"Sanford and Son: The Complete Series" (Sony, 1971-77, 17 discs, $59.95). Redd Foxx was a blue standup comic for many years before he cleaned up his act and landed this popular '70s sitcom (based on a British series) about a crotchety, conniving junk dealer who interferes with his thirtysomething adult son's life to keep him from leaving the business. Funny and endearing characters made this show hugely popular in its day, and it remains highly entertaining.

Extras: full frame, 136 episodes

"Studio One Anthology" (Koch, 1949-56, b/w, six discs, $99.99). In addition to seeing future stars in their humble beginnings, and the names of directors and writers who would go on to greater things, this anthology collection of kinescopes (live shows filmed from TV monitors) also offers a few lessons in the history of television and what it was like to perform weekly live dramatic broadcasts. Even the commercials are mini-history lessons.

Among the more significant shows are Jack Lemmon and Eva Marie Saint in "June Moon" (neither gets billing, even though Lemmon has the lead role!), Charlton Heston in "Wuthering Heights," Art Carney in "Confessions of a Nervous Man," Eddie Albert in ":1984" and the original production of "12 Angry Men," with Robert Cummings, Franchot Tone and Edward Arnold — which was thought to be lost until just five years ago. Even the booklet is a keeper, packed with significant information about each show.

Extras: full frame, 17 episodes, featurettes; 52-page booklet

"War and Remembrance: The Complete Epic Mini-Series" (MPI, 1988, 12 discs, $129.98). This classic miniseries — actually, two miniseries, since it was split into halves that were shown months apart on ABC in 1988 and '89 — is now in one compact box, much easier to store than the unwieldy oversize boxes that housed the previous DVD releases. This sequel to "Winds of War" is remarkable filmmaking, notable for its wrenching Holocaust scenes, which challenge "Schindler's List" for powerhouse drama. One can complain about Robert Mitchum being a bit too old and laid back as the lead character, and Steven Berkoff being wildly over the top as Hitler, but everyone else is brilliant — most notably John Gielgud and a pre-"Dr Quinn" Jane Seymour.

Extras: full frame, 12 episodes, audio commentaries, featurettes, music CD

"WWII: They Also Served" (WGBH, 2002-07, four discs, $49.95). The four documentaries in this set were previously issued individually, and all are stirring and engaging, as they look at different perspectives of the Great War: "True Whispers" is about the Navajo Code talkers; "Fly Girls" tells of the 1,000 women who joined the Women's Airforce Service as pilots; "Most Honorable Son" is the story of Ben Kuroki, who was the first Japanese-American war hero and a spokesman against racism; and "Citizen Tanouye" is about Ted Tanouye, through whose experiences eight students learn about the racism of World War II-era America.

Extras: widescreen/full screen, featurettes, downloadable materials