Have you ever stopped and wondered why your favorite shows go off the air and are replaced with another reality television show or a new installment of CSI (CSI: NC, maybe?). Well, finally the complete series of two great shows have been released on DVD and these sets are worth spending that summer cash.

From Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Nip/Tuck,” “Popular,” is a “dramedy” about the never-ending battle between good and evil… sort of. The series follows the lives of two opposing cliques in a typical high school setting in Santa Monica. Due to the cruel politics of high school, the groups were destined to hate each other. To make matters worse the leaders of the groups, popular Brooke (“The Skulls'” Leslie Bibb) and outcast Sam (Carly Pope) are now moving in together when their single parents decide to get engaged.

Although this may seem like your typical one-hour drama, the show was so outlandish that it threw stereotypes right into the viewer’s face. Each character was used to represent the whole population of “that girl” or “that guy” who was present in every high school. The characters are not to be taken at face value, but as an “every-person” who can be recognized or related to. From Lilly’s struggle with her sexuality, Ms. Sir Bobbi Glasses’ unconfirmed gender, and Josh’s pressure to be strictly a jock and nothing more to Mary Cherry’s back-stabbing tactics to be the Queen Bee, “Popular” mocks today’s adolescents while showing them what they have become.

“Popular” lasted only two seasons but has just been released in two separate DVD sets. Originally airing on The WB, the show was a hit, but was ultimately doomed when moved to a Friday nighttime slot. While the DVD set does come complete with commentaries and a special “Which ‘Popular’ Character Are You” quiz, it still leaves the fans with a few unanswered questions at the end of the second season. However, there has been talk of having a reunion with all cast members to answer all of the cliffhangers, including: Sara Rue, Ron Lester, Bryce Johnson and possibly Delta Burke who played Mary Cherry’s “mama” Cherry Cherry.

The next show to be released was nominated for countless of awards, including Best Series, Best Youth Cast, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Writing, Outstanding Achievement in Drama, and Program of the Year. “Freaks and Geeks” actually won an Emmy Award in 2000 for Outstanding Cast for a Drama Series, yet was ultimately given the ax by Fox and was limited to just 18 episodes as opposed to the 22 episode standard. Like “Popular” the show was not solely drama or comedy; it had the equal mix of both.

The series, whose tagline read “Everything you remember from high school… that you choose to forget,” followed the lives of the outcasts in a Michigan public school in the 1980s. The cast starred a group of nobodies who grew into some of today’s most celebrated young stars. Some starring names that rolled past the credits include: Linda Cardellini (“Scooby-Doo”), James Franco (“Spider-Man”), Busy Philipps (“Dawson’s Creek”), Lizzy Caplan (“Mean Girls”), Sarah Hagan, Jason Schwartzman, Ron Lester and even a little-known actor named Ben Stiller.

From the opening moments of the pilot episode, viewers know that the show was going to be hysterical and edgy. The first scene focuses on a typical “90210” moment with the football player and cheerleader declaring their love to each other on the bleachers. After the nauseating romance scene the camera cranes down underneath the bleachers where all the “freaks” hang out and that is where the real story begins.

The release of the DVD set took a lot of effort from die-hard fans because investors were afraid no one would buy the series. However, it was finally released in 2004 and contains some laugh out loud commentaries and comes in an elaborate box set.

Both “Popular” and “Freaks and Geeks” are quality shows that were ahead of their time and went unappreciated, but finally this TV on DVD trend has produced something worthwhile. So put down “Punk’d: The Complete First Season” and add “Freaks” and “Popular” to your collection. Don’t miss out, again.