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Holiday Gift Guide Home / Stuff to Buy / Bullz-Eye Home

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There's always something cool out there for movie and TV buffs. Whether it's massive box sets of favorite films or TV series, or the latest single-season television releases, the right DVD is just about the safest gift to give or request. This year, there are several prime box sets available, including collections featuring two of pop culture's most iconic super spies: James Bond and Maxwell Smart.

Holiday Gift Guide Sections
 

James Bond Ultimate Collection

 

James Bond Ultimate CollectionIt’s not an easy task to convince fans to buy the latest reissue of a movie they already own (especially when that particular movie will probably be released several more times throughout the next two decades), but when it comes to the “James Bond: Ultimate Collection DVD” box sets, there shouldn’t be any apprehension. Collecting all 20 Bond films across four volumes (with five movies per set, and two discs per movie), the Ultimate editions feature all-new digital video and audio transfers, as well as hours upon hours of special features, from audio commentaries with the cast and crew to deleted scenes, audition tapes and more. At $60 a pop, this is strictly for diehard fans, but we can all agree that it’s well worth the investment.

 

Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition

 

Superman Ultimate Collector's EditionSo you say you like Superman, huh? Well, that’s no real surprise; he’s only, like, the most iconic superhero of all time. But the question is, do you really, really like Superman? You’ll want to weigh that heavily before considering this set from Warner Home Video, because it’s 14 freaking discs worth of the Man of Steel’s cinematic adventures. You get all of the Christopher Reeve flicks – and that includes the new Richard Donner cut of “Superman II,” as well as the original Richard Lester version – as well as “Superman Returns,” the 1951 George Reeves film, “Superman and the Mole Men,” and 17 “Superman” cartoons from Fleischer Studios…and we haven’t even mentioned the seemingly never-ending list of special features, which include commentaries, documentaries, and so forth. Get your geek on, Comic Book Guy!

 

Saturday Night Live - The Complete First Season

 

Saturday Night Live: Season 1Whatever criticisms you may have about “Saturday Night Live” these days -- and if they involve suggestions that the show is woefully unfunny more often that not, they’re probably pretty valid -- it’s a rare soul who doesn’t praise the early years of the show. “SNL” was unquestionably a groundbreaking television series, and, frankly, we can’t believe they haven’t started releasing full-season sets of the show before now. (Presumably, it was an issue of music licensing; that always seems to be the way.) After years of slice-and-dice versions of these episodes in syndication and on any number of cable networks, we finally have the opportunity to see the original uncut versions in their glory. If you’re a comedy fan, you’ll be enthralled from the moment you hear John Belushi repeat after Michael O’Donoghue, “I would like…to feed your fingertips…to the wolverines.”

 

Six Feet Under: The Complete Collection

 

Six Feet Under: The Complete CollectionAs you can imagine, the five-season, 25-disc, complete-series set of “Six Feet Under” won’t come cheap – it lists for a cool $279.98 – but it’s money very well spent if you have a fan of the hit HBO drama on your list. A word of caution, though: the five full-season sets found in this collection don’t differ at all from the single season sets that HBO video has already put out – no extra special features or anything like that – so if that “SFU” nut on your list has the single releases, there’s no point in buying this box set. There is, however, one cool add-on, aside from the slick gravestone case: an “In Memoriam” packet featuring a booklet of obituaries for each of the series’ main characters, and the show’s two previously released soundtracks, one from 2002 and the other from 2005. So go ahead, shell out the cash…and then ask the person you bought it for if you can borrow it.

 

Get Smart: The Complete Collection

 

Time-Life is releasing every single episode of “Get Smart” in one box set; it’ll only cost a penny per episode, and they’ve fit all 138 episodes onto a single disc. What’s that? You say you find that hard to believe? Oh. Well, would you believe 25 discs for $199.96? Hopefully so, since that version actually is the truth. With a new James Bond flick in theaters, it’s the perfect time to check out one of the definitive send-ups of the spy genre. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, “Get Smart” starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, agent of C.O.N.T.R.O.L., fighting the forces of evil over at K.A.O.S. That’s a lot of letters…but it’s also a lot of laughs. Throw in the tons of special features, then factor in that it comes packaged in a faux phone booth (just like the one Smart stepped into at the beginning of each episode), and you’ve got a four-and-a-half star item. Not five stars? Nope. Missed it by that much.

 

M*A*S*H – The Martinis & Medicine Complete Collection

 

M*A*S*H - The Martinis & Medicine CollectionThrough early morning fog, I see visions of the things to be, the pains that are withheld for me; I realize and I can see that…well, I can see that you probably didn’t even know that the theme from “M*A*S*Hhad lyrics. But if you did recognize the above lines, kudos to you! You must be a true fan…which means you’ll be super psyched to see that Fox has released a mother of a set, one which – over the course of 36 discs – contains the original Robert Altman movie, all 255 episodes, and special features. While it’s admittedly grumble-worthy that you can only get the two discs worth of special features (documentaries, reunion specials, and a script for an episode that was never made), diehards will most likely suck it up and buy it anyway…or, more likely, they’ll put it right at the top of their “If You Loved Me, You’d Buy This For Me” list.

 

Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection

 

Beavis and Butt-Head: the Mike Judge Collection“If you’re the kind of dedicated, determined Beavis and Butt-Head fan who eagerly bought Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of ‘Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection,’ well, uh…you just got screwed. Uh huh huh. Dumbass.” So reads the spine on the special collector’s edition of the Mike Judge Collection, which features all three aforementioned volumes as well as a copy of “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America,” the MTV duo’s 1999 feature film. We’d still prefer to see all of the episodes released to DVD, as opposed to these so-called “best-of” collections, but this 10-disc set will have to do. Of course, if you know someone who would enjoy this collection, make sure they haven’t already bought the three individual volumes. If they have, just buy them the 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of the movie and save yourself some serious coin.

Also Consider Entourage: Season Two
The Office: Season Two
Strangers with Candy: The Complete Series
Friends: The Complete Series
Alias: The Complete Series
The Ultimate Star Trek Collection