King Of Queens (Series, The) (DVD)

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With so much bad reality TV these days it's nice to see a well-written sitcom that keeps it real instead of going for over-the-top characters and situations. "The King of Queens" features Kevin James as hefty Doug Hefferman, an IPS (not UPS) delivery man who's married to a slender and sexy woman with a career as a legal secretary. Carrie (Leah Remini) and Doug make a perfectly engaging TV couple, and the humor exploits basic human nature—though this season there are some wild but still believable plot lines.

Jerry Stiller returns as the sometimes senile, sometimes lucid, but always cantankerous father-in-law who has to live in Doug's basement after he accidentally burns down his own house. Victor Williams gets lots of air time as Deacon, Doug's best friend from work, though his wife, Kelly, gets phased out as their marriage sours and this season she takes the kids and leaves him. Patton Oswalt and Larry Romano also seem to get more scenes this season as Doug's other "loser" friends, Spence (the "Spencinator") and Richie, as does Doug's cousin, Danny (Gary Valentine).

Fans of the show will have their own favorites, but those from this season that feel absolutely classic are the opener, "Walk Man," where to avoid hearing Arthur's war stories the Heffernans hire a dog walker to pose as a college student with WWII research interests; "Sight Gag," where Doug's eagerness to please Carrie AND save a buck causes her to lose her eyesight; "Ticker Treat," where Arthur's phobias come back to haunt Doug as he ends up putting his father-in-law in the hospital; "Food Fight," where Carrie gets upset about the time Doug spends with Spence's chef-girlfriend, Becky; and "Lush Life," where Doug and Arthur actually have a common purpose—to keep Carrie liquored up so she'll lighten up on both of them. The funniest episodes seem to generate an energy from the situations that the actors can really let their characters' hair down and run with. But all of the episodes are entertaining.

Here's the rundown on the 25, which are on three discs:

1) "Walk Man"—A bittersweet episode which finds Doug and Carrie hiring a dog walker to take Arthur for daily walks so they can try to have a baby.

2) "Sight Gag"—One of the funniest episodes of the season finds Doug determined to get Carrie a gift she doesn't hate, and one she can't return. He settles on laser eye surgery, but has a discount surgeon perform the operation, with disastrous results.

3) "Mean Streak"—Entertaining episode has Doug going for a company delivery record and hoping to get his face on a plaque.

4) "Friender Bender"—A funny episode that zeroes in on the reality of couples interaction finds Doug rear-ending his friends' car because Deacon was trying to get him to look inside the door of a strip club.

5) "No Retreat"—Carrie tries to get Doug to help her get ahead, but he goes a bit overboard and lies that he's climbed Mt. Everest and lost a big toe in the process.

6) "Ticker Treat"—Funny episode has Doug scaring Arthur into the hospital, then all but finishing the job when he inadvertently does it again.

7) "Lyin' Hearted"—One of the few episodes that doesn't play well alone. You'd have to know why Arthur's in the hospital to appreciate this one about Carrie finding out that her father withheld information from her about a love interest's call and a college acceptance.

8) "Life Sentence"—Arthur returns from the hospital and Carrie and Doug install a monitor in the basement that unexpectedly turns into Arthur TV. Funny show.

9) "Veiled Threat"—When Doug learns Carrie married him because she thought they met as kids, he doesn't know how to tell her it was really his cousin she was thinking about. Another funny show.

10) "Oxy Moron"—Doug is in the doghouse after their plane makes a rough landing and Carrie is none too happy that he hogged the oxygen mask for himself instead of sharing.