One more point I'd like to throw out for discussion. Do you prefer to pull out a specific episode to watch on your dvd sets or would you just watch that specific random episode if that show is currently in broadcast? I find that with watching dvds I miss the spontaneity of the episode being broadcast. The anticipation during the opening credits of "I wonder what this episode is going to be about?". I find the dvds most useful for watching shows not currently on that you haven't see in years.
For me it depends on the show. For example, I will usually just pull out a DVD at random out of the
Wild, Wild West collection, because the episodes are generally not dependent on each other. For a show that is more of a continuous storyline, like
Brisco County Jr., I am more inclined to watch them in specific order (although I may go for a while between DVDs.)
Menus on DVDs for TV shows can drive me nuts. The Stargate SG-1 DVD menus are probably the worst in my collection. Season 1 isn't
too bad; at least when the episode is finished it goes straight back to the episode list, but starting with season 2 they changed that. For most of the DVDs, the initial menu offers either the episode list or the "special features;" choosing an episode from the list takes you to another menu where you can (a) play the episode, (b) view special features for that episode, or (c) go back to the menu list. When the episode is finished it goes back to that episode's menu, where you have to scroll down and press the "back to episodes" option, choose the next episode and hit select, then choose play and hit select. So you have to go through at least five button clicks to get to the next episode; there isn't a "Play All" on any of the DVDs.
Now Stargate Atlantis did just the opposite; they kept their menus nice and simple, and the menu on all of the DVDs defaults to the "Play All" option. I can start up a DVD and not have to touch the control again for three or four hours.
A plague on all makers of TV show DVDs that
don't include a "Play All" option on their main menus!