There are treasures to be found, to be sure, and DVD is a fine way to preserve great television for future generations, but I would suggest that we take a hard look in the mirror and ask: Is the arrival of "Jake and the Fat Man" on DVD a sign that perhaps we've over-preserved? Isn't a 42-disc set of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" taking things just a bit too far? The DVD industry, like Dr. Frankenstein, has the power to bring the dead back to life, but we should think twice before meddling with the forces of nature. 3rd Rock From The Sun Seasons 1-6 DVD Box Set

When I visited my father-in-law after he had recovered, I asked him if he had ever watched any of those DVD boxed sets. "I hid them in the closet," he said, "and watched golf." As he spoke I noticed that he had color in his cheeks, that his eyes were clearer, his hair more luxurious, and his teeth gleaming and strong. Jersey Shore Seasons 1-2 DVD Box Set

I smiled inwardly. Here was a man who had been plunged into the valley of the shadow, been tempted by a host of DVD boxed sets, resisted their grim ministrations and come out the better for it. Perhaps, then, there is a value to these things, after all. Boxed sets of "Rescue Me" and "Dexter" might not actually be designed for entertainment but may instead be crucibles that test our souls with fire, and like escapees from the gulag we emerge from the inferno with our wills forged into steel. Some of us, however, will not survive the box-set era -- and for those who succumb there is a small consolation in the fact that their coffins can easily be constructed from Seasons 1 through 11 of "ER." And if they're extra-tall individuals, Season 12 will be out in January. Law & Order Special Victims Unit Seasons 1-11 DVD Boxset

We've been told that we're living in a new golden age of television, and suddenly we're expected not only to watch but to read essays, think about, and discuss one-hour nighttime dramas like "Desperate Housewives" and "Dollhouse." Watching these shows is like joining the Masons, requiring the memorization of arcane trivia, the parsing of cryptic plot twists and near-fanatical loyalty. We can't just watch these shows -- we must be devoted to them in the same way that John Hinckley was devoted to Jodie Foster. But the DVD box set is the worst way to worship. For committed fans, they're easy-to-use video scrapbooks that let you revisit your favorite scenes of Jeremy Piven walking quickly and cursing on "Entourage." As a gateway drug to initiate virgin viewers, all that box sets do is proclaim that the emperor has no clothes. Grey's Anatomy Season 7-8DVD Box Set

My Name Is Earl Seasons 1-4 Box Set 16DVDTelevision episodes were never meant to be viewed in rapid-fire order. "Mad Men" often ends with its lead character, Don Draper, stranded impotently in the gloomy, underlit front hallway of his suburban home. Viewed once a week, this is a weighty image of existential angst. Viewed three or four times in a row, it makes you want to scream, "Buy some light bulbs!" "Curb Your Enthusiasm" plotlines are actually all the same plotline, which you'd never have guessed until you watched six episodes straight. And four episodes back-to-back of the lachrymose "Battlestar Galactica" will convince you that the show should have been retitled "Crybabies in Space." The Simpsons Seasons 1-22 DVD Box Set