One of the greatest things about the holiday season is that it can finally give TV lovers a chance to relax and catch up on some of their favorite shows that they may have missed throughout the year. We live in the era of “Peak TV,” which means that it’s incredibly difficult to keep up with every series on television. That’s why we’re so eager to binge some of the more recent shows as well as a few TV classics.
Now, if you have Hulu, Netflix, or even Amazon Prime, you may question the need to keep buying DVDs and Blu-rays. And while it’s true that streaming services can be less expensive than many of these box sets, your favorite shows could also be pulled at any time that the streaming rights expire. When you have a DVD or a Blu-ray set, it’s yours to binge whenever you like. Personally, I’m still trying to find five extra days so I can watch every episode of The Wire again.
Related: The 2016 Movie Gift Guide | 10 Exciting Presents for Film Lovers
Admittedly, we’re also kind of taken by the more elaborate box set designs, and the temptation to upgrade to Blu-ray was just too impossible to resist for a few of these shows. The good news is that DVDs are still an option, if you don’t feel like committing to Blu-Ray. And this month also happens to be a great time to pick up these sets for a considerably reduced price compared to the rest of the year.
As with any list, this is a subjective selection of shows that we feel represent the best the medium has to offer in this holiday season. Your opinions may differ, but that’s fine! If you feel that we’ve left off a show that belongs on this list, feel free to let us know in the comment section below! We’re always looking for the next great TV show to binge, so we’ll take your recomendations to heart.
2016 TV Gift Guide | The Best DVD & Blu-ray Sets for TV Fans
Editor’s Note: All items subject to availability, all prices subject to change.
Header Photo Credit: BBC
2016 Gift Guide | The Best DVD & Blu-ray Box Sets for TV Fans
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The Night Of (Blu-Ray)
Price: $32.73 (Buy It Now)
At this point, no one should be surprised when HBO delivers a TV show or a miniseries that's a cut above the rest of the television landscape. And yet The Night Of arrived with very little fanfare and it blew us away. This would have been James Gandolfini's comeback project at HBO before his untimely death, but John Turturro stepped into the leading role of John Stone, he didn't miss a beat.
The series followed the story of Stone and his client, Nasir "Naz" Khan (Riz Ahmed), a man accused of a horrific crime that even he wasn't sure about. It's not clear if HBO plans to continue the series, but as a standalone TV story, it's one of the best of the year.
Photo: HBO
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Fear The Walking Dead Season 2 (Blu-ray)
Price: $34.99 (Buy It Now)
This fall, there's definitely been some discontent among fans of The Walking Dead regarding the current storyline. But if you've had your fill of Negan and you still want to get your Walking Dead fix on, Fear The Walking Dead really started to come into its own during the second season. Because the characters on this show have no comic book counterparts, they can take darker turns than the leads of the original series...and not everyone has to make it out alive.
If you click on the link above, you'll be able to pre-order this set from Amazon for almost 50% off, which is a pretty good deal.
Photo: Anchor Bay Entertainment/AMC
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Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery (Blu-ray)
Price: $79.40 (Buy It Now)
There have always been cult TV shows, but there's only one Twin Peaks. David Lynch and Mark Frost's bizarre mystery drama was a national sensation for about a season-and-a-half before flaming out and getting canceled by ABC in the early '90s. But it's getting a revival next year on Showtime, and this is the best way to get up to speed if you've ever wondered what it's all about!
Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery not only has the full two season run, it's also got the feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, which is both a sequel and a prequel to the series!
Photo: Paramount
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Doctor Who: Monsters Gift Set (DVD)
Price: $18.79 (Buy It Now)
As much as we'd like to see a mega boxset of all nine seasons of the Doctor Who revival, this year's boxset definitely has its charms. The Doctor Who: Monsters Gift Set features 11 episodes from the first eight seasons that primarily deal with the Daleks and the Cybermen.
As a bonus, it also comes with two classic Doctor Who serials featuring Tom Baker and Peter Davison's Doctors, as well as a replica of the Tenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver. It's enough to make you yell "Allons-y!"
Photo: BBC America
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Rick & Morty Seasons 1 & 2 (Blu-ray)
Season 1 Price: $14.99 (Buy It Now)
Season 2 Price: $15.49 (Buy It Now)
It's fitting to place Rick & Morty after Doctor Who, since it liberally borrows from that series, Back to the Future, and other famous sci-fi shows and movies before blending it all together in a truly hilarious and insane way.
