And I feel fine

Note to self: do not start blogging at the end of a semester in which you are teaching four classes, three of which have research essays. Dumb, da-dumb dumb!

In what surely signifies the end of the world as we know it, Entertainment Weekly recently wrote about the top 10 DVD box sets for the holidays. Now, this may seem like an innocous enough subject, but I really think the offerings signal the end of days. To whit:

The good is very good indeed. For example, Rodgers and Hammerstein, the makers of many a cultural touchstone, can be bought, or at least 6 of their finest musicals on 12 disks can be bought for $99.98, an extremely reasonable price for a collection that includes South Pacific, Oklahoma, and The Sound of Freaking Music, along with plenty of extras both scintillating and scary (but of course). Likewise, 60 influential and iconic Looney Tunes cartoons in their Golden Collection can be had for a mere $64.98, another bargain worth considering.

But, if you want to buy the complete series of Kids in the Hall, which, while funny, really doesn't have the cultural resonance of either of the previous offerings, particularly in the US, you will have to pony up &239.95....does this seem over the top to anyone else? But wait, it gets better. If you want the complete series of The West Wing, including the right wing masquerading as lefty 6th and 7th seasons, you will need $299.98. The same if you want to buy the entire series of Homicide, Life on the Street. WHAT? Seriously? Seriously. Let's put aside, for the moment, the gross consumerism that would compel us to buy any of these sets, consumerism of such magnitude we really should be expecting divine retribution for our worldly ways any second. Not only do these prices seem ridiculously high, the cost is outrageous in comparison with the $199.98 that will buy me the entire series of M*A*S*H. Now, I like Josh and Sam and Toby and CJ and Joey (especially Joey) and the flying pig as much or more than the next guy; don't get me wrong. But something is seriously wrong with the world when both The West Wing and Kids in the Canadian Hall cost more than the comedic masterpiece that is the 4077. In protest, I refuse to buy any DVD sets at all, which will show no one, because I'm sure all of them are flying off the shelves even as we speak. Sad, sad sad, sad sad!