Holiday Gift Guide: 25 TV Shows We're Wishing For

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $39.98 (DVD), $49.99 (Blu-ray)

Watching Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena is unavoidably bittersweet. The only reason that Starz conceived the six-episode prequel series was that Spartacus: Blood And Sand leading man Andy Whitfield was sidelined by non-Hodgkin lymphoma and unable to work; he passed this past September, tragically. It’s worth looking past Gods Of The Arena’s unfortunate existence, though, because, like Whitfield’s badass series, it’s chockfull of delightfully fake-looking blood, excessive violence, and a cast of all gorgeous women who love getting naked. You can’t lose.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $19.99 (DVD)

Comedy Central’s underrated Workaholics isn’t exactly high-concept; in one episode from the sitcom’s debut season, for example, the deskjob slackers (Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Adam Devine) run into burglars while tripping on mushrooms. And it’s really damn funny, as are the other nine episodes that turned us into official Workaholics advocates.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $29.97 (DVD)

When Party Down was on the air, too few people watched it, so the Starz network’s brass kicked it to the cancellation curb. Why fans haven’t anointed the wickedly funny and awesomely cast (Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan) series, co-created by Paul Rudd, as the new Arrested Development and cried out for more is beyond us, but perhaps all it’d take is the gift of Party Down: Season Two landing underneath Christmas trees and menorahs nationwide this month. Or maybe we should just lay off the pipe.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $14.98 (DVD)

After months of anticipation and excitement, the verdict is in about MTV’s new era of Beavis & Butt-Head misadventures: They’re slightly disappointing. The idea of watching Mike Judge’s slacker duo lambast the Jersey Shore kids instead of just crappy music video sounded brilliant on paper, but the jokes themselves have mostly been obvious. To reconnect with Beavis & Butt-Head’s earlier, much better days, get your hands on this “Greatest Hits” of sorts, handpicked by Judge himself.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $159.98 (DVD), $199.99 (Blu-ray)

War is hellish, but that doesn’t mean Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks can’t bring the best out of painful combat. Ten parts a piece, the heavyweight producing duo’s pair of World War II mini-series on HBO, Band Of Brothers and The Pacific, delivered some of the best acting, strongest writing, and most jaw-dropping battle sequences this side of a multiplex. All 20 gut-wrenching hours have been collected for this gargantuan set, the perfect gift for that veteran or history buff in your family.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $16.95 (DVD), $26.95 (Blu-ray)

One of the year’s strangest comedy shows, IFC’s Portlandia, starring Saturday Night Live veteran Fred Armisen and Sleater Kinney guitarist-singer Carrie Brownstein, presents its small-town quirkiness with sardonic tone of Wes Anderson films and Eddie Murphy’s brand of multiple character/same actor comedy. Bizarre, right? The six episodes included here are certainly peculiar, but they’re also subversively clever (and a pretty accurate take on the Rose City) .

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $49.98 (DVD), $59.98 (Blu-ray)

As much as we love Dwight Schrute, Kelly Kapoor, and Erin Hannon, The Office just isn’t the same without Michael Scott. Which is why, in between the laugh-out-loud moments of Season Seven’s 26 episodes, revisiting Steve Carell’s final year at Dundler Mifflin is also sad. Treat The Office: Season Seven like a high school yearbook, one that you pull out from time to time whenever life (or The Office’s current, lackluster season) gets you down.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $29.93 (DVD)

Sending viewers on a bad acid trip without the need for any harmful drugs, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters (1973-1975) was a children’s show batshit enough to think a walking, talking giant rutabaga could dish out romantic advice and not look highly disturbing. Nostalgic TV heads will want to cop the long-out-of-commission show’s DVD to get reacquainted with a pack of costumed monstrosities that make the Teletubbies look anything but nightmarish; those who enjoy some sticky-icky, on the other hand, will have their warped minds blown.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $39.98 (DVD)

It’s one thing to chuckle repeatedly every Thursday night while watching the latest Parks & Recreation episode, whether the laughs are directed at Amy Poehler’s bubbly go-getter Leslie Knope, Nick Offerman’s humorless Cro-Magnon-like curmudgeon Ron Swanson, or Aubrey Plaza’s sardonic underachiever April Ludgate. It’s a different experience entirely, however, to sit with the show’s DVD/Blu-ray set and gain a whole new appreciation for Parks & Rec’s intellectually sharp, left-of-center writing and spot-on performances. You’ll be ready to join us outside the Emmy voters’ homes with “Wake the fuck up!” picket signs.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $49.97 (DVD), $59.97 (Blu-ray)

