DVD Player/CRT TV Audio problem

Many DVDs come with both 5.1 and stereo sound tracks - since all you have is stereo, choose that one from the "setup" menu on each DVD. Assuming you have connected the TV to the DVD player using the standard RCA red, white & yellow cables (or using SVHS or component substituting for the video), the player supposedly downmixes any 5.1 audio to stereo, but perhaps it doesn't do a good job, so you might just try the stereo track which is premixed at the source.

Also, many more recent DVD players will have both a "dialog enhancer" mode that increases volume to the center speaker in a 5.1 audio setup, and a "late night" or volume equalization mode to level source audio variations to avoid exactly what you describe above. I'd dig up the player manual and then try both.