DVD WATCH: 'thirtysomething' due Aug. 25

Fans of ABC's '80s emo-fest thirtysomething will finally see the pre-midlife crisis drama hit DVD this Aug. 25, thanks to those fine retroheads at Shout! Factory.

Series creators Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz loved what the Shout folks did in resurrecting their '90s coming-of-age drama My So-Called Life -- topping an earlier bare bones set with last year's loving, bonus-laden box -- so they're taking their 1987 career-maker there, too.

The Los Angeles Times has the entire scoop here, blaming the long DVD holdup on the usual suspect: music clearances. Of course, Shout! Factory is something of a master at jumping those hurdles, earlier bringing us such gems as Freaks and Geeks and SCTV. (If only Fox would let them take over WKRP in Cincinnati and release it right.)

The thirtysomething creators promise DVD interviews and audio commentaries to flesh out the thinking -- and feeling -- behind a drama that seemed to speak for a generation grown out of '60s upheaval and hippiedom, into the me-first greed-is-good '80s, not knowing which way to turn. Baby boomers Ken Olin, Timothy Busfield, Patricia Wettig and company didn't so much have the usual drama adventures as they did talk about their feeeelings, about values, parenthood, business pressures, relationships, religion conflicts, et al. That introspective openness touched the hearts of many viewers, while driving others nuts with what they perceived as whining by folks who actually had it pretty good.

Consider it TV's first group therapy session: Your feelings might be self-centered, but they're your feelings and you're entitled to have them.

What will subsequent generations make of all this? We get our emo in reality shows now.