If you’re like us, you made the mistake of buying The Walking Dead’s Season One DVD (or Blu-ray) set when it first came out in March—yes, complete with tons of bonus features. But, alas, the suits at AMC know a cash cow when they see one. This new edition boasts, in addition to the supplements on the one you already have, a featurette about the show’s rise to ubiquity, on-camera interviews with showrunner Frank Darabont and makeup effects guru Greg Nicotero, and an admittedly cool, black-and-white version of the show’s marvelous pilot. So, yeah, you’ll want to place this one high on your wish list, Dead heads.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $35.99 (DVD)

Now that the ABC comedy’s second season is a ratings champion, Happy Endings has finally entered the mainstream conversation. Earlier this year, though, when the quirky, one-liner-packed romp premiered to middling Nielsen statistics, was just as funny, following six longtime friends in Chicago with romantic ties and uncontrollable sarcasm. Ignore all of the media’s Friends comparisons (more like insults) and catch up with the slow-growing phenomenon.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $129.98 (DVD)

Look, if a loved one has the scratch necessary to bless folks with $130 holiday gifts like they’re socks, then why not ask for 91 half-hour visits to Hugh Hefner’s glorious Playboy Mansion? At their best, Hef’s golden-blonde, buxom trophy girlfriends—including Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, and future ex-wife Crystal Harris—supplied dumb, airhead fun for undemanding viewers; at their worst, they made eardrums bleed with shrieking laughs (that means you, Kendra) and inane conversations. But hey, that’s why the “Mute” button was invented.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $49.98 (DVD), $59.99 (Blu-ray)

Modern Family co-creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, along with their writers, must have sold their souls to Hell’s funniest stand-up comedian, because, somehow, the ABC Emmy winner has yet to lose any of its comedic edge. Seriously, even its weakest episodes contain several genuine laughs, namely the 24 eps stuffed into this home video release. And the best part of all: Modern Family’s replay value is on the level of Seinfeld. But why wait for the inevitable syndication phase?

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $29.98 (DVD), $34.99 (Blu-ray)

Just in time for the end of fantasy football season, The League: Season Two comes loaded with 13 episodes of pseudo draft picks and everyday ridiculousness from six wannabe NFL managers who have a lot in common with your friend who lamely named his team the Sex Panthers. He’s about to suffer from post-fantasy withdrawal, so living vicariously through the offbeat FX sitcom’s characters (played by the likes of Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, and Mark Duplass) will be as good as it gets until September 2012.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $199.95

Unless your family is comprised of nothing but jocks and Twilight fans, there’s a good chance you have a science fiction nerd on the shopping list. And, most likely, they adore Battlestar Galactica, though that’s where their young minds first became enraptured with small-screen intergalactic drama. We’ve got the perfect gift: Farscape: The Complete Series, a massive, 20-disc set that’s finally available on Blu-ray and gathers all 88 episodes of astronauts and aliens evading the tyrannical extra-terrestrial authority figures known as Peacekeepers.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $45.99 (DVD)

Outspoken fans of NBC’s oddball show Community can’t seem to understand why their beloved series has been put on the network’s backburner, but it’s really not that difficult to comprehend. As funny as Community (starring Joel McHale, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, and Chevy Chase, amongst others) is on a consistent basis, there’s just not a huge audience for a series that stages paintball battles as old Spaghetti Western standoffs and doesn’t spell out the name “Sergio Leone” for viewers. Still, it’s that strange approach to deconstructing the sitcom format that gives Community its unique appeal, and Season Two found creator Dan Harmon’s quirky sensibilities coming into their own.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $199.95 (DVD)

The critics adored it, and those who stuck with it throughout the show’s five-season run are still grieving over its fade-out. But for many, HBO’s Big Love was one of those Emmy-nominated dramas that always seemed out of reach, buried under countless other shows-to-watch-at-some-point. Now’s the perfect time to see what all of the hype was about, with this series pack that chronicles the ups and downs of Mormon polygamist Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) and his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin).

