Certainly, serial episodes such as Six Feet Under and Deadwood are the best shows to watch on DVD. Shows such as Seinfeld, Will and Grace and Friends can be watched in any arbitrary order and the effect is the same. Once the basic traits of the characters have become familiar, the comedy becomes organic, the viewer doesn't have to work to understand why Jack said this or George did that.

Those shows are much like a routine breakfast. You know, that onion bagel with cream cheese you have every day, you don't really look forward to it, don't think about it -- but you enjoy it, and you miss it if it's not there. As well, it's completely satifying, once the bagel, like the TV episode, is over -- the desire is satiated.

The great serial shows are different, though. When Brenda goes on her sexual escapades, what are the consequences? The DVD has the answer, the DVD knows everything, the play button is all you need to reveal the secret.

The experience is similar to that of a good dinner party, conversation may lead to any topic -- the food itself may even challenge the guest. The hosts challenge themselves as well, having clipped a recipe or 2 from Gourmet magazine, bought some strange leg-of-something which they aren't quite sure how long it will take to cook, or whether it will be properly seasoned or too tough. The outcome is always in doubt, right up until consumed.

The great DVD does something similar with its' narrative. Each episode relies and builds on the last -- and it is precisely because of this narrative that we become hooked. We become gluttons, each episode only serves to increase our appetite for the next -- like that perfectly cooked and seasoned leg of lamb served with those odd veggies that came from the ethnic grocery store, each bite only serves to increase our desire for the next -- there is no satisfaction until all is consumed.

Heather has hit the nail on the head -- again.

I can't imagine my favorite "dramatic" scene of all time being produced in any movie; specifically, the scene where Lisa and Nate discuss his washing of Maya's clothes -- with the wrong laundry soap. Most anyone who watches that scene without being familiar with the characters would probably exclaim, "WTF?".

In a movie, a scene like that would merely be an indulgence, hitting the editing room floor fast. Even within a series, most editors would have dropped it -- to me, though, it more succinctly illustrates the individual characters and the relationship between them. We saw passive-aggressive behavior, zealousness, insecurity and insincerity all acted out in what seemed like no more than a 1 minute act. Consider, how many words would it take to describe the psychology of what happened there.

Kudos to all involved -- but especially to the development of the "long-arc" series. I can't even look at my own life with as much understanding as with these series. These series offer the intimacy of my own life with the detachment of a voyeur.

...Dan

Kudos on normalizing to the number of hours worked, but what about normalizing to seniority? Even in Deep-Red-Texas, they have teacher unions with contracts that mandate higher pay to teachers with greater seniority.

These are head coaches, remember? They've all served as assistant coaches for many years to make their reputations. My guess is their average seniority is twice that of the average teacher.

On the related topic, college and high school students should always play for free. Besides the good reasons fellow letter-writers have cited, consider the market. There are many more teenaged boys (and young men) than there are positions on the teams. Our free-market society should really appreciate not having to pay for something that can be had for free.

Finally, young men working hard for unpaid glory on the gridiron is a far better thing than young men getting paid to find "glory" and comraderie in a place such as Iraq.

I love Garrison's writing, it's entertaining, often a challenge and thoughtfully off-kilter. In his latest, he suggests, "Somebody with a tin ear came up with that, maybe the pest exterminator from Texas, or Adm. Poinduster". Well, as much as I enjoy the villification of the "exterminator", I can't condon it here.

Quite simply, "Homeland Security" came from the Hart-Rudman commission. A quick google search on "gary hart homeland security" returns as the second item, a 9/12/01 Salon.com article on the commission's report sub-titled, "We predicted it". Imagine that.

I agree with Garrison's sentiment, I felt exactly the way he did the first time I heard "Homeland Security", namely, 'who the hell decided we should adopt the archaic language of another time and another continent?'. I guess it's just an example of somebody's bad idea catching wind.

...Dan