show?s characters and the archetypal roles they represent.

Featurette:"Creating the Scene" Featurettes--Find out how Carnivale's creators brought the Daily Brothers show -- and its Scorpion Lady, He/She and Praying Mantis-to vibrant life!

Other:Museum of Television and Radio panel discussion with cast and crew

The second season of HBO's Depression-era gothic--John Steinbeck by way of Tod Browning--picks up where the first left off. Professor Lodz (Patrick Bauchau) is dead. Ben (Nick Stahl), the show's protagonist, appears to be the culprit. Samson (Michael J. Anderson) helps him dispose of the body. Later he tells the other carnival workers that Lodz "took a powder." Lila (Debra Christofferson) doesn't buy it. Meanwhile, Sophie (Clea DuVall), who lost her mother to fire the previous year, feels unmoored without her guidance. A few states away, Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) harbors ever greater delusions of grandeur--and inappropriate thoughts about his sister, Iris (Amy Madigan). In "Alamagordo, NM," he decides to establish a temple, which he dubs Jonestown, er, Jericho. At the same time, life amongst the carnies, who are heading towards Justin's California, is becoming increasingly tense. Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), for instance, is starting to see dead people--like Lodz--and Stumpy (Toby Huss) is no longer able to keep his gambling in check. As with the first season, the action continues to alternate between the carnival and the congregation. What binds the two is a man named Scudder (John Savage), who has connections to Ben and Justin. Although writer/creator Dan Knauf had planned to tie things up between seasons three and six, HBO did not renew Carnivàle a second time. Nonetheless, a surprising number of questions are answered, like the identity of "Management" (voiced by an un-credited Linda Hunt) and whether Ben and Justin will have a final showdown. The answer to the latter question is: Yes, they will--and there’ll be casualties. --Kathleen C. Fennessy