. ALI G: So if this show teach you anything, it should teach you how to respek everyone: animals, children, bitches, spazmos, mingers, lezzers, fatty boombahs, and even gaylords.

I am – Hercules!!

And I’m embarrassed to admit that I hated Ali G the first few times I stumbled across him. “Who is this halfwit with these horrifying ghetto affectations?” I spat as I reached for my remote.

When I finally caught up with the first season of HBO’s “Da Ali G Show,” however, the characters of Borat and Bruno demonstrated that Ali was not a real guy but actually a completely convincing invention of British comedy genius Sacha Baron Cohen.

And the HBO show only kept getting better as it went along. If $20.96 seems a little steep for six 30-minute episodes, trust me when I tell this set represents superb value. I'd pay $10 for the season-closing Andy Rooney encounter alone. Watch it, share it, put in on at parties. It’s the funniest thing of its kind since Triumph the Insult Comic Dog finally got his Conan-compilation DVD.

Because you crave it? Here again is Borat’s deliriously vile song from Da Ali G Show: The Complete Second Season, which streets Sept. 13:

In my country there is problem,
And that problem is transport.
It take very very long,
Because Kazakhstan is big.

Throw transport down the well (repeat line)
So my country can be free (repeat line)
We must make travel easy (repeat line)
Then we’ll have a big party (repeat line)

In my country there is problem
And that problem is the Jew
They take everybody money
And they never give it back

Throw the Jew down the well (repeat line)
So my country can be free (repeat line)
You must grab him by his horns (repeat line)
Then we have a big par-ty (repeat line)

If you see the Jew coming
You must be careful of his teeth
You must grab him by his money
And I tell you what to do

Throw the Jew down the well (repeat line)
So my country can be free (repeat line)
You must grab him by his horns (repeat line)
Then we have a big par-ty (repeat line)

“Cheers,” for my money, is still one of the four best sitcoms ever made, and season six (the first with Kirstie Alley) demonstrated that even the loss of its central romance, thanks to the season-five departure of Shelley Long, couldn’t diminish its allure.

“Taxi” was another great show that benefited hugely from cast adjustments. The hilarious Christopher Lloyd became a regular in season two, and its third season saw the departure of the vile Jeff Conaway. My favorite episodes from the 1980-81 season dealt with substance abuse and mental illness. We learn Jim Ignatowski was a Harvard undergrad named Caldwell before drugs consumed his brain, and we learn the secret ingredient in Latka’s grandmother’s wildly popular cookies was cocaine. The final episode of 3.x introduces at long last Latka’s supersuave Playboy-inspired alter-ego, Vic Ferrari.

Finally, if you’re rich and love great comedy, you’ll want to pick up “SCTV Vol. 4,” which contains the show’s first season sans Catherine O’Hara, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis. It’s $62.99 for 13 hours, but you get lots and lots of Ed Grimly, as if anything could be better than that, y’know.

TV on DVD:

Last Week
Buffalo Bill: The Complete Series
Charmed 2.x
Degrassi Junior High 3.x
Doctor Who: The Horror of Fang Rock
Doctor Who: The Mind Robber
Doogie Howser M.D. 2.x
Fat Albert Halloween Special
Fractured Fairy Tales Vol. 1
Fraggle Rock 1.x
Fraggle Rock Vol. 4
Goosebumps: Chillogy
Kingdom Hospital Vol. 1
The Last Chapter: The Complete Series
The Little Prince: The Complete Series
Lost 1.x
MacGyver 3.x

Millennium 3.x

September 13
The Brady Bunch 3.x
Cheers 6.x
Da Ali G Show 2.x
The Dick Cavett Show: Ray Charles
Empire Falls: The Complete Miniseries
Everybody Loves Raymond 4.x
Frasier 6.x
Kids Say The Darndest Things
Las Vegas 2.x
Midsomer Murders Set 6
One Tree Hill 2.x
Peep Show 1.x
Rambo Vol. 3
Rambo Vol. 4
Rocky & Bullwinkle: Best Of Vol. 1
SCTV Vol. 4
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters 1.x

Smallville 4.x

Taxi 3.x

September 20
Andromeda 5.x Vol. 1
The Batman 1.x Vol. 2

Battlestar Galactica 1.x

From the Earth to the Moon: Widescreen

Justice League Unlimited: Joining Forces

Ned & Stacey 1.x

Teen Titans 2.x Vol. 1

September 27
The Amazing Race 1.x
Are You Being Served Christmas
Beverly Hillbillies: Ultimate Collection Vol. 1
Cheyenne: TV Favorites
Chico and the Man: TV Favorites
Creature Comforts 1.x
Dr. 90210 1.x
The Dukes of Hazzard: TV Favorites
Family Guy Presents
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
F-Troop: TV Favorites

Gilmore Girls 4.x

Star Trek: Enterprise 3.x

October 4
Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1.x
America's Funniest Holiday Home Videos
The Bob Newhart Show 2.x
Cartoon Network: Christmas Rocks
Christmas with SCTV
Count Duckula
Drawn Together 1.x: Uncensored
Into The West
Kenny Vs. Spenny 1.x
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Oblongs: The Complete Series
Postcards From Buster

Spike The Vampire: Love Is Hell

October 11
Arrested Development 2.x
The Captain & Tenille: Ultimate Collection
The Duchess of Duke Street 1.x
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Vol. 2
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air 2.x
Jeffersons 4.x
Mutant X 3.x
Only Fools and Horses 6.x
Soap 4.x
South Park 6.x

Veronica Mars 1.x

October 18

The Adventures of Superman 1.x

The Twilight Zone 4.x

October 25
Alias 4.x
American Gothic: The Complete Series
The Beverly Hillbillies/Petticoat Junction Christmas Collection
Bewitched 2.x
Danger Mouse 3.x/4.x
Degrassi Junior High: The Complete Series
The Doris Day Show 2.x
Hamish MacBeth 1.x
Hart To Hart 1.x
In Living Color 4.x
Invasion Earth: The Complete Series
Kids in the Hall 3.x
Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 3
The L Word 2.x
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