- (Sally calls Larry)
Sally: They're mine.
Larry: What?
Sally: The DVDs on the list, the seventeen DVDs, what they've got in common is me. They're all the DVDs I own. The Easter Egg was intended for me.
Larry: You've only got seventeen DVDs?
(Sally rolls her eyes)
So it got me thinking: out of my own collection, if I only could keep 17 DVDs, which would they be?
I'm sure when Steve Moffat wrote the episode, he meant seventeen individual discs, but given that there are many multi-disc sets out there (Disney's Two-Disc Platinum Editions, Lord of the Rings' Four-Disc Extended Editions, etc.), I decided to fudge up the definition of "DVD" to mean an individual release that is bought as one item. So a two-disc Special Edition of Ryan's Daughter counts as one DVD, just as a five-disc "Cary Grant Collection" would count as one DVD. A season set for for a television show counts as one DVD, but owning multiple season sets count as multiple DVDs.
Anyway, thinking about this, I tried to go through my collection and figure out what would my 17 DVDs be. I enjoy most of my DVDs, but there are always a select few that do get more spinned on the electronic carousel more often than others. To pick only 17 would be rather tough! It's mighty hard to pick favourites, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what other people would consider to be their 17 as well. And since this is UD, you're allowed to do two lists: a Disney list and a Non-Disney list. Or if you wanna be bold and daring, only one list that is both Disney and non-Disney!
Just remember: YOU CAN ONLY PICK 17!
Here's mine...it was tough! I wasn't sure if I wanted an equal representation of everything (like, half Disney and half non-Disney, and within Disney half animated and half live action), or just an all-around favourites list. And I totally forgot to include TV shows too, so when I read some replies, I had to redo my list again! Anyway, here's my 17 DVDs. The first three is Favourite Non-Disney movie, Favourite Disney movie, and Favourite TV Series, then the rest are just chronological order.
1. The Ten Commandments (1956): 50th Anniversary Collection (3 discs) - it's quite obvious that this would be one of the seventeen. It's my absolute favourite film of all time (well, since I was 5. I don't know what my favourite film was pre-5) and to not include it would be such a travesty that I'd probably be too upset to even watch the other sixteen DVDs.
2. Aladdin (1992): Platinum Edition (2 discs) - I usually flipflop between this and Beauty and the Beast when it comes to my favourite DAC, but since Aladdin has a better DVD than Beauty and the Beast, it's earned a higher slot on my 17 DVDs list. I was actually watching it a few weeks ago and realised that it was probably the eighth or ninth time that I've sat down and watched the majority of both discs all in one sitting.
3. "I Love Lucy" (1951 to 1960): The Complete Series (34 discs) - Steve Moffat would say I'm cheating as this is a 34-disc set. But it's one singular release, so it counts in my definition!
"I Love Lucy" is easily in my top ten favourite television shows of all time, and one that has a lot more rewatchability than other shows. And unfortunately, since there is no formal "The Complete Series" release for "The Golden Girls" I couldn't include it on the 17 DVDs list. And to pick a favourite season from that show would be heartbreaking. So I'll sadly just leave it out of the list entirely. 
4. Bringing Up Baby (1938 ): Two-Disc Special Edition (2 discs) - this is one of my favourite comedies and it was a toss-up between this and Clue when it came to which would be on the list. While Clue is highly quotable and a lot of laughs, I always enjoy Bringing Up Baby even more. I mean, the plot is just so ridiculous and David's predicament and Susan's antics gets worse and worse. And I always
whenever Susan starts chanting "I was born on the side of a hill".5. Dumbo (1941): 60th Anniversary Edition (1 disc) - it's such an effective story and one of Disney's simplest films, it succeeds because of its straightforward storytelling. I can't wait for the upcoming two-disc DVD, as it will get the treatment it deserves. And honestly, everyone is a Dumbo. We all have a quirk or a trait or a physical feature that we don't particularly like about ourselves. But once we learn to accept it and use it to our advantage, we become all the better for it.
6. Random Harvest (1942) (1 disc) - one of the best tearjerkers ever made, and it's not so ridiculously sappy like a Douglas Sirk film. The chemistry between Greer Garson and Ronald Colman is electrifying, and I just love watching this movie. When it first came out in 2005, I stalled on getting it, and then could never find it in my local Barnes & Nobles or FYEs or Sam Goodys, and I always regretted it. I finally got it this past summer during our California vacation, and although I had to pay the 8.5% sales tax, it was so worth it.
7. Laura (1944): Fox Film Noir 1 (1 disc) - my two favourite female actors of all time are Gene Tierney and Audrey Hepburn, and I knew I had to include one film from each of them, or, if I didn't have room, just one film between the two of them. So it was a decision between Laura, my favourite Gene Tierney film, and Sabrina, my favourite Audrey Hepburn film. And for anyone whose seen both, they can see why I picked Laura. It's just...god, you just fall in love with Gene Tierney when you watch this. It's THAT good.
8. The Band Wagon (1953): Two-Disc Special Edition (2 discs) - this is my favourite movie musical and I really don't know what else to say. I love the songs, I love the characters, I love the story, and I love love love love love Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse as they are "Dancing in the Dark". I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's the most sensual dance sequence ever put to celluloid. You can just feel the intensity and the grace and the heat between them. At first glance, it doesn't seem so, but within the context of the film, and within the context of their mindsets as they do it, it's just mesmerizing.
