![Review Vision Video Ltd. / Victoria Wood - At The Albert Hall - Live [2002]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51P5ST6EA4L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Lill Roughley
- Julie Walters
- Victoria Wood
- Celia Imrie
- Anne Reid
Run time: 108 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.50
Review Victoria Wood - At The Albert Hall - Live [2002] / Vision Video Ltd.:Victoria Wood Live at the Albert Hall provides proof, if any were needed, that after two decades at the top of her profession, Wood is one of a small handful of British comedians of either sex capable of filling the country's largest venues. For the consistently high quality of her penetrating observations of the mundane she has no equal. Recorded in 2001, this performance has all the hallmarks of her microscopic examinations of life's perplexing minutiae and trivia. From her recent hysterectomy to Paul Daniels, from the NHS help line to wheelie bin covers, from Americans in Disneyworld to the ageism of catalogue mailing lists, nothing escapes Wood's attention. Not even in-vogue authors: she refuses to read "Captain Corelli's friggin' Mandolin" as it sits reproachfully at her bedside. Wood even provides her own interval act: a devastatingly accurate parody of a vulgar, second-rate cabaret singer shot to stardom on the wings of a cruise ship docu-soap. Jane McDonald's sense of humour will never face a harder test. More poignant are Wood's observations on parenthood and marriage, with all the physical ailments of middle age ("We've only got one fully operating leg between us"). She has since separated from her husband, the magician Geoffrey Durham. Fans will await the impact of that on her stand-up material with some interest. [+]-Piers Ford.
![Review 2 Entertain Video / The Best of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore [1965]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41399M3VDCL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2003-09-29
Run time: 99 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.62
Review The Best of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore [1965] / 2 Entertain Video:
Release date: 2008-06-02
Run time: 130 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.86
Review Modern Toss - Series 2 / Modern Toss:
Release date: 2008-10-06
Run time: 55 min.
RRP: £4.99
Price: £3.23
Review The Perfect Housewife - Perfect Christmas (Anthea Turner) / The Perfect Housewife:
![Review Universal Pictures UK / The Cosby Show - Series 2 - Complete [1985]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YBj8SNciL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Lisa Bonet
- Malcolm Jamal Warner
- Bill Cosby
- Jay Sandrich
- Phylicia Rashad
- Tempestt Bledsoe
Run time: 600 min.
RRP: £27.99
Price: £9.00
Review The Cosby Show - Series 2 - Complete [1985] / Universal Pictures UK:An Emmy-winner for Outstanding Comedy Series its first year, The Cosby Show rapidly became to Thursday nights what The Wonderful World of Color and Bonanza were to Sundays in the 1960s: a family tradition. And the best was yet to come. Season 2 features some of this gold-standard series' benchmark episodes, most notably. "Happy Anniversary," the one in which the family honours Cliff's parents' wedding anniversary with a show-stopping lip-sync routine to Ray Charles's "Night Time Is the Right Time. " In "Theo's Holiday," Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) gets a taste of the real world when his family shows him what it takes to live on his own. The Emmy-winning "Full House" anticipates Seinfeld "nothing"-ness as an exhausted Cliff (Bill Cosby) wanders his home in search of peace and quiet. In The Cosby Show's charmed world, race was beside the point. Cosby strove to address universal truths about parenthood. In this season's first episode, "First Day of School," adorable Rudy (Keisha Knight Pulliam) tells her father she doesn't want to return to school because a classmate called her "a name. " Much like Cliff, the audience braces for the worst until it is revealed that she was teasingly called "Rudy Huckleberry. [+]" More to the show's point was fostering an appreciation of black heritage, history, and culture. In "The Card Game," Theo gives his girlfriend Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man to read. In "The Auction," Clair (Phylicia Rashad) bids on a painting by her great-uncle, artist Ellis Wilson, which used to hang in her grandmother's house. And in the stirring final moments in "Vanessa's Bad Grade," the entire family congregates in front of the television to watch Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. From the first, The Cosby Show promoted education and fulfilling one's potential. In one of the season's very best episodes, "Mrs. Westlake," Theo's dread math teacher, a. k. a. "The Dragon Lady," (guest star Sonia Braga) comes to dinner. Fearing the worst from the strict teacher who has forced him to study harder, he is stunned not only by her transformed bombshell appearance but by the results of his math test, which he feared he failed. Love and respect for one's elders and each other thrive in the Huxtable household. In the Emmy-winning "Denise's Friend," Cliff and Clair hold a hilarious and heartwarming family meeting to assure their children that no matter what trouble they get into, they can always come to them. From Danny Kaye's delightful Emmy-nominated performance in "The Dentist" to Rudy's gridiron heroics in "Rudy Suits Up," season 2 is brimming with happy memories of TV's most functional family. -Donald Liebenson.
![Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Party Of Five: Season One (Complete) [1994]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51upfMVXPbL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Paula Devicq
- Scott Wolf
- Lacey Chabert
- Matthew Fox
- Neve Campbell
Run time: 984 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £12.88
Review Party Of Five: Season One (Complete) [1994] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:In its seven-year run on television, Party of Five managed to portray extreme emotions in a contained, tasteful, and level-headed way without sacrificing poignancy or richness. Aimed at a teen audience but with crossover appeal to most viewers, the series dealt with recurring themes of loss and disappointment, made all the more interesting because Party of Five's major characters, especially in season one, are youthful siblings coping with the recent deaths of their parents in an automobile accident. Shocked into a beyond-their-years awareness of the fragility of ordinary life and the importance of loyalty and loving bonds, the Salinger offspring-24-year-old Charlie (Matthew Fox), high schoolers Bailey (Scott Wolf) and Julia (Neve Campbell), 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert), and baby Owen (various infant actors)-bring a deeply felt, sometimes desperate gravitas to lesser but still significant misfortunes in relationships, peer pressures, and ambitions. On top of that, each has to take on responsibilities beyond their experience-hiring nannies, raising money for mortgage payments, etc. -and make sacrifices robbing them of formative experiences. Charlie, accustomed to adult freedom, has to rejigger his plans and move back home as a surrogate, and often resented, parent(if he doesn't do this, his brothers and sisters could be separated and sent to foster homes. ) Ultra-responsible Bailey, with little time for homework, buddies or girls, loses perspective and gets hung-! up on an older, appealing nanny (Paula Devicq). Top student Julia's academic career fades as she seeks a second family among undeserving thrill-seekers. Claudia, a gifted musician, pawns her violin. Despite all that drama, the essence of Party of Five is the Salingers' homing instinct, the way they survive internal and external conflict to find their way back to reassuring family rituals-among them weekly (free) dinners at the restaurant their late father owned. [+]The 22 episodes on six discs in this boxed set typically test the Salingers' hopes, dreams, and mettle, and while stories can certainly be unsettling, a viewer is never left with serious worries that things won't turn out all right. Among the highlights are "Homework," in which Julia, having made plans to attend a party rather than salvage her failing grade in English lit, stays home instead to save Bailey's bacon by writing his difficult term paper. The powerful "Thanksgiving" concerns a face-to-face meeting between the Salingers and the drunk driver (John Rubinstein) who killed their parents. Most memorable is a suite of episodes featuring Megan Ward as Bailey's girlfriend, Jill, a possible drug addict whose fate rocks the startling season finale, "The Ides of March. " -Tom Keogh.
Release date: 2008-03-17
Run time: 163 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £8.87
Review Bear Grylls: Born Survivor - Panama / Bear Grylls:
Actors & Directors
- Patrick Barlow
- Peter Smith
- John Nettles
- Emma Cunliffe
- Jason Hughes
Run time: 95 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £7.93
Review Midsomer Murders - Blood Wedding / Acorn Media:
![Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who: Series 2 - Volume 1 [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5109498ECXL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Freema Agyeman
- Paul Kasey
- Billie Piper
- David Tennant
- Catherine Tate
Run time: 102 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £4.78
Review Doctor Who: Series 2 - Volume 1 [2005] / 2 Entertain Video:David Tennant ably steps into the shoes of the famous Timelord, as the first couple of episodes of the `second' series of the reborn Doctor Who make it to DVD. In fact, that's not quite true. The first of the two is actually the excellent 2005 Christmas special, The Christmas Invasion, which not only marked Tennant's first full story in the role, but also proved to be an excellent way to spend an hour. Taking place during the festive season, the story finds Earth under imminent threat of invasion, at a time when the Doctor is still getting over his regeneration. That means extra pressure for Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, but also offers a welcome return to the series for the terrific Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones. Yet it's the witty script and Tennant's confident performance that define the episode. The `proper' start of the `second' series was the slightly uneven New Earth, which scores well again in the humour stakes, but struggles a little more with the story itself. The Doctor and Rose find themselves billions of years in the future, called to a hospital where the feline nursing staff have a cure for every disease. Naturally, there's something more sinister going on, and there's the returning, unscrupulous last surviving human Cassandra (played again by Zoe Wanamaker) to deal with. But while it amounts to a fun episode, it's slightly below the standard the show has set itself of late. [+]All considered though, as a kick off to the second series DVD collection, there's plenty in the pair of episodes on offer here to enjoy, and plenty of potential in David Tennant as the Doctor. Now bring on the rest…!-Simon Brew.
