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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Monkey Dust - Series 1 [2003]
Release Date: 2004-11-08, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Lost Worlds Vanished Lives [1989]
Release Date: 2004-09-27, Rating Exempt,
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£8.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Sahara [2002]
If the mere sight of Michael Palin striding purposefully towards the camera across some foreign terrain is enough to send you into fits of delight, then <I>Sahara</I> is just for you. Following on from his three pan-global expeditions, Palin is back on the exploration trail. This time it's traversing the Sahara desert; travelling from Gibraltar through Tangiers and the Arab world down through Africa and some of the most inhospitable conditions on the planet. The formula that Palin established in <I>Around The World In Eighty Days</I> has hardly been tampered with, but <I>Sahara</I> is proof that there are few better exponents of the travelogue. Palin is an engaging host, far more attractive than the extreme survival merchants, walking the fine line between experienced traveller and slightly eccentric Englishman abroad. The programme also strikes a perfect balance between grand visual gestures (the camerawork is simply stunning) and focusing on the individual lives that characterise the region, all underpinned by Palin's unique brand of humour. This is one to return to again and again.<p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Sahara</I> comes in at a mere four one-hour episodes and the producers were left with a huge amount of unused footage. Thus the DVD features a large selection of deleted scenes, all linked by Palin. The excellent set of extras also includes a collection of rough video diaries--mainly featuring Palin being pummelled by the elements--and an extensive interview with the presenter. The picture quality is fantastic (particularly compared to Palin's earlier series), as is the digital sound. There is a subtitle option and scene selection and the whole package is thoroughly recommended. --<I>Phil Udell</I>
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£11.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING State Of The Planet [2000]
<I>State of the Planet</I> is long overdue. The BBC's Natural History Unit has finally delivered a hard-hitting documentary series on the extinction crisis many scientists believe is beginning to threaten the integrity of the entire biosphere. The combination of stunning camerawork, glossy production, David Attenborough's inspirational whispering narration and subject matter of the greatest and most urgent import makes <I>State of the Planet</I> riveting and required viewing. <p> The three programmes cover the scientific understanding of the crisis, the extent to which humans are implicated in the wave of extinctions currently sweeping across our planet, and the ways in which we might slow or halt the current precipitous decline in Earth's biodiversity. In brief, the conclusions are that we know astonishingly little about the diversity of life on Earth, that our species is implicated at every level in precipitating this, the sixth great mass extinction, and that we are only just beginning to see possible ways out of the environmental mess that we have created. Viewing the second programme (our malfeasance) directly before the third (our attempts at remediation) makes it abundantly clear that we have a very long way to go. <p> The participation in the series of some of the world's leading authorities on biodiversity and extinction--Ed Wilson, Terry Erwin, Sylvia Earle, Sir Robert May--adds considerable gravity to Attenborough's already weighty presentation. However, the programmes would have been much improved had the experts been allotted more than the odd sound-bite. And why only three programmes on such an important and urgent issue? Even the terrifically expensive and time-consuming <I>Walking with Dinosaurs</I> got six. More of the serious stuff, please. --<I>Chris Lavers<I/></I>
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£7.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who - The Beginning Box Set
Release Date: 2006-01-30, Rating Suitable for 12 years and over,
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£23.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Jonathan Creek - Complete Series 1-4 Boxset [1997]
Release Date: 2004-11-29, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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£46.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive [1980]
It's hardly surprising that the Beeb take so long releasing DVDs in the <I>Doctor Who</I> series when they're as highly polished and as carefully selected as <I>The Leisure Hive</I>. Particularly significant in terms of the series' history, this sequence marked an end to <I>Who</I>'s descent into vaudeville, and heralded the entrance of hotshot, new-broom Series Producer, John Nathan-Turner.<p> The opening long, slow pan across a wintry beach, on which an autumnal Doctor sits slumped, immediately declares the show's serious intentions. The narrative itself is an erudite discussion on fascism and racism taking in regeneration, megalomania, cloning and a series of Agatha Christie-esque murders. It's the style, rather than the story, however, that's foregrounded in <I>The Leisure Hive</I>: along with his new sober approach, Nathan-Turner brought a new theme tune, a new logo, a new striking red costume and a new title sequence--one that, tellingly, moved away from the enclosed time tunnel to show the vastness of space opening up. Productions values are similarly high: the Quantel effects are impressive even now, and the performances are quite stunning, particularly Baker's as the prematurely aged, infirm Doctor.<p> By dispensing with the clowning and with what he termed Douglas Adams' undergrad humour, Nathan-Turner reinvigorated a show that was becoming stale. The diegetic rebirth brought about by the Regeneration Drive at the show's denouement is an apposite motif, emblematic of the rebirth of the show itself--<I>The Leisure Hive</I> truly represented a new beginning for <I>Who</I>.<p&g t; <B>On the DVD:</B> the images, colours and new 5.1 sound are all impressive, as are the abundance of extras. A New Beginning features a rare interview with Baker himself, and From Avalon to Argolis indulges in some very satisfying back-biting. There's also a nostalgia-inducing contemporaneous clip of an impossibly young <I>Blue Peter</I> presenter looking genuinely frightened by the exhibits of the then-great Longleat Doctor Who Exhibition. <I>--Paul Eisinger</I>
