TV

"John Adams" (HBO, $60)

Based on David McCullough's biography of the second president, this beautifully made HBO miniseries covers politics, but it also shows the thought and courage that went into the founding of our country. Paul Giamatti plays Adams with a stiff Yankee demeanor. He had neither the fire of his cousin Samuel (Danny Huston) nor the erudition of rival Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), but Adams was respected and politically savvy. "John Adams" takes pains to remind us that life then was difficult, even for those better off. A scene of his adult daughter (Sarah Polley) getting a mastectomy (without antiseptic or anesthesia) is not only heartbreaking, but shocking. Extras include a conversation with McCullough and a making-of featurette.

ROB LOWMAN, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

"Mission: Impossible: The Fourth TV Season" (Paramount. $50)

Tom Cruise, who made a movie franchise out of this phenomenal TV show, was 4 when it premiered in 1966. A product of television's spy craze of the time, the series was, by its fourth season, solidly established as a cultural phenomenon. Everyone knew the Lalo Schifrin theme music, and every comedy series had parodied the show's winning formula (elite government agents undertake dangerous and complicated secret missions, using gadgetry and disguises). This set -- 26 episodes on seven discs -- offers the first "Mission: Impossible" season with Leonard Nimoy. The show's other mainstays are all on hand: Peter Graves as the team leader, Greg Morris as the electronics wiz and Peter Lupus as the muscleman. Among the highlights of this set is the only three-part tale in the series, "The Falcon," an intricate tall tale about a general's attempt to usurp the throne of a European kingdom. There are no significant extras.

WALTER ADDIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Army Wives: The Complete First Season" (Disney, $40)

The home-front drama features Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell among a group of military spouses on an Army base. The first 13 episodes come in a three-disc set with deleted scenes, commentary and behind-the-scenes segments.

DAVID GERMAIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS