ALF on DVD? Surely you jest

With the upcoming release of "Diff'rent Strokes: The Complete First Season" on DVD, I thought it would be appropriate to take a second to analyze the new cultural phenomenon that is television on DVD.\nIt seemed only natural that TV shows would make the leap from constant F/X and TBS syndication to the luxuries of DVD. Why shouldn't they? DVD technology has enabled studios to take entire seasons of a show, condense it onto a nice three to four disk set, add some special features and sell it to the public at an inflated price.\nLately though, I've noticed an increase in bad television programs finding their way to the shelves at Blockbuster. Case in point, David Hasselhoff's 1980s talking car drama, "Knight Rider," which can be purchased on www.amazon.com for under $50!\nI might also add that on Amazon, out of the top 25 DVD sellers, 10 are television shows ("Knight Rider" unfortunately did not make this list, but apparently "Angel: Season 4" is quite popular with a cushy number 11 spot.)\nSo the question that comes to me is this: who is buying all of these DVDs? I mean let's be honest, are there really people out there sitting down to dinner and an episode of "Mr. Belvedere"? Are people curling up before they go to sleep for two to three episodes of "ALF"? Being lulled to sleep by the clever alien creature that dines on cats? Frankly, if you ask me, the network execs behind this "bad TV" resurrection are going too far.\nThis is not to say all TV DVDs are bad. In my opinion, the fact that you can sit down and watch an entire season, without annoying commercials, is refreshing. For me, these DVDs introduced me to shows that I missed when they aired on television, often because I lacked the interest or because I was unable to watch them.\nSince I grew up in a home without cable, I was not fortunate enough to watch HBO programs like "The Sopranos" or "Six Feet Under," two of the best shows on television, but got hooked the minute they hit the shelves of my neighborhood video store.\nDuring freshman year, my roommate introduced me to the highly-underrated sports sitcom/drama "Sports Night," after he bought the complete series on DVD and went on a 13-hour, overnight stint of nothing but episode after episode (I was only able to catch certain snippets of the show as I slipped in and out of consciousness, but liked what I saw.)\nHowever, these examples do not make up for some of the shows being released today, mainly those 1980s sitcoms that, unlike fine wine and soft cheese, do not improve with age. So I decided to compile for you a list of some shows worthy of DVD treatment and some that should stay forgotten, doomed to be syndicated on Nick at Nite.\nWhat to look forward to:\n1. "Seinfeld": Sure you can catch episodes of the best show of the '90s five times a day on TBS and local networks, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to sit down and take in the "Soup Nazi" episode, sans commercials? (See also co-creator of Seinfeld Larry David's recent opus HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm")\n2. "Arrested Development": This underrated gem was one of the best new shows of last year, but failed to gain an audience. A "Family Guy"-esque DVD resurrection may be just what this dysfunctional family sitcom needs.\n3. HBO Lineup: "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under" and "Sex and the City" are already on DVD, but what about HBO's other brilliant shows like "The Wire," "Entourage" or "Carnivalé"?\n4. "Twin Peaks: Season Two": The first season of David Lynch's early '90s cult drama was released a couple of years ago on DVD, but what happened to its second and final season?\n5. Some of the rest: "Chappelle's Show: Second Season": Sure we can all quote in entirety the Rick James sketch, but season two as a whole was smarter and funnier than season one. Who could forget the dark side of Wayne Brady? "The Cosby Show": A guilty pleasure. "The Simpsons": Just keep them coming, Matt Groening.\n \nFinally, those shows that I never want to see in stock at the neighborhood Borders:\n1. "Webster": Obvious "Diff'rent Strokes" rip-off.\n2. "Night Court": Is it just me or wasn't the main character, in reality, Mr. Clean?\n3. "Perfect Strangers": Sure Balki was funny for a while, but who in their right mind would pay to watch this daft sitcom?\n4. "Small Wonder": ABC's 1980s robot child sitcom is probably the worst show ever made, but surprisingly had a four season run.\n5. "The A-Team" & "Magnum P.I.": Oh wait, both of these were released on DVD last month.