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING The Story of Only Fools and Horses [1981]
Release Date: 2003-04-07, Rating Parental Guidance,
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£15.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Rock Profile
Release Date: 2005-08-01, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Fawlty Towers: Complete Series 2 [1975]
Often hailed as the greatest ever British sitcom, <I>Fawlty Towers</I> is closer to the more elaborate tradition of farce. Comprising two series made in 1975 and 1979, the total of just 12 episodes were painstakingly constructed by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth. Unlike most British farce, however, <I>Fawlty Towers</I> deals with the big themes--death, psychology, xenophobia and even sex-o-phobia (Basil's marriage to Sybil is the most sterile ever depicted in a sitcom).Basil's contempt for his guests is, of course, legendary. It takes little from patrons to unleash his sledgehammer sarcasm: Rosewood, mahogany, teak? Sorry, I was wondering what you'd like your breakfast tray made out of, he sneers at a guest who dares request breakfast in bed. Like every Englishman, he wants to be king of his own castle and resents having to take in lodgers to maintain the place, especially the open-necked younger generation, whom he regards as sub-human. Mostly, though, <I >Fawlty Towers</I> is comedy of exasperation--who can forget the damn good thrashing Basil gives his clapped-out car, or the nervous breakdowns he almost suffers trying to make himself understood to Manuel? It's also comedy of embarrassment. The very fear of losing his dignity generally leads Basil into the most spectacularly undignified of predicaments. His inevitable misery is our sheer delight.--<I>David Stubbs</I><p><B >Series 2:</B><br> Communication Problems<br> The Psychiatrist<br> Waldorf Salad<br> The Kipper and the Corpse<br> The Anniversary<br> Basil the Rat
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£12.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Jonathan Creek - Series 1 and 2 Box Set [1997]
Release Date: 2004-02-16, Rating Suitable for 12 years and over,
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£17.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING League of Gentlemen Series 2 (2 disc set) [1999]
The three young comedians known collectively as <I>The League of Gentlemen</I> develop their unique comic-grotesque creations still further in this second series. Helped by elaborate makeup, Mark Gattis, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith throw themselves into their many disguises with unbounded enthusiasm. What is even more impressive is that, together with co-writer Jeremy Dyson, the <I>Gentlemen</I> manage to locate these alarming characters within coherent story arcs that interlock over the course of a series as well as inside the individual six episodes. Here we have the apparently inexplicable plague of fatal nosebleeds that affects the remote Northern town of Royston Vasey, the attempts of the incestuous shopkeepers Edward and Tubbs to find a bride for their monstrous offspring, the misadventures of some lost plastics salesmen, and the hostage crisis at the local Restart centre. Achingly funny and entirely disturbing, this is comedy less dependent on brilliant one-liners than on recognisable yet distorted situations. One-off creations like Papa Lazarou's sinister circus or the patronising theatre group Legz Akimbo are as fine as the sustained characterisation of the anal toad-obsessed Denton family. --<I>Roz Kaveney</I><p>< b>On the DVD:</b> the first disc contains Season 2's six episodes complete with commentary from the four Gentlemen themselves. It's equally as fun and fascinating as their commentary for the first season and reveals many of the hidden movie references and in-jokes that would otherwise be missed. The second disc has a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary made for the BBC, plus a series of outtakes and alternative versions of certain scenes. Also included is Creme Brulee's Vodoo Lady in its glorious entirety, a singalong version of the Dentons' house-cleaning song and excerpts from Joby Talbot's comic-Gothic score. There are text features on the Local People, a scrapbook of location photographs, and Royston Vasey's Territorial Army recruiting poster. Spreading it all across two discs seems a little on the stingy side, however. --<I>Mark Walker</I>
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£17.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Fawlty Towers: Complete Series 1
Often hailed as the greatest ever British sitcom, <I>Fawlty Towers</I> is closer to the more elaborate tradition of farce. Comprising two series made in 1975 and 1979, the total of just 12 episodes were painstakingly constructed by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth. Unlike most British farce, however, <I>Fawlty Towers</I> deals with the big themes--death, psychology, xenophobia and even sex-o-phobia (Basil's marriage to Sybil is the most sterile ever depicted in a sitcom).Basil's contempt for his guests is, of course, legendary. It takes little from patrons to unleash his sledgehammer sarcasm: Rosewood, mahogany, teak? Sorry, I was wondering what you'd like your breakfast tray made out of, he sneers at a guest who dares request breakfast in bed. Like every Englishman, he wants to be king of his own castle and resents having to take in lodgers to maintain the place, especially the open-necked younger generation, whom he regards as sub-human. Mostly, though, <I >Fawlty Towers</I> is comedy of exasperation--who can forget the damn good thrashing Basil gives his clapped-out car, or the nervous breakdowns he almost suffers trying to make himself understood to Manuel? It's also comedy of embarrassment. The very fear of losing his dignity generally leads Basil into the most spectacularly undignified of predicaments. His inevitable misery is our sheer delight.--<I>David Stubbs</I><p> <B>Series 1:</B><br> A Touch of Class<br> The Builders<br> The Wedding Party<br> The Hotel Inspectors<br> Gourmet Night<br> The Germans
