The Mentalist is done and its final season is now on DVD.
The Mentalist: The Seventh and Final Season (Warner/DVD, 2014-15, three discs, 13 episodes, featurette). This amusing police procedural is often quite clever with its stories of celebrity psychic/con artist Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), who actually uses a heightened sense of observation while working as a consultant for a California police agency (think Psych played straight).
But Jane has had an agenda, using law-enforcement resources to find the killer of his wife and child, a story that wrapped during Season 6. Now Jane and his partner (Robin Tunney) work for the FBI.
Theres little doubt that the show skates on the charm and chemistry of its stars, Baker and Tunney, whose sexual tension continues to burn in this final 13-episode go-round as they spend much of the season tracking a serial killer and allowing their romance to gather steam. This release comes during a surprisingly short window between the end of a series and its DVD debut (the show ended in late February), which is all the better to attract fans before the shine wears off.
The Jeffersons: Season Seven (Shout!/Sony/DVD, 1980-81, three discs, 20 episodes). This is one of the best seasons of this very funny sitcom (an All in the Family spinoff) about a bombastic dry-cleaning mogul (Sherman Hemsley) and his no-nonsense wife (Isabel Sanford), and their circle of family and friends. This season includes a four-episode vacation in Hawaii and their maid Florence (Marla Gibbs) threatening to leave when shes offered a new job (actually a spinoff, the short-lived sitcom Checking In).
Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show: The Second Season (Shout!/CBS/DVD, 1956-57, b/w, five discs, 36 episodes). This early sitcom set against the military shenanigans of a con-artist sergeant (Phil Silvers) is tailor-made for its star and often very funny. Look for guests Bing Crosby, Ed Sullivan, Margaret Hamilton, Julie Newmar, Tina Louise and Tom Poston.
I Love Lucy: I (Heart) Mom Edition (CBS/Paramount/DVD, 1952-55, b/w, four episodes). This Mothers Day release of four shows from the iconic sitcom has episodes focusing on Lucy (Lucille Ball) as a mother, including the famous show where she lets Ricky (Desi Arnaz) know shes pregnant, and episodes about Little Rickys birth, one where Ethel (Vivian Vance) tells some other renters about her love for Little Ricky, and another that has Lucy and Ricky at odds about sending the boy to nursery school.
Mamas Family: Mamas Favorites, Season Five (StarVista/DVD, 1988-89, six episodes). Also in time for Mothers Day is this collection of episodes from Season Five of this raucous domestic sitcom spun off of The Carol Burnett Show, starring Vicki Lawrence in the title role with padding and a fright wig: The Really Loud Family, Naomis New Position, Found Money, Mamas Layaway Plan, Mama in One and Dependence Day.
Covert Affairs: Season Five (Universal/USA/DVD, 2014, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes, bloopers). This is the final season of this spy adventure series about operative Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) and her blind handler Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham). When Annie resurfaces after several months off the grid, changes are afoot, and shes harboring dangerous secrets. Co-stars include Hill Harper, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Nic Bishop.
Suits: Season Four (Universal/USA/DVD, 2014-15, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes, featurette, bloopers). Offbeat buddy comedy-drama about genius college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), whose photographic memory gets him hired by narcissistic lawyer Harvey Reginald Specter (Gabriel Macht) as an associate at a high-rolling New York firm. This season, Mike and Harvey separately leave and rejoin the firm, which allows the two to square off against each other.
New Tricks: Season 11 (Acorn/DVD, 2014, three discs, 10 episodes, featurette). The premise of this British comedy-drama police procedural has a young female detective pulling older male former detectives out of retirement to help solve cold cases. Stories this season focus on anti-nuke protesters, illegal immigrants and purloined state secrets from the Cold War.
The Mystery of Lord Lucan (Acorn/itv/DVD, 2013/1994, three episodes). There are two shows included here, a standalone TV movie and a two-part miniseries. The best is the 2013 miniseries Lucan, about one of Englands most infamous unsolved crimes, when a lord disappeared in the 1970s after having apparently killed his childrens nanny. The supposition is that he mistook the nanny for his wife, whom he plotted to kill over a child-custody dispute, and depicts the debased life of the wealthy elite. The 1994 TV movie The Trial of Lord Lucan is a what-if story that imagines the lord going on trial for the crime.
Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Complete Season 1 (Warner/DVD, 1979-80, two discs, 16 episodes). This umpteenth animated series in the Scooby-Doo! franchise has the Mystery Inc. gang (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo) being joined by our favorite hounds nephew, Scrappy-Doo, a puppy with no qualms about joining in as they run up against the usual monsters and mysteries.
My Little Pony Tales: The Complete Classic TV Series (Shout! Kids/Hasbro/DVD, 1992, 13 episodes, sing-alongs). Heres another animated franchise for children that has gone through multiple incarnations. This series is about seven female pony pals, Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody, Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover and Bon Bon, anthropomorphic young horses living in Ponyland.
Wallykazam! (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, 2014, four episodes). This animated series is about Wally Trollman and his pet dragon Norville, using magic to teach children about reading and the use of words.
Lets Learn: S.T.E.M. (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, six episodes). Episodes from various Nickelodeon animated series teach children about science, technology, engineering and math: Blaze and the Monster Machines, PAW Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.
