TVSquad

If you were a fan of the Sesame Street: Old School DVD set, the one with episodes from the series' earlier, and arguably better, years, you'll be happy to know that a second set will be released sometime this year. Muppet News Flash has the scoop, which is that the sets should come out sometime between August and October. Sorry I can't be more specific than that, but who cares, it's more of the classic Sesame Street folks my age and older grew up with, and I ain't complaining.

Oh yeah, and despite whatever warnings they may put on the DVD, I say plop your kid down and let them enjoy a show that managed to combine educational material with some truly funny writing, songwriting and animation. There's never been another show like Sesame Street, and that includes today's Sesame Street.

I don't know about you, but I am very picky about which television series I own on DVD. I don't often want to sit down and watch old episodes of shows unless they truly are spectacular and worthy of multiple watchings. For me, that means Firefly and Arrested Development are must-owns. But, I've also included some others on this list that have some great extras for the fans who would like a little bit more:

The Office Season two of The Office on DVD is quite good. While the season was spectacular, it's the extras that make the purchase necessary. It includes deleted scenes (some of which are hilarious and some are pretty obvious why they were deleted) and a gag reel, which is always essential for a quality DVD-watching experience. Plus, it includes all the extras that the cast did, such as their fake PSAs and NBC.com webisodes. And, there's swag: a Dunder-Mifflin folder, pad of paper, pen and post-its.There are also different versions depending on whether you buy it from Best Buy, Target, or Amazon. Cost: $25.

In May, I relayed some news to y'all that plans were in the works to release DVDs of older episodes of Sesame Street. The always vigilant Muppet News Flash has some good news for fans: "Sesame Street: Old School - Volume 1" will be in stores on October 24. The set will include five episodes form the first five years of the series from 1969 to 1974, plus a cavalcade of clips from these early seasons. Fans can look forward to two classic tunes from the series, "Rubber Duckie" and "C is for Cookie." That's right, this was the era when Cookie Monster ate cookies and was damn proud of it, none of this "fruits and vegetables" nonsense. Of course, he also ate props and backdrops, but if Sesame Street taught me anything it's to respect people for who they are.

Looks like we need to add another one to Jonathan's list from earlier this week. Known primarily for his role as Blue in the recent comedy movie "Old School", Patrick Cranshaw has passed away at the ripe age of 86. Besides appearing in several other movies, Cranshaw also made recurring appearances in the television shows Alice, Mork & Mindy, The Ted Knight Show and Dukes of Hazzard. No obituary of Cranshaw's is complete without the phrase: "You're my boy, Blue!"