Seinfeld Seasons 5 & 6

It's been a great year for Seinfeld fans. It wasn't too long ago when fans were wondering when television's most celebrated sitcom would see a proper DVD release and in the past 12 months we've been generously treated to the first six seasons. Since season four was the turning point in the show, seasons five and six simply follow in its footsteps, raising the extremely high bar with each episode. Rifling through both sets' episodes is like handpicking all the favourites. Season five begins with "The Mango" ("I think it moved!") and follows through with "The Marine Biologist," finishing with one of the series' greatest moments: "The Opposite," where George famously turns a new leaf by ignoring his instincts. This show was untouchable. Season six, on the other hand, features "The Big Salad," "The Switch," (featuring the greatest advice for anyone facing a ménage a trois) and its two best episodes: "The Soup" and "The Jimmy." Having all of this top-notch comedy accessible is tremendous; however, fans want and get more out of these collections. Again, there are more "Notes About Nothing" (handy episode-specific production notes running onscreen during the viewing), "In the Vault" (deleted scenes), "Yada, Yada, Yada" (selected commentaries) and "Master of His Domain" (new Seinfeld stand-up footage) features. Six cooks up a new feature in "Sein-Imation": imagined scenes of the show animated with a unique, lo-fi scribble design. Best of all, however, are the two featurettes that each give in-depth analyses of certain facets of the show. "Jason + Larry = George" (season five) deconstructs the character of "George" and explains how the inimitable individual came to be via discussions with co-creator Larry David (George's inspiration), Jason Alexander and all of the cast and crew. Most interesting is hearing Alexander confess that he began the role as a Woody Allen parody and slowly worked his way towards a Larry David mimic. "Running with the Egg" (season six) is a complete breakdown of how they made an episode, from gathering "original, unique and fresh" ideas to casting the right guest stars to shooting short, quick scenes with numerous sets to going down the street after the taping to grab a bite at the local deli, conveniently named Jerry's. Once again, the studios have gotten it right with these DVDs and it's impossible to find anything missing from these two separate volumes. Don't forget to buy the limited edition version though — it comes with a handwritten script and the definitive Seinfeld fashion item: a collectible puffy shirt! (Sony)