5 Boffo TV Boxes

By James Poniewozik

SIX FEET UNDER THE COMPLETE SERIES

The only thing messier than death, Alan Ball's drama taught us, is life. The story of the Fisher family, who ran a funeral parlor in Los Angeles, began as a trenchant, slightly preachy story about fac,ades--how people put up false fronts, the way an undertaker paints makeup on a corpse. It grew into one of TV's best family dramas ever, embracing the Fishers in all their unruly contradictions: artistic, egocentric Claire; repressed, brave David; idealistic, obnoxious Nate; and straitlaced, adventure-seeking Ruth (above, from left, Lauren Ambrose, Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause and Frances Conroy). By the cathartic finale, you'll love this funereal clan like family.

THE WEST WING THE COMPLETE SERIES

After the Clinton-impeachment affair (or the Clinton-affair impeachment?), this drama argued that politics could be noble. Fast too--with the rapid dialogue and the hallway walk-and-talks, the staff of President Bartlet (Martin Sheen, below with John Goodman) had espresso in their veins. Wonky, sexy and high-minded, the show believed that romanticism in the defense of liberty was no vice.

BBC ATLAS OF THE NATURAL WORLD WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND ANTARCTICA

There's no lack of nature shows in the multichannel universe, but few get at the big picture like these natural opuses. The four series--set in North, Central and South America and the Antarctic--show how the geography, animals and humans of a region have affected one another. (The Central American series, for instance, connects the rugged desert landscape and the sometimes brutal native cultures: the hardy cacti provided sustenance--and a handy place to impale human sacrifices.) Part history, part anthropology, part biology, all breathtaking spectacle, the set gives new meaning to the phrase living color.

GUNSMOKE THE DIRECTORS COLLECTION

TV, unlike movies, is more a writer's and producer's than a director's medium: there's more power and glory behind the keyboard than behind the camera. That makes this three-disc, 15-episode sampler of TV's long-running western, focusing on the work of the series' best-known directors, all the more fascinating and revealing. The set collects episodes and commentary from movie directors including Arthur Hiller (Love Story) and Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) as well as actor-directors like Dennis Weaver and William Conrad. In his commentary, Weaver explains why Gunsmoke used more long and midrange shots than TV does now. "We didn't have zoom lenses," he says, laughing. "You had to move the camera, and that took time, and time was money." For western fans and TV-history buffs alike, this is an unusual perspective on how the West was shot.

M*A*S*H THE MARTINIS & MEDICINE COLLECTION

At 11 seasons--three times or so the length of the Korean "police action" it was set in--this sitcom had time to be many shows. It was a political satire, a searing medical drama, a Marx Brothers--like comedy, a tense war comedy, a sex farce and a liberal soapbox. But from its acerbic early years to its earnest latter seasons (starring--above, from left--Alan Alda, Harry Morgan and Mike Farrell), it was a tour de force of TV writing. This 36-disc set offers it all, plus documentaries, a trivia game and the 1970 movie by the late Robert Altman. (The spin-off AfterM*A*S*H is thankfully omitted.) Fire up the still and settle in for a long, hilarious war.