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Dr. Who, Hill Street Blues, CHiPs among TV shows on DVD
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Nick Frost as Santa Claus is confronted by Peter Capaldi as the Doctor in last December's "Doctor Who" holiday TV special "Last Christmas," now on Blu-ray and DVD. - photo by Chris Hicks
Yes, its March, but the latest Doctor Who Christmas special arrives on DVD this week, along with season sets of the vintage series Hill Street Blues and CHiPs.

Doctor Who: Last Christmas (BBC/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, audio commentary, featurette). Peter Capaldis first season as the good doctor (No. 12) proved to be the highest rated ever for the series, and that includes this funny and suspenseful holiday special that aired last December.

The Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) attempt to waylay an alien attack on a science base at the North Pole with help from Santa himself, played delightfully by Nick Frost.

Hill Street Blues: Season Four (Shout!/DVD, 1983-84, five discs, 22 episodes). Steven Bochcos popular police series stars Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, James Sikking and Betty Thomas, among others. This season marks a pinnacle of sorts, as many feel that the show began to dip in quality afterward (though it would run another three years).

In the middle of this season, Michael Conrad died, and so did his character, desk sergeant Phil Esterhaus. And for the fourth year in a row, the show won the Emmy as Best Drama. Guests include Alfre Woodard (in three episodes), Linda Hamilton (in four episodes), Andy Garcia, Crispin Glover and Jane Kaczmarek (in six episodes).

CHiPs: The Complete Third Season (Warner/DVD, 1979-80, five discs, 23 episodes). Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox return as California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers Ponch and Baker in this comedy-drama. This season opens with a two-parter about smash-and-grab thieves and Ponch trying to gather celebrities for an ice-skating fundraiser, which features a wide array of TV personalities of the era. Guests in other episodes include Aldo Ray, Dee Wallace and Billy Barty. And Michael Dorn, seven years away from playing Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has a recurring role.

A Place to Call Home: Season 1 (Acorn/DVD, 2013, four discs, 13 episodes). Australian period drama set in New South Wales a few years after World War II follows a nurse (Marta Dusseldorp) returning to Australia after a 20-year absence, an ahead-of-her-time feminist who has been affected deeply by the war after converting to Judaism. Traveling by ship, she takes up with a widower and his daughter but makes an enemy of his wealthy, powerful mother, who tries to keep them apart after she settles in the same town.

Outlander: Season One, Volume One (Sony/Blu-ray/DVD, 2014, two discs, eight episodes, deleted scenes, featurettes). A British nurse is reunited with her husband after World War II, and while they visit the Scottish highlands she is transported back to the 1700s, where she finds herself in the midst of a civil war. Her medical skills ingratiate her to the locals as she tries to figure out whats happened to her. This is the first season of this period adventure-romance produced for the Starz cable channel.

The Game (BBC/DVD, 2014, two discs, six episodes). Highly praised Cold War thriller set in 1972 focuses on a young MI5 agent (Tom Hughes) that tried to defect to the Soviet Union after falling in love with one of that countrys agents. But she was killed and he was arrested. Having been reinstated, he is now part of a team intent on uncovering a Soviet plot to detonate a nuclear weapon in London. Brian Cox co-stars.

Atlantis: Season Two, Part One (BBC/DVD, 2014, two discs, six episodes). British fantasy series with its roots in Greek mythology. A modern-day scientist (Jack Donnelly) in a one-man sub investigates a deep-sea disturbance and finds himself in the legendary underwater city of Atlantis. This season begins a year after the end of Season 1, with the kingdom changing hands and threatening to collapse as a power struggle heats up.

Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (Disney/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2015, G, deleted scenes, featurettes). This straight-to-video prequel to Peter Pan is the seventh Tinker Bell film (and reportedly the last) in a franchise that began in 2008. Mae Whitman continues to voice Tink, and Lucy Liu and Raven-Symone return as Silvermist and Iridessa, respectively. And Ginnifer Goodwin voices Fawn, an animal fairy that befriends a huge, mysterious creature and tries to protect it from fearful fairies.

Barbie in Princess Power (Universal/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital, 2015, featurette, outtakes, music videos, Life in the Dream House webisode). Barbie as Kara is kissed by a magical butterfly, which turns her into superhero Super Sparkle, but her jealous cousin catches the butterfly and becomes a nemesis, Dark Sparkle. Got all that?

Sofia the First: The Curse of Princess Ivy (Disney Junior/DVD, 2013-14, feature-length special, three episodes). The title special expands the Disney franchise even further after earlier encounters with Cinderella, Belle, Fa Mulan, etc., by having Sofia meet Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) from Tangled.

The Beginners Bible (StarVista/DVD, 1995, three episodes). Three cartoons designed to introduce preschool children to Bible stories: The Story of Easter, The Story of Moses and The Story of the Nativity.

PAW Patrol: Marshall and Chase on the Case! (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, 2013-14, eight episodes, video storybook). This Nickelodeon cable series for preschoolers has seven puppies led by a tech-savvy boy named Ryder. These episodes highlight Marshall the firedog and Chase the police pup.

Bubble Guppies: Fin-Tastic Collection (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, 2011-12, two discs, nine episodes). The Guppies of the underwater town of Bubbletucky in this animated show for preschoolers get a Bubble Puppy pet, play Fisketball and call a Clambulance, among other adventures.

Lalaloopsy: Festival of Sugary Sweets (Lionsgate/DVD/Digital, 2015). New made-for-video animated movie (45 minutes) has the Lalaloopsy friends coming up with a recipe to circumvent a sugar shortage for the annual Festival of Sugary Sweets.

LeapFrog Letter Factory Adventures: Amazing Word Explorers (Lionsgate/DVD/Digital/On Demand, 2014, singalong videos, curriculum commentary for parents). Leap, Tad, Lily and their animated friends teach kids ages 3-6 about building words and creating stories in game form.
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