9. Swiss Family Robinson (1960): Vault Disney Collection (2 discs) - this is one of my favourite Disney movies and probably my favourite live-action Disney DVD because it's got such excellent supplements. Alas, Disney underpromoted the Vault Disney Collection and so only a few movies got such an excellent treatment. This was actually the very first Disney DVD I ever bought, I remember buying it in The Disney Store about a month after it came out. It cost $19.99, which I thought was *so much* at the time!
Nowadays I can buy a $19.99 DVD without batting an eyelash, though I rarely do as I can find better deals.10. Somewhere in Time (1980): Collector's Edition (1 disc) - this is another of my early DVDs, and I used a $10 gift card (Christmas gift) from my cousin to buy this at Best Buy for only $4.99. I remember first watching the movie on Turner Classic Movies, and I fell in love with the movie and especially its music, that I was itchin' to buy it as soon as I could. A couple days later, we went to Best Buy, and I found it there and bought it immediately!
11. "Doctor Who": Earthshock (1982) (1 disc) - It was really really hard to try and pick only one Doctor Who story to include. "Earthshock" is my favourite from the classic series and "The Girl in the Fireplace" is my favourite from the new series, so I had to decide if I wanted a Fifth Doctor story or a Tenth Doctor story. Or, if I wanted to have more "Doctor Who", I could pick "The Key to Time" as that would also give me the entire season of Mary Tamm as Romana! But I only had the barebones 2002 DVD set for that, and I like special features. In the end, I picked "Earthshock" because if I could only have one, I'd rather have Earthshock as I enjoy it more. Plus, if I picked "The Girl in the Fireplace", I'd need to pick all of Series Two which meant I'd have to have "Love & Monsters" in there. *shudders*
12. Beauty and the Beast (1991): Platinum Edition (2 discs) - I was torn between including this or The Rocketeer, as this was the final DVD I added to the list. But truthfully, as we all know, the DVD for The Rocketeer sucks. Even if it is my favourite Disney live-action movie, I actually hate that the DVD looks the way it looks. And if I only had 17 DVDs, I'd pick Beauty and the Beast over it, simply because it's a better DVD. Plus, come on, it's Beauty and the Beast. It deserves to be here anyway.
13. "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" - Season One (1993 to 1994) (6 discs) - this is my favourite season from the series and the one that gets the most replay. Dean Cain was MY Superman, and even though years later I can watch this and realize "Wow, some of these effects are kinda lousy, even for 1990s standards", I absolutely love the show. It's probably the only Superman television show that I'll ever truly enjoy, as I wasn't even that keen on the animated series. I picked up "Superboy" on DVD because it was cheap, and it's a rather crappy show, but has camp value. And I dislike "Smallville" as I still cannot see Tom Welling as an effective Clark Kent. He never fit the part, IMO.
14. Paris, Je T'aime (2006): Two-Disc Limited Collector's Edition (s discs) - this was a total blindbuy when I got it, as all I knew of the film was a brief review from "Entertainment Weekly". But the premise sounded very interesting (18 short films about love, all set in different areas of Paris), so I blindbought it at MovieStop. And I am SO glad that I did. It's easily become one of my favourite films ever. Most of the short films are excellent, and the ones that aren't...well, they go by fast enough that you're already watching the next one!
My favourite would have to be the last one ("14e arrondissement" by Alexander Payne), featuring a middle-aged woman on vacation in Paris by herself, and she's reading a composition she wrote for her French class about her trip. It's just so...well, so normal, that it is better than some of the best short films in the movie (like Gus Van Sant's "Le Marais" and Tom Tykwer's "Faubourg Saint-Denis"). Plus, it's got a Rocketeer connection as the woman is played by Margo Martindale!15. Meet the Robinsons (2007) (1 disc) - for the longest time on UD, I was one of the biggest supporters of Chicken Little, and while I still am, it's no longer my favourite from Disney's CGI films. Meet the Robinsons is, because I just love the story and characters. I really don't know what else to say and I'm nearing the end of this list and am getting rather tired, lol. But I think that of Disney's 3 (or 4 if you count Dinosaur) CGI Animated Classics, this one is the best.
16. "Merlin": The Complete Series One (2008 ) (6 discs) - technically I don't "own" it yet, but it is available in Region 2, and I *do* have my own homemade DVDs of the first series, so I'm putting it on my list. "Merlin" has easily become one of my favourite television shows currently on the air. It's fun, it's fantasy, it's adventure, it's comedy. It's not some gritty forensics series, it's not some cynical drama. It's a lighthearted show that the whole family can enjoy. I can't wait for an official Region 1 DVD release!
17. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (2008 ) (1 disc) - this was easily my favourite film of 2008 and one that I know I'll keep watching years from now. It's rare to find fun movies like this, which blend comedy and romance and drama so effectively, and with such a talented group of actors. Miss Pettigrew's Cinderella transformation from dowdy old woman to a demure lady is just amazing, and it's such an uplifting message, that one day can be *that* day that forever changes your life for the better. If you haven't seen this yet, you should. You'll feel happier after watching this movie.
Oh wow...there are 68 discs in the 17 DVDs on my list.
albert
I have well over 1000 DVDs now, and picking a mere seventeen would be an impossible task I'm sure. Will have a think about it... 
