Spenser For Hire: The Complete Series (1985-1988, Warner Bros., 16 DVDs, NR, 3,176 min.). In the shadows of Boston, Spenser (Robert Urich of “The Ice Pirates,” TV’s “Vega$”), a former cop with a poet’s soul and a fighter’s fists, solves crimes in his own uniquely stylish way. A true Renaissance man, Spenser faces danger head-on, backed by his formidable ally Hawk (Avery Brooks of “American History X,” TV’s “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), a smartly-dressed enforcer, and contacts inside the police department, including a friend in gruff Lt. Martin Quirk (Richard Jaeckel of “Starman,” “The Dirty Dozen,” “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid”). While he’s unstoppable on the streets, Spenser’s love life stalls as his longtime love Susan Silverman (Barbara Stock of TV’s “Dallas”), a school guidance counselor, refuses to marry a man whose life is a constant dance with death.

This set marks the first time that all three seasons – 65 episodes – of the series have been released as one set. The show was a personal favorite, helped by the facts that I grew up in Boston, where the show was mostly filmed, and was a fan of original book author Robert B. Parker. I am amazed that it has been 40 years since it premiered.

After his apartment goes up in flames in "No Room at the Inn," Spenser moves into a firehouse, given to him by grateful local firefighters for saving the life of a firefighter at his apartment building. It is situated on the corner of River Street, near Mt. Vernon Square and Beacon Hill. In the second season, the fire department takes the station back and Spenser moves to a small top-floor apartment in Charlestown, near the old Boston Navy Yard. The apartment then becomes his office through the third season.

Little ever was given on Spenser’s background, and yes, he only uses the one name, but in "The Choice," it is revealed that he fared poorly in a professional fight 12 years previously, but he still boxes and exercises at Henry Cimoli's Gym. He is well read and often quotes poetry in everyday conversation. Spencer also is an excellent cook, who often makes recipes he picks up from watching Julia Child on his kitchen counter television.

Spenser acknowledges being a Vietnam War veteran in the series' pilot episode. He also was a former member of the Boston Police Force. With Silverman gone in the second season – but she would return in season three – Spenser has a new love interest in Assistant District Attorney Rita Fiori (Carolyn McCormick of TV’s “Law & Order”) during the second season.

The set does not include the three TV movies that starred Joe Mantegna as Spenser on the A&E cable network between 1999 and 2001. Nor does it include Brooks’ spinoff series, “A Man Called Hawk,” which ran for 13 episodes in 1989. Grade: series 3.5 stars

Rating guide: 5 stars = classic; 4 stars = excellent; 3 stars = good; 2 stars = fair; dog = skip it

La Femme Nikita: The Complete Series (Canada/USA, 1997-2001, Warner Bros., 27 DVDs, NR, ‎ 4,368 min.). Framed for murder and condemned to death, Nikita (Peta Wilson of “Superman Returns,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”) reluctantly choses a covert life as an assassin with Section One, a secret anti-terrorism organization that takes on global threats with deadly precision. As she rises through the ranks, her loyalty is tested by betrayal, hidden agendas and a complicated bond with her trainer, Michael Samuelle (Roy Dupuis of “Screamers”). Across five seasons and 96 episodes, Nikita fights to reclaim her freedom as the line between right and wrong blurs.

In many ways, the show is about dealing with a workplace, seeing as there are bosses Nikita does not like and tasks she does not approve of. A complication is a work-related romance. Undeniably, the Toronto-based series is one of the best shows derived from a movie, that being Luc Besson's film of the same name released in 1990. This was another series I really enjoyed.

The first season launched in satisfactory fashion. Highlight episodes include "Love," in which Nikita and Michael pose as a married couple; "Recruit," which has Nikita judge a new Section One member who is like herself; and "Noise," in which we learn more about computer expert Birkoff (Matthew Ferguson of “Cube²: Hypercube,” “Love and Human Remains”).

Other regular characters include Walter (Don Francks of “My Bloody Valentine,” “I’m Not There”), Operations (Eugene Robert Glazer of “No Way Out,” “Harlem Nights”) and Madeline (Alberta Watson of “Hackers,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”).

Extras include "Section One Declassified: The Making of La Femme Nikita" (12 min.); “Designing Nikita”; audio commentary on select episodes; deleted scenes; and gag reels. Grade: series 3.75 stars; extras 2.75 stars

You: The Complete Fourth Season (2023, Warner Bros., 3 DVDs, 481 min.). After his previous life went up in flames, serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley of “Easy A,” TV’s “Gossip Girl”) has fled to Europe to escape his messy past, adopt a new identity and, of course, pursue true love. Joe, however, soon finds himself in the strange new role of reluctant detective, as he discovers he may not be the only killer in London.

