'Cheers,' spinoff 'Frasier' now on DVD

Television shows are becoming more and more common on DVD, from collections of random episodes to box sets of each season . . . although why "Sanford and Son" is out there in a first-season box set and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is not is one of the mysteries of the universe. Here are some of the latest:

-- "Cheers: The Complete First Season on DVD" (Paramount, 1982- '83, not rated, $49.99, 4 discs).

-- "Frasier: The Complete First Season on DVD" (Paramount, 1993- '94, not rated, $49.99, 4 discs). I didn't watch "Cheers" with any regularity until the Kirstie Alley years, although I had seen some of the Shelley Long episodes in reruns. And I saw even fewer with Nicholas Colasanto as Coach (he died early in the show's fourth year). Consequently, watching the first season's episodes in the order they were originally shown was a delight; "Cheers" remains a very funny show.

The main characters are, of course, dim ladies' man Sam (Ted Danson), the on-the-wagon former baseball player who owns the Boston bar called Cheers, and Diane (Long), the intellectual without any skills, hired by Sam as a waitress. They verbally spar with Cheers waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman), an acerbic single mother, and such regular patrons as Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger), along with assorted characters who come and go.

Watch for such up-and-comers as briefly glimpsed Keenan Ivory Wayans (billed without the "Ivory") and featured players Harry Anderson ("Night Court"), Julia Duffy ("Newhart") and Fred Dryer ("Hunter").

Pompous psychiatrist Frasier Crane didn't show up on "Cheers" until the third season, but he was such a great character that he got his own spinoff series. "Frasier" had a hilarious first season, right from the pilot, and it's great to be reminded how witty this show used to be.

The show has Frasier in a new location (Seattle), with a new job (radio therapist) and new supporting characters, his call-screener Roz (Peri Gilpin), his blue-collar father Martin (John Mahoney), his father's physical therapist Daphne (Jane Leeves) and his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce).

"Frasier" was once regular viewing at my house (until the story direction went awry in recent years), and this first-season set is often hysterical. The entire cast is good, but Pierce is by far the biggest scene-stealer (well, after Eddie, played by a dog named Moose), and jokes about Niles' wife Maris made her the best character, though she was never shown.

"Cheers" extras: Full frame, 22 episodes, making of documentaries, interviews, etc.

"Frasier" extras: Full frame, 24 episodes, audio commentary (on pilot episode), making-of documentaries, guest "callers" clips, tour of the set, etc.

-- "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete Third Season on DVD" (Paramount, 1995, not rated, $129.99, 7 discs). During its third season, "DS9" has its characters exploring the worm hole, and the Dominion -- orchestrated by the Founders and creators of a slave race -- becomes the dominant villainous force. This plot development set the stage for the rest of the series, and it also set the show apart from other "Star Trek" spinoffs.

By now, the actors have all settled into their characters, and many have opportunities to shine in individual episodes -- especially Rene Auberjonois as Odo and Nana Visitor as Kira. The show's sense of humor is also more readily on display.

Of the first three "DS9" season sets, this is by far the best.

Extras: Full frame, 26 episodes, documentaries, Easter eggs, etc.

-- "Law & Order: Criminal Intent: The Premiere Episode" (Universal, 2001, not rated, $19.98).

-- "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Premiere Episode" (Universal, 1999, not rated, $19.98). I had only seen a few "Criminal Intent" episodes, and I'd never seen "Special Victims Unit," so I settled in with these two "premiere episode" discs of Dan Wolf's "Law & Order" spinoffs with an open mind.

The "Criminal Intent" episode is a riveting mystery, with just the right amount of humor and quirkiness, provided primarily by Vincent D'Onofrio, always a reliable, albeit offbeat character actor. He really makes the show, although everyone else is also good, and the story is a compelling one, with a genuinely nasty villain.

"Special Victims Unit," however, was a disappointment. The actors are fine and the storyline is interesting, but there are too many tasteless one-liners (most, but not all, related to the male organ), which cause the episode to take on the air of a bad "Saturday Night Live" skit.

Most of the extras are the same on both discs, save a making-of documentary for each show and a tour of the "SVU" set of the squad room.

Extras: Full frame, first episode of original "Law & Order" series ("Everybody's Favorite Bagman"), making-of documentaries, etc.

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