Release date: 2007-01-15
Run time: 500 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £7.97
Review London's Burning - The Complete Fourth Series / London's Burning:
![Review Channel 4 DVD / Black Books: Series 1 [2000]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510Y1GTKTRL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Dylan Moran
- Bill Bailey
- Tamsin Greig
Run time: 142 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.31
Review Black Books: Series 1 [2000] / Channel 4 DVD:One of the few genuinely outstanding British comedy shows of the past decade, Black Books unites excellent comedic performances, very funny scripts, and plenty of rewatch value. The concept is simple enough. Bernard (expertly played by Dylan Moran) runs a bookshop. The only problems are he can't stand people, hates customers, and would far prefer to be barking out cutting remarks and drinking wine. Still, it's after drinking much of the aforementioned wine that he offers Manny (Bill Bailey, again in terrific form) a job. Manny accepts, and finds his daily life involves taking abuse from Bernard, while remaining strangely and resolutely upbeat. Fran (Tamsin Greig) meanwhile also likes her wine, and finds herself stuck between the two of them, with a few odd encounters of her own thrown in too. So far nothing particularly out of the ordinary, right? Well, mix in some of the creative force behind Father Ted, combine those aforementioned performances, and simmer to the point where episode after episode garners a cocktail of sniggers and belly laughs, and you have something really rather special. Like many of the best shows, the curtain has come down on Black Books after only three series. But the long-lasting legacy are episodes that are set to be enjoyed for a long, long time to come. [+]-Simon Brew.
Actors & Directors
- Stephen Poliakoff
- Lindsay Duncan
- Peggy Ashcroft
- Michael Gambon
Run time: 861 min.
RRP: £59.99
Price: £30.98
Review The Stephen Poliakoff BBC Collection: Caught On A Train / Perfect Strangers / Shooting The Past / 2 Entertain Video:
![Review Network / London's Burning - The Complete Series 1 [1988]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HDKQD66QL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Mike Vardy
- David Royle
- Ross Boatman
- Sian Radinger
- Indra Bhose
- Gareth Milne
- Jane Hazlegrove
- Valerie Holliman
- Claire Winyard
- Ken Horn
Run time: 410 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £9.23
Review London's Burning - The Complete Series 1 [1988] / Network:
![Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / King Of The Hill - Season 1 [1997]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BV7656HSL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Johnny Hardwick
- Pamela Segall
- Mike Judge
- Stephen Root
- Kathy Najimy
RRP: £24.99
Price: £8.98
Review King Of The Hill - Season 1 [1997] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Judi Dench
- Philip Bretherton
- Moira Brooker
RRP: £74.99
Price: £169.99
Review As Time Goes By: Complete BBC Series 1-9 Box Set (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk) / 2 Entertain Video:
Actors & Directors
- Stanley Baxter
- John Kaye Cooper
- Philip Gilbert
- David Bell
- David Prowse
- Derek Francis
Run time: 250 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £11.92
Review Stanley Baxter - Picture Show And Series / Network:
Actors & Directors
- Constance McCashin
- Kim Lankford
- Don Murray
- James Houghton
- Michele Lee
Run time: 666 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £9.85
Review Knots Landing - The Complete First Season / Warner Home Video:
Actors & Directors
- Mary Gordon Murray
- Scott Bakula
- Chris Ruppenthal
- Anita W. Addison
- Christopher Hibler
- Melora Hardin
- Dean Stockwell
- David Hemmings
- Bob Hulme
- Wendy Robie
Run time: 987 min.
RRP: £27.99
Price: £16.75
Review Quantum Leap - Series 5 - Complete / Universal Pictures UK:
Actors & Directors
- Laura Linney
- Olympia Dukakis
- Chloe Webb
- Marcus D'Amico
- Donald Moffat
- Alastair Reid
Run time: 324 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £12.37
Review Tales Of The City - Series 1 / 4dvd:
![Review Acorn Media / Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove (Re-mastered) [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51aw4z0MO7L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Anjelica Huston
- Diane Lane
- Danny Glover
- Robert Duvall
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Simon Wincer
Run time: 360 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £9.67
Review Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove (Re-mastered) [2008] / Acorn Media:
| Models & Brands:
Victoria Wood - At The Albert Hall - Live [2002], The Best of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore [1965], Modern Toss - Series 2, The Perfect Housewife - Perfect Christmas (Anthea Turner), The Cosby Show - Series 2 - Complete [1985], Party Of Five: Season One (Complete) [1994], Bear Grylls: Born Survivor - Panama, Midsomer Murders - Blood Wedding, Doctor Who: Series 2 - Volume 1 [2005], London's Burning - The Complete Fourth Series, Black Books: Series 1 [2000], The Stephen Poliakoff BBC Collection: Caught On A Train / Perfect Strangers / Shooting The Past, London's Burning - The Complete Series 1 [1988], King Of The Hill - Season 1 [1997], As Time Goes By: Complete BBC Series 1-9 Box Set (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk), Stanley Baxter - Picture Show And Series, Knots Landing - The Complete First Season, Quantum Leap - Series 5 - Complete, Tales Of The City - Series 1, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove (Re-mastered) [2008] |