During the 10-episode season, Joe bonds with wealthy socialites, deals with a stalker and is drawn towards Kate Galvin (Charlotte Ritchie of TV’s “Ghosts,” “Call the Midwife”).

The show had a fifth and final season earlier this year. Grade: season 3.5 stars

Elsbeth: Season Two (2024-2025, CBS/Paramount, 5 DVDs, 14 hrs. 23 min.). The quirky show stars Emmy Award winner Carrie Preston (TV’s “True Blood,” “Claws,” “The Good Wife”) as Elsbeth Tascioni, an astute but unconventional consent decree attorney working with the New York Police Department to catch the city’s most well-heeled murderers, utilizing her unique point of view. In season two, there are new cases and challenges as mistakes of the past come back to haunt Elsbeth, her boss Capt. C.W. Wagner (Wendell Pierce of the new “Superman,” TV’s “The Wire”) and detective in training Officer Kaya Blanke (Carra Patterson of “Straight Outta Compton,” TV’s “The Arrangement”).

The show's charm and engaging premise are highlighted, although the plots tend to be formulaic. Cases include a womanizer killed during an opera, a billionaire killed in a freak accident during a space training simulation, an ex-child star who wakes up with amnesia but feels she may have murdered someone, half of a celebrity Christmas curators is killed in an embarrassing accident, Elsbeth lands on the jury of a murder trial, the murder of a showrunner of a TV police procedural, and Elsbeth and a Scottish musician who witnesses a murder through a video art installation linking Manhattan with his tiny seaside town join forces to solve the case.

Additionally, during a NYC crime scene tour, Elsbeth questions a historic Mafia murder at Pupetta Del Ponte's restaurant, Elsbeth matches wits with a professional psychic after the stepson of one of her wealthy clients is found murdered in Central Park, Elsbeth finds herself in prison with some of the same high-class criminals she put away, and as Judge Milton Crawford inches closer to becoming a federal judge, Elsbeth scours his past to prove he is a murderer, putting everyone around her in jeopardy. There are 20 episodes in all.

Guest stars including Rob Riggle (“Step Brothers”), Vanessa Williams (“Desperate Housewives”) and Pamela Adlon. Extras are deleted and extended scenes, plus a gag reel. Grade: season 3.5 stars; extras 1.5 stars

Fire Country: Season Three (2024-2025, CBS/Paramount, 5 DVDs, NR, 14 hrs. 21 min.). In the series, a young convict, Bode Donovan (Max Thierlot, whom I thoroughly enjoyed in TV’s “Bates Motel”), joins a firefighting program looking for redemption and a shortened prison sentence. He and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region. Bode also tries to adapt to a new lifestyle and do everything he can to reconnect with his friends and family in their small town of Edgewater.

Bode has an evolving relationship with Gabriela Perez (Stephanie Arcila of TV’s “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels”), but she is being bothered by a stalker, Finn (Blake Lee of TV’s “Mixology,” “Cruel Summer,” “Parks and Recreation”). Meanwhile, the Three Rock crew faces a major crisis as a wildfire may destroy their camp.

Among the 20 episodes are a helicopter crash, an elevator rescue during a heat-induced power outage, an airplane’s emergency landing, a fire in a park that has an eagle’s nest, underground zombie fires threaten the town, accidental fireworks at a renaissance fair, a rescue facing a potential avalanche, a ski chair life malfunction and a fire at a gas station.

Other series regulars are Kevin Alejandro (TV’s “Arrow,” “Southland,” “True Blood”) as Manny Perez, Jordan Calloway (TV’s “Unfabulous,” “ER”) as Jake Crawford, Jules Latimer (TV’s “Guilty Party”) as Eve Edwards, Diane Farr (TV’s “Rescue Me,” “Numb3rs,” “Californication”) as Sharon Leone and Billy Burke (“Twilight,” “Red Riding Hood”) as Vince Leone.

Extras include deleted scenes, a VFX reel and a gag reel. Grade: season 3.25 stars; extras 1.25 stars

Chicago P.D.: Season Twelve (2024-2025, Universal, 5 DVDs, NR, 16 hrs. 51 min.). From Emmy Award-winning executive producer Dick Wolf comes Season Twelve of “Chicago P.D.,” which follows the Chicago Police Department's elite Intelligence Unit as they take on the city's worst criminal offenders. Tenacious Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe of “Thelma & Louise,” “G.I. Jane”) commands a tight-knit team of detectives, including bold Officer Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger of TV’s “The 4400”), sharp Officer Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins of TV’s “Chicago Fire”) and complex Officer Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar of TV’s “Filthy Rich”).

