If you love audio/visual media and youve got a sizable disposable income to hand, then chances are youve spent a fair amount of dough on sexy, extravagant special edition DVDs and Blu-Ray box sets. Gone are the days of VHS when a copy of Blue Velvet stuffed inside a chunky cardboard box with Kyle Machlachlans naked torso on it was the height of decadent packaging; now, when we buy our movies, we get a free mask and can pretend were Batman. Yes, decadent disc packaging has become the norm since the rise of Blu-ray. Possibly due to the rise of obsessive collecting among pop culture enthusiasts, but also equally likely due to the fears of studios that the home video market will collapse at any moment and be swallowed up by the hellmouth of VOD services if they dont make as much money possible from every disc. Some of these sets are indeed prohibitively expensive, but you wont hear many complaints from the fans; theres always a standard edition available for a far more reasonable price, but many are still willing to shell out for some of the most gorgeously unnecessary ornaments around. So pretty and sought after are some of these, in fact, that we thought we should compile the best of the bunch for your perusal and awed gasps. Dont expect any bargains, though with great memorabilia comes great debt...
