The Five Stars is not for the DVD, only for the show
937146
I give five stars for the TV show which is my number one favorite. I give zero stars for the DVD which WEA Corp, Warner Bros-whatever, Alternative Distribution Alliance and Comedy Central neglected to use close captioning for the deaf (which I am). This was used on TV, but they left it out for DVD - therefore getting my hopes up for three months and then shooting it all down in one day.
Regretfully I'll be returning the DVD for a refund since it's worthless to one of Strangers With Candy's biggest fan.
Thanks a lot to the insensitve, ignornat and unkind morons who did this.
Well back to watching it on recorded VHS with a [bad] picture...
1884350
The Dragon Ball Season Five DVD box set includes five DVDs that contain thirty-one episodes.  The first four discs contain seven episodes, while the fifth disc contains three episodes and the DVD extras.  The emphasis on this set is Goku's training with Kami and Mister Popo to prepare for the next Tenkaichi Tournament, the actual Tenkaichi Tournament, and Goku and Chichi's attempt to save the Ox King and his castle after the castle ends up catching on fire.

On the main menu of the first four discs, you can choose to watch all the episodes, watch the disc with the marathon feature, choose which episode you want to watch, and set up your language and subtitle options.  One of the best features of this set is the marathon feature; this allows you to watch all of the episodes back-to-back.  However, with the marathon feature, you only see the opening credits once, and the ending credits are not shown.  In the setup menu, you can choose between English and Japanese audio.  You can also choose to turn the subtitles on and off.

The menu on the fifth DVD adds in a link for the special features.  However, the features aren't very special.  All you get are the textless versions of the opening and ending credits (which are the same as what appeared on the first four DVD box sets), and trailers.  The trailers included on this set are for D.Gray-man, Mushi-Shi, The Slayers, Black Cat, Soul Eater, and S.A.V.E.

Overall, the episodes on this disc are rather enjoyable.  The final few episodes wrap up the series nicely, and work perfectly to set the stage for the next series, Dragon Ball Z.  However, I was disappointed that FUNimation still insisted on splitting the episodes between the discs in an odd fashion.  It would have been nice if more of an effort had been made to split the episodes a little more evenly between the discs, especially since there's so little in the way of bonus features.

While I'm a little disappointed by the episode breakdown of the discs and by the lack of special features, this set is still a "must get" for any Dragon Ball fans that want to own the series on DVD.

In order to write this review, I checked out a copy of this DVD box set through the King County Library System.
1944344
I Bought season one vol 1-2, and season 2 volume one and two.
And I loved them
The price is not quite $40.00 per season for a two volume set.
Which seems a little bit steep, but when you consider the fact that each season includes 6 disc's and the number of episodes in included on the disc's it's not too shabby,
If you're really into the show.
My only complaint is the length of time it has been since they released the first two seasons and the third season hasn't come out yet.
The show ran from may of 1977 to may of 86 according to Wikipedia with four hour long special's between 1987 and 1990
I watched it with my parents, and grandparents, when I was growing up,
And it seems to me that it ran from 1977 to 1990 with a break between 87 and 1990
But that for every year that it ran from 1977 to 1987 it ran a full year,
So that's 10 years worth of episodes,
And then from 1987 to 1990 it seems that they aired 4 TV special's.
While others would have the majority of fans believing that it only ran for 9 seasons between may of 1977:and may of 1986,
With 4 Tv special's between 1986 and 1990
My concern is that it's bad enough that it's taking them so long to release the complete series.
And to top it off,
I think they are trying to get out of releasing a whole season's worth of episodes.
And not for nothing,
But releasing each season as a 2 vol set is a waste of time and money,
You would make more money by releasing each season as a complete set instead of breaking each season down into two volumes.
4404207
Like most reviewers, I was bummed out when the decision was made to drop the series. I thought the series was quite interesting and entertaining. Fortunately I decided to purchase a season pass through iTunes and was able to watch these episodes at leisure; but I had always hoped they would release a DVD set of Season 1, and readily purchased a copy upon release.

