No PAL Of Mine

So, in honor of the TV Guy's birthday today, my brother and sister-in-law got me a pretty cool gift: an Amazon.com gift certificate.

Immediately, I set my mind upon which TV DVD set of discs I wanted to buy myself. There was one TV series in particular that I've wanted for some time now, "Blake's 7," a 1970s era BBC sci-fi show.

However, I was thwarted in my plans. "Blake's 7" only exists as a Zone 2 DVD, meaning it will only play on DVD players in Europe, not in the U.S. This is done to prevent piracy of DVDs, the theory being that you couldn't steal a bunch of DVDs from a U.S. warehouse and sell them on the streets of Macao, because they wouldn't work.

It's a great theory IF YOU MADE THE SAME DVDs AVAILABLE IN ALL ZONES. It's not the first time I've run into this problem.

I'd settle for "Blake's 7" on VHS, and even found a set on E-Bay, but it only exists in the British PAL video format.

PAL stands for Phase Altering Line, which is technically quite different from the analog NTSC standard (National Television System(s) Committee) used in the North America and parts of South America. The two systems developed independently in the 1960s, each with their own perks and disadvantages, but suffice it to say, one format won't work in the other's VCR.

Pre-DVD, I tried to search for a lot of British shows, but the PAL format was always a problem. Sometimes, the shows would come out on NTSC-friendly video cassettes, sometimes not so much. Anyway, the two systems developed not because of piracy worries so much as much because of a stubborn clinging to analog broadcast styles of the day. (Incidentally, most of the world uses PAL, in case you were curious.)

So much for the history lesson. I'm getting the 40th anniversary set of "The Prisoner," another series I couldn't buy for a long time because it was PAL-only. It's good that I waited, because the DVD set is loaded with all sorts of extras.

24 BIZARRO FUN FACT OF THE WEEK: Hmm, a lot to choose from. We could pick the weird genetics of the Bauer family, as in how their dad is 6-foot-7 and the brothers are short; we could pick how the National Security Advisor is allowed to resign AN HOUR after a nuclear bomb is detonated in the U.S.

This week's winner is how the FBI expected a respectable businessman who is doing spywork for them to be able to pick someone's pocket for a cell phone, get the directory off it, then put it back without this suspected terrorist knowing about it. Then, not having the guy's back when said gang of suspected terrorists beats the guy down for five minutes or so before the guards come out and break it up.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) is now down to a digestible hour, followed by the first new "House" (Fox, 9 p.m.) in three weeks.