Week of 1/30: Enough Of the Volumes

One of my pet peeves for DVDs of classic television: Volumes. It's a code word for "incomplete season."

It's happened again this week, with the release of part of Season 2 of "The Love Boat." Other popular series, including "Perry Mason" and "Ironside," have been released in this haphazard (and, given the economy, increasingly expensive) manner. (Note: Full seasons of "Ironside" are also available.)

"The Love Boat," which was produced by Paramount, is currently overseen by Paramount's parent company, CBS/Viacom, even though it was an ABC show. Perry Mason is distributed by CBS/Paramount, and the only explanation for the split I can see is that the series was made at a time when television shows could conceivably produce 30-35 episodes a season. It's still poor form when CBS/Paramount has done a great job releasing "Hawaii Five-O," "Mannix," "JAG" and "Mission Impossible," among others.

Go to Amazon.com and check on the distribution studio. Those are the people to complain to.

See you next week. Until then, Happy - and full-season - viewing!