I received the DVD's and began to watch each episode.. Here's what I found.

The Good
Bravo to WB for the excellent video transfer.  I found the clarity of the video quite sharp and detailed, almost HD quality.  Better than those in my iTunes library. The 5.1 audio is also quite good.  The season came with 5 discs, with 5 episodes and some deleted scenes on discs 1-4; and the last two episodes and more deleted scenes on disc 5.  The deleted scenes did provide some additional insight to some of the episodes, which added a bit more background to some of the episodes.

Not so good
While the video and audio were of high quality, I was disappointed to find they had changed the music soundtracks significantly in each episode.  Songs by artists, such as Arctic Monkeys, K.C. & the Sunshine Band, etc. were removed and replaced by "filler".. I had to compare the audio with my iTunes copies to ensure I wasn't dreaming.  While certainly not a deal breaker, it was nonetheless disappointing. I don't know why the PTB decided to modify the original soundtrack.  I can only assume it was done to cut corners.  (I have since discovered even episodes available in iTunes have changed as well; Only those copies I had downloaded the day after the original airing still contain the original audio soundtrack).

If you do not mind the audio switch, I highly recommend adding this series to your collection.  The stories are well written, acting superb, and the characters engaging.  I would have liked to give it a five star rating, but the altered soundtrack prevents me from doing so.

It's not bad.. But it could have been better if they had stayed true to the original score.
3101922
I never got to see the entire series when it first ran on HBO, so to have the entire series (and the multitude of bonus features) on DVD is a delight.

Many of the episodes that were collected for the "Best of" set a few years ago look a tiny bit different here:  on my widescreen TV those episodes have a tiny bit of what looks a VHS tracking glitch at the top of the frame.  That glitch is on several episodes but ONLY episodes that were in the "Best of" set.  Curious.

And one can see a slight change in picture quality between those "Best of" episodes and the others, most noticeable on the title card.  It isn't enough to get one's underwear in a twist, but it is noticeable nonetheless.

Does all that diminish the enjoyment of the series set?  Heck no.

For a great many years, my all-time favorite movie or TV character was sales manager Herb Tarlek from "WKRP in Cincinnati".  He was a lovable loser.  Jeffrey Tambor's "Hank Kingsley" character from "The Larry Sanders Show" is poised to bump Tarlek down to second place  (Robert De Niro's "Rupert Pupkin" from "The King of Comedy" sits at third place and Daffy Duck at fourth.)

The writing on "The Larry Sanders Show" is as sharp as it gets.  The line between reality and parody/satire can get very blurry sometimes.  They also take the occasional dig at Leno now and again, and that was back when he was still brand new at his "Tonight Show" gig and he wasn't very good at it.  The jokes are still relevant though because not much has changed since then.

One of the staff writers (and occasional actors) on the show was John Riggi.  Riggi was a club comic for many years before getting the "Sanders" gig.  I saw him perform several times at a club in Memphis back in the 1980's.  I can even still remember some of his routine.  One was about caulk.

Buy this DVD set.  As mindless as TV has largely become in the past several years, it is important to have something of quality in one's video library to remind you of how good TV can sometimes be when the right elements mix together.

If you have this set and the complete set of HBO's "The Wire" in your home library, then you can stake a legitimate claim to having the best library on your block.

Other reviewers here have complained of a glitch in a season 4 episode.  I didn't experience that problem.
2861725
I have been a huge fan of the show for years, well since '98.  I certainly give the series eight stars, to hell with five, eight is what it deserves.  But beware of this item.

First, this is not being sold by Amazon, but by a third-party seller.  Second, please take note on the number of discs that the seller has written down as to what the set includes.

My wife went online to Amazon to get me a birthday gift a couple of weeks ago and she went looking for the complete Cowboy Bebop series.  She found this and thought perhaps it was a fluke in the pricing since the stat page says "7discs."  She ordered this one and she loves me.  I have a wife who gives me anime.  I am lucky.

