New on DVD: Old-school gay meets nerd-school

Whether you're looking for something pre-Stonewall or post–Comic-Con, it's a good week for new DVDs.

Read on!

The TV work of two 20th century queer icons makes a splash this week. First off, there's The Judy Garland Show: Volume One, the first in a 13-volume DVD set that will feature all 26 episodes of the legendary singer's acclaimed but short-lived TV series. Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli pops up to sing a handful of standards, and the two of them recreate the famous "Couple of Swells" number from Easter Parade. (If that last part means nothing to you, find your over-45 gay mentor and have him talk you through it.)

Also new this week is Liberace: Greatest Songs, and while Wladziu Valentino Liberace has become something of a pop culture punch line these days, his 1950s TV show once drew 30 million viewers at a time, making him one of the best-known entertainers in America. Looking back at his work, there's no denying his virtuoso skill on the keyboard, although your brain keeps bouncing between Holy balls, this is kitschy and Seriously? He was in the closet? How clueless could the world be?

Beaming to the present and beyond, three sci-fi TV favorites hit the New Releases shelf this week as well. The much-discussed-on-this-site Torchwood: Children of Earth surfaces on DVD just in time to allow you to get in on the ongoing controversy while it's still hot, assuming you missed it on cable. And if you're a Torchwood fan, odds are good you'll also want to check out Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 and Dollhouse: Season One while you're at it.

And if none of the above floats your boat, might I suggest the new Criterion release of Repulsion, featuring a very frank commentary track with star Catherine Deneuve and director Roman Polanski talking about this still-creepy horror classic? Or perhaps The Terry Jones Collection, in which the Monty Python vet and Chaucer scholar walks us through the wonder and the weirdness of ancient Rome and Egypt.