New on DVD and Blu-ray Disc

“Caroline in the City: Season One”
Not exactly “Sex and the City” (but then again, what is?), though sex does enter into the equation in this 1995 throwback, even if it is of the perky, well-scrubbed, family-friendly variety. Inspired by Cathy Guisewite’s long-running comic strip, the show follows cartoonist Caroline Duffy (Lea Thompson) and her relationships with her sometimes boyfriend Del (Eric Lutes), her best friend, Annie (Amy Pietz, easily stealing the show--and giving it the edge it needs), and Caroline’s colorist, Richard (Malcolm Gets), who’s here to drop his share of bon-mots, which the show also needs. Though the seasons that followed were an improvement over the awkward growing pains this season endured, throughout are glimpses of the quick-witted show “Caroline” aspired to be--and, for the most part, eventually became. Grade: C+ Buy it here: Caroline in the City: First Season DVD.

"The Perfect Storm" Blu-ray
On Blu-ray, Wolfgang Peterson’s “The Perfect Storm” is a fine example of how special effects, when backed by a strong script and an even stronger cast, can create terrific, rousing entertainment--the sort that creates a sustained, meteoric high even in the face of the low pressure it depicts. Based on Sebastian Junger’s true account of events that occurred off Gloucester, Mass., in the fall of 1991, the film isn't just about the category 5 hurricane that gives the movie its title, but also about the working-class characters (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Allen Payne, William Fichtner) caught in that storm and who must ride it out. For them, everything in the end comes down to timing and luck; nothing can be lost to chance. “The Perfect Storm” knows this, it respects it--and it gets it right. Rated PG-13. Grade: A Buy it here: The Perfect Storm Blu-ray

“Prison Break: Season 3” DVD, Blu-ray
The conspiracy deepens, the pace quickens, the series finds its legs and man, does it run. After the last season, in which Michael (Wentworth Miller), Linc (Dominic Purcell), Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar), and John (Peter Stormare) broke free from prison, now some find themselves in a Panamanian prison, where ugliness ensues--none of it to be revealed here. What can be said for this truncated, 13-episode season (blame the writer’s strike) is that the series remains a kinetic ride, but one that shrewdly pauses long enough to deepen its characters. In some ways, the show reminds you of the old Saturday matinee serials--at every turn, there's a cliff hanger. The good news about this show? You don't want to throw yourself off one while watching it. Grade: B+ Buy it here: Prison Break Season Three Blu-ray

“South Park: Complete Eleventh Season Uncensored”
For those wondering what really can come out of the mouths of babes, look no further. Eleven seasons out, “South Park” hasn’t lost its subversive brilliance, with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone happily pressing against the boundaries of what’s “appropriate” with such episodes as “Night of the Living Homeless,” “Lice Capades,” “Cartman Sucks” and the very funny “Le Petit Tourette,” which offers several reasons why this set is labeled “Uncensored.” Throughout, it’s the smart writing and the insight into childhood, whether parents want to face it or not, that saves this series from being just the crude venture some perceive it to be. Grade: B+ Buy it here: South Park Complete Eleventh Season DVD

“XXX: State of the Union” Blu-ray
A parody of the action-espionage genre filled with impossible stunts and an air of absurdity. And it works. Audiences learn early on that the original XXX, Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), bit the big one in Bora Bora. But who cares? Now, we have a new XXX in Ice Cube's Darius Stone, who is recruited by Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to save the president of the United States (Peter Strauss) from certain death by his evil secretary of defense, Gen. Octavius Deckert (Willem Dafoe). As such, this new XXX must be more dangerous than the last XXX. They've found that person in Stone, an imprisoned Navy SEAL who enjoys his own hip-hop soundtrack whenever he's onscreen and who holds the record for the highest dive in SEAL history--250 feet. Impressive? Absolutely. And with Cube selling his performance it to the back row, few will miss Diesel at all. Rated PG-13. Grade: B Buy it here: XXX: State of the Union Blu-ray

Also new on DVD and Blu-ray disc:
Overlook the dogs out there--Dana Carvey’s “Squatting Monkeys Don’t Lie,” Heather Graham’s dreadful “Miss Conception”--and it’s mostly a solid week on DVD.