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£7.99
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VIDEO COLLECTION INT. LTD. Harry Hill - Live
Release Date: 2005-11-21, Rating Parental Guidance,
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£4.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Absolutely Fabulous - Series 5 - Complete [1992]
Release Date: 2004-09-27, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps - Series 1 And 2 [2001]
<I>Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps</I> is the smuttier, stupider sitcom descendent of <I>Men Behaving Badly</I>, but lacks that show's charm and intelligence. The series tells the story of five twentysomethings--the loveable Johnny (<I>The Royle Family</I>'s Ralf Little), his libidinous sidekick Gaz (Will Mellor), their long-suffering girlfriends Janet (Sheridan Smith) and Donna (Natalie Casey), and a token comedy-weirdo Louise (Kathryn Drysdale)--doing their best to fathom life's hardships through endless discussions about sex, booze and relationships. <p> In trying to appeal to a yoof audience through the use of recognisable, everyday settings, <I>Two Pints...</I> eschews the tradition of focusing on a situation almost entirely; essentially consisting of a string of scenes in which the characters sit trading witless banter in a pub, then in a lounge, then in a kitchen and then in the pub again. As a result it can't punch in the same league as more sophisticated, dramatically satisfying and, frankly, funnier sitcoms such as <I>The Office</I>, <I>Spaced</I> or <I>Black Books</I> and feels more like a weak excuse for a series of toilet gags. On these terms, however, it is amusing if juvenile entertainment. In particular, Little's performance as Johnny, a confused child trapped in a man's body, provides both humour and a likable centre to the show. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps</I> on DVD has the complete first two series with has episode selection, scene selection and subtitles but no special features --<I>Paul Philpott</I>
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£15.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Pope John Paul II - 1920 To 2005 - A Special BBC Commemoration
Release Date: 2005-04-11, Rating Exempt,
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£9.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING The Box of Delights
Release Date: 2004-11-01, Rating Universal, suitable for all,
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£8.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Red Dwarf: Just The Shows (Vol. 1) [1988]
Notoriously, and entirely appropriately, the original outline for Doug Naylor and Rob Grant's comedy sci-fi series <i>Red Dwarf</i> was sketched on the back of a beer mat. When it finally appeared on our television screens in 1988 the show had clearly stayed true to its roots, mixing jokes about excessive curry consumption with affectionate parodies of classic SF. Indeed, one of the show's most endearing and enduring features is its obvious respect for the conventions of SF, even as it gleefully subverts them. The scenario owes something to Douglas Adams's satirical <i>Hitch-Hiker's Guide</i>, something to <i>The Odd Couple</i> and a lot more to the slacker SF of John Carpenter's <i>Dark Star</i>. Behind the crew's constant bickering there lurks an impending sense that life, the universe and everything are all someone's idea of a terrible joke.<p> Later series broadened the show's horizons until at last its premise was so diluted as to be unrecognisable, but in the earlier episodes contained in this box set the comedy is witty and intimate, focusing on characters and not special effects. Slob Dave Lister (Craig Charles) is the last human alive after a radiation leak wipes out the crew of the vast mining vessel Red Dwarf (episode 1, The End). He bums around the spaceship with the perpetually uptight and annoyed hologram of his dead bunkmate, Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie, the show's greatest comedy asset) and a creature evolved from a cat (dapper Danny John Jules). They are guided rather haphazardly by Holly, the worryingly thick ship's computer (lugubrious Norman Lovett). --<i>Mark Walker</i>
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£31.49
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING The Fast Show - Series 2 [1994]
The second series of <I>The Fast Show</I> races on from where the first series left off, taking the now-familiar characters and projecting them into new and unusual situations. The Suits You men are let loose as waiters in a restaurant, Indecisive Dave finally makes his mind up, Unlucky Alf tries his hand at courting, Bob Fleming splutters his way through a midnight Badger Watch and Channel 9 branches out into light-entertainment with predictably incomprehensible results. The seven episodes also add further depth to many of the catchphrase-reliant characters. Rowley Birkin QC finds a touching reason to wish he hadn't been very, very drunk, Ted and Ralph's romance stutters on, Brilliant! gets depressed and things turn sour for Which Was Nice. All our favourites are present and correct, but the freshest laughs come from the new characters and less-established sketches, such as an inept croupier blundering through his first day on the job, Brilliant!'s dad (Rubbish!), haughty, mistake-prone history presenter Gideon Soames, and the world-weary Carl Hooper's unspectacular show That's Amazing!. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>The Fast Show, Series 2</I> comes to DVD with no extras, aside from some nicely animated menus, episode and scene selection. --<I>Paul Philpott</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Only Fools And Horses - The Complete Series 4 [1981]
