BANACEK!! PRACTICE!! SEINFELD!! OFFICE!! MONK!! PSYCH!! DEAD ZONE!! D-LIST!! DROOPY!! SHIELD!!...

I am – Hercules!!

Yes, the “Addams” movies are better than the series; Barry Sonnenfeld could go a lot farther and a lot darker in the 1990s than the TV producers could in the 1960s. Plus you gotta hate that fucking laugh track. But it’s hard to argue with the greatness that was Ted Cassidy as Lurch. Or the genius of John Astin. Or the fact that Carolyn Jones made for a Morticia perhaps 7,000 times hotter than Angelica Huston's. The Addams Family Volume 2 (of three volumes) contains 21 episodes from the latter third of season one and the first third of season two, including “Thing is Missing,” “Lurch and His Harpsicord,” and “Lurch the Teenage Idol.” Thing and Cousin Itt provide commentary on selected scenes!

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Vol. 1 contains only the first 25 of the 307 installments produced between January 1976 and March 1977. It was a strange and syndicated five-nights-a-week half-hour - half soap and half sitcom – initially masterminded by “Mary Tyler Moore Show” writer Gail Parent and “Search For Tomrrow” writer Ann Marcus. Woody Allen’s ex and early co-star, Louise Lasser, headlined alongside the likes of Mary Kay Place, Dabney Coleman and Martin Mull. One of “Hartman’s” initial plotlines revolved around a mass murderer, a topic not a lot of sitcoms were tackling in those days of the Zodiac. The series was produced by Norman Lear, who had previously courted sitcom controversy and huge ratings with the likes of “All in the Family” and spinoffs “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” and “Good Times.” Part of “Hartman’s” allure, certainly, may be attributable to its status as one of the earliest – perhaps the first - live-action sitcom aired without audience laughter on its soundtrack.

The new Fantastic Four TV series is just terrible, as if designed to avoid upstaging the sheer awfulness of the recent movie. It is certainly one of the noisiest and most consistently uninvolving comic-book adaptations ever forged (which is saying something).

Longtime readers of this column know that when it comes to crime dramas, I count myself as a huge fan of “Columbo," "The Rockford Files” and “Hill Street Blues,” as well as the newer premium-cable shoot-em-ups like “The Wire,” “The Sopranos” and “Brotherhood.” Still, many seem to prefer basic cable's “The Shield,” whose fifth season splatters onto DVD shelves today. It’s the season that introduced Forest Whitaker’s character, Lt. Jon Kavanaugh (who is back for season six, and it’s strange seeing him play a supporting role on a cable drama so soon after hoisting that best-actor Oscar over his head). The new season-five set comes with at least 10 commentary tracks, 25 deleted scenes (also with commentary), a season-six prequel, and a fistful of featurettes, including one on the “Shield” panel at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

As a bonus, AICN’s Pacific Islands editor Moon Yun Choi unexpectedly and belatedly kicks in a review of Run's House: The Complete First and Second Seasons, which hit shelves last week:

Aloha, Moon Yun signing in from Hawaii… I had no idea what to expect from RUN’S HOUSE: Complete Seasons 1 & 2 but I was watching it last night and it is hysterical. A reality sitcom about Reverend Run (Joseph Simmons) of legendary rap group Run-DMC and his family, it is a “Cosby Show” for the new millennium and ripe for the hip-hop culture. Especially endearing are his children. In episode 2 of Season 1, Run’s wife, Justine, asks him to talk to the boys about the “birds and the bees.” Not feeling especially comfortable with the topic, he takes on the challenge head on. He busts the chop of each of his sons. He asks Diggy, who’s 10, about love notes that they’ve found and asks him point blank if he has a girlfriend. The verbal interplay goes something like this: Rev. Run: “You got a girlfriend. I know it.” Diggy: “No, I don’t.” Rev. Run: “Talk to me…so I have something to report to mommy. I gave you some money the other day. You didn’t want me to know you had to buy somebody something.” Diggy: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rev. Run: “Gotcha. Is she your home girl?” Diggy: “Yes.” Later on he visits his brother, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons at his office in New York City. And Rev. Run asks him how he would handle it, to which Russell retorts that his daughter is only five. But what he has to say next gets to Rev. Run. Russell says, “Right now, no sex. It’s for grown ups. If I catch you, I’m whipping that ass…no matter what your stupid friends say, you learn something greater at home.” Rev. Run returns home feeling like he had been “reaching,” and instead of busting the boy’s chops, he should just lead by example. At the end of each episode, there’s a Q & A type session with each member of the family and Rev. Run shares his wisdom. There are other funny moments when his daughters go apartment hunting in the city and discover that “home is best.” No matter if Rev. Run succeeds or fails, he keeps a dynamic household with some energetic kids and a headstrong wife. This series show the better side of hip hop and is highly recommended for families or for individuals who want to get inspired by Rev. Run’s world. Moon Yun signing out…

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry