DVD Box Sets

Do you remember the old days, when the best you could get was a video cassette with three selected episodes from a TV series? Remember how it always left you wanting more? Or remember the even older days, when you’d see something once, and then hope that maybe they’d repeat it one day?

Not any more. Now you can have every single episode of a series at your fingertips. And extras, probably. Maybe even out-takes. What more could a mildly obsessive TV watcher ask for?

And if you’re prepared to exercise a bit of patience, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune, either. From a combination of charity shops and second hand shops, I managed to get the first four series of ‘The X Files’ for about £20. That’s one episode every day for three months, at a cost of 25p per episode.

I’m also expanding my appreciation of 90s cult TV, by giving in to a friend’s recommendation and taking a look at ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. It’s good stuff – always trust your friends. ‘Buffy’ has a lot to answer for, though – specifically, those endless shelves of ‘Dark Romance’ books in every bookshop you come across. (Dark Romance? I suppose that ‘Bitey Boyfriends’ wouldn’t sound cool enough?)

Also, DVD box sets are great for a nostalgia trip. For years, I couldn’t even get anybody to believe that there used to be a kids programme called ‘Mary, Mungo and Midge’, about a girl, her dog and her mouse. Now, I can sit them down and show them a couple of episodes.

Although, to be honest, that’s not on DVD, it’s on a video I got for 25p in a charity shop. That’s another great thing about DVDs – thanks to them, you can now pick up videos for next to nothing!