OnDVD: Remember what 'thirtysomething' was like?

Though considerably different in every detail, the television shows thirtysomething and Wiseguy both had enormous impact when they debuted in 1987 on ABC and CBS, respectively.

thirtysomething blurred the lines between comedy and drama, tragedy and farce, while presenting in a manner closer to a mini-series than a soap opera the adventures of a group of baby boomers regularly confronting all types of personal and professional issues. Couples included Michael (Ken Olin) and Hope (Mel Harris), Elliott (Timothy Busfield) and Mary (Patricia Wettig) as well as others like Gary Shepard (Peter Horton), Melissa Steadman (Melanie Mayron) and Ellyn Warren (Polly Draper) whose lives were interconnected. The show had both rabid fans and equally fervent critics, but it was certainly not like anything else on the air at the time.

The same was true for Wiseguy, a show that took audiences far deeper into the world of undercover operatives than ever imagined. Its main figure Vincent Terranova (Ken Wahl) opened the series as an ex-con, having served an 18-month prison term to establish a phony identity as a gangster. He was actually a member of the Organized Crime Bureau, determined to bring down a Mafia enclave led by Sunny Steelgrave (Ray Sharkey).

Wiseguy was among the earliest crime shows to utilize story "arcs," where storylines would evolve over multiple episodes and weeks rather than unfold over a 60-minute time period. Both thirtysomething and Wiseguy were extremely popular for their first couple of years, then gradually lost audience and focus over time, with both of them running a little over four years.

This week thirtysomething: The Complete First Season< (Shout! Factory), a six-disc set, and Wiseguy: Complete First Season (Mill Creek), a four-disc collection, offer fans 21 and 22 segments, respectively, of those classic shows. They both also have special features such as interviews, retrospectives, new details and other items to celebrate their release. thirtysomething has gotten clearances on all the music, ensuring that the episodes will sound just as they did in their original presentation. Creators/directors Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick have also recorded some new material. Additional seasons of thirtysomething will be released in six-month intervals.

Mill Creek's new releases return Wiseguy into public circulation, replacing previous editions that have now been deleted.

'Duplicity' on DVD
Long before he began filming the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton, writer/director Tony Gilroy began working on an elaborate production that mixed clever twists, corporate espionage and a cat-and-mouse romance. It also reunited Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Unfortunately Duplicity was so intricately plotted that it ended up confusing as many people as it thrilled, something that no doubt contributed to subsequently weaker box office draws after a decent opening weekend.

This week Duplicity (Universal) comes to DVD. It may do better in this environment, because it's a well-acted, sophisticated and brilliantly written work, but also one that requires such attention to detail it's ultimately better suited for the small rather than large screen. Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti are other key members of a fine cast for an above-average movie that veered too much from the thematic trends of the day to get the audience support it deserved.