Highlights include the fourth season of “That Girl,” with Marlo Thomas busy swinging her fists--at least figuratively--as one of television’s first feminists. She was that girl Ann Marie, an independent young woman with aspirations to be an actress. Her romantic relationship with Ted Bessell's Donald remains one of sitcom's more satisfying relationships--for a time, they were essentially the “It” couple in “That” series. Look for Lew Parker and Rosemary DeCamp in supporting roles. Buy it here: That Girl: Season Four DVD

Also available are two family affairs--“Family Ties: The Complete Fourth Season” follows the familiar ups and down of the Keaton family, with this season focusing on the love brewing between Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Nick (Scott Valentine), not to mention Alex (Michael J. Fox) and Ellen (Tracy Pollan, Fox’s real-life wife). Buy it here: Family Ties: Fourth Season DVD

On DVD and Blu-ray is the adventure movie “Nim’s Island,” with Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin and Gerard Butler cast in a lively retelling of Wendy Orr’s children’s tale. In the film, Breslin’s Nim reaches out via cyberspace to an agoraphobic writer (Foster) who comes to her rescue on a South Pacific Island when Nim’s father (Butler) goes missing at sea. Fans of Foster and Butler should note that this is indeed designed for very young children, who likely will grease by the ongoing run of predictable plot points and steep lapses in logic. Buy it here: Nim's Island DVD

On Tuesday, Lionsgate releases two titles on Blu-ray disc, the least-interesting of which is Hype Williams’ “Belly,” the 1998 gangsta drama that stars Nas, DMX, Method Man, T-Boz and others in a violent story that has style to spare, sure, but also a disappointing number of racial stereotypes. Buy it here: Belly Blu-ray

Faring better is Oliver Stone’s 1991 movie “The Doors.” At 3-1/2 hours, it’s far too long of a plunge into that rock group’s meteoric rise and fall, but its saving grace is Val Kilmer’s performance as lead singer Jim Morrison. He peaked with this movie, and hasn’t come close to besting it since. Buy it here: The Doors Blu-ray

Rounding out the week are the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the Academy Award-winning “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which arrives on a 2-disc collector’s edition filled with extras; the stoner comedy “Harold & Kumar Escape from Gauntanamo Bay,” which uses its sly brand of humor to say plenty about the state of race relations in the U.S. (really); and the slight, overly sentimental “CJ7,” which hails from Stephen Chow, the man behind the terrific “Kung-Fu Hustle.” If he weren’t co-starring in it, you’d be hard pressed to know he was behind it. This movie has little of former movie’s unbridled wit and mischief. Buy it here: CJ7 DVD

Three additional television series are now available, the best of which comes down to the fifth and final season of HBO’s excellent, character-driven “The Wire,” with Baltimore rarely looking this unappealing--or coming off this corrupt. Drugs, hoods and hustlers are the mainstay--in this case, on every level of society--with the creators of the show too smart to end any of it with a false measure of hope. It’s a terrific show, another reason why HBO matters. Buy it here: The Wire Fifth Season DVD

Far lighter-than-air fare is found in the first season of “Dave’s World,” with Harry Anderson playing the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Dave Barry. It’s a good first effort, but like “Caroline in the City,” it doesn’t find itself until mid-season, when the humor for which Barry is known is fully revealed. Buy it here: Dave's World: First Season DVD

Given the dated, unbridled kitsch that is “The Love Boat: Season One, Vol. 2,” there’s no waiting for this series to hit it stride. Amid the romantic dilemmas offered by those love-pushing pimps--sorry, the cheerful staff--of the Pacific Princess, the show has lost none of its corny, Club-Med vibe. The guest appearances alone are a faded red carpet of has-beens, and they are reason enough to watch. In this edition, look for Pearl Bailey, Scatman Crothers, Nanette Fabray, Karen Valentine, and a grown-up Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb to take to the high seas for messy adventures in love, limbo and loss, all of which naturally are fueled by the incessant grind of the show’s looping laugh track. Buy it here: The Love Boat Season One Volume 2 DVD