These TV DVD box sets are the whole package

The flow of fancy TV DVD gift sets has started to slow. It seems distributors are learning they can't just throw some seasons together and slap them into some flimsy new box.

But now the sets that do hit shelves (or the Web) tend to be stunners - creatively boxed to suit the series' tone, crammed with extras like making-of featurettes and commentaries, and topped off with episode guides, essay booklets and/or explanatory packaging.

Below you'll find some of this season's best new offerings. List prices are included, but deep discounts are usually available, both in stores and online.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN

Series Lee Majors gets a bionic "rebuild" in this '70s family adventure, morphing from human astronaut Steve Austin into a superpowered semi-cyborg. He can run fast, lift heft and hear far, all the better to ace secret government missions without guns or bloodshed.

Extras In this first-ever DVD release, the show's trendsetting high-tech is explored in voluminous featurettes on the series' creation, special effects, real-life science basis and much more. Six separately cased season sets are joined by a full five-disc set of extras, including all the pilot and reunion TV movies, along with hour-plus cast interviews. And it's all packed into a cool lenticular-top box, with a sound chip that plays the show's trademark voice-over intro.

Why to buy No buying piecemeal! After years of nothing, it's all-at-once on DVD for devotees who worshiped the show as '70s kids or later took to its lasting legend. This crisply remastered Complete Collection loves "6MDM" as much as we do.

SEE PHOTOSTV shows that made an impact

List price $240 for 100 episodes on 40 discs, available only from TimeLife.com.

THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW

Series Garry Shandling turns insecurity into an art form as the title talk-show host, who's never happy unless he can fret. With Rip Torn as his foul-mouthed pit-bull producer, Jeffrey Tambor as his "Hey, now!" sycophant second banana and a sterling support crew (including Jeremy Piven as a catty writer), Shandling satirizes showbiz from the inside out. His pioneering '90s HBO single-camera comedy recruited dozens of high-profile celebs for memorable tongue-in-cheek self-sendups: Carol Burnett, David Duchovny, Sharon Stone and, presciently, Jon Stewart as Larry's heir apparent.

Extras All the great stuff from the two previous partial sets is here in "The Complete Series" - Shandling's "personal visits" with guest stars like Alec Baldwin and Jerry Seinfeld, making-of documentary, commentaries, cast reunion. Plus new outtakes/deleted scenes and a superb 60-page episode guide/essay booklet.

Why to buy After just a first-season set, and a best-of set, it's great to have everything (and more!) in one sleek black box. As true fans know, you can't watch just one.

List price $150 for 89 episodes on 17 discs, Shout.

SEX AND THE CITY: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

Series and movies Yes, it's all here - both feature films and all six HBO seasons totaling 94 episodes in the modern urban fairy tale of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. This vertically shelved set is somewhat similar to 2005's pink "Complete Series" in its slender book-like design (the "Complete Collection" is white, with velvety endpapers). The discs are slipped inside hard card "pages" filled with photos, quotes and info.

Extras New bonus disc has 90 minutes of writers' roundtables (over Cosmos, of course), dishing on fashion, sex and romance in the show, and its wild rise toward iconic status. Existing season extras are here, too.

Why to buy The white box looks exquisite, but its discs can easily be scratched in handling. So it's your choice, sort of like stiletto heels - beauty or safety?

List price $250 for 94 episodes and two movies on 20 discs, HBO.

LOST

Series The most famous castaways since "Gilligan's Island" ended their six-year ride last spring, and this impressive 8-pound "Complete Collection" wasn't far behind. ABC's mystifying island adventure is boxed in a truncated pyramid for maximum "wow" factor. Taking it apart reveals separate season sets in cardboard booklets, and such bonus goodies as a replica Senet game, a special flashlight and an ankh, all designed after story elements for that extra geek rush.

Extras Fan thrills continue in trying to locate the exclusive bonus disc, hidden within the packaging, which offers a brief "epilogue" with key characters, plus a lengthy docu-chronicle of the final season with truly moving on-set cast interviews. Season-set extras are retained, too, so there's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries and making-of background.

Why to buy Cool box alone makes a great keepsake for devotees, or another reason to upgrade to Blu-ray Disc's HD picture/sound.

List price $230 DVD/$280 Blu-ray Disc, ABC Studios

THE FRANK SINATRA CONCERT COLLECTION

Programs American popular music's pre-eminent vocalist made few TV appearances except in "specials" that really felt that way. His 1965 studio hour, "A Man and His Music," won Emmy and Peabody awards for its stripped-down class and cool. No less powerful are such later one-man arena gigs as 1974's Madison Square Garden-staged "The Main Event" and 1985's "Live at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo" (not previously available in this country). In between, Ol' Blue Eyes headlined guest-laden TV specials, bringing his total to a full dozen color extravaganzas.

Extras The specials are bookended by a lively 44-page booklet, detailing the shows, and a bonus disc with its own video gems - the PBS retrospective "Vintage Sinatra," with clips from his self-titled black-and-white '50s series, plus 1957's half-hour color "buddy" special "Happy Holidays With Bing and Frank."

Why to buy There's a reason Sinatra remains The Man. This is it.

List price $80 for 12 specials on seven discs, Shout

THE TONIGHT SHOW: 4 DECADES STARRING JOHNNY CARSON

Series The late, sainted late-night host finally gets a set that validates his mastery. More than 50 "Tonight" shows across a 25-year span are generously excerpted (around 40 minutes each); and while purists might wish them complete, the trims keep the energy up and the entertainment tight. Smartly chosen, these particular episodes showcase Carson both laid-back and bubbly, crafting comedy himself in monologues and sketches (Carnac the Magnificent) or reacting deftly to celebrities and animal acts. Carson's reliable barometer finds him nimbly matching his guests' sincerity (the young Muhammad Ali) or silliness (Don Rickles).

Extras Hour-plus reel of '60s "rescued gems" featuring Charlton Heston and Jay Silverheels, plus new recollections from guests like David Brenner and Loni Anderson.

Why to buy This is both a pop-culture time capsule and a keen portrait of a unique talent.

List price $120 for 56 (partial) shows on 15 discs, Respond2

The price is right for these TV box sets

Less-costly gift ideas (list prices here often are discounted):

THE PACIFIC Producer Tom Hanks' epic miniseries dramatizing World War II's Pacific front, with extras galore; $80 DVD/$100 Blu-ray disc, HBO.

AMERICA: THE STORY OF US Hit docuseries re-creates 400 years of decisive national events; $40 DVD/$50 Blu-ray disc, History.

PRIME SUSPECT All seven acclaimed movies/minis in Helen Mirren's British character study of a troubled police detective; $125, Acorn.

MAX HEADROOM Cool '80s cyber-tale of a 24/7 TV reporter chasing high-tech exposés "20 minutes into the future," with retro extras; $50, Shout.

ELLERY QUEEN Jim Hutton's delightful '70s turn as the author-detective, set in 1940s New York and Long Island; $60, eOne.

THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW Movie comedy team runs amok in the original '50s "show about nothing" that influenced Jerry Seinfeld; $60, eOne.

THE GOLDBERGS Pioneering sitcom of Jewish life in the Bronx circa 1950, with bonus radio shows, TV pilot, more; $60, shoutfactorystore.com.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL/BILL MOYERS: THE POWER OF MYTH PBS' provocative explorations of enduring human stories, beliefs, spirituality; $50, Athena.