TVSquad

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

This might not be the biggest DVD release day in history, but it's certainly one of the business. There's something for everyone this week, including a bunch of "Fan Favorites" DVDs for various sitcoms, including NewsRadio, All in the Family, and I Dream of Jeannie. That's a neat idea, though I wonder, if you're a big fan, wouldn't you already have the DVDs?

Oh, and remember Day Break, the ABC mystery series from a couple of years ago? You can get the Complete Series. I don't think I ever saw the end of that show. You can watch it on SlashControl, so maybe I'll start there before buying the set.

• All in the Family - Fan Favorites
• Ax Men - Season 2
• Barney Miller - Fan Favorites
• Bewitched - Fan Favorites

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

Barney Miller is one of those sitcoms I never think about anymore. When I make my mental list of the best sitcoms I never even think of it, even though it was a very good show. I guess it's out of mind because it's not shown on TV that much. I'm surprised it's not part of the regular lineup of TV Land or Nickelodeon. Of course, they don't show The Dick Van Dyke Show much anymore either even though they own it, so nothing surprises me about those two channels anymore.

• Barney Miller - Season 3
• The F Word - Series 2: Uncensored
• Ghost Hunters - Season 4, Part 2

(S01E09) Okay, we're really into swinging tonight. Everybody seems to get into the action, including the kids. Frankly, the summer of '76 is making everyone in Swingtown hot and horny and just a touch too adventurous. It makes for interesting viewing, but I'm not sure how realistic all this is supposed to be. What is the difference between swinging and cheating?

Brad and Sylvia are back. It's yet another dinner party at the Deckers! The writers really have to find other ways to get these people together. Anyway, after Bruce's admission of his overt flirtation with Melinda -- a couple of kisses and a trip to her apartment -- the Millers accept an invitation to the Pendulum Club. That's an erotic cabaret according to Trina, and yes, the Deckers decide to go along at Susan's behest.

Just last week, Harold Perrineau was wondering why his character was killed off on Lost, wishing the producers hadn't blown Michael up with the freighter. He wasn't out of work for long. Harold Perrineau has just been cast on a new ABC comedy/drama called The Unusuals. The pilot, which could be a mid-season replacement on ABC, is an hour set in a New York City police precinct.

Harold will play Detective Leo Banks, an agitated cop who's so afraid of being shot or attacked that he's never without his Kevlar bullet-proof vest. (Does he wear it in the john?) Sounds potentially funny. The writer of The Unusuals is Bones' Noah Hawley and the executive producer is Peter Tolan (Rescue Me, The Larry Sanders Show), so there will be an emphasis on humor. Maybe not full-out Barney Miller, but still funny.

New York, New York -- a place so big that had to name it twice. Isn't that what they say about the Big Apple? Recently, movie critic Leonard Maltin, host of the ReelzChannel original series Secret's Out named his picks for the 15 greatest New York scenes in movie history. That got me thinking about the television shows that are intimately tied to New York, series that are inextricably New York shows. Whether they are -- or were -- filmed in the city, here's 15 absolutely, positively New York TV shows (in the order in which they debuted!). You don't have to agree with me -- and I may have overlooked one or two (which I urge you to comment and let me know) -- but I have good reasons for every one of my choices!

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 3, Fire Vol. 2
• Banacek - Season 2
• Barney Miller - Season 2
• ER - Season 8
• The Girls Next Door - Season 3
• Hawaii Five-O - Season 3
• Hustle - Season 4
• The Jeff Corwin Experience - Season 1
• Make Room For Daddy - Season 6
• The Odd Couple - Season 3
• The Simple Life - The Simple Life Goes To Camp
• Swamp Thing - Season 1
• Thunderbirds - 40th Anniversary Megaset
• Torchwood - Season 1

Police stories make for some of the best stories either in real life or on television. I've been lucky enough to know cops over the years (not in a criminal sense, mind you) and find that it's sometimes a mutual macabre or jaded sense of humor we share. There are the by-the-book cops, the hot-doggers, the idealists, the cynical, the naive, the jaded, the good, the bad, and the "I want to get through my twenty and retire" kind of cops.

My favorite cop television shows over the years often reflect those characters and it's sometimes a bit surprising how close they come to actual police I know ... or how far they stray from the reality of police work.

Carey played Officer Carl Levitt on the classic sitcom Barney Miller (remember, James Gregory would always call him "Levine?"). He died Tuesday in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke.

Besides that role, Carey appeared in several other TV shows, including Benson, Alice, Lucky Luke, and the New Love American Style. He was in a bunch of movies too, including High Anxiety, Johnny Dangerously, History of the World, Part 1, Fatso, and The Out of Towners (the original). His last role was in the 1999 movie Food For Thought.

His real name was Ron Cicenia and he stood 5 feet 4 (hey, I'm only 5 feet 5, so it's always good to see other short guys become a success!).