turns out: open a veritable matryoshka of packaging!
first there's the cardboard box from amazon. ditch that... here's my boxed set (seasons 1-3) which is shrinkwrapped, sure. i expected that.
open that up to better see the cardboard sleeve - which is holding the 3 dvds. pop them out. what?? the set of three is also shrinkwrapped? and when you open that - the individual dvds are shrinkwrapped too?!
fine! open the damn dvd labelled season 1. yup it's got a cardboard sleeve. remove that to get to the plastic dvd case. "oh, my! i hope it's okay. did the shipping process damage something?"
so:
i had to unwrap 3 sets of shrinkwrap, remove 3 layers of cardboard, and open a thick plastic container - just to get to season one.
crazy, man