The Year's Best TV on DVD

HEROES
SEASON 1
A time-traveling überdork (Masi Oka), an indestructible cheerleader (Hayden Panettierre) and an emo boy who can fly (Milo Ventimiglia) are fighting to save the world. Sure, it's a straight-up X-Men rip-off, but it's a damn good one. And don't buy the argument that Heroes is the left-wing answer to 24. Not so. It's simply the most successful translation yet of the comic-book form to the small screen. And the DVD packs real power in image and sound. No hint here of the problems now besetting Season 2. What you get in this seven-disc package are the cliffhangers, deftly interwoven plots and ensemble performances (Oka won a much-deserved Emmy nomination) that helped make Season 1 a weekly addiction.

Click here to check out Peter Travers' picks for the top twenty-five DVDs of the year, from Knocked Up to Blade Runner.