This week, we begin with two distinguished television series:

BBC Worldwide Americas has assembled five of its polished productions of Charles Dickens’ novels into one handsome boxed set ($119.98). The five miniseries, on 10 discs, include three new titles (Little Dorrit, The Old Curiosity Shop and Oliver Twist), one fairly recent (Bleak House) and one from 1999 (Great Expectations). The set also features many new bonus supplements.

PBS only recently aired Little Dorrit, the complex and winding tale of two families — one whose debts put them into bankruptcy and debtors prison, a situation personally familiar to Dickens, and one whose fortune was built on lies and deceit. The program stars the great Tom Courtenay, Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings) and Matthew Macfadyen (Darcy in the recent Pride & Prejudice). Also included is a 45-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

Charlotte Rampling makes an eerily creepy Miss Havisham, and Ioan Gruffudd plays Pip, the ambitious boy with Great Expectations. Also included is a 30-minute segment examining London in the early 1800s and Dickens’ novel.

A stellar ensemble cast features Timothy Spall, Sophie Okonedo, Edward Fox, Anna Massey and young William Miller as Oliver in Dickens’ second novel, Oliver Twist (176 minutes). The included “A new Twist on Oliver Twist” is a comprehensive “making of” featurette.

Dickens’ masterpiece Bleak House receives a deserved royal treatment in this expansive, 510-minute version starring Gillian Anderson, who sticks around to add commentary and be interviewed along with her castmates.

Dickens’ hugely popular and much-loved The Old Curiosity Shop is a tragic, often rambling tale ending with one of the most celebrated — and most lampooned — death scenes in all of literature: that of little Nell.

All five productions sport excellent casts, were helmed by first-rate directors and were supplied scripts from writers capable of transferring Dickens’ wit, colorful characters and convoluted plots. After watching this outstanding collection, one might be tempted to ask, “Please sir, can I have some more?”

*

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin This brilliant BBC series from the 1970s, seen locally on KERA, never gained the wide popularity of Fawlty Towers or Monty Python. Rampant black humor was the calling card of Reginald Perrin, played by British character actor Leonard Rossiter, a frequent Stanley Kubrick collaborator. Rarely has an actor so fit a role, as the manically intense Rossiter reveled in tossing out Perrin’s bromides at the world. Reggie continuously struggled to make sense of his dead-end job at Sunshine Desserts, his passionless marriage and his angst-ridden personality, filled with universal nihilism. Quick, biting wit and clever writing combine with Rossiter’s perfect delivery for a constantly entertaining diatribe on the world’s inadequacies.

Not rated, 630 minutes.

Twenty-one episodes from three seasons come on four discs, along with the hourlong featurette “The Very Best of Leonard Rossiter” and the brief “Reginald Perrin Christmas Special Sketch.”

A revival of the series returns this fall, with Martin Clunes slated to play Reggie.

*

Taken (***) This wild action-thriller stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a former CIA agent who calls on his formidable skills when his teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped in Europe. He jumps into action — after bickering with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen), he travels to Paris and quickly ferrets out international sex slave traders. The pieces fall into place far too easily, as Mills peels back unseemly Parisian layers not seen on normal vacation tours (such as a brutal torture sequence). But the action never stops as he leaves behind a numbing body count in his violent search.

Rated R, 91 minutes.

The DVD, also on Blu-ray, offers both widescreen and full-screen versions, along with two commentaries, a 19-minute “making of” featurette, a brief look at the film’s premiere and an interesting six-minute picture-in-picture segment comparing a sequence with its actual filming.

*

Enchanted April (****) This three-time Oscar-nominated 1992 delight finally makes its American DVD debut. In an admittedly slight story, a cast of talented actors, who at the time verged on greater prominence, inhabit their roles with spark and subtle wit. Set in the 1930s, two proper but not prosperous married Englishwomen (Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson) escape their London doldrums by renting a villa on the Italian Riviera, which they must share with two upper-class ladies (Joan Plowright and Polly Walker). What seems routine turns strangely compelling with the arrival of the husbands (Jim Broadbent and Alfred Molina). The script, Plowright and the gorgeous costumes earned Oscar nominations.

Rated PG, 95 minutes.

