Retro TV on DVD: 10 Box Sets We're Sharing With Our Kids

A quick glance in our DVD cabinet will reveal that we love box sets. A good number of the box sets that we own are old TV shows -- shows we loved when we were kids that we hope our kids will love, too. The Electric Company, The Muppet Show, The Brady Bunch... Sure, some of the box sets are shows we loved as grown-ups (Sports Night, for example), but retro-kiddie shows clearly dominate our collection. Yes, my youth has been re-packaged and sold back to me as a box set. And I'm ok with that.

Looking through our DVDs got me thinking back to this entry, where I made this stunning observation:

We've all known since The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) that postmodernism is hot, and what better market for it than Generation X? Throw in parenthood and a bit of nostalgia for our own childhoods, and you could sell us darn near anything that hints of pre-1985 and can be watched in the presence of our children.

The people who are selling these box sets have found a great market in Gen X parents. And we're so excited about the chance to see Fargo North Decoder on DVD that our cynicism -- and maybe even our better judgement -- go right out the window.

The DVDs and box sets of our childhood TV favorites are too numerous too count (not to mention the movies that are now on DVD, which I'll share in another list soon), but here's a quick rundown of 10 box sets we're currently sharing -- or planning to share -- with our kids:

1. Sesame Street Old School, Volume 1: 1969-1974
The first season of Sesame Street looks nothing like the Sesame Street that's on TV today. Oscar was orange. The animated segments were low-tech and bland. The pacing was slow. It was hard for our 7-year-old to get on board with this, and it was even harder for us when he didn't immediately love it. Luckily, the set includes collections of clips (one collection for each of the first five seasons) that represent some of the "best of the best" -- the songs, skits, and animated segments that we remember so well, including King of Eight, Ladybug Picnic, The Amazing Mumford, Rubber Duckie. And the enclosed liner notes/booklet is packed with great stuff. The episodes themselves get better and better with each season, but season one is a blatant reminder of how old this show is (and therefore, a reminder of how old we are).

2. The Best of The Electric Company
Our entire family loves The Electric Company. As a child, the incredible talent of this cast was pretty much lost on me. But as an adult, it's so fun to watch them work. Our 7-year-old loves everything about this show, and as a result, our 2-year-old sticks with it quite closely. Hearing the theme song for the first time in so many years was such a sentimental moment for me, it literally brought tears to my eyes. There are four discs here, each with five episodes and a few special features. The liner notes/booklet has concise details on each episode, plus many pages of history and pictures.

If you're not up to buying a box set of this show, get your feet wet with The Best of the Best of The Electric Company (a single DVD) or The Electric Company's Greatest Hits and Bits (a single DVD).

Also available: The Best of The Electric Company Volume 2.

3. Schoolhouse Rock! 30th Anniversary DVD
This was released in 2002, and we were right on top of it. Walter was only two at the time, and he didn't really appreciate Schoolhouse Rock until a couple years later, but now it's a family favorite. This two-disc set has all 46 animated songs, plus one new song called "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College." Special features include audio commentaries, four Schoolhouse Rock music videos by current bands/artists, and a long lost song called "The Weather Show." The liner notes include all the song lyrics, plus a short interview with Schoolhouse Rock creator George Newall. Overall, this is really well packaged.

4. The Muppet Show: Complete Season One Special Edition Box Set
Watching it now, I realize that The Muppet Show was primarily a show for grown-ups. For those of us who grew up watching other variety shows (like Donnie and Marie, Carol Burnett, or Sonny and Cher), this was a welcome addition to the line-up. But for our own kids, The Muppet Show is so different from the kind of TV they're used to watching, it seems strange at first. My husband and I love it, our 7-year-old likes it, and our 2-year-old likes the box. The liner notes are next-to-nothing, but I'm glad to have it in our collection.

Available August 2007: Season Two Box Set.

5. Fraggle Rock: The Complete First Season
Fraggle Rock has been a surprisingly big hit with our younger son (now 2 years old). It's much more calming and soothing than The Muppet Show, and more child-friendly. Our 7-year-old, though resistant at first, became a fan very quickly. I didn't follow Fraggle Rock that closely as a child, but I do clearly remember when it first appeared. The music holds up well, and the story lines are perfect for kids of all ages.

