The Book of Daniel: Complete Series, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, $ 29. 98

Hell hath no fury like a fervent believer who believes his religion is somehow being messed with.

Witness the recent outrage of Muslims over cartoons allegedly degrading the prophet. Or the huge to-do over rumors that the 1977 TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth showed Jesus Christ in a leisure suit.

(NBC executives screened the Franco Zeffirelli-directed opus for clergymen of various religions and denominations, all of whom emerged to reassure the faithful that the miniseries did not, in fact, depict Jesus Christ in a leisure suit. )

NBC’s The Book of Daniel doesn’t show Jesus Christ in a leisure suit, either. But it did raise a lot of controversy because it involves conversations between Jesus (played by Garret Dillahunt ) and an Episcopal priest named Daniel Webster (Aidan Quinn ).

Many NBC affiliates (including Little Rock’s KARK-TV, Channel 4 ) refused to air the show at all when it debuted in January (it did get picked up by the local then-WB affiliate ) and it was quickly canceled. (The just-released completeseries DVD set includes all eight episodes, some of which never got on the air, on two discs. )

Daniel has a pew-ful of troubles, many of which involve his three kids - daughter Grace (Alison Pill ) who has been selling pot to pay for computer animation programs; gay son Peter (Christian Campbell ), under pressure from Daniel’s father, a ramrod-straight bishop (James Rebhorn ), to find a nice girl and settle down; and adopted Chinese son (Ivan Shaw ), who is blazing a sexual trail across the New York suburbs.

Then there’s Daniel’s rather prissy wife, Judith (Susanna Thompson ); his pushy superior (Ellen Burstyn ); his small painkiller habit; his unstable sister-inlaw; and his brother-in-law, who has absconded with about $ 3 million from the church building fund.

Daniel, when he thinks he’s unable to entirely cope on his own, asks himself, “What would Jesus do ?” And Jesus answers, in contemporary language. Sometimes he laughs and even smirks a little. He doesn’t solve Daniel’s problems, but does help him coordinate them a little better. The series, however, never really pins down whether or not Jesus is “real” (one episode involves a little girl who sees and talks to Jesus, too ). A lot of people were offended at the very idea of this particular version of Jesus, and perhaps that the plotlines quickly descend into soap-opera territory, but the acting is first-rate and its profession of faith, no matter how risque, is refreshing. Extras include a handful of deleted and alternate scenes. B +

Notes without votes: Anchor Bay brings you Viva Baseball ($ 14. 98 ), Dan Klores’ award-winning documentary about how Hispanic players have shaped major-league baseball, with bonus interview footage. Also in the sports documentary category: Chiefs (LifeSize, $ 24. 98 ), the story of an empowered high-school basketball team on a Wyoming Indian reservation.

Anchor Bay also continues to churn out horror releases: Voodoo Moon ($ 19. 98 ), with Eric Mabius and Charisma Carpenter in a tale of unholy revenge, plus makingof and effects-stunts-makeup featurettes, deleted scenes and photo gallery, and Abominable ($ 19. 98 ), in which Bigfoot stalks knuckle-headed hunters, co-eds and a paralyzed mountain climber, plus making-of featurette, castand-creator audio commentary, deleted and extended scenes and outtakes and bloopers.

Speaking of horror releases, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing two from Showtime ($ 24. 99 each ): The Curse of El Charro, in which a young woman discovers she may be the reincarnation of the victim of an ancient evil, and The Roost, four friends stranded on a deserted farm where evil lurks in the barn. The former includes “two creepy featurettes,” the latter “two killer featurettes.”

HBO Video is issuing two comedy specials ($ 19. 97 each ): Lewis Black: Red, White & Screwed, with Lewis on stage in Washington, and five bonus featurettes, and Cedric The Entertainer: Taking You Higher, stand-up plus production numbers, with bonus interview.

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing The Three Stooges: Stooges on the Run ($ 24. 95 ), four 1930 s shorts in colorized and original black-andwhite versions.

Also from Sony: Glass House 2: The Good Mother ($ 24. 96 ), a suspense thriller in which Angie Harmon takes in two orphaned kids and then turns out to be not what she at first seems, plus bonus commentary and six deleted scenes.

The classical record label Naxos is releasing Glenn Gould Hereafter ($ 24. 99 ), Bruno Monsaingeon’s documentary retrospective about the life and career of the legendary pianist, plus a 20-page supplementary booklet with an authoritative essay, biographies and photos.

Multidisc sets: Speaking of comedy, Warner Home Video has released the first volume of the first season of Whose Line Is It Anyway ? (two discs, $ 24. 98 ), the Drew Careyhosted improv show. Bonus material includes uncensored outtakes and gag reels. From MGM Home Entertainment: Season nine of Stargate SG-1 (five discs, $ 49. 98 ), with audio commentary and behind-thescenes featurettes and production design gallery. From Koch, the complete first season of McLeod’s Daughters (six discs, $ 59. 98 ), the cable series about two half-sisters separated as children who inherit an Australian cattle ranch, with the original made-for-TV movie, creator interviews and a making-of featurette.

Also from Koch, two Parisrelated titles - Sculptures of the Louvre (two discs, $ 39. 98 ), a sevenpart series featuring the Venus de Milo, the Slaves of Michelangelo, the Assyrian Bulls of Khorsabad and Ramses II, among others; and The True Legend of the Eiffel Tower (one disc, $ 19. 98 ), a high-definition docudrama about the building of the Paris landmark. From Sony, part three of the Forever Knight Trilogy (five discs, $ 59. 95 ), about a vampire cop trying to recover his humanity, with bonus music videos. From Fox Home Entertainment, the complete 1975 animated series Return to the Planet of the Apes (two discs, $ 19. 98, no extras ).

Also out this week: The Medium: Complete Second Season; Three’s Company: Season 8; Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda: Season 5 and Slipstream Collection; South Park: The Hits, Volume 1 - Matt and Trey’s Top Ten; The Greatest American Hero: Complete Series; The Twilight Zone: Complete Collection.

Due Tuesday: Cartoon Network: Christmas, Volume 3, $ 14. 98; Scrubs: Complete Fourth Season; Save the Last Dance 2: Stepping Up; Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached - Live, Extended and Uncensored; Everybody Hates Chris: First Season; Numb 3 Rs: Complete Second Season; Magnum P. I.: Complete Fifth Season; Simon & Simon: Season One; The A-Team: Season Five (Final Season ); Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, Volume 1. Eric E. Harrison’s Sub Titles, which primarily deals with direct-to-video and TVto-video releases, appears Thursdays. Prices are list and do not necessarily reflect what they cost in your local video store.