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $29.98 (DVD)

Relegated to Friday nights, HBO’s dirty situational cartoon The Life & Times Of Tim has earned a loyal, if not small, following, yet it should be much larger. Why? Because, like the cable network’s popular Curb Your Enthusiasm, the hilarious The Life & Times Of Tim features an oblivious guy (voiced by creator Steve Dildarian) who unwittingly pisses everyone off. Like the gambling addict (voiced by Aziz Ansari) he brings to a horse track, or the marijuana dealer (Will Forte) who invites Tim and his buddy Stu (Nick Kroll) to an incredibly lame community theater play. Larry David would be proud.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $129.99 (DVD)

The best TV show that not nearly enough people watched is now the best DVD box set available on entertainment store shelves. Friday Night Lights, routinely bestowed with glowing reviews yet miniscule ratings, awarded faithful viewers with some of television’s strongest, most compelling everyman drama for five years, finding in its Dillon, Texas, high school football universe powerful emotion and empathetic characters. If you’re passionate about rich storytelling but never gave Friday Night Lights a shot, cop this for yourself as a self-given holiday present.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $29.93

Nothing says “You’re a kid at heart, pops” like this comprehensive Casper The Friendly Ghost set, which includes all 26 episodes of The New Casper Cartoon Show, 55 theatrical cartoons, and three of Casper’s feature-length adventures, all for only $30. Check out how dad’s face lights up from joyous nostalgia as he unwraps the gift, and don’t hesitate to grab some (spiked) egg nog, sit on the couch, and watch a few of Casper’s stories for yourself alongside pop dukes. The friendly little apparition’s one likeable spook.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $39.98 (DVD)

Before Michael Scott, there was David Brent, a dumbass boss who was arguably even more aloof than Steve Carell’s dimwit employer on NBC’s The Office. Brent, played by Office franchise mastermind Ricky Gervais, gets into all kinds of awkward antics throughout the British predecessor’s mere 14-episode stretch, repackaged here for your laughing pleasure. You can’t fully appreciate Dundler Mifflin without visiting Wernham Hogg.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $19.93 (DVD)

Next Wednesday, December 21, Steven Spielberg’s stop-motion animated The Adventures Of Tintin is set to open after killing it overseas, where the journalist/adventurer character has been a fan favorite in books since the late 1920s. A delightful, action-heavy good time, Spielberg’s triumphant homage to series creator Hergé’s fictional world should hopefully ignite younger audience interest in Tintin’s past investigations. Look no further than this 13-episode collection of Tintin’s HBO show, which from 1991 through 1992.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $24.95 (DVD)

OK, so the 93-episode tally was overkill. When Celebrity Deathmatch worked, though, MTV’s claymation fantasy series provided haters with therapeutic, at times euphoric releases. Tired of hearing Shaq bad-mouth your beloved Kobe Bryant? Then watch Kobe shoot hoops with O’Neal’s limbs! Think Chris Kattan is a comedic shit-stain? Watch the mighty Bill Murray smash him into pieces and then suck up his spirit with the Ghostbusters proton pack! For cheap, horrific thrills, Celebrity Deathmatch holds up as a quick fix.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $39.98 (DVD)

Will Family Guy carry on for another ten years and reach The Simpsons’ duration status? We sure as hell hope not; in recent years, Seth McFarlane’s madcap animated hit has lost some its once consistent hilarity. But Season Nine, contained in this three-disc set, had its share of classic moments, like Brian’s visit to Real Time With Bill Maher to promote his awful self-help book, or Peter’s Street Fighter brawl with Laundromat owner, Mr. Washee Washee. Just think, it could be worse—someone could give you a Cleveland Show season instead.

Click Here To Buy It Now At Amazon, $339.88 (DVD)

At first, back in October 2011, when the show premiered, Smallville had an uphill climb to win over comic book purists. A show about their sacred Superman, on the same network (The WB, now The CW) that aired butter-soft programs like 7th Heaven and Charmed? As those who rode with Smallville for its whopping 218 episodes now know, Clark Kent was done plenty of justice. Focusing on his earlier years, the Tom Welling-led series took its teenage characters seriously and never pissed upon DC’s history, which is why any Comic-Con regular would be mighty pleased to receive this box set.