<I>Only Fools and Horses</I> is perhaps the last great and universally popular British sitcom. Series 4 reached 1985; Grandad has sadly passed on, to be replaced at Nelson Mandela House by Uncle Albert (Buster Merryfield). <I>Only Fools and Horses</I> improved with age and the fourth series was still confined to the half-hour format, is good but not vintage (that occurred during Delboy's Yuppy years). Episodes such as It's Only Rock'n'Roll, in which Rodney joins a band, show all the failings sitcoms usually expose when getting to grips with such alien subject matter: the situations have yet to involve the full complement of the entire Nag's Head ensemble and there are still occasional disturbing racial references. However, Uncle Albert's introduction does bring the series up a notch, as his furtive brandy-swilling, yarn-spinning and doddery bungling swiftly get on Delboy and Rodney's wick (though he's not without some cleverly introduced pathos), while episodes such as Watching the Girls Go By and As One Door Closes build effectively up to the sort of big, laugh-out-loud final twists that would become the series' trademark.<p> <B>On the DVD:</B> full screen, no special features, sadly, except scene selection. --<I>David Stubbs</I>
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: Series 1 - Volume 1 [2005]
It was always going to be a risk for the BBC to revamp <i>Doctor Who</i>--few television programmes inspire as much rabid and cultish adoration. With the 2005 series, however, the BBC have really outdone themselves. Their updated <i>Doctor Who</i> is a revelation: a cult science fiction series that has real mass appeal, and works for both children and their parents. Christopher Eccleston is an inspired and charismatic Doctor--he leaps around the sets with an unrestrained glee, like he's a child running amok in a toy shop. His enthusiasm in downright infectious. His sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) adds a real human touch, particularly as she gradually and believably matures from in-over-her-head city kid to tough-minded interplanetary hero. Much of the credit must go to writer Russell Davies, who has a much-practiced knack for finding popular appeal without dumbing-down his ideas, and who appears to have let his imagination run riot. Even the special effects, whilst not of a big-budget cinematic quality, still manage to strike a balance between cheesiness and realism. Thrilling, funny and thoroughly entertaining, this <i>Doctor Who</i> is a hero for the new millennium. <i>--Robert Burrow</i>
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£6.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Life of Mammals [2002]
David Attenborough and the BBC have a well-earned reputation for producing some of the greatest nature programmes, but <I>The Life of Mammals</I> could well be Attenborough's <I>magnum opus</I>. Much of the footage shot for this series had never been seen before, and is presented with the respect and reverence for the natural world that Attenborough has made his trademark. It never ceases to surprise: the sight of a lion taking down a wildebeest on the African savannah has almost become a cliché of nature programmes, yet in <I>The Life of Mammals</I> the cameras keep rolling and the viewer witnesses the fallen animal's herd coming to its rescue and driving off the lion. It's a moving sight and just one of many remarkable scenes. <p> A thorough and entertaining overview of one of evolution's greatest success stories, the series is loosely structured to follow the development of mammals, beginning with the basics in A Winning Design, which clarifies what makes a mammal different from reptiles and birds--no, it isn't egg-laying: both the platypus and the echidna are egg-laying mammals; it's their ability to adapt. And it's this adaptability that becomes the crux of the remainder of the series. Insect Hunters focuses on mammals who have specifically adapted to eating insects, from the giant anteater and the armoured armadillo to bats, which have evolved into complex and effective hunters. Plant Predators demonstrates the particular (and often peculiar) adaptations of herbivores, while Chisellers is about those mammals who feed primarily on roots and seeds, ranging from tree-dwelling squirrels to opportunistic mice and rats. Meat Eaters talks about the evolutionary arms race that exists between predators and prey, and the unique adaptations of both individual and pack hunters. Omnivores are explored in Opportunists--mammals like bears and raccoons, whose varied diet allows them to occupy nearly any environment. Return to the Water discusses those mammals such as whales, seals and dolphins that have left behind life on dry land and adapted completely to life in the sea, existing at the top of the food chain. The last three episodes--Life in the Trees, Social Climbers and Food for Thought--take the viewer through the development of primates, eventually culminating in that most successful mammal: man. <I>--Robert Burrow</I>
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£15.97
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING The Office - The Complete Series 1 (2 Disc Set) [2001]
It feels both inaccurate and inadequate to describe <I>The Office</I> as a comedy. On a superficial level, it disdains all the conventions of television sitcoms: there are no punch lines, no jokes, no laugh tracks and no cute happy endings. More profoundly, it's not what we're used to thinking of as funny. Most of the fervently devoted fan base that the programme acquired watched with a discomfortingly thrilling combination of identification and mortification. The paradox is that its best moments are almost physically unwatchable. <p> Set in the offices of a fictional Slough paper merchant, <I>The Office</I> is filmed in the style of a reality television programme. The writing is subtle and deft, the acting wonderful and the characters beautifully drawn: the cadaverous team leader Gareth, a paradigm of Andy McNab's readership; the monstrous sales rep, Chris Finch; and the decent but long-suffering everyman Tim, whose ambition and imagination have been crushed out of him by the banality of the life he dreams uselessly of escaping. The show is stolen, as it was intended to be, by insufferable office manager David Brent, played by cowriter Ricky Gervais. Brent will become a name as emblematic for a particular kind of British grotesque as Alan Partridge or Basil Fawlty, but he is a deeper character than either. Partridge and Fawlty are exaggerations of reality, and therefore safely comic figures. Brent is as appalling as only reality can be. --<I>Andrew Mueller</I> <p> <B>On the DVD</B> <I>The Office, Series 1</I> is tastefully packaged as a two-disc set appropriately adorned with John Betjeman's poem Slough. The special features occupy the second disc and consist of a laid-back 39-minute documentary entitled How I Made The Office by Ricky Gervais, with co-writer Stephen Merchant and the cast contributing. Here we discover that Gervais spends his time on set mucking around and annoying people, and that actress Lucy Davis (Dawn) is the daughter of Jasper Carrott; as well as seeing parts of the original short film and the original BBC pilot episode; plus we get to enjoy many examples of the cast corpsing throughout endless retakes. There are also a handful of deleted scenes, none of which were deleted because they weren't funny. --<I>Mark Walker</I>