The Mentalist: The Seventh and Final Season (Warner/DVD, 2014-15, three discs, 13 episodes, featurette). This amusing police procedural is often quite clever with its stories of celebrity psychic/con artist Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), who actually uses a heightened sense of observation while working as a consultant for a California police agency (think Psych played straight).
But Jane has had an agenda, using law-enforcement resources to find the killer of his wife and child, a story that wrapped during Season 6. Now Jane and his partner (Robin Tunney) work for the FBI.
Theres little doubt that the show skates on the charm and chemistry of its stars, Baker and Tunney, whose sexual tension continues to burn in this final 13-episode go-round as they spend much of the season tracking a serial killer and allowing their romance to gather steam. This release comes during a surprisingly short window between the end of a series and its DVD debut (the show ended in late February), which is all the better to attract fans before the shine wears off.
The Jeffersons: Season Seven (Shout!/Sony/DVD, 1980-81, three discs, 20 episodes). This is one of the best seasons of this very funny sitcom (an All in the Family spinoff) about a bombastic dry-cleaning mogul (Sherman Hemsley) and his no-nonsense wife (Isabel Sanford), and their circle of family and friends. This season includes a four-episode vacation in Hawaii and their maid Florence (Marla Gibbs) threatening to leave when shes offered a new job (actually a spinoff, the short-lived sitcom Checking In).
Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show: The Second Season (Shout!/CBS/DVD, 1956-57, b/w, five discs, 36 episodes). This early sitcom set against the military shenanigans of a con-artist sergeant (Phil Silvers) is tailor-made for its star and often very funny. Look for guests Bing Crosby, Ed Sullivan, Margaret Hamilton, Julie Newmar, Tina Louise and Tom Poston.
I Love Lucy: I (Heart) Mom Edition (CBS/Paramount/DVD, 1952-55, b/w, four episodes). This Mothers Day release of four shows from the iconic sitcom has episodes focusing on Lucy (Lucille Ball) as a mother, including the famous show where she lets Ricky (Desi Arnaz) know shes pregnant, and episodes about Little Rickys birth, one where Ethel (Vivian Vance) tells some other renters about her love for Little Ricky, and another that has Lucy and Ricky at odds about sending the boy to nursery school.
Mamas Family: Mamas Favorites, Season Five (StarVista/DVD, 1988-89, six episodes). Also in time for Mothers Day is this collection of episodes from Season Five of this raucous domestic sitcom spun off of The Carol Burnett Show, starring Vicki Lawrence in the title role with padding and a fright wig: The Really Loud Family, Naomis New Position, Found Money, Mamas Layaway Plan, Mama in One and Dependence Day.
Covert Affairs: Season Five (Universal/USA/DVD, 2014, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes, bloopers). This is the final season of this spy adventure series about operative Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) and her blind handler Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham). When Annie resurfaces after several months off the grid, changes are afoot, and shes harboring dangerous secrets. Co-stars include Hill Harper, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett and Nic Bishop.
Suits: Season Four (Universal/USA/DVD, 2014-15, four discs, 16 episodes, deleted scenes, featurette, bloopers). Offbeat buddy comedy-drama about genius college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), whose photographic memory gets him hired by narcissistic lawyer Harvey Reginald Specter (Gabriel Macht) as an associate at a high-rolling New York firm. This season, Mike and Harvey separately leave and rejoin the firm, which allows the two to square off against each other.
New Tricks: Season 11 (Acorn/DVD, 2014, three discs, 10 episodes, featurette). The premise of this British comedy-drama police procedural has a young female detective pulling older male former detectives out of retirement to help solve cold cases. Stories this season focus on anti-nuke protesters, illegal immigrants and purloined state secrets from the Cold War.
The Mystery of Lord Lucan (Acorn/itv/DVD, 2013/1994, three episodes). There are two shows included here, a standalone TV movie and a two-part miniseries. The best is the 2013 miniseries Lucan, about one of Englands most infamous unsolved crimes, when a lord disappeared in the 1970s after having apparently killed his childrens nanny. The supposition is that he mistook the nanny for his wife, whom he plotted to kill over a child-custody dispute, and depicts the debased life of the wealthy elite. The 1994 TV movie The Trial of Lord Lucan is a what-if story that imagines the lord going on trial for the crime.
Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo!: The Complete Season 1 (Warner/DVD, 1979-80, two discs, 16 episodes). This umpteenth animated series in the Scooby-Doo! franchise has the Mystery Inc. gang (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo) being joined by our favorite hounds nephew, Scrappy-Doo, a puppy with no qualms about joining in as they run up against the usual monsters and mysteries.
My Little Pony Tales: The Complete Classic TV Series (Shout! Kids/Hasbro/DVD, 1992, 13 episodes, sing-alongs). Heres another animated franchise for children that has gone through multiple incarnations. This series is about seven female pony pals, Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody, Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover and Bon Bon, anthropomorphic young horses living in Ponyland.
Wallykazam! (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, 2014, four episodes). This animated series is about Wally Trollman and his pet dragon Norville, using magic to teach children about reading and the use of words.
Lets Learn: S.T.E.M. (Nickelodeon/Paramount/DVD, six episodes). Episodes from various Nickelodeon animated series teach children about science, technology, engineering and math: Blaze and the Monster Machines, PAW Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.