Fingersmith (2005)
The BBC adaptation of the Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith that was a big hit in the U.K. in March has finally been released on DVD in the U.S. Like Tipping the Velvet, Waters's other famous book that was adapted for television, Fingersmith is a tale of lesbian love, loss, and betrayal in Victorian England (read our full review of the mini-series here).

The DVD oddly presents the three-one hour episodes as two hour-and-half episodes, and the extras on the DVD are fairly slim: character profiles and episode summaries provided in text; a photo gallery; and a small "Behind the Scenes" featurette with interviews from the cast, producer Sally Head, and Sarah Waters.

One Tree Hill Season 2 (2004-2005)
Latina girl-next-door Anna (Daniella Alonso) moves in and comes out (as bisexual) over the course of the second season of One Tree Hill, the WB teen drama. Anna's storyline offers one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking explorations of bisexuality we've seen on network TV--it represents one of the first times the concept of bisexuality has been explicitly embraced on network TV--but talking is pretty much what it's limited to. Anna's ex-girlfriend makes a brief appearance in one episode towards the end, but other than that, Anna's journey is really about coming out to herself and the straight people around her.

There are lots of extras with this six-disc set, including several commentaries by creator Mark Schwann, and a featurette on the season's new characters which includes some info on Anna (with lots of talk about her "journey," but little overt mention of her bisexuality). Die-hard OTH fans will find much of this interesting, but more casual watchers probably won't.

Read interviews with Alonso and Schwann, and commentary on Anna's storyline / Buy

Round Trip (2003)
This Iraeli film (in Hebrew with English subtitles) was a big hit at the 2003 Israeli Film Festival, and is available on DVD for the first time this month (Sep 20). The story of an Israeli bus driver who falls for the nanny she hires to take care of her kids, Round Trip is well-acted and has a gritty documentary feel to it that works in its favor.

While Round Trip is a good film, and undoubtedly ground-breaking in Israel for its honest and frank portrayal of a lesbian relationship, its ending feels a little too abrupt, and contrived.

Also, the prominent subplot of the estranged husband who threatens a custody battle when he discovers the relationship is likely to feel somewhat tired to U.S. viewers who have been bombarded with this plot device ad nauseam in the last ten years. But it's at least worth renting.

The only extras on the DVD are the film's trailer. Buy

Hex Season 1 (2005)
With the release of Hex on September 19th, AfterEllen.com readers in the U.K. (or readers in the U.S. with region-free DVD players) can see all five episodes of the excellent first season (or series, as they call seasons across the pond) on DVD, just in time for the debut of the second season in the U.K on September 18th.

A modern gothic tale set at a British boarding school, Hex revolves around teen outcast Cassie (Christina Cole) and her lesbian sidekick Thelma (Jemima Rooper) as they uncover the school's dark past, and Cassie's magical heritage, while dealing with the usual teen romance and popularity issues along the way.