Bionic Woman, Street Hawk & More Coming To DVD

Sommers Time: Fans have long been clamoring for the DVD release of the adventures of Jamie Sommers, and now they will get it withThe Bionic Woman: Season One. In this successful spin-off from The Six Million Dollar Man, Linsday Wagner plays the title role, a tennis pro and former fiancée of  cyborg hero Steve Austin (Lee Majors) ,  who gets her own artificial parts after a crippling skydiving accident. Now endowed with super strength, super hearing and super speed, Jamie poses as a schoolteacher but takes on secret government assignments on the side. Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks also star in the series which ran on ABC from 1976, then on NBC until 1978.  Audio commentary and other goodies are promised.

Dysfunction Junction: One of the most acclaimed network shows of recent years, Modern Family: The Complete First Season is a laugh-filled junket through contemporary parenting and family relations.  The focus is on three different (though interlocked) family units and the crises they face, which range from multi-cultural romance, gay relationship issues, adoption and more. The terrific ensemble cast includes Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen.  All 24 episodes from the series’ 2009 bow on ABC are here, along with lots of extra goodies.

Heaton Up: Patricia Heaton, ex of Everyone Loves Raymond, returns to the small screen with the funny and charming ABC show The Middle: The Complete First Season. Ms. Heaton joins Scrubs co-star Neil Flynn as an Indiana couple with three children attempting to keep things afloat amidst the tough economy and family problems. She’s a car saleswoman and he works at a quarry, and they toil to have the, er, luxuries of middle class life. The first 24 episodes from the 2009 debut of the working class sitcom, co-starring Charlie McDermott and Chris Kattan, are offered on a three-disc set.

Racer Rex: It didn’t last long, but Street Hawk was around long enough to make an impression, and some people wondered what had happened to it. Those folks will be pleased by the upcoming release of Street Hawk: The Complete Series on a four-disc, extra-packed set. Rex Smith (The Pirates of Penzance) plays the former motorcycle cop who takes on the identity of a black-clad avenger who uses his gadget-filled cycle to halt crime. Joe Regalbuto and Richard Venture also star in this 1985 series that ran on ABC.

Law and Disorder: Dylan McDermott, late of The Practice, stars in Dark Blue: The Complete First Season, a first-rate cop drama that began airing on TNT in 2009. McDermott plays the leader of a renegade faction of the LAPD who work outside of the law in trying to halt crime. Tyrees Allen, Nicki Aycox and Omari Hardwick also star in this 10-episode collection of what some have called the West Coast answer to New York Undercover.

Monster Smash: The popular BBC series Being Human: Season One, which debuted in 2009, details the comical adventures of a trio of twentysomething housemates whose lives are that much more complicated by their being supernatural creatures. Werewolf  George (Russell Tovey), ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow), and vampire Mitchell (Aidan Turner) comprise the unholy three. Jason Watkins, Sinead Keenan co-star in this two-disc, six-episode set.

Con Flim-Flam Festival: USA Network’s White Collar: The Complete First Season offers excitement and tension coupled with memorable characters. In the series that debuted in 2009, Matt Bomer stars as a con artist who’s broken jail, and who cuts a deal with the FBI agent (Tim DeKay) who has run him down; his work release will consists of using his skills to help the Feds capture other slick crooks. Willie Garson and Tiffani Thiessen also star in this surprisingly entertaining series, presented here on four discs.

Strangers in The Night: Persons Unknown: Season 1 presents an intriguing premise: A half-dozen strangers wake up in a hotel and have no idea where they are, how they got there, or why. They soon discover that they are imprisoned in a ghost town where they are constantly under surveillance. It’s a little Lost with a bit of Twin Peaks, Big Brother and The Prisoner added for good measure. Created by The Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, the show stars Jason Wiles as the group’s mysterious, self-appointed leader; Daisy Betts as a single mother and day care owner; Tina Holmes, a crisis counselor with emotional problems; Chadwick Boseman, a Marine; Kate Lang Johnson, the manipulative daughter of an American ambassador; and investment specialist Alan Ruck The first go-round of this 2010 NBC series is available on a four-disc, 13-episode set.

Legal Tender: Julianna Margulies, one-time star of ER, shines in The Good Wife: The First Season, an acclaimed and popular drama which bowed on CBS in 2009. She plays the wife of a politician (Chris Noth) whose career goes down in flames after a corruption scandal lands him in prison. Margulies tries to relaunch her life by returning to the work force and starting at the bottom rung of a prestigious Chicago law firm. Her trials and tribulations in and outside the courtroom are the focus of the series, and she’s ably supported by Christine Baranski and Josh Charles. This six-disc, 23-episode set is loaded with extras, including deleted scenes, audio commentary and featurettes.

Beyond The Norm: Best remembered for his several-season stint at the anchor desk for SNL’s Weekend Update, Norm Macdonald followed that gig with the funny sitcom The Norm Show, which ran on ABC from 1999 to 2001. Norm brought his sardonic humor to the role of a former NHL player banished from the league for gambling, with community service his only out from jail time. He performs it via social work, where he’s supervised by Laurie Metcalf and Max Wright. The cast is terrific, with Faith Ford, Ian Gomez, Artie Lange, Kate Walsh and Nikki Cox also adding support.  The eight-disc, 55-episode The Norm Show: The Complete Series is filled with deadpan “Norm-isms” the likes of with will make you laugh.

Schmooze News: Well-liked over its 2002-2006 ABC run, Less Than Perfect starred Sara Rue starred as an appealing, plus-sized young employee for a network news department who finds herself with the plum job of assisting overbearing anchor Eric Roberts. Forever warm and witty, she must contend with all of the eccentricities, jealousy and pettiness of the staff around her, played by the likes of Andy Dick, Sherri Shepherd and Zachary Levi. The four-disc set includes all 22 episodes from Less Than Perfect: Season One.

Spartacus…We Love You:  From the folks who gave us Hercules and Xena comes Spartacus: Blood And Sand: The Complete First Season, the adult-oriented action series drenched with blood and filled with nudity. Andy Whitfield plays the lead character, a Thracian slave, whose way with gladiatorial skills leads to a slave uprising that he champions. John Hannah and Lucy Lawless also star in this 2010 production for Starz, presented in all of its gory on a 13-episode four-disc set chockfull of extra goodies.

Cleveland Rocks: The Cleveland Show: The Complete Season One is a 2009 animated spinoff of Todd McFarlane’s Family Guy, focusing on Peter Griffin’s neighbor and buddy Cleveland Brown. Cleveland (voiced by Mike Henry) has taken his son and left his unfaithful ex-wife and the metropolis of Quahog, Rhode Island behind for his hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia, where he gets hitched to his high school sweetheart (Sanaa Lathan) and takes in her two kids. With sharp, cynical writing and voices supplied by Kevin Michael Richardson, Reagan Gomez and Jamie Kennedy, the first 21 episodes are presented on a four disc set.