Some great picks among DVDs

Tom Lehrer, celebrity genealogy, "Ally McBeal" and "Dallas" lead off these TV programs that are new to DVD.

"The Tom Lehrer Collection" (Shout! 1959-99, two discs, color and b/w, $15.98). Lehrer was a singing, piano-playing satirist in the 1950s and '60s, who also did songs for the kids TV show "The Electric Company" in the 1970s. But he has spent most of his later life teaching higher-ed math!

His modern equivalent might be Mark Russell — but Lehrer was particularly adept at a variety of musical forms, while his lyrics were inventive wordplay that could be complicated and silly but also witty and smart. Think Ogden Nash crossed with Danny Kaye by way of Mort Sahl.

For all that, however, Lehrer is his own man, and his records during his prime contained some hilarious satirical musings that were smart but never mean-spirited. (Although Wernher von Braun might disagree.) Some of the references are a bit dated — but many more are surprisingly relevant some 50 to 60 years later.

Lehrer's most famous tune is "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," but 25 more winners are also gathered here, ditties that are funny, thought provoking — and some that were quite controversial in their day. Lehrer hand-picked the audio collection and he proves in the liner notes that at 80 he has lost none of his wit.

But the real treat for fans is the DVD, which includes some single-song performances — and the real keeper, a 1967 black-and-white TV concert from Oslo television. Why Oslo? Lehrer says it's simply that American TV never asked.

Extras: full frame, audio CD, DVD with TV performances; 16-page booklet

"Faces of America" (PBS, 2010, $24.99). Henry Louis Gates Jr. ("African American Lives") brings his love of genealogy to this four-hour special that includes a number of celebrities whose roots were traced, and in some cases augmented by exploring their DNA. The result is a lively and entertaining series that demonstrates how moving it can be to discover information about our ancestors.

Gates is a most affable host and he personalizes the show in a way that never seems intrusive. Among those who learn things they never knew about their ancestry are Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Eva Longoria, Yo-Yo Ma, Stephen Colbert, Kristi Yamaguchi and Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Extras: widescreen, four episodes