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£19.99
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Red Dwarf: Series 7 [2005]
Release Date: 2005-11-07, Rating Suitable for 12 years and over,
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£20.69
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Absolutely Fabulous - Series 1 - Complete [1992]
<I>Absolutely Fabulous</I> was first broadcast in 1992 and became an instant hit. Originally a sketch on the <I>French and Saunders Show</I>, Jennifer Saunders saw its potential and created one of the most ground-breaking and debauched comedies on British TV. Centred around the hip London fashion scene the series follows Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two women who refuse to grow up and are constantly on a mission to lose weight, gorging themselves with cocaine and/or champagne, endlessly throwing parties (or throwing up at parties), and sporting outrageous outfits which were the height of fashion at the time--honestly sweetie! The superb comic performances offered star status to Julia Sawalha as Edina's straight-laced daughter and Jane Horrocks as the sublimely dippy Bubble, and re-invented the careers of Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield. Saunders meanwhile secured her status as one of the top female comedians Britain has ever produced. Although its consciously chic clothing looks a little dated now, its mad characterisations endure and the jokes remain as hilariously slick and apt as ever. <p> <I>Ab Fab</I> remains a landmark in TV since it was the first time that female comedians and writers had had the freedom and exposure to satirise problems close to their own heart, from their own perspective. With Feminist writers claiming that the ideals of feminism were dead in the 1990s and that female concerns were moving in the wrong direction--towards the Laddette Culture--and reports claiming that careers were taking a central role, forcing motherhood onto the back-burner, the series sought to embody and satirise these new supposedly female characteristics. As the show continued to grow in popularity both in Britain and the States, plans were made to transfer the formula to America. However, as with many other great British series, the content was considered too risky for American audiences due to the amount of sex and drug references. Thus domestic audiences breathed a sigh of release that their beloved <I>Ab Fab</I> would forever stay British to the core. --<I>Nikki Disney</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING 1966 World Cup Final [2002]
<I>The 1966 World Cup Final</I> is arguably the most revered sporting achievement in English history, certainly English football's most frequently eulogised match, but have you actually ever seen it? If not this enhanced DVD release is nothing short of essential. Featuring the original black and white BBC coverage of the match, with Kenneth Wolstenholme at the commentator's mike, this is an opportunity for even those familiar with the big moments--five goals and they think it's all over--to watch the action in its entirety. It's an experience rather similar to people's descriptions of meeting TV stars--everyone's shorter, taller, fatter, thinner, balder than you expect--but even simply viewed as a game of football this is something of a classic, with disputed goals, clattering tackles, last-minute equalisers and dodgy officials, putting the achievement of Moore and co into its proper context. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>The 1966 World Cup Final</I> comes to DVD with a sparkling slew of extras. The choicest feature is the alternative match commentary provided, live, by five of the England team themselves--Jack Charlton, Martin Peters, Geoff Hurst, George Cohen and Gordon Banks. It's a frequently hilarious, sometimes touching additional perspective, delivered in an entertainingly chaotic style by five men who may share a common bond, but clearly see the task in hand somewhat differently. <p> Aside from text-only profiles of the England 11 (no subs in those days), and a gallery of stills from the match and build-up, there are three additional mini-programmes. Exclusive interviews with Tina Moore (wife of late England captain Bobby Moore), and with the late commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, tear down some of the media-generated nonsense that has grown to obscure the match and its key participants, with their personal reflections on the event and its resonance. John Motson narrates an entertaining documentary on The Summer of 66, featuring archive and contemporary interviews with players and fans. --<I>Alex Hankin</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Open All Hours - Series 2 [1981]
Release Date: 2003-09-29, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who - Earthshock
