DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Relief for `Sopranos' withdrawal

It's no secret that TV shows serve as comfort food for people, which explains the huge popularity of box sets for series - even some fairly dubious ones that, in my opinion, only a mother or a showrunner could love.

No one watches ``The Sopranos'' as comfort food, unless you're the real-life equivalent of Don Corleone or a wise guy from ``GoodFellas.'' You simply watch it because it's really good TV, albeit violent and nasty. Season five of the acclaimed HBO mob series is out today, and it finds the estranged Tony and Carmela Soprano (James Gandolfini and Edie Falco) trying to reconcile their marriage (although Carmela does have a fling) and features the addition of Tony's cousin, another Tony (Blundetto, played by Steve Buscemi), who has his own agenda.

Tony No. 1 is still seeing his shrink, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), and is under pressure from both the feds and rival crime boss Johnny ``Sack'' Sacramoni (Vincent Curatola). As usual, the acting is great. Michael Imperioli and Drea de Matteo won Emmys for their supporting roles.

Fans of the show will have to make due with season five for now. Season six, which recently started filming, won't air until next March. Earlier this year, A&E bought rerun rights at a reported $2.5 million per episode, but those won't air until the fall of 2006. Recently, creator David Chase hinted that given an offer he couldn't refuse, ``The Sopranos'' could come back for a seventh season. The sixth season, Chase said at a recent forum about the show, ``is going to be about money, materialism, buying stuff, consumerism. The U.S. is a great country, but everything is up for sale.''

The DVD set on four discs includes all 13 episodes plus commentary by Buscemi, Peter Bogdanovich, Mike Figgis and Rodrigo Garcia.

When it premiered in 1993, ``Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman'' had a freshness to it. It wasn't just that it had reimagined the Man of Steel story in a hipper way, turning it into more of a romance/action adventure. It also got a boost from a couple of likable stars in Dean Cain as Clark Kent and Teri Hatcher as intrepid reporter Lois Lane.

A decade later, Hatcher is still wowing fans - this time in ``Desperate Housewives'' - and for good reason. The talented actress has a flair for combining kookiness and pathos. I saw an extreme example of that in her performance on stage as Sally Bowles in a production of ``Cabaret'' - the gritty version by Sam Mendes (``American Beauty'') - and she nailed it, proving to be a lot more than a pretty face.

Cain, a college football star who got a pro tryout with the Buffalo Bills before an injury cut his gridiron career short, is likable as Superman, which is rather a thankless role anyway, since the Man of Steel spends most of his time hiding who he really is. But the show put that to good use as part of his romantic troubles, playing off of the idea that we always keep secrets from the ones we love. Like all high-concept network shows, ``Lois & Clark'' was goofy at times (goofier as the years went on), often trying to be too many things at once - call it ratings schizophrenia. But the show was fun, especially in the first season, which is out on DVD.

And having the fine veteran actor Lane Smith, who has played everyone from Richard Nixon in the television version of ``The Final Days'' to revered sportswriter Grantland Rice in ``The Legend of Bagger Vance,'' as Perry White, the irascible editor of the Daily Planet, helped give the show character.

Some other shows worth checking out: Steve McQueen in his bounty-hunter series ``Wanted: Dead or Alive,'' which includes a six-part documentary. For the conspiracy-minded, there's ``The X-Files Mythology: Abduction,'' which has commentary by the show's creator, Chris Carter, and part of his documentary explaining the meaning of the series. ``Stargate Atlantis: Rising,'' is the original movie spinoff from the long-running sci-fi series. ``Atlantis'' had its moments in the first season but still seems to be looking for its own identity.

Other shows are listed below:

``The Sopranos - The Complete Fifth Season'' (HB0; $99.90)

``Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete First Season'' (Warner; $59.98) includes 21 episodes on six discs, plus the two-hour pilot and a documentary featuring new interviews with Cain and Hatcher.

``The X-Files Mythology: Abduction'' (Fox; $39.98) includes 16 episodes on four discs.

