Dogfights: The Complete Season One

This History Channel series sports a unique gimmick: rather than just presenting typical recreations of classic air battles stitched together from snippets of grainy stock shots, Dogfights uses CGI flight simulations to put viewers in the cockpit during these epic aerial engagements (the computer-generated sequences are combined with historical footage and newly filmed interviews with surviving participants). Air-war enthusiasts are sure to enjoy this boxed set, but even those with only a passing interest will be transfixed by the dramatic recreations of action in the skies over Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, North Korea, Vietnam, and even the Middle East. Compiling all 11 uniformly engaging episodes from the 2006-07 first season on four discs, DVD extras include the feature-length pilot “Greatest Air Battles,” and a behind-the-scenes featurette on “The Planes.” Recommended. (E. Hulse)