All the while, Desk Sgt. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton of “8MM”) keeps the precinct in order. This season, the Intelligence Unit adds a new team member, Officer Kiana Cook (Toya Turner of TV’s “New Amsterdam”), as they face new challenges while learning how to operate under the leadership of a new deputy chief of police.

Among the 22 episodes are cases that include a serial rapist who reemerges after eluding Voight 15 years earlier; the unit learns the truth about a secret Torres has been keeping, as Deputy Chief Charlie Reid (Shawn Hatosy of TV’s “Animal Kingdom,” “Southland”) puts a focus on the Intelligence Unit; administrative roadblocks threaten a kidnapping investigation; Intelligence makes a gruesome discovery that leads Torres to go undercover at the juvenile detention center where he served time as a teen; a mounting street war threatens a community-center project; Voight questions Deputy Chief Reid's motives in enacting a Violence Reduction Initiative across a neighborhood where numerous gangs are fighting for territory; a robbery-murder case has links to a star college athlete; and Ruzek witnesses a tragic accident on an icy bridge, leading Intelligence into a dark, sinister case involving sex trafficking.

Extras include the crossover episodes with “Chicago Fire” season 13 and “Chicago MED” season 10. Grade: season 3.5 stars; extras 2.5 stars

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season (Warner Bros., 3 4K Ultra HDs Steelbook or 3 4K Ultra HDs or 3 Blu-rays or 4 DVDs, NR, 377 min.). Following the Emmy Award-winning debut season, Season Two of the HBO series continues the emotionally-charged journey of survival, loss and humanity in a post-pandemic world. Based on the famed video game of the same name, “The Last of Us” continues with compelling storytelling and outstanding performances. Season two has seven episodes.

Five years after the events of the first season, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal of TV’s “Game of Thrones,” “The Mandalorian”) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsay of TV’s “Hilda,” “The Game of Thrones”) are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind. The show has been renewed for a third season.

Also returning are Gabriel Luna (TV’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) as Tommy Miller and Rutina Wesley (TV’s “True Blood,” “Queen Sugar”) as Maria Miller.  New cast includes Kaitlyn Dever (“Booksmart,” TV’s “Justified”) as Abby Anderson, Isabela Merced (the new “Superman,” “Alien: Romulus”) as Dina, Young Mazino (TV’s “Beef”) as Jesse, Ariela Barer (TV’s “Runaways”) as Mel, Tati Gabrielle (TV’s “The 100,” “Kaleidoscope”) as Nora Harris, Spencer Lord (TV’s “Heartland”) as Owen Moore, Danny Ramirez (“Top Gun: Maverick,” TV’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) as Manny Alvarez and Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction,” “The Batman”) as Isaac Dixon. Catherine O’Hara (“Best of Show,” “Frankenweenie”) also guest stars as therapist Gail Lyndon.

Extras include nearly two hours of special features, including two never-before-been-seen featurettes, “Ellie’s Ultimate Revenge” and “Beneath the Surface: The Visual FX of The Last of Us.” The latter includes character profiles and a making-of segment dedicated to each episode.  Grade: season 3.75 stars; extras 3.25 stars

Little House on the Prairie: Complete Collection (1974-1983, Lionsgate, 45 Blu-rays, NR, 170 hours). If you have a week, this classic series is now available on Blu-ray, that is, all nine seasons with more than 200 episodes. “Little House on Prairie,” based on the young adult book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was one of the most beloved shows on television. It tells the story of Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon of TV’s “Bonanza,” “Highway to Heaven”) and his family's life on a Minnesota farm near Walnut Grove in the 1880s.

Television producer and former NBC executive Ed Friendly acquired the film and television rights to Wilder's novels. Friendly asked Landon to direct the pilot, which Landon agreed to on the condition that he could also play Charles Ingalls. In the show's ninth and final season, with the departure of Landon, the title was changed to “Little House: A New Beginning.” Three post-series movies, included here, also were made.

The extras total eight hours and also include the pilot movie, a six-part documentary and an original screentest with Landon and Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second oldest daughter of Charles Ingalls. All the episodes are uncut and remastered. Grade: collection and extras 3 stars