Native American series hits DVD

The superlative series of documentaries on Native Americans that just aired on PBS comes to DVD this week, along with a bevy of other TV shows.

"We Shall Remain" (PBS, 2009, three discs, $49.99). This engrossing five-part documentary miniseries, which ran on PBS's "American Experience," tells a variety of stories gleaned from 400 years of Native American history — most of them surrounding the first Thanksgiving, the battle at Wounded Knee, the forced march of Cherokees on the "Trail of Tears," and profiles of Tecumseh and Geronimo.

This is a retelling of stories we may think we know — with loads of re-creations accompanying Benjamin Bratt's narration and the talking-heads commentary — but they are told from a distinctly Native American viewpoint and may deflate expectations.

Don't think this series is a political tract, however. It's more a celebration of American Indian heroism as a unique people resisted expulsion from their land and the subversion of their culture.

Extras: widescreen, Reel Native films, featurettes, printable materials

"The Jeff Foxworthy Show: The Complete Second Season" (Sony, 1996-97, two discs, $19.94). For this second season of Foxworthy's '90s sitcom, the show was almost completely revamped as it switched networks (from ABC to NBC). Most of the changes made the show better, but when it couldn't draw a big enough audience, it was not allowed to stick around beyond the second year.

Foxworthy is now (wisely) moved from Illinois to Georgia, where his Southern-flavored good-old-boy humor makes more sense, and he has a new wife (Ann Cusack, younger sibling of John and Joan) and a new son (Jonathan Lipnicki, hot off of "Jerry Maguire" at the time).

Extras: full frame, 23 episodes

"The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin: The Complete Series" (E1, 1976-79, four discs, $59.98). This offbeat sitcom tells the story of a middle-management businessman going through a mid-life crisis. The first few episodes chronicle his breakdown, and he eventually fakes his own death and wears elaborate disguises to spy on his loved ones. In the second season, he begins a new career, and in the third, he forms a commune. All of these efforts are successful, ultimately bringing him back to square one.

The show is primarily a showcase for popular British actor Leonard Rossiter, who is quite good as the Walter Mitty daydreamer who tries to fulfill his fantasies but always finds new problems that resemble the old. Despite being made in the mid-1970s, the satire of humdrum modern society still rings true.

Extras: full frame, 21 episodes, reunion Christmas-themed skit from "The Funny Side of Christmas (1982), featurette