Seasons of series on DVD

TV detectives lead off the latest DVD collections that will hit video-store shelves on Tuesday.

• "Hunter: The Complete First Season" (Anchor Bay, 1984-85, not rated, $39.98, six discs). Homicide detective Rick Hunter (former football star Fred Dryer) and his sexy partner Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) chase L.A. bad guys in this "Dirty Harry"-ish cop show.

The emphasis here is on action, not logic, and cop-show clichs abound — Hunter is a maverick, his partner is not liked because she's attractive and smart, their captain (played by the great John Amos) yells a lot, etc. And Dryer and Kramer are pretty stiff as actors.

But if you want mindless action, this may be for you — there is definitely action aplenty as Hunter and McCall go undercover and break up crime rings and generally get involved in car chases, shootouts and explosions.

Extras: Full frame, 19 episodes, new interviews with Stephen J. Cannell, Stepfanie Kramer, chapters.

• "Monk: Season Two" (Universal, 2003, not rated, $59.98, four discs). This second season of the basic-cable comedy/mystery show about the ultra-phobic San Francisco detective is another wonderful collection of weird crimes that are solved Sherlock Holmes-like style. (On one of the bonus features, the show's creator admits that Holmes was the inspiration for Monk.)

The best episodes are those that put Adrian Monk (played marvelously by Tony Shalhoub) into arenas that heighten his fears — in this set, he goes to Mexico (packing his own cases of bottled water), a circus (where he ends up hanging from a Ferris wheel) and even to jail!

Very funny stuff, with smart writing and a terrific cast.

Extras: Widescreen, 16 episodes, making-of featurette, subtitle options (English, Spanish, French), chapters.

• "Gilligan's Island: The Complete Second Season" (Warner, 1965-66, not rated, $39.98, three discs). After the first black-and-white season, this second season was filmed in color, but it's no less silly than the initial year.

Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Skipper (Alan Hale), the millionaire Thurston Howell III and his wife (Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer), movie star Ginger (Tina Louise), the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) still manage to survive on that island, and if you're a fan, you'll love it. If you're not, you won't be converted.