I went to amazon.com to update my wish list tonight. I’m an avid collector of Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU. Apparently, though, the studio that releases these programs has decided to do their seasons out of order. They released SVU season 1, and are now releasing season 5.

Wha’ th’ pluck?

The same applies to Law and Order: seasons 1 and 2 are out, so they’re leaping ahead to season 14.

How many people out there want to watch a series completely out of order? I don’t. Apparently, people commenting on amazon.com are just as baffled by this turn of events. This doesn’t make very good marketing sense, really.

On the other hand, CSI is releasing straight through — seasons 1, 2, and 3 are out, with season 4 on the way. I’m also monitoring The Simpsons, Stargate SG-1, and M.A.S.H. for now — I don’t intend to add any more series than that to my colelction until I’m up to date with the current ones.

In the future, I may start picking up Futurama and Homicide: Life on the Street, and — perhaps in another life — The Twilight Zone. I definitely want to get my hands on Quantum Leap — I loved that series.

Why collect TV series on DVD? Well, I believe that the best TV series are like works of art — to be enjoyed constantly. Thus, I’m hoping to collect my own favorites so that I can enjoy them just as I used to. Perhaps I’m just looking for a childhood that’s gone. Who knows.