The gift-box treatment has been applied to a startling number of TV shows recently.

The best candidates for gift-giving are housed in sturdy and stylish cases.

But, sometimes, the buyer has no choice but to succumb to flimsy cardboard sets. More important than packaging, however, is matching a series with the recipient.

Someone eager to explore Freaks & Geeks is not necessarily going to get all warm and fuzzy about I Dream of Jeannie. So we present a range of potential gifts for last-minute shopping:

The Wire: The Complete Series

The five seasons (to date) of David Simon's highly acclaimed HBO series are assembled in one simple, elegant box with 23 discs. Because of the complexity of the storylines and the quality of the writing and acting, The Wire demands repeat viewings. DVD is the perfect vehicle.

Deadwood: The Complete Series

Spread over 19 discs and housed in a mega-cool box with glossy photos, the finest (if most profane) western series ever gets star billing. Kudos to Canadian actress Molly Parker, who shows both her mettle and sublime talent as part of a sterling ensemble.

Get Smart: The Complete Series

This one is the real deal for Maxwell Smart (Don Adams), Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) & their friends and foes. The 25-disc set has all 138 original episodes -- not that odious revival series. A practical point: The five season sets are jammed too tightly into the telephone booth box.

Freaks & Geeks Yearbook Edition: The Complete Series

Judd Apatow owns half of Hollywood now. For Freaks & Geeks, the cultish TV series about life at William McKinley High School, he and creator Paul Feig fought to keep it on the air long just enough to turn it into a classic. The eight-disc, 80-page Yearbook Edition brings it back with a brilliant flourish. The presentation is ingenious and fresh content on two bonus discs is welcome. Hurrah!

I Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Series

In a goofy Sixties sitcom flashback, we bring you Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman et al doing their suburban magic act. Fans are disappointed with the packaging, however. It looks good at a glance but, once it spills out, you realize how cheesy and awkward it is.

Star Trek The Original Series: Remastered Editions

Now bound together for Christmas (but also available separately), the three original seasons return in new and improved editions. Don't bother if you are a purist because, like Lucas with Star Wars, digital diddlers fooled around with sound and especially picture, with new special effects. For the adventurous, however, it looks great and obviously better. The only stupid thing Paramount did is refuse to update the first season box, which is a combo pack with the outmoded HD DVD format. It plays just fine in the standard DVD option, but why be too lazy to eliminate the HD?

That '70s Show: The Complete Series Stash Box

On 32 discs, the eight seasons of this entertaining, if silly, sitcom are housed in an appealing sturdy box with a flip lip. It comes with a booklet and a screenplay of episode 200.

Charmed: The Complete Series

This girl-friendly, coming-of-age, hocus-pocus drama arrives on 49 discs. They are housed in a bulging folder that looks great on the outside. But many boxes have manufacturing problems, with glue leaking onto the discs. So you must check out the quality of your set, examining each disc, before gifting it to a Charmed fan.

The Outer Limits: The Complete Original Series

This seven-disc set resuscitates a favourite show from my youth. While the 1960s effects are dated, the storylines are still innovative because sci-fi is treated seriously with good writing.

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series

The five seasons of the green guy's series are assembled in one stylish box and every disc has its own plastic case, preventing the damage that occurs in those cardboard sleeve boxes that have taken over most of the DVD gift boxes. Let's have more of that.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series

The four seasons of this classic spy series are handsomely housed in an attache case, along with two new discs of bonus materials. So your dossier includes everything you need on Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin.