There are quite a few new TV-on-DVD & Blu-ray releases this week, including several I’d like to add to my own collection. Here are some of this week’s highlights. (We’re also running a big giveaway for one of this week’s titles, Femme Fatales!) :

Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 3 (Blu-ray & DVD)

The Great War is over and a long-awaited engagement is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate for a third thrilling season. The returning cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and a host of others, joined by Shirley MacLaine, who plays Martha Levinson, the very American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham (McGovern). Years earlier, Cora rescued Downton Abbey with her riches by marrying Robert, Earl of Grantham (Bonneville). Now, new world and old world are about to clash as Cora’s mother locks horns with Robert’s redoubtable mother, Lady Violet, played by Maggie Smith.

Last season closed with the reluctant heir to Downton, Matthew Crawley (Stevens), recovered from his war wounds and ready to tie the knot with the eldest of Lord and Lady Grantham’s daughters, Lady Mary (Dockery). Meanwhile, Mary’s youngest sister, Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay), eloped to Ireland with the political-minded chauffeur, Branson (Allen Leech), and is expecting a child.

A tantalizing glimpse ahead: Lovebird servants Anna (Froggat) and Bates (Coyle) face new ordeals in their star-crossed marriage. Downton’s impeccable butler, Carson (Carter), breaks in a new footman, who happens to be the nephew of the scheming lady’s maid O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran). Following Matthew and Mary’s engagement, Robert sticks to his duty to maintain Downton more firmly than ever – even as other great houses are crippled psychologically and financially in the wake of World War I.

The DVD and Blu-ray feature the original U.K. edition of Season 3, more than two hours of bonus video and will be available a little less than three weeks prior to the airing of the finale on PBS. “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 3” airs over seven Sundays on PBS beginning on January 6, 2013. The run time is approximately 8.75 hours on three discs. The DVD and Blu-ray sets contain all of Season 3, including the finale which will air in the U.K. on Christmas Day.

Misfits: Series 2 (DVD)

The Misfits are back on DVD for another season of Sex, Drugs, and Superpowers! Fueled with its usual irreverent humor, the second season of Misfits has an array of new characters crashing into the Misfits’ world, and is even bigger, bolder and brasher than the last. The second series kicks off where the first ended, with Alisha, Simon, Nathan, Kelly and Curtis still on community service and still trying to adapt to their new lives.

But what’s new is the mysterious, masked figure watching over them from afar… someone who looks remarkably like a real-life superhero, and who seems to know everything about them. Is he protecting them? Or is he a threat? As the gang tries to piece together the clues to discover the true identity of their new stalker, it soon becomes apparent that the masked man harbors a secret that could change their world forever…

The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley: The Complete Series

Martin Short’s immortal creation Ed Grimley, the nicest nerd to ever slick up a top knot, began life during Short’s Second City days and followed him onto Saturday Night Live. As Short’s comedy career took off, so too did the fame of his creation, and Ed eventually “graduated” from late night to early morning. Short provides the voice for Ed, and is joined by a coterie of comedy compatriots including fellow SCTV alums Joe Flaherty, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, venerated voice vet Frank Welker, and the titanically talented Jonathan Winters. Ed lives with his goldfish – Moby – and a clever rat named Sheldon while sharing screen time with the science-teaching team of the Amazing Gustav Brothers and spooky storytelling time with Count Floyd. This 2-Disc Collection presents all 13 of Ed’s amazing animated antic adventures – Totally Decent! Tuna casserole awaits!

Pan Am – The Complete Series (DVD)

The Jet Age just hit full swing and leading the way are Pan Am’s elite stewardesses who can navigate any culture and overcome any challenge. From New York City to the edge of the world, they will discover romance, natural dangers and exotic intrigue in a lush recreation of 1963 that will take your breath away. Christina Ricci (Penelope, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) leads an accomplished cast including Karine Vanasse (Midnight in Paris), Kelli Garner (The Aviator), Margot Robbie (Neighbours), Mike Vogel (The Help) and Michael Mosley (The Proposal). Join the journey in all 14 exciting episodes collected in this complete edition of the original series “Pan Am.”

Bonus featurettes include: Becoming a Pan Am Stewardess, The Berlin Set, The Life of a Stewardess, The Plane Set, Interview with Former Pan Am Stewardess & Executive Producer Nancy Hult Ganis

Femme Fatales: The Complete First Season (DVD)

Looks can kill in season one of FEMME FATALES, the hit Cinemax anthology series about powerful, sexy and dangerous women inspired by and styled in the tradition of pulp stories, film noir and graphic novels. This January, SEASON ONE finally arrives on DVD along with over two hours of never-before-seen bonus materials, courtesy of Entertainment One.

The half-hour program from creators Mark A. Altman (“Castle,” “Necessary Roughness”) and Steve Kriozere (“NCIS,” “Castle”) features stories inspired by such noir classics as Double Indemnity and Pulp Fiction, and classic thriller TV series like The Twilight Zone. In each stand-alone episode, women find extraordinary ways of coping with their problems, channeling their survival instincts and bringing out their inner guile. Every episode is introduced by a mysterious and enigmatic host Lilith, played by Tanit Phoenix (Death Race 2, Lost Boys 3), and features different casts and storylines, some of which are intertwined as part of the series overall mythology.

Episodes include “Behind Locked Doors (Part 1&2)” in which Hollywood starlet Lacey Rivers (Kit Wileese) finds herself in the big house and is forced to use her acting skills to survive; a gorgeous, hard-working nurse discovers her inner strength during a hostage situation in “Bad Medicine”; “Til’ Death Do Us Part,” finds Rachel (Jordan Madley) waking up to a dead male stripper six hours before her wedding, and “Speed Date,” which crosses After Hours and La Femme Nikita in an entertaining mashup featuring Isaiah Mustafa (The Old Spice Guy, Horrible Bosses) and Reggie Hayes (TV’s “Girlfriends”). Other stars stopping in after hours include legendary Oscar-nominated director Paul Mazursky, Adam Goldberg (Saving Private Ryan, “Entourage”), Richard Kind (Argo, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Robert Lasardo (“Nip/Tuck,” Death Race), Charlie O’Connell (“Crossing Jordan”), Dean Haglund (“The X-Files,” “The Lone Gunmen”) and many more!

BONUS PROGRAMMING:
Audio Commentary Tracks for every episode with the Stars and Creators
Never-Before-Seen Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Featurette: Creating Femme Fatales
Shooting Femme Fatales: The Making of Season One
Making Love: Anatomy of a Sex Scene
San Diego Comic Con 2011 Panel
“The White Flower” B&W Director’s Cut w/audio commentary
Blooper Reel
Isolated Music Tracks
Photo Gallery & More…