``Stargate Atlantis: Rising'' (MGM; $25.98) includes a featurette and a peek at the upcoming season two.

``Frasier - The Complete Fifth Season'' (Paramount; $38.99)

``The Dead Zone - The Complete Third Season'' (Lions Gate; $34.98)

``Newlyweds - Nick & Jessica: The Complete Second and Third Seasons'' (Paramount; $38.99)

``Wonder Woman - The Complete Third Season'' (Warner; $34.98)

``MacGyver - The Complete Second Season'' (Paramount; $38.99)

``Rescue Me - The Complete First Season'' (Columbia; $49.95)

``Father of the Pride - The Complete Series'' (Universal; $29.99)

``Dragnet 1967 - Season 1'' (Universal; $39.98)

``Quincy M.E. - Seasons 1 & 2'' (Universal; $39.98)

`The Agronomist,' `Ordinary Heroes,' `The Machinist,' `Beyond the Sea,' `Seed of Chucky,' `D.E.B.S.,' `Be Cool'

It's a weird mix of feature films out today for the first time on DVD, but Jonathan Demme's ``The Agronomist'' is a superb documentary on the life and death of Haitian journalist and radio personality Jean Dominique.

Until he was slain in 2000, Dominique, through his radio station and other endeavors, kept the spirit of freedom alive in Haiti for more than 30 years. Demme never overplays it as he lets us get to know this extraordinary man through interviews and newsreel footage.

In ``Imaginary Heroes,'' Sigourney Weaver plays a 40-ish frustrated housewife trapped in a dead-end marriage who has two teenage sons, Matt (Kip Pardue) and Tim (Emile Hirsch), and a daughter, Penny (Michelle Williams), who has left for college. Her husband, Ben (Jeff Daniels), feels no less trapped. The family is jolted from its life of discontent when Matt, a star athlete, kills himself. While the acting is good, the story's series of downers, besides seeming too contrived, never creates a coherent picture.

Christian Bale lost some 60 pounds for ``The Machinist,'' so he bares little resemblance to the hard body in the upcoming ``Batman Begins.'' But Bale displays a dark intensity in this psychological horror tale that serves him well in the new story of the superhero.

Whatever Kevin Spacey expected to accomplish in the Bobby Darin biopic ``Beyond the Sea'' is beyond me. Obviously too old for the role - Darin died at age 37 and Spacey is in his 40s - the tricks, including having Darin as a little boy observing his grown-up self - don't work. Too bad, but at least the singer's recordings will live on.

Sure, watching John Travolta and Uma Thurman hit the dance floor again in ``Be Cool'' is cool, but little else is in F. Gary Gray's film. The two had tripped the light fantastic before in ``Pulp Fiction.'' In ``Be Cool,'' Travolta reprises the role he played in 1995's ``Get Shorty,'' Chili Palmer, the former mobster who, through amusing machinations, moved into the film industry. Thurman plays Edie, a record producer, as Chili tries to make it in the music biz. The most amusing thing about the film is, surprisingly, The Rock - yeah, that's right, The Rock, who plays a gay Samoan bodyguard, Elliot. Elliot may have muscles but what he really wants to do is sing, covering Loretta Lynn's ``You Ain't Woman Enough'' with a funny honesty. But everything else is scattershot.

``Seed of Chucky,'' which brings back the killer doll for another slaying spree, is only for ... OK, I'm not sure who it's for, but you know who you are.

``D.E.B.S.'' is a spy spoof with more poof than oomph, even though it relies on a lot of young women in provocative, teasing dress. Strictly meant to be eye candy.

``The Agronomist'' (New Line; $27.95)

``Imaginary Heroes'' (Columbia; $26.96)

``The Machinist'' (Paramount; $29.99)

``Beyond the Sea'' (Lions Gate; $27.98)

``Be Cool'' (MGM; $27.98)

``Seed of Chucky'' (Universal; $29.98)

``D.E.B.S.'' (Columbia; $24.96)

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) GANDOLFINI

Theo Wargo/WireImage.com

(2) TRAVOLTA, THURMAN