TV

After the Mavericks' heartbreaking loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, American Airlines Center was one very sad place. But less than 24 hours earlier, it felt like the happiest place on Earth after Jeff Dunham's sold-out performance. A hometown guy who graduated from Richardson High School, Dunham got a standing ovation at the AAC even before he began giving large gifts to local charities. His parents, now in their 80s, were in the crowd. He brought his mom onstage and had the crowd sing happy birthday to her. He spoke of having his dad take him to the Dallas Public Library's Bookmobile when he was 8 years old. He mentioned having taken out a book, Fun With Ventriloquism, by Alexander Van Rensselaer, and how it shaped a career that began after reading the book. (Five years later, Dunham was so successful as a working ventriloquist that he was audited by the IRS.) One problem, though: He has felt guilty all these years because he never returned the book. He showed a graphic noting that he now owed $10,281 in overdue book fees. So, he paid them onstage, handing the check to Corinne Hill, assistant director of resource management for the Dallas Public Library. He didn't stop there. (Please click below to read on.)

Photo: Jeff Dunham with one of his creations, Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Lately, I have to be in the mood for college basketball. I don't know if it's because I gorged myself on it during the late 80s to the late 90s. Or if I just get discombobulated easily when the team I watched one year looks nothing like the one I watch the next. Too NBA-like for my tastes, I guess.

Anyhoo, if that six-OT Syracuse-Connecticut game stoked your fires, the NCAA has a DVD just for you. NCAA March Madness: The Greatest Moments of the NCAA Tournament has all the highlights one fan could ever want from March Madness.

The DVD is narrated by CBS announcer Jim Nantz, and features some all-time college (and now pro) favorites. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Larry Bird, Magic vs. Bird, the Fab Five, Valpo, Michael Jordan as a freshman, Texas Western and one of my personal favorites, George Mason making it to the Final Four in 2006.

Don't say I never gave you anything.

In stores:

Swing Vote: Thank Goodness that this is a fantasy. Kevin Costner is the regular Joe (not to be confused with the plumber) who has the fate of the country in his hands when voting irregularities leave him with the decisive vote in the presidential election.
Appaloosa: A moody-looking Viggo Mortensen (is there another kind?) plays to form in a good old Western. Ed Harris and Renee Zellweger co-star. And, look, there's Jeremy Irons!
Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys - When will the multi-hyphenate take his name off the title of his movies? No matter, he pulled in some big-name stars for this one, namely Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard as two friendly matriarchs with some not-so-friend family problems. The tagline: "Follow your heart. But watch your back."
Little Britain USA - You know how some things can make you laugh so much you hurt? Try the other way around when you watch this HBO version of a British import. I can't even write about it without giggling.
Dallas: The Complete 10th Season: I don't really need to sell you on this, do I? It's the next-to-last season for J.R. and his homies. Relive the big 80s, why don't you?
Mirrors: One more reason to fear a mirror. First, there was Bloody Mary. Then there was Candyman. And now, some evil force is using mirrors as a gateway into our world. Good thing Jack Bauer, I mean Kiefer Sutherland, is there to help.

For more titles, check out our DVD page.

In stores today:

An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong -- The books and cafes move to the screen again as Chrissa deals with bullies in American Girl fashion.
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.0 -- This comes out just in time for viewers to catch up; the second part of the series' last season begins Jan. 16 on SciFi. The set also includes the unrated, extended version and the broadcast version of the Battlestar movie, Razor.
Bangkok Dangerous -- If you must add to your Nicolas Cage collection (he gets a pass in my book for taking his stage name from Marvel Comics' Luke Cage, aka Power Man), well, try this. If your collection stopped at Con Air, well, don't. Mr. Cage is a tough assassin (natch) who lets down his guard.
Mamma Mia! -- Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan warble their way through the movie version of the hit musical.
Mannix: Season 2 -- Back when our TV detectives had less angst and, well, detected, Joe Mannix was the man.
Pineapple Express -- Seth Rogen and James Franco star in an action-stoner film, if there can be such a thing, for the aughts. Judd Apatow, of course, produces.
Righteous Kill -- Al Pacino and Robert De Niro star as a pair of New York cops. Donnie Wahlberg and 50 Cent co-star.
The Tudors: Season 2 -- Anne Boleyn becomes King Henry VIII's new queen in Showtime's royal steamer. Yes, we know how it ends. The fun is watching actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers get there as Henry. The set includes the first two episodes of new Showtime drama The United States of Tara.

For more titles, check out our DVD page.

