'On the Road With Charles Kuralt' coming to DVD

A wide variety of documentaries is coming to DVD this week, including a couple that may get you itching to take a road trip or hop a plane — plus the 217th "Monty Python" retrospective. (OK, that may be a slight exaggeration.)

"On the Road With Charles Kuralt" (Acorn, 1967-87, three discs, $39.99). As the late Kuralt says in this set, "Interstate highways allow you to drive coast to coast without seeing anything." And that's why this respected TV journalist stuck to the back roads for his cross-country CBS reports on the unusual, quirky hobbies, professions and lifestyles of unknown, everyday folks.

This is reality TV as comfort food, as opposed to what dominates the airwaves today. Kuralt was not an adversarial reporter. His great joy in sharing the lives of the people he profiles in these warm news pieces is contagious, as he uncovers fascinating and sometimes hilarious stories. But he obviously has great respect for each and exploits no one.

There's an elderly gentleman determined to see that every kid in his small town has a bike, because he didn't have one as a boy; the singing mailman; the woman who talks to Canadian geese — stories that seem insignificant on the surface are given a sweet spin by Kuralt, who comes across as a jovial, bemused uncle.

Extras: full frame, 18 episodes (77 stories), text featurette, text updates (on specific stories), text biography of Kuralt, trailers

"Visions of Europe" (Acorn, 2001-09, 10 discs, $99.99). Gathered here are some of the more engaging episodes of the "Visions" series, as we are taken on high-def armchair tours of Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, France and various other popular European destinations. Included is footage not seen in TV broadcasts.

Extras: widescreen, 12 episodes, bonus footage, trailers

"Monty Python: The Other British Invasion" (A&E, 2009, two discs, color and b/w, $19.95). Surviving members of the Python crew, along with admirers (David Hyde Pierce, Jimmy Fallon, Hank Azaria) discuss the wacky humor that took America by storm in the early 1970s. "Before the Flying Circus" is a look at the early days of these comics before they formed Python, and "Monty Python Conquers America," looks at their humor crossing the pond.

Extras: full frame/widescreen, two documentaries, trailers