But this set only has three discs.  Yes, it does have every episode from the series but there are ZERO special features.  No behind the scenes or anything like I know the original is supposed to have.

The video quality is OK.  Slightly better than if you recorded it off of the TV with a VCR.  Not great, but not bad.  I will stay with this copy though because it was a gift, but I really have to recommend paying the money for the official 6-disc version.  If you just want the episodes, then get this.  Its not bad, but not good either.  Kinda' like Purgatory.
1169773
One of the longest-running television serials to ever grace our screens has finally arrived on DVD following the tremendous success of the "As the World Turns" box set last fall. In this remarkable set fans get a chance to revisit Springfield on 20 complete, uncut episodes from various years starting in 1980. Sadly, all the episodes of "Guiding Light" (like all other Proctor and Gamble shows) were wiped completely, meaning they were destroyed by the networks which explains why we are not seeing any episodes on these sets prior to the fall of 1979. Still, if your a lover of soap opera or these particular shows these are must-have sets. Talk is Soap Opera Classic, the company releasing these DVD's are about to release "Another World", "Search for Tomorrow" and "The Edge of Night" sometime in 2012 so keep your fingers crossed.

 The following is a complete list of episodes and their original CBS airdates:

Disc 1: Great Weddings

1. Kelly Nelson marries Morgan Richards (Aug. 18, 1981)
2. Quinton marries Nola Reardon (June 14, 1983)
3. Joshua marries Reva Shane (July 18, 1989)
4. Gus marries Harley Cooper (Aug. 19, 2005)
5. Billy marries Vanessa (Sept. 14, 2009)

Disc 2: Secrets and Scandals

1. Nola admits to lying to Kelly about her baby (July 27, 1981) My personal favorite and probably the greatest script Douglas Marland ever wrote for a soap opera!
2. Jane Elliot (Tracy from "General Hospital") breaks down as her multiple personality comes out. A virtuoso performance by Elliot and this too was written by Douglas Marland (July 12, 1982)
3. The Truth about Phillip Spaulding (Aug. 29, 1983)
4. Husbands, Friends and Lovers (Jan. 11, 1993)
5. The Spaulding Ex-Wives Club (Joan Collins stars as the "new" Alexandria and the marvelous Mary Kay Adams returns as India Von Haulkein. I only wished they had more India episodes in this set!!!!) (Oct. 18, 2002)

Disc 3: Springfield Through The Years

1. Christmas, 1983 (Dec. 23, 1983)
2. The 50th Anniversary Show (July 3, 1987)
3. Dreamgirls (Nov. 3, 1992)
4. The 15,000 show (Sept. 7, 2006)
5. The 70th Anniversary Show (featuring Kim Zimmer as Charita Bauer as the cast plays characters and behind-the-scenes personnel like Irna Phillips from the 1950's) (Jan. 25, 2007)

Disc 4: Villins and Vixens

1. On The Trail of Roger Thorpe. This is a classic where Roger meets his death after being on the show exactly nine years to the day and after being a rapist. One of my favorites and shot on location in the Caribbean (April 1, 1980)
2. The Fountain of Truth. The episode where Reva says "I baptize myself the slut of Springfield") winning Kim Zimmer her very first Emmy as Best Actress. (July 30, 1984)
3. Sinister Sisters (Dec. 30, 1988)
4. Payback is a Bitch (July 12, 1991) This is one of Beverlee Mckinsey's greatest performances (actually her best on "Guiding Light") where she destroys Roger at the Country Club. McKinsey should have won the Emmy the following year, but was overlooked! FOOLS!!!
5. Annie's Wedding From Hell (Jan. 26, 1998)

