America's been adapting British series for decades. All in the Family came from Til Death Do Us Part. Three's Company was originally Man About the House. NBC's The Office owes its existence to Ricky Gervais' BBC The Office. Dramas like Life on Mars, Cracker, Eleventh Hour and Queer as Folk started in England, too.

Now it's going the other way. Law & Order finally got British-ized last year, and now Law & Order UK has arrived on DVD on this side of the Atlantic (exclusive to Target at $30; you'll pay more elsewhere online).

Some of the faces are familiar in these first 13 episodes -- Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) is the younger cop, and Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who) is the Crown Prosecution Service freshman. The procedural format is, of course, its same split self, right down to the essential ka-chunk sound at scene changes. (New theme song, though.)

UK law has its own quirks, whether it's those wigs worn in court or the differently phrased Miranda-style rights readings. So it's interesting how the American series' scripts were adapted to match British legal procedures.

The new three-disc DVD set offers plenty of explanatory extras. L&O creator Dick Wolf is interviewed, and his UK counterparts expand upon their work in their own interviews, as well as three episode commentaries. Agyeman leads tours of the two main sets. Rounding out the bonus features are other cast interviews and deleted scenes.

Also out on DVD this week:

Enjoy two more of those lively globetrotting explanations of human creations from distributor Acorn's Athena line, which delivered Melvyn Bragg's must-see language history The Adventure of English. The new arrivals feature the same useful viewers-guide booklets to walk us through these docu-miniseries. They connect the past to today in personal and fascinating ways -- more crucial than ever now that our own "History" channel seems more interested in Ax Men and Pawn Stars.

Legacy: The Origins of Civilization -- Michael Wood from The Story of India traces the development of history's key societies, in China, India, Egypt, Iraq, Western Europe and Central America. Made in 1991.

The Story of Math -- Oxford's Marcus du Sautoy explores how the patterns of numbers figure into everything from daily life to art to philosophy. Made in 2008. Includes bonus documentary The Music of the Primes -- create your own music with prime numbers here.