<I>Doctor Who: Earthshock</I> finds Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor nicely settling into the role, initially displaying some crotchety short temper that harks back to William Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor, effectively setting up the most emotionally powerful finale in the show's 26-year run. <p> In this, the penultimate adventure of <I>Doctor Who</I>'s 19th season, a scientific expedition in a cave system on 25th-century Earth is wiped out. An army rescue unit led by Lieutenant Scott (James Warwick) and including the one woman, Professor Kyle (Claire Clifford) who survived the original massacre, goes in to recover the bodies. The scenario deliberately evokes Ridley Scott's <I>Alien</I> (1979), and uncannily foreshadows James Cameron's <I>Aliens</I> (1986), developing into a tense actioner on a space freighter bound for Earth carrying a very deadly cargo of Cybermen. <p> Tightly paced, refreshingly free of the camp humour that sometimes blighted the show in the 1980s, and with a notable guest turn from Beryl Reid as the ship's captain, <I>Earthshock</I> is one of the Doctor's finest adventures. Overlook a few gaping plot holes and by the end they simply won't matter; when the final credits roll in silence the effect is as powerful now as it was shocking to audiences back in 1981. If only <I>Star Trek: The Next Generation</I> had done the same to Wesley Crusher! <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Doctor Who: Earthshock</I> is presented in the original broadcast 4:3 with a near flawless picture, though the source videotape does show just the occasional sign of damage. The mono sound is excellent. The extras begin with a strong 32-minute documentary, more retrospective than making-of. Then comes the commentary, with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) and Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), which like so many <I>Who</I> commentaries is both informative and wonderful fun. Both commentary and the episodes have optional subtitles. Other options include detailed on-screen information titles, an isolated musical score, and the ability to watch with selected effects shots replaced with new computer graphics. There's a scored, five-minute photo gallery that even includes a shot from the recording of the commentary, a pointless assemblage of the seven minutes of footage shot on film, and a three-minute clip montage set to a dreadful techno reworking of the title theme to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Much more interesting is a 10-minute section from arts review <I>Did You See?</I> looking back on the show's aliens, and including clips from <I>Earthshock</I>, while the very brief <I>Episode 5</I> is a hilarious new animation. <I>--Gary S Dalkin</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Little Britain - Series 2
Release Date: 2005-10-10, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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2 Entertain Video In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great
Release Date: 2005-08-01, Rating Universal, suitable for all,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death [1963]
The Seeds of Death is the second <I>Doctor Who</I> adventure to feature the popular Ice Warriors. Broadcast six months before the first manned moon landing, here the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) beat Neil Armstrong and co in boarding a rocket to the moon, where they face the icy Martian invaders who have taken over Earth's T-Mat teleportation system in prelude to a full-scale invasion. The plot encompasses weather control, rising global disaster as food shortages sweep the world's cities, and--remarkably--a fungus which can remove oxygen from the atmosphere but which is destroyed by water. <p> Writer Brian Hayles might flunk Science 101 but he still tells an entertaining yarn filled with typical Whovian moments of danger and derring-do. The effects are prehistoric, but the Ice Warrior costumes prove a triumph of ingenuity over budget, and the central premise of a world-wide teleportation network is imaginative enough. Hayles brought the Ice Warriors back in surprisingly different circumstances in the Jon Pertwee <I>Doctor Who</I> classic The Curse of Peladon (1972). <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death</I> is presented as a two disc set. Disc 1 offers the six-episode serial complete, with reasonable mono sound and sharp, clear black-and-white images. That the programme was shot on film rather than video helps the picture quality enormously. Extras are on-screen trivia subtitles offering behind the scenes information, and a so-so commentary track with Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Michael Ferguson and regular series writer Terrance Dicks. Disc 2 has a new 23-minute documentary, focusing mainly on the Ice Warriors and the actors who played them. This is absorbing stuff for serious Who-fans, but may leave others cold. <I>The Last Dalek</I> is ten minutes of 8mm b/w footage on the making of the lost story The Evil of the Daleks (1967), and is again of interest to serious fans. Also included is a brief montage of material censored by New Zealand from now lost episodes, a photo gallery and <I>Tardis Cam No.5</I>, a very short new animation. There are optional English subtitles. <I>--Gary S Dalkin</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Absolutely Fabulous - Series 2 - Complete [1992]
<I>Absolutely Fabulous</I> was first broadcast in 1992 and became an instant hit. Originally a sketch on the <I>French and Saunders Show</I>, Jennifer Saunders saw its potential and created one of the most ground-breaking and debauched comedies on British TV. Centred around the hip London fashion scene the series follows Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two women who refuse to grow up and are constantly on a mission to lose weight, gorging themselves with cocaine and/or champagne, endlessly throwing parties (or throwing up at parties), and sporting outrageous outfits which were the height of fashion at the time--honestly sweetie! The superb comic performances offered star status to Julia Sawalha as Edina's straight-laced daughter and Jane Horrocks as the sublimely dippy Bubble, and re-invented the careers of Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield. Saunders meanwhile secured her status as one of the top female comedians Britain has ever produced. Although its consciously chic clothing looks a little dated now, its mad characterisations endure and the jokes remain as hilariously slick and apt as ever. <p> <I>Ab Fab</I> remains a landmark in TV since it was the first time that female comedians and writers had had the freedom and exposure to satirise problems close to their own heart, from their own perspective. With Feminist writers claiming that the ideals of feminism were dead in the 1990s and that female concerns were moving in the wrong direction--towards the Laddette Culture--and reports claiming that careers were taking a central role, forcing motherhood onto the back-burner, the series sought to embody and satirise these new supposedly female characteristics. As the show continued to grow in popularity both in Britain and the States, plans were made to transfer the formula to America. However, as with many other great British series, the content was considered too risky for American audiences due to the amount of sex and drug references. Thus domestic audiences breathed a sigh of release that their beloved <I>Ab Fab</I> would forever stay British to the core. --<I>Nikki Disney</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: Series 1 - Volume 4 [2005]
