i would have to go with band of brothers or rome s1 or rome s2. i guess the super duper ultra premium lotr sets looked pretty nice, but too pricey for me(talking about the versions that has statues)

Special Packaging means a waste of money.

^ i think the content that you find on most of the "special packaging" sets ultimately makes the price worthwhile, such as with the superman collector's tin. the tin was cool, but the content of the set validated the price of the set, for me at least.

in the case of HBO series, which the OP mentioned, i do think they tend to have some of the nicest designed packaging for individual seasons (rome, sopranos) and series sets (sex and the city, six feet under) with a few exceptions (curb your enthusiasm). but i don't think that justified the pricing for their sets, especially when a season set of the sopranos retails for $100/12 or 13 episodes. i suppose one of their reasons might be to entice people to just subscribe to the channel ("why not pay just $12 a month to watch these shows? then you won't have to spend so much for the season sets!")

as per the original question posed in the thread... i can't think off the top of my head of the most impressive packaging... that'd take some time to decide, but i CAN say that some of my favorite packaging for tv shows was the original "thick" packs from FOX series (buffy, x-files, 24, etc.) i liked the large, fold-out digipaks because they often had really nice artwork/pictures with good inserts...they were actually substantial sets. the new slimcase sets are a HUGE DOWNGRADE for me. yes, they do save more space on my dvd shelves, but they're just too thrown-together for me.

yes, the content on the discs is most important, but packaging shouldn't be taken out of consideration. that's why several people i know tend to just buy the episodes of their favorite shows on itunes. the cost in the long run can be more expensive (not always the case if you buy their season pass) but you get the shows right away after broadcast, and don't need to wait a whole year when the only incentive is just a few pieces of plastic.

I can't really think of an answer right now but i can definitely tell you that the answer is NOT Alien Quadrilogy.

Seems like the UK gets a lot of great packaging. I liked the Alien Head, Predator Head, I, Robot Head and the James Bond Attache Case to name a few. As for the U.S., I love the Steelbooks. Plus, Sex and the City complete series has classy packaging and very well organized on the inside. If you're an anime fan, Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig LE's came with a tin for each of the 7 2-disc sets and volume 1 came with a tin box to hold all of the other tins!

I've always liked the Pearl Harbor 4 disc Vista Series release

Call me a bore but to me the best packaging means easiest access to the DVDs.

Band of Brothers and the Ultimate Superman collection look nice but they're a pain in the butt to get to the discs. I need a long empty table to unfold all that packaging.

Give me something along the lines of Panic Room: 3-disc or M*A*S*H season sets.

Now with that said, Pearl Harbor 4-disc set is pretty neat.

i know some people are saying that these take up too much space and whatnot, but this would actually be a good way to store dvds. i want one.

edit sorry for the gigantic image, but its worth looking at.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The limited yearbook edition of "Freaks and Geeks" takes the cake for Region 1 packaging.

I agree, I like how BOB looks, but I hate having to get a disc out, same with Fraggle Rock and Rome.

No matter what a set looks like, I always prefer those with thinpacks, preferably doubles, to house the actual DVD's (ala Futurama, Stargate, etc..)

BOB was the best for me, until I saw that there is a bunch of the tins now for those $15 documentaries. It took away the special ness of it.

OK i totally agree here, when i was taking the discs out of the rome s2 disc holders it took me maybe 2 minutes to take out a disc because of the disc holder seems like it holds the discs in so tight, and i want to be sure not to snap the disc in half. The slim packs are much better for access.

Abso-f'n-lutely!!!

im hoping, and it looks it to be, from the exploded view of the deluxe BLADERUNNER set, that there is a 5 disc foldover digipack, and what looks to be a slipcase for it, which I can put on my shelf and the rest in the closet.
The extra doo-dads are cool, but the packaging is worthless to me.

I'd like to find the Tremors Legacy....if anyone has one or knows where I can find one :P

I liked the Infernal Affairs tin.