Through two seasons Rick & Morty has become one of the most inventive shows on television and it's almost always funny. If you've been missing Futurama, then Rick & Morty is the series for you.
Photo: Warner Bros.
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Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Price: $89.51 (Buy It Now)
This prohibition era drama was criminally overlooked when it was on HBO for five seasons. But The Sopranos veteran, Terence Winter created a series that not only lived up its reputation, but gave HBO an unforgettable crime drama.
Boardwalk Empire cast Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson, but the supporting turns by Michael Shannon, Stephen Graham, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jack Huston, and Gretchen Mol stole the show. This series was a classic, and it deserves to find a new audience.
Photo: HBO
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Game of Thrones: The Complete Seasons 1 To 6
Price: $179.99 (Buy It Now)
We're all going to have to wait until 2018 for a complete series box set of Game of Thrones. But in the meantime, this is the best way to get all six seasons to date in one package.
Before this series, very few television shows even attempted to explore this kind of fantasy. It wasn't a widely respected genre, but Game of Thrones is changing that. This is the reigning Emmy winner for best drama two years in a row, and it deserves that praise and more.
This show is so popular that it's harder and harder to find people who haven't seen it. But for the lucky soon-t0-be-a-fan in your life, this is a great gift.
Photo: HBO
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The Sopranos: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Price: $71.99 (Buy It Now)
The Sopranos kicked off the modern era of television by challenging viewers to root for the bad guy. James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano had a lot of likable qualities, but the show rarely missed a chance to show off his more monsterous side as well. And yet viewers still loved Tony as he struggled with anxiety and attempted to keep both his family and his mob family intact.
This was a series with fantastic writing and amazing performances. Even in the era of Peak TV, very few shows come close to this level of quality. The Sopranos belongs in the homes of anyone who loves great television.
Photo: HBO
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The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Price: $83.99 (Buy It Now)
It's been nearly sixty years since Rod Serling unleased The Twilight Zone on unsuspecting TV viewers in 1959...and it still holds up as one of the all-time great shows. The twist endings on this series are so famous that they're still being referenced in pop culture today!
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series is getting a Blu-ray upgrade this month, but if you prefer DVDs, there's a new box set for that as well.
Photo: Paramount
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The Wire: The Complete Series (Blu-Ray
Price: $65.99 (Buy It Now)
Yes, there are a lot of HBO series on this list. But don't worry, as soon as they stop making the best shows on TV, we'll stop covering them.
Even among HBO series, The Wire is very much its own beast, with a methodical pace that demanded attention from the viewer. This show was David Simon's masterpiece, as he built a multilayered story about crime in Baltimore that brought together an eclectic and sometimes bizarre group of characters. But the drama was top notch. The Wire has often named as one of the best TV series of all-time, and it lives up to the hype.
Photo: HBO
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Star Trek: The Original Series: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Price: $55.31 (Buy It Now)
If you like your Captain Kirk served with a side of the Beastie Boys and The Fast and The Furious, then the original Star Trek may not be for you. But if you love the classic franchise at all, it's hard to go wrong with the O.G. versions of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the Enterprise. It's all gloriously cheesy, with occassionally thought provoking ideas that were revelutionary for the time.
The updated special effects in these episodes are nice, but it would have been even better if the set featured the original FX from the '60s as well. But for the price, it's a pretty good deal.
Photo: Paramount
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Star Trek The Next Generation (Blu-ray)
Price: $111.99 (Buy It Now)
Much like Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation's special effects got a much needed upgrade for the Blu-ray release. And the modern effects suit actually this series without interfering with its appeal.
For nearly 30 years, TNG has been considered to be one of the best Star Trek shows. The first two seasons are a bit lackluster, but the third season and beyond paved the way for everything Star Trek that came after it. If you've been considering an upgrade for your TNG collection, make it so!
Photo: Paramount
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The Walking Dead: Season 6 Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Price: $149.99 (Buy It Now)
We have to admit that we love these annual limited edition sets of The Walking Dead. Every year, they come with a zombie replica inspired by the show. This time, it's the truck walker from season 6.
If you don't want to spend quite that much, you can get the standard Blu-ray here, or the DVD here. But however you choose to buy this show, we still highly recommend this season.
Photo: Anchor Bay Entertainment/AMC