We realize this news won't necessarily excite everyone. In fact, it may excite only the tiny percentage of TV viewers who managed to discover The 4400 on the USA Network for the four seasons the SF series ran, starting in the summer of 2004. (Its fifth season was doomed into nonexistence by the recent Writers Guild strike.)

However, for those of us who did love The 4400, especially during its riveting first and second seasons, it's nice to know that a 15-disc, boxed DVD set of the complete series will be released on Oct. 28 (retail price: $74.99).

Included, according to USA Network, will be "a brand-new bonus disc containing a never-before-seen look at where the series may have gone, an audio commentary, deleted scenes and more." Previous seasons released on DVD already included featurettes and commentary with co-creator Scott Peters and stars Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie.

If you're a fan (and I'm told I'm an idiot for having not seen it yet) of HBO's The Wire, you might be interested to know that Amazon.com is selling seasons 1-4 together for $95.49. List price? $238.98. So if my math is correct (and by *my* math, I mean Amazon's), you can save a $143.

Throw in season 5, and you get the whole shebang for $135.

I don't know if this is a limited offer or what, so buy early and buy often.

HBO announced today that the complete The Sopranos will be released this November, just in time for Christmas. Weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds, the box set is yours for the low low price of $399.

So how much is too much? How big of a fan do you have to be to throw down that kind of cash? And if you are that kind of fan, weren't you buying up box sets as they were released?

Here's how Tony and Co. fare against other faves (list prices from Amazon.com before discounts):

• The Sopranos (HBO) - seven seasons - $399
• Stargate SG-1 (Showtime, Sci Fi) - 10 seasons - $329
• Sex and the City (HBO) - six seasons - $299
• Friends (NBC) - 10 seasons - $299
• Six Feet Under (HBO) - five seasons - $279
• Queer as Folk (Showtime) - five seasons - $249
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer (The WB, UPN) - seven seasons - $199

Because if you're not, you're missing the best show on television, says Sara Mosle over at Slate.com:

Friday Night Lights is also Texas as it's seldom been seen--which is to say, as it really is. ...It's more like The Last Picture Show, 60 years after the cinema closed, without the sexual repression and filmed in sensuous color.

The second season of FNL just came out on DVD, so it's the perfect time to catch up. Our advice: Start with Season 1 so you don't miss anything. We promise you will not be sorry.

I've been surprised by how many people are requesting boxed DVD series as gifts this year (including my own kids!). Of course now that I think about it, many of these series are better written than most of the movies out there, offer more longlasting enjoyment, are divided into watchable segments (you may not have 3 hours to devote to a movie, but you can always find a half hour or so to watch an episode) and, of course, no commercials. I bet the Seinfeld boxed set and the King of Queens boxed set will be big hits. I have a friend who is asking for Curb Your Enthusiasm. My kids are also asking me for the first season of Heroes...

Seinfeld: The Complete Collection is new on DVD. And we have to ask: What’s your favorite Seinfeld espisode?

The beloved puffy shirt (Sony)

"The Junior Mint" (Nov. 12) -- Elaine’s interest in an old boyfriend is rekindled when he loses weight.

"The Puffy Shirt" (Nov. 13) -- Jerry is coerced into wearing a ridiculous "puffy” shirt designed by Kramer’s girlfriend when he appears on the Today show.

"The Yada Yada" (Nov. 14) -- Jerry doubts his dentist’s religious conversion; Kramer and Mickey fight over a double date as Elaine undermines a couple’s chances at adoption.

"The Contest" (Nov. 15) -- Jerry challenges George, Kramer and Elaine to pool their money in a contest of self-denial.

"The Marine Biologist" (Nov. 16) -- Romance starts to blossom between George and his former college classmate Diane, after Jerry falsely tells her that George is a successful marine biologist.

"The Bubble Boy" (Nov. 19) -- Jerry agrees to make a side trip to visit a sickly fan -- who must live in a protective plastic tent -- while he and George drive up to a mountain cabin with their dates.

"The Sponge" (Nov. 20) -- Elaine's favorite birth control device is discontinued.

"The Little Kicks" (Nov. 21) -- Elaine’s strange dancing loses her employees’ respect.

"The Soup Nazi" (Nov. 22) -- A demanding soup stand chef bans Elaine from eating his wares.

"The Hamptons" (Nov. 23) -- Jerry and his friends take an ill-fated trip to the beach.

So what say you? Did the voting viewers get it right? For my money, "The Contest" is maybe the smartest episode ever. To do an entire episode about something your really couldn't talk about on television and all the smart euphemisms they came up with to get around that issue was pure genius.