The DVD holds commentary from director Mike Newell and producer Ann Scott.

*

Hearts of War (***) Treacly but strangely compelling romance set during World War II sees Rachel (Nina Dobrev), a young Polish woman and daughter of a rabbi, accidentally falling in love with Oscar (Jonathan Scarfe), a German officer. Germany has invaded Poland and just begun relocating and eliminating Jews, while the two lovers separate but get thrown together in forced circumstances. Touching interludes mix with several action sequences to keep the pace steady. With Daryl Hannah and Roy Scheider.

Rated R, 96 minutes.

*

Voyage of the Damned (***1/2) This heartbreaking, shameful 1976 drama tells the infamous story of the MS St. Louis, a German ship filled with Jewish refugees who left Hamburg in 1939 headed to the perceived safe haven of Havana.

Upon arrival, the Cuban government reneged on a pledge, sending the ship to the U.S., where landing also was denied.

The ship returned to Germany, and more than 600 of the 937 passengers eventually died in the Holocaust.

The three-time Oscar-nominated film interweaves the stories of several passengers, the crew, German officers and Cuban policymakers, all played by one of the most prestigious casts ever assembled: Orson Welles, Max von Sydow, Jose Ferrer, Wendy Hiller, Malcolm McDowell, Faye Dunaway, Jonathan Pryce, Lynne Frederick, Oscar-nominated Lee Grant and many others.

Rated PG, 158 minutes.

*

U2: A Rock Crusade (**1/2) The famous Irish rock group comes under the microscope of the lens in this brief, breezy documentary featuring plenty of footage of Bono and his mates.

Not rated, 48 minutes.

The DVD includes featurettes “The Heart of the Music,” “U.K. Hall of Fame” and “Time Magazine Person of the Year.”

*

The Walt Disney studios unleash an avalanche of six family-friendly titles, including some classics from their vaults:

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Big Splash Four episodes of Playhouse Disney’s show aimed at 2- to 5-year-olds arrive along with a new game. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy go fishing, surf, play, attend a party and more.

Rated TV-Y, 96 minutes.

*

Imagination Movers: Warehouse Mouse Edition In five episodes of Playhouse Disney’s new musically themed series, regulars Rich, Dave, Smitty and Scott help teach kids problem-solving skills.

Rated TV-Y, 110 minutes.

*

Double Feature: Dadnapped and Hatching Pete Two Disney Channel original movies come on one disc with bonus features. Emily Osment stars in Dadnapped, helping her spy novelist father (George Newbern) when he is nabbed by some of his young admirers. Next, Jason Dolley plays the title character in Pete, about a reserved teen who opens up only when he wears the chicken outfit of his school’s mascot.

Rated TV-G, 173 minutes.

*

And the excellent new series “Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films” continues with three new titles, all unrated:

Vol. 4: The Tortoise and the Hare (65 minutes) — Four bonus cartoons come with the Oscar-winning title fable about Max Hare racing against Toby Tortoise.

Vol. 5: Wind in the Willows (78 minutes) — The famous storybook comes to life with Thaddeus Toad landing in trouble. With four additional cartoons, including the classics “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Wise Little Hen” and “The Grasshopper and the Ant.”

Vol. 6: The Reluctant Dragon (62 minutes) — A brave boy confronts a frightening dragon only to find a sweet, docile creature. With three bonus cartoons, including “Goliath II,” “Ferdinand the Bull” and “Johnny Appleseed.”

*

More TV series arrive on DVD:

Mythbusters — Collection 4 In 12 episodes on two discs from the fifth and sixth seasons of this popular Discovery Channel series, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage take delight in debunking the myths behind everyday folklore, as well as baseless Internet rumors. Not rated, 514 minutes.

*

Crusoe — The Complete Series Philip Winchester stars as Robinson Crusoe in this 12-episode TV series on three discs. Although based on Daniel Defoe’s novel and set in the 17th century, the recent NBC series took a modern slant toward the relationship between Crusoe and Friday (Tongai Arnold Chirisa). With Sam Neill, Mark Dexter and Mia Maestro. Not rated, 552 minutes. The set also includes a paperback copy of the novel.

*

Also available: S. Darko, Love Takes Wing.

BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.