'Desperate Housewives: Season Two'

The series itself only warrants two-and-a-half stars in its sophomore year, but the well-edited extras on the new boxed set, which is what we usually concentrate on in these reviews, are first-rate.

Stand-out segments include interviews with series creator Marc Cherry and his mom, the inspiration for the show and two of the characters; Cherry's favorite scenes and an 8-minute featurette featuring actresses who played TV moms in the past discussing "Housewives" (Joanne Kerns of "Growing Pains," Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family, Michael Learned of "The Waltons").

A 13-minute documentary on the making of the show chronicles production of season two's nun fight episode. And the boxed set ($59.99, Buena Vista Home Entertainment) also includes two storylines cut from episodes and replaced, including one with guest star Bob Newhart. The set offers fascinating behind-the-scenes minutiae for true TV buffs.

-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

'Epitafios: The Complete First Season'

A stylishly shot thriller from Argentina, this 13-episode series (in Spanish, with English subtitles) crackles with intensity as a cop chases after a revenge-minded serial killer with a personal agenda.

The only extra is a useless 10-minute "Secrets Behind the Scenes" featurette, but fans of intense drama who missed this show when it aired on HBO last year may want to give "Epitafios" -- Spanish for "epitaphs" -- a look on DVD ($59.98, HBO Video).