Sudsy 'O.C.' is guilty pleasure

More TV series have landed on DVD this week, from the earliest 1950s shows to the season that just passed.

• "The O.C.: The Complete First Season" (Warner, 2003-04, not rated, $69.98, seven discs). This show is loaded with high-rolling — and sometimes eye-rolling — soap-opera hijinks of the idle rich, as seen through the eyes of Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), a troubled young man from the wrong side of the tracks . . . er, freeway.

Ryan is taken in by an idealistic public defender (Peter Gallagher) and his more hesitant wife (Kelly Rowan), who live in uppercrust Newport Beach, in Orange County, Calif., where the ridiculously prosperous residents lie, cheat, cross each other and generally make like "Dallas," with more teens.

And I must confess that I found this decidedly adult show to be highly entertaining, in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. What makes it work is smart writing and clever dialogue (there's more humor as it goes along) and well-cast actors whose characters make you want to tune in each week to see what's next.

This first season has 27 episodes — about five more than most shows these days. The second season begins tonight at 7 p.m. on Ch. 13.

Extras: Full frame, 27 episodes, audio commentary (on pilot, with creator Josh Schwartz and producer Stephanie Savage), deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, trailers, music track (selected episodes), DVD-Rom applications, subtitle options (English, French, Spanish), chapters.

• "TV Guide Presents . . ." (Genius, 1951-66, not rated, b/w and color, $4.99 for single discs, $9.99 for double-disc sets). These golden-oldie, mostly black-and-white TV programs, come as four collections titled "Classic Comedies," "Classic Westerns," "Classic Detectives" and simply "Classic Television," and a couple devoted to, respectively, "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Cisco Kid."

Among the shows on the sample discs I received were "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet," "The Burns & Allen Show," "Life of Riley," "Dragnet," "Bonanza," "Annie Oakley," many with the original commercials.

These are all shows — and episodes — that are already on DVD in various collections on various labels, as the programs are now in the public domain. And, despite the TV Guide brand name, don't expect digitally cleaned-up prints (though they're generally pretty good).

Still, the price is right, and if you're just looking to be transported to the 1950s and '60s for an evening of entertainment, this is a good way to go.

Extras: Full frame, interactive trivia games, chapters (if you can't find these in stores, go to www.shop.tvguide.com).