Flip Wilson, 'Secret Agent' among TV releases

TV series

• "The Best of the Flip Wilson Show" (Rhino, 1972-74, three discs, $49.95). Flip Wilson was a talented and very funny comic whose variety series was a departure from the norm, a sort of theater-in-the-round with a live audience.

  Primarily a showcase for Wilson's monologues and skit comedy, the show also featured a wide array of top-notch guests, and in these six hourlong shows you'll see George Carlin, Albert Brooks, Redd Foxx, Phyllis Diller, Richard Pryor, Tim Conway, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Ray Charles and many others.

  But the highlight of each episode is Wilson's array of beloved characters — especially Rev. Leroy, of the Church of What's Happenin' Now, and Geraldine Jones ("The devil made me do it!").

  Extras: Full frame, six episodes, two episodes of animated "Clerow Wilson" episodes, featurettes, new introductions (Conway, Diller), text biography

• "Secret Agent (a k a 'Danger Man'): The Complete Collection" (A&E, 1960-62/64-66, b/w and color, 18 discs, $149.95). Preceding James Bond movies by a couple of years, "Danger Man" was an English action drama, a half-hour show that ran two years, about John Drake (Patrick McGoohan), a freelance international problem-solver. After a two-year hiatus, "Danger Man" returned in an hourlong format and Drake was working for MI9. He was also more James Bondish in nature, with assignments from Her Majesty's Secret Service and gadgetry galore. (Only the two end-of-the-run shows are in color; it aired in the United States as "Secret Agent.")

  The earlier shows are more compact and less gimmicky, but the entire run is highly entertaining. (This is a repackaging of the entire series' run, after earlier releases in smaller groupings.)

  Extras: Full frame, 86 episodes, U.S. opening credits with Johnny Rivers singing "Secret Agent Man," McGoohan biography/filmography, photo gallery

• "Girlfriends: The First Season" (CBS/Paramount, 200-01, four discs, $39.99). Amusing series about four very different working women in Los Angeles and their various relationships. Routine sitcom gets some laughs thanks to a talented cast.
  Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes