5-4-Fri: TV on DVD

One of the great joys of the modern era is Uncle TiVo. But, eeeeeven better is skipping tee vee entirely and just watching shows on DVD. With whole seasons available as boxed sets on a tight turn-around and services like Netflix dishing them up for a reasonable monthly fee, you can enjoy great television the way it was meant to be enjoyed: as a bunch of teeny movies. Below, some of my favorite shows, consumed entirely on DVD. As a special bonus, this 5-4-Fri is brought to you link-free.

1. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I was once That Guy. I mocked "Buffy" and its fans. I figured the series was fueled by an unholy nexus of middle-aged men who secretly thought Sarah Michelle Gellar was hot and female teens who didn't get their fill of grrl power out of cranking "Jagged Little Pill" on their bedroom CD clock radios. Then an old friend sat me down and made me watch the silent episode. My bad! I was wrong. So wrong. Buffy is for angry girls and nebbishy men who also like awesome writing.

2. Lost. Chant it with me: "J.J.!, J.J.!, J.J.!" Holy cow, this series rocks! Want to scare the crap out of people? Just stare at them with your eyes shut and then open up one eye and make your pupil constrict eerily. Next, appear to them as a ghost mumbling about The Island. This is better than mainlining "24." What a great Christmas gift.

3. Firefly. More Joss Whedon. This uneven premise was excellently executed but still died a famous, one-season death only to be reborn as a Big Damn Movie. I miss Wash. And Kaylee. And Jayne. Sigh. Get it.

4. Angel. In 1999, David Boreanaz made the jump from "Buffy" to his own eminently watchable series. Admittedly, sometimes it got to be "watch David get fat" but most of the time it was "watch Merl get punched in the face." Yea!

5. Bones. More David. But this time with hottie Emily Deschanel as his partner in forensic sleuthing. Great modern-day sex comedy with two actors who have a real on-screen connection and a talented supporting cast.

PS - There was no room to mention the best father-daughter duo since Nancy and Carson Drew, "Veronica Mars." Oh, and "These are Days" by 10,000 Maniacs is some kind of adjective that means iconic+catchy+hummable; now playing on iTunes.