 Again, this would have been a great disc to showcase some India episodes as she was truely the best vixen on "Guiding Light" from 1984-1987, but maybe the next set my wish will come true!
746055
I've given five stars cause the show is what it is so to speak, a show many of us including myself viewed when it first came to television, and how exciting a show it was then to watch as a kid and especially with color television, them were the days we must have done without alot of extra's to have a nice large color television and cable television with under thirteen channels.
But really, lets not fool ourselves that this was a terrific show in every aspect, it was fraught with all the seventies cliche haircuts, some real cheesy plots, too bad some of the plots weren't better, but that was 70's cheesy tv for ya.
Its too bad the show is so expensive brand new, very surprising, I had to wait to get it used, otherwise, ehh, unsure if I would have paid over fourty bucks, actually I found a used set for under thirty missing the cylon head packaging, but I was near the point I might have sprung for near full price, but hey, buying used is like saving the planet or something, like recycling.  Then there is galactica 80, bought that, and I have the widescreen motion picture as well, I remember when the motion picture played at the local movie theater back in the 70's.
786638
I only remembered bits and pieces of the show from my childhood. Because I hardly remembered it, I didn't consider myself a die-hard fan of the series.
But I bought this, and to date it has been one of my favorite DVD boxed sets. I won't get into listing the episodes, actors, features, etc. (as others have done in great detail), but I will instead say this: "Battlestar Galactica" has the wit, soul and charm that is lacked by many shows of today--sci-fi or otherwise.
This boxed set has made me a die-hard fan of the show, and I now realize that this show has accomplished more in 24 episodes than many shows do in five seasons. After watching the last episode, I wished for more.
Keep in mind, this show did not get cancelled because it was bad--it was ABCs rating leader when it aired. Instead, the show was cancelled because the network thought it was too costly to produce.
Buy this boxed set--you will not be dissapointed.
1825132
This review is for the DVD set itself. The show is amazing enough, so I don't think I have to talk about it. Now, the packaging for this DVD is pretty standard multi-disk fare. It comes with 5 discs, 4 of which come in the standard mini holders. (Those small single-disk spindles that fit on the inside of the spine of the case.) The last disk come on a standard holder on the back of the set. The labels on the disks are really cool looking, and have little images softly hidden in the red coloring, such as images of various Gates, as well as transmutation circles. All in all, this DVD set is very good quality, and should last a very long time, provided you genuinely take care of the set.
3834452
The 1 star isn't for the quality of the show cause the show is amazing. I ordered a new DVD (that's what i paid for) instead I got a DVD in really bad conditions. The case looks old and the DVD is scratched; I haven't palyed but I wonder if it might work as it is really bad.
472470
I love this show.  My review is not about the show, however.  It is about the DVD itself.

1.  The box art is identical to season 2 with Benson & Stabler reversed.  Was it that hard to find other pictures of the cast?

2.  FINALLY, no more double sided discs!  Thank God!  This set is 5 single sided discs packaged in 3 slim-cases.  A huge improvement.

3.  Still no widescreen aspect ratio and 2.0 sound.  That's disappointing.  If this was in 5.1 surround sound and anamorphic widescreen, the set would be much better.  Those with Widescreen HDTV's and Home Theatres know what I'm talking about.

All in all, however, the show itself is great, so it's worth picking up if you're and L&O fan.  I just wish Universal would make a more quality DVD package.  Look at CSI, Lost, The Office, etc. DVD seasons.  They are much better!
1805038
The seventh season is really where the show started running out of steam, in large part because the bigger story arcs started to come to a conclusion.  This season includes the 100th episode which is an homage to clue.  It also was supposed to include the musical episode, which was a way to bring back the yang story line, but the musical was pushed back and was included on the season 8 DVD set and not this one.  The two very big episodes are the 7th and 8th of the season which involves a wedding and someone finding out about Shawn and the aftermath of that.  For those who have not seen the show I will not spoil it, but they are the two best episodes of the season, and two of the best in the series (in my opinion).

