Spaced: The Complete Series (BBC, $59.98)

Before Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, friends and collaborators Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright wrote, directed and stared in this BBC series about a pair of twentysomething slackers, frustrated comic-book artist Tim (Pegg) and aspiring journalist Daisy (Jessica Hynes), who agree to pose as a couple in order to rent an affordable apartment in a good neighborhood. As with any odd-couple situation, the two clash at first, but over the course of the show’s two season run, come to feel something like love for each other. The ensemble cast includes Frost as Tim’s paintball-obsessed friend Mike, Julia Deakin as the flat’s boozy landlord and Mark Heap as eccentric artist Brian. Fueled by its creators’ love of fanboy culture, Spaced is a geeky delight that references everything from Batman to Star Wars. The show also taps into the aimlessness and anxiety that so many people in their 20s experience. The good news is that even though it was made almost a decade ago, the show doesn’t feel dated at all. Just goes to show you that, like fine wine, geekiness ages well.
Extras: It’s taken awhile for Spaced to arrive on DVD in this country, but now that its here, the good folks at BBC haven’t stinted on the bonus features. One could spend hours listening to the 28 commentary tracks—I repeat: 28 commentary tracks!—alone. Each episode gets two tracks, the first devoted to the original cast and crew and the second featuring cameos from such guests as Kevin Smith, Diablo Matt Stone and Quentin Tarantino (who also turned up on the awesome three-disc edition of Hot Fuzz released earlier this year). Also included here is a feature-length documentary about the origin and making of the show, a Q&A from a recent London screening, deleted scenes and vintage trailers that hyped the show during its original BBC run. In other words, this is one set that’s worth every penny of its $60 price tag.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars (Warner, $14.98)

Infinitely superior to the Star Wars-themed Family Guy DVD released earlier this year, Adult Swim’s popular stop-motion series Robot Chicken spoofs the legendary sci-fi franchise with true fanboy gusto. But don’t worry if you don’t know the difference between a wampa and a ton-ton—there are gags here for Star Wars buffs of all stripes, from inexperienced padawans to battle-tested Jedis. Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich convinced a whole galaxy of famous folks to lend their voices to this twenty minute special, including George Lucas, Donald Faison, Conan O’Brien, Joey Fatone, Mark Hamill, Hulk Hogan and, most amazingly, Ahmed Best a.k.a. the voice of franchise killer Jar Jar Binks. Hearing Best spoof his own creation is worth the price of admission alone.
Extras: Even funnier than the main feature are the disc’s copious bonus features. You’ll find dozens of deleted skits here, along with behind-the-scenes documentaries and audio outtakes. And then there are the seven—count ‘em seven!—commentary tracks, the best of which features Green and Senreich chatting with George Lucas’ teenage kids, Katie and Jett. And guess what? They’re not Star Wars geeks at all! Now Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the other hand…

21 (Sony, $34.95)

Poker and blackjack aren’t quite as hot as they were a few years ago, but the gambling-themed drama 21 defied the odds, grossing $76 million during its theatrical run in March. Loosely based on Ben Mezrich’s hugely entertaining true-life book Bringing Down the House, the film casts Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, an MIT student who is desperate to attend Harvard Medical School. Unfortunately, his bank account isn’t big enough to fund this dream and his chances of landing a coveted scholarship seem slim to none. Enter Professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), who notes Ben’s skill with math and invites him to join a secret after-hours club he’s organized—call it Card Counters Anonymous. Rosa’s crew heads off to Vegas every weekend, where they attempt to beat the bank at the casinos and avoid detection by old-school floor monitors like Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne). At first, Ben only intends to count cards long enough to earn enough money for school. It goes without saying that winning quickly goes to his head and he finds it increasingly difficult to leave his new life—and his new girlfriend Jill (Kate Bosworth)—behind. If you’ve read Bringing Down the House, you’ll notice that 21 only bears a passing resemblance to the book, the most significant change being the race of the lead characters, who were Asian in real life. Their team also wasn’t marked by internal feuds and betrayals that the screenwriters cram into this story in a largely unsuccessful attempt to make it into more of a thriller. Decently acted and directed, 21 passes the time, but as is often the case, the real story is so much more interesting.
Extras: The first disc sports a commentary track from director Robert Luketic and two of the film’s producers, while Disc 2 houses a featurette advertising various Vegas casinos and a making-of documentary.

Also on DVD
On the heels of their recent Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve collections, Lionsgate releases another set of films a renowned European artist. André Téchiné: 4-Film Collector’s Edition (Lionsgate, $34.98) houses a quartet of movies by acclaimed French filmmaker André Téchiné. The titles included here are Wild Reeds, I Don’t Kiss, Hotel America and, best of all, My Favorite Season. There’s not much in the way of extras, but its great to have these movies available on disc. The only other significant releases this week are all TV box sets. Las Vegas: Season Five (Universal, $59.98) collects the final season of the once-hot NBC series Las Vegas, in which Tom Selleck took over Vegas’ famed Montecito Casino from a departing James Caan. The finale famously ended on a cliffhanger as the network kept the writers guessing up until the final moments whether it would be coming back for one more season. Guess fans will be left literally hanging forever! L.A. Ink: Season One, Vol. 1 (Genius Products, $24.95) catches you up on the TLC reality series that follows the employees at Los Angeles’ famed High Voltage Tattoo studio. Just don’t try tattooing your friends at home. Finally, Comedy Central brings the funny with two sets: Reno 911: The Complete Fifth Season (Comedy Central, $39.98) featuring material from the long-running series considered too hot for cable TV and Comedy Central’s TV Funhouse (Comedy Central, $26.98) a grab-bag of skits and animated shorts.