I found the series to be exceptionally informative and useful. (I viewed the Photoshop 5.0 version.) Since Photoshop is such a visual product, seeing it presented visually (for me) is a great way to learn. If you back that up with a good Photoshop book or two (Deke's Photoshop Bible series includes EVERYTHING presented in the video series + a LOT more.)
I've seen several "general" Photoshop skills video series: IMHO Dekes is head and shoulders better than the rest. A series I wouldn't recommend is anything by Scott Kelby. On the otherhand, Ben Willmore tapes are very, very good too. They cover and go into more detail on advanced topics than Deke does.
Don't know if you're into eBay or not, but the Totol Photoshop set I viewed came as a result of winning an auction. Watched the videos 3-4 times and resold them. It was kind of like renting - and very cost effective. This series shows up from time to time on eBay. Here's a link to a
recent auction as an example.
~DannyR~