For those who get the DVDs, the extras are much like what came before.  A gag reel, deleted scenes for most episodes and commentary tracks for some of the episodes.  A lot of material for those who like to go through it.  While the show remained funny, you could definitely get the feeling that it was going to come to an end soon, which really happens to every show.  Still I think for a fan of the show it is worth adding to your collection.
1636644
I was very pleased with the treatment this show has finally been given on DVD and recommend it highly to all fans.  The picture quality is good though some shots are grainy and even out of focus. I imagine some of these are just foul-ups we have to live with due to the fact there were a lot of inexperienced people behind the scenes. In an ironic touch, with the improved sound, the background music that kicks in at crucial moments is sometimes annoying and just plain corny(in the episode "And they painted daisies....," where Dano is accused of murdering an 18 year old kid, the strings that kick each time things get bad for him are almost laughable). Yet when that wave starts rolling and the theme music kicks in, it is still as dramatic as ever.

Okay, so the stories are dated and over the top but what still comes through is the man himself - McGarrett. In going thru these episodes it really hits home that Jack Lord was this show. His presence on the small screen is right up there with the presence a DeNiro or Nicholson bring to the big screen. I once had a police office as a neighbor and he used to laugh at the show because in every episode McGarrett would either violate the constitution  or end up with such flimsy of evidence that, in real life, no arrest of his would ever hold up in court!  Ah but who cares, it is still fun even after all these years.

The one main "extra" is the inclusion of a 1996 television special paying homage to the show, co-hosted by James MacArthur. Of course, many of the cast members are no longer with us but it is still a fun history lesson to view.  Sadly, Jack Lord was too ill with Alzheimer's disease to take part but his presence is felt vividly in the way the cast recalls him. I mean the guy sounded like an egotistical jerk but at the same time, the show succeeded because of him.

As of this review, the price of the DVD set is $33.99 and I can say I am not sure what else can provide me with so much enjoyment and fond memories for the same money.
4347572
I was looking forward so much to purchasing my Airwolf DVD set, that I forgot all about the shortcommings that one of the greatest shows fom the 80's fell victim to. First of all, I'd give Airwolf a 5/5 for just being an awesome show. Bluethunder never came close to Airwolf! But lets get to the root of the new set:

-First of all the box for season one has pictures on the back from the WORST season (4), and is missing far more note worthy shots of "the lady" and the cast. I could have designed a better package than the one final production box, not to mention it seems tha the box print work has been applied in reverse to standard DVD boxes (ie the front of the box should have the DVD's slide in from the right NOT the left).

-Secondly the cases for the DVD's are the full size cases, which are OK, but most of the new DVD releases have moved to the slim line cases - these big bulky cases lead you to believe that you are getting more than you actually are. There isn't even a picture or book in either of the cases - just a plain double sided DVD.

-Thirdly, the DVD menu offers very little in design features, including NO extras what so ever from a show that so many people have searched all over the internet in search of behind the scenes pictures, clips, and cast interviews. One wonders what the people who produced it were thinking - sadly,it seemes that the shows monetary issues from the 80's are still present in post-production.

-Upon searching for a release date for season 2, it seems that there is no sign of it until the end of 2005 or later  - ie no results ANYWHERE where specific.

-The only good thing - which is the most important is the quality of the show. 5/5 for FINALLY bringing back a great show that met with such an unfortunate demise. Episode audio and video quality are great - so I guess that when you really want something that has been so hard to get, you should be more than happy with the quality of a bare bones DVD set that does deliver on the show.
2000514
If you like the show, you're going to like the DVDs. The special features are fun, the DVD menu isn't terrible, and there aren't too many previews, if any, on most discs.

The DVDs were received on time, and well packaged.
1611918
This is not a criticism of the show, it's more that it has been surpassed by a phenomenal version of itself. There are a lot of similarities between the two, but I prefer the "buddy" aspect of the new show versus the "star and supporting cast" of the older. Still a show I'll watch a lot of episodes of, however.