It was always going to be a risk for the BBC to revamp <i>Doctor Who</i>--few television programmes inspire as much rabid and cultish adoration. With the 2005 series, however, the BBC have really outdone themselves. Their updated <i>Doctor Who</i> is a revelation: a cult science fiction series that has real mass appeal, and works for both children and their parents. Christopher Eccleston is an inspired and charismatic Doctor--he leaps around the sets with an unrestrained glee, like he's a child running amok in a toy shop. His enthusiasm in downright infectious. His sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) adds a real human touch, particularly as she gradually and believably matures from in-over-her-head city kid to tough-minded interplanetary hero. Much of the credit must go to writer Russell Davies, who has a much-practiced knack for finding popular appeal without dumbing-down his ideas, and who appears to have let his imagination run riot. Even the special effects, whilst not of a big-budget cinematic quality, still manage to strike a balance between cheesiness and realism. Thrilling, funny and thoroughly entertaining, this <i>Doctor Who</i> is a hero for the new millennium. <i>--Robert Burrow</i>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Dad's Army - The Complete Series 1 And The Lost Episodes Of Series 2 [1968]
Release Date: 2004-09-13, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Not The Nine O'Clock News - The Best Of Not The Nine O'Clock News - Vol. 1 [1979]
Volume One of <I>Not the Nine O'Clock News</I> comprises 98 minutes of early material from the sketch show that ran between 1979 and 1982. Starring Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys-Jones, Mel Smith and Pamela Stephenson and coscripted by Richard (<I>Blackadder</I> ) Curtis among others, it wasn't especially ground-breaking by the standards of <I>Monty Python</I> or contemporary series such as <I>The Young Ones</I>, but it did provide some pretty blunt belly-laughs at the major social and political concerns of the era: Thatcher, Reagan, police brutality, the prospect of nuclear war. The latter makes for an excellent <I>Question Time</I> spoof, in which, with the four-minute warning having sounded, a panel of politicians continue bleating on their own agenda (Three million people are going to die unemployed!). <p> Atkinson's stuff is among the best here, be it as a hideous young Tory, or as Gerald the Gorilla, now civilised to a fault by the captor who caught him in the wild. (Wild? I was livid!) The much-repeated bit of him walking into a tree, however, doesn't work as he clearly anticipates the collision. While the musical elements look inevitably dated and a lengthy sketch on darts players boozing reaches the Yeah, we get the point mark long before it reaches its end, it's surprising how topical much of this material remains decades on--a sketch involving an agonising gay vicar springs to mind--while time hasn't eroded the quality of much of the writing. <p> <B>On the DVD</B>: <I>Not the Nine O'Clock News</I> on disc comes with no extra features. --<I>David Stubbs</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Early Doors - Series 1 [2003]
Release Date: 2004-10-11, Rating Suitable for 12 years and over,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING The Young Ones - Series 2 [1982]
The second and final series of <I>The Young Ones</I> was screened in 1984 and continued in the anarchic, surreal, scatological, slapstick yet subtly satirical vein of the first series. When hippie Neil's blazer and furcoat-clad parents step horrified into the filthy student digs he shares with prissy sociology student Rick (Rik Mayall), the psychotic punk Vyvyan (Ade Edmondson) and wide-boy Mike (Christopher Ryan) a parody of <I>The Good Life</I> promptly ensues, signalling just what a giant leap this show represented from mainstream sitcom of the time. <p> Nigel Planer's put-upon Neil is as fine a creation as the putting-upon Vyvyan. Guest appearances from Alexei Sayle, Stephen Fry, co-writer Ben Elton and Jennifer Saunders among others confirmed <I>The Young Ones</I>' status as an academy for future establishment comedians. But Mayall's creation is still the show's greatest legacy: Rick is self-righteous to the point of fascism in his right-on-ness, a mass of studenty pretentiousness, pathetic inadequacy and egotism (Hands up who likes me!). Anything went in <I>The Young Ones</I>--talking hamsters and toilets, bizarre digressions into period sketches, subliminal images, guest appearances by bands from Dexy's Midnight Runners to Motorhead--yet through Rick in particular, the show implicitly mocked shopworn <I>Goodies</I>-sty le notions of zaniness (You have to watch me, I'm a bit nutty!). <p> This series includes Bambi, the University Challenge episode; Cash, in which Vyvyan announces his pregnancy; and the final show, a parody of Cliff Richard's <I>The Young Ones</I> itself, in which the quartet exit ingloriously. <I>The Young Ones</I> is among the most youthful and radical of all sitcoms, yet it still manages to contain a timelessly astute critique of youthful radicalism--and bottom-burp jokes aplenty. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>The Young Ones, Series 2</I> comes to DVD with no extra features. Visually, it's well up to the usual BBC standards but the transfer can't disguise the datedness of some of the early 80s special effects. --<I>David Stubbs</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Cave Girl Rocks
Release Date: 2003-06-30, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Walking with Cavemen [2003]
