Life on Mars: The Complete Series

DVD ($39.99)

Amazon B001XRLWLU



This time-twisting ABC-TV series, about a modern-day police detective (Jason O’Mara) mysteriously transplanted back in 1973, started strong last fall. But flagging ratings led to its termination after a single-season 17-episode run. Now you can catch it in all its resurrected, start-to-finish glory in this collection, which includes bloopers and a documentary about how the production found (and created) the look and feel of the swingin’ ’70s in present-day New York City.

—Neil Pond, American Profile





In Search of Santa Claus

DVD ($9.98)



He stops by every year, but who is he, and where did he come from? This scholarly but decidedly unstuffy Smithsonian Networks documentary explores St. Nick’s tangled roots, which pass through several countries and centuries and connect numerous characters—including a Turkish miracle worker, a Civil War-era cartoonist and ad men at a marketing-savvy soft drink company.



—Neil Pond, American Profile



A Hollywood Christmas

CD ($14.98)



A star-studded soundtrack to your Christmas season, this holly-jolly CD features 12 tunes from holiday-themed movies. Old familiars like Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Jimmy Durante’s “Frosty the Snowman” nestle in with Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” (from “National Lampoon’s Vacation”), The Jacksons Five’s super-snazzy “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and other musical stocking stuffers.



—Neil Pond, American Profile