Also available: Fraggle Rock: The Complete Second Season and Fraggle Rock: Where it All Began.

6. Gilligan's Island: Complete First Three Seasons
My favorite episode is the one where they almost get off the island. To call Gilligan a classic is an understatement. It employs many of the classic comic models and tropes (guys in dresses, mistaken identity, geting hit on the head by a coconut), and my husband says he plans to use these DVDs in class next time's he's called on to teach acting comedy. The frequent guest stars are also worth noting -- actors like the lovely Zsa Zsa Gabor and Larry Storch, taking time off from his gig on F Troop, drop by and almost rescue everyone. Gilligan's Island is an American classic. If you want your kids to laugh their heads off at some brilliant physical comedy - it's a must. And when they see their first production of Comedy of Errors, they'll probably say "dude, it was like an episode of Gilligan!"

Lastly, it's doubtful that there is an American man alive today who does not have a preference in the ongoing Ginger vs. Mary Ann debate.

7. The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series (Seasons 1-5 Plus Shag Carpet Cover)
Although we own only the final season of The Brady Bunch on DVD, the complete series is available in this huge box set. The shag carpet cover isn't a huge draw for me (don't you think it would be hard to store? and possibly collect lots of schmutz?) but the enormity of having all five seasons in one box makes me giddy. Our 7-year-old has seen several episodes of the show, but actually prefers the 1995 Brady Bunch Movie (even though it requires much editing on my part, and a fair amount of explanation). I'm fairly sure he'll soon grow into this one.

A sad confession: Although this show was mainly something I watched in syndication after school, I'm actually old enough to remember watching the last season of The Brady Bunch in prime time.

Also available: Individual seasons and Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

8. Land of the Lost: The Complete Series
We haven't yet shown Land of the Lost to our kids, but I can hardly wait to share it with them. This is the only Sid & Marty Krofft show that I really followed regularly, and it was something I looked forward to nearly every Saturday morning. There were a few episodes that freaked me out a bit, but that never kept me away.

A bit of LOTL trivia: Former Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer played a Sleestak on the show when he was a student at UCLA. It was not his acting skillz that got him cast, but rather his massive height.

Also available: Individual seasons.

9. Scooby Doo, Where Are You? The Complete First and Second Seasons
Our 7-year-old has loved all things Scooby Doo for several years now. He's enjoyed the live-action movies (and so have we), the various spin-offs of the original cartoon series, and the animated TV movies. Scooby Doo was a big part of my childhood and -- I would argue -- a big part of the pop culture zeitgeist for Gen X. And I love that our son enjoys it too.

10. Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series
Although it's not retro in the sense of being on TV in the 60's, 70's, or 80's, this show is set in the early 80's and does such an incredible job of capturing the culture of the times, I had to include it here. It's also a show we plan to share with our kids, but not for many more years. Judd Apatow, the creator of Freaks and Geeks, is now making it big as the director of Knocked Up. And many of the cast members from this show have gone on to bigger and better things, including (for several of them) some of Apatow's movie projects. The music, the set dressing, the costumes, and all the little details of the show give it such an amazingly realistic early-80's feel. And the writing is just plain brilliant. Sadly, the show only lasted one season, but my husband and I have been enjoying the box set for several months -- the liner notes and audio commentary both add to our enjoyment. And Judd Apatow is currently at the top of the list of Celebrities I'd Like to Meet -- I am dying to talk with him about this show, and about how the movies and music and TV of his youth have influenced the work he's done.

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Now, because I remembered and discovered so much more as I was writing this, here are 10 more retro TV DVDs and box sets to share with your kids:

1. Challenge of the Superfriends, Volumes 1-2

2. Family Affair (I was a huge fan of Buffy and Jody.)

3. The Flintstones

4. Free to Be You and Me (Not a box set, but still retro-licious.)

5. Happy Days

6. The Jetsons

7. Little House on the Prairie

8. PeeWee's Playhouse Volume 1, Season 1 and 2 (We tried showing this to Walter when Cartoon Network began airing it last year, but he was not impressed.)

9. Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft (Pilot episodes of H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, The Bugaloos, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, The Lost Saucer, and Far Out Space Nuts.)

10. The World of Sid & Marty Krofft