Comedy from Sarah Silverman highlights DVD releases

Sarah Silverman and her dog, Duck, who appeared with her as Doug the Dog on Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program."

By Tirdad Derakhshani, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: June 16, 2012

It's difficult to describe The Sarah Silverman Program for the uninitiated. Cocreated by and starring the brilliant comic, the surreal, oddball sitcom ran for three seasons, from 2007-10, on Comedy Central.

A day-in-the-life story similar to Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm, the show starred Silverman as an emotionally stunted, immature collection of personality disorders who lives a carefree, unemployed life thanks to her housemate and sister, Laura (played by Sarah's real-life sister, Laura Silverman), who provides for the inept Sarah.

Sarah, like Larry David's character, has no idea how her behavior affects others, which leads her into cringe-worthy misadventures. In the opening episode, Sarah drives into a children's sandbox after downing a massive dose of cough syrup. But there's a happy end: Laura, who is in the passenger's seat, gets to meet the love of her life, Jay (Jay Johnston). If Sarah is capable of love, it's only for her dog, Doug the Dog (played by her real-life dog, Duck), whom she rescued from the trash.

All 32 episodes of this comedy are available in the seven-disc boxed set The Sarah Silverman Program: The Complete Series, due Tuesday from Shout! Factory. ( www.shoutfactory.com/; $49.97; not rated)

Other DVDs of interest

In Darkness. Master auteur Agnieszka Holland ( Europa, Europa) explores Poland's darkest hour under Germany's Nazi regime in this drama from Sony Pictures about a pair of opportunistic sewer workers (Robert Wieckiewicz and Krzysztof Skonieczny) in the Polish city of Lvov who hide Jewish refugees in the sewer system for a steep price. ( www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/; $30.99 DVD; $35.99 Blu-ray; rated R)

We Need to Talk About Kevin. Is there such a thing as evil? Are we born evil? Or is it instilled in us by our environment? Scottish director Lynne Ramsay ( Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar) explores these questions in this powerful, disturbing drama about a couple (Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly) who slowly realize that their beloved son Kevin might just be evil to the core. The film, from Oscilloscope Laboratories, follows Kevin from birth to his 18th birthday using three child actors. This is devastating material. ( www.oscilloscope.net/; $29.99 DVD; $34.99 Blu-ray; rated R)

Scandal: The Complete First Season. Big-screen sensation Kerry Washington ( Ray, The Last King of Scotland) lights up the tube in Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes' well-written, fast-moving legal drama as former senior White House staffer Olivia Pope, a Washington fixer who uses her considerable skills and her legal staff to "make problems go away," usually for the rich and famous. The show, renewed by ABC for a second season, paints Pope as a fixer with a conscience who speaks truth to power - even if it be the president of the United States (Tony Goldwyn). The series can be uneven, but Washington makes it worth watching. ( http://abc.go.com/; $29.99; not rated)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Guy Ritchie's first Holmes adaptation wasn't entirely successful. His follow-up, which brings back Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes, is no classic, but it's a barrel of fun. The Warner Bros. release is a private-detective-flavored roller-coaster ride. ( www.wbshop.com/; $28.98 DVD; $35.99 Blu-ray/DVD Combo; rated PG-13)

And don't forget

. . .

Denzel Washington plays an amoral CIA officer turned spy for hire in Safe House from Universal Pictures, which has the traitor school CIA newbie Ryan Reynolds in the ways of the ninja. . . . The Mark Wahlberg-produced Hollywood comedy ends its wonderful run with Entourage: The Complete Eighth and Final Season from HBO. . . . Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars stories yield one of the best sci-fi fantasy pics in years with Disney's John Carter. . . . Bryan Cranston burns up the screen as a teacher turned drug lord in Breaking Bad: The Complete Fourth Season. . . . Tyler Perry costars with Gabrielle Union in Tyler Perry's Good Deeds from Lionsgate, a moving drama about a wealthy businessman turned do-gooder.

Contact staff writer Tirdad Derakhshani at 215-854-2736 or tirdad@phillynews.com.