Breaking the mould of previous Walking with offerings, the BBC's <I>Walking with Cavemen</I> sees Professor Robert Winston follow in the footsteps of ancient man in a series that traces the history of humanity from bipedal ape-men (Australopithecus Aphaeresis) to the awakening of the human mind's potential with Homo Erectus. Spread over four fascinating half-hour instalments, Wilson presents an accessible and populist, but still suitably anthropological study on how apes became human and the traits that we inherited from our earliest ancestors. <p> Unlike <I>Dinosaurs</I> and <I>Beasts</I>, <I>Cavemen</I> combines CGI with actors to portray the characters in the story of man. Initially this seems to make it far less technically impressive than the earlier programmes--memories of Kubrick's <I>2001</I> are inevitable--but fortunately the acting is superb and the viewer soon forgets that these are people in monkey suits. The series also makes use of a special effect called deep time-lapse, which shows in a matter of dramatic seconds the thousands of years of geological changes that sped up our ancestors' evolution. Wilson himself takes part in the action as if he is a modern-day naturalist following lions across the Serengeti rather than creatures long extinct. This approach makes for a more immediate as well as poignant interpretation of history: the result is an enlightening and moving tribute to the human journey. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Walking with Cavemen</I> on disc has production interviews with series producer Peter Georgi, executive producer and director Richard Dale, director of animated extras Ben Palmer and actor David Rubin. There are also location interviews, the best of which is two of the actors in full costume explaining the difficulties involved in eating lunch. There are sequences explaining the creation of the digital effects, and the original score can be accessed as an audio-only option. A fact file for each episode and a picture gallery complete the extras package. --<I>Kristen Bowditch</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Life On Earth [1979]
<I>Life on Earth</I> (1979) is an epic 13-programme series, presented by David Attenborough, offering a chronological account of the flora and fauna of planet Earth over a period of 3,500 million years. Whether recounting the first journey from the sea to the land, the development of insects and flowers, or The First Forests and The Lords of the Air, Attenborough's enthusiasm is infectious. He guides us through The Infinite Variety of life from microbes to marsupials, via an unforgettable meeting with mountain gorillas, to conclude with The Compulsive Communicators, mankind itself. <p> Three years in the making, involving 1.5 million miles of travel and featuring some of the most beautiful, breathtaking and ambitious photography then seen on television, <I>Life on Earth</I> was the first natural history blockbuster. It redefined TV by showing that an epic, serious wildlife documentary could be a massive success. As such, it remains a true television landmark and paved the way for Attenborough's <I>The Living Planet</I> and further entries in what became known as his Life series. <p> <B>On the DVD:</B> <I>Life on Earth</I> is presented complete in this DVD box set, with a total running time of 715 minutes (13 x 55 minutes). --<I>Gary S Dalkin</I>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Terry Wogan: One On One
Release Date: 2004-09-20, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps - Series 3 And 4
Release Date: 2004-09-06, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks [1985]
Release Date: 2005-07-11, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Open All Hours - Series 4
Release Date: 2005-10-31, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Doctor Who: Series 1 - Volume 2 [2005]
It was always going to be a risk for the BBC to revamp <i>Doctor Who</i>--few television programmes inspire as much rabid and cultish adoration. With the 2005 series, however, the BBC have really outdone themselves. Their updated <i>Doctor Who</i> is a revelation: a cult science fiction series that has real mass appeal, and works for both children and their parents. Christopher Eccleston is an inspired and charismatic Doctor--he leaps around the sets with an unrestrained glee, like he's a child running amok in a toy shop. His enthusiasm in downright infectious. His sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) adds a real human touch, particularly as she gradually and believably matures from in-over-her-head city kid to tough-minded interplanetary hero. Much of the credit must go to writer Russell Davies, who has a much-practiced knack for finding popular appeal without dumbing-down his ideas, and who appears to have let his imagination run riot. Even the special effects, whilst not of a big-budget cinematic quality, still manage to strike a balance between cheesiness and realism. Thrilling, funny and thoroughly entertaining, this <i>Doctor Who</i> is a hero for the new millennium. <i>--Robert Burrow</i>
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Yes Minister - Series 3 [1980]
Release Date: 2003-09-29, Rating Parental Guidance,
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BBC WORLDWIDE PUBLISHING Bottom - Series 1 [1991]
Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson give the flat-share sitcom a much needed kick up the <I>Bottom</I> in the show which, alongside <I>Men Behaving Badly</I> (1992-8) injected new life into a legendarily dire genre. With glorious comic gusto they play Richie Rich and Eddie Hitler, a pair of misfits barely surviving unemployment in a Hammersmith hovel. They spend their life in frustration, minus female company or money, in facile schemes to entertain or better themselves, their best intentions always proving the catalyst for hilariously OTT cartoon-style violence. The humour benefits from being rude, crude and surreal, and though happily bereft of subtlety or sense the situations and set-pieces are always superbly constructed, delivered and directed. But that's only to be expected from a show that essentially presents two of <I>The Young Ones</I> a decade down the line. <p> Mayall and Edmondson had earlier perfected their surreal double act as <I>The Dangerous Brothers</I> and these first episodes of &l | | |
