TV DVDs are coming out fast and furious now that the fall season is immiment. (Newsday’s TV fall preview runs in the Sunday paper of Sept. 16.)
And it’s nice to see that even subsequent-season sets are including more extras these days, which hasn’t always happened in the past. (Still doesn’t for most vintage series.)
“Grey’s Anatomy” Season 3 arrives on disc today (the fourth season hits ABC’s air Sept. 27) in a “seriously extended” edition that includes four episodes presented with substantial unaired content, in addition to the usual array of deleted scenes and bloopers. Three commentaries are fun and informative: the season premiere with give-and-take between Chandra Wilson and “Private Practice” spinoff star Kate Walsh; the Ellis-is-lucid-again hour, discussed by on-screen mom and daughter Kate Burton and Ellen Pompeo, and “Desire,” with Sandra Oh. You even get to hang with Patrick Dempsey off-duty at stock car races. This wasn’t a great season, but featurettes like one on the Jane Doe character highlight what did work.
“Desperate Housewives” Season 3 hit shelves last week, with a featurette going behind the scenes of the matrimonial season finale. No commentaries here (might have been especially nice on event episodes like the “Bang” supermarket hostage-taking), but other featurettes summarize the season’s storylines and compare ABC’s “DH” with a South American version. Deleted scenes and bloopers, too. (Season 4 starts on ABC Sept. 30.)