![Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - Carnival Of Monsters [1973]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PPWTHW0EL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2002-07-15
Run time: 102 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.49
Review Doctor Who - Carnival Of Monsters [1973] / 2 Entertain Video:The Doctor Who adventure "Carnival of Monsters" finds Jon Pertwee's third Doctor and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) materialising on the SS Bernice in the Indian Ocean in 1926, on the very day the ship is about to give rise to a famous sea mystery. Passengers and crew, including Ian Marter (who would return as companion Harry Sullivan two years later), are reliving the same few moments over and over again, and there is a plesiosaur in the ocean. Meanwhile two travelling show people, Vorg (Leslie Dwyer), and Shirna (Cheryl Hall), have arrived on the bureaucracy laden planet Inter Minor with an illegal Miniscope peepshow. In a variation on the miniaturisation plot of Fantastic Voyage (1966), and harking back to Doctor Who's own "Planet of the Giants" story from 1964, the Doctor and Jo have materialised within the Miniscope's compression field and are trapped inside. For company they have the ferocious alien Drashigs while outside the machine a potentially devastating conspiracy is afoot. As the second story in the 10th season of Doctor Who, this fast-moving, witty and surreal adventure slots into series continuity between "The Three Doctors" and "Frontier in Space". A long-time fan favourite, the four-part thriller remains one of the most enjoyable of the Jon Pertwee era stories. On the DVD: Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters on DVD has an excellent 4:3 image and mono sound far better than was ever heard on the original broadcasts. Heading a massive range of extras is a commentary with Katy Manning being wonderfully enthusiastic and producer-director Barry Letts getting a little more technical. There are English subtitles not only for the episodes but also for the commentary, as well as a separate on-screen information text option. [+]Also included are two extended and one deleted scene, Barry Lett's more tightly edited preferred ending, a trailer for a 1981 season of Doctor Who repeats and a never used arrangement of the title music. Additionally there is a compilation of visual effects test film, some studio shooting footage, a short computer animation of the TARDIS, a photo gallery and a demonstration of the CSO special effects technique. Anything more comprehensive would be hard to imagine. -Gary S Dalkin.
Actors & Directors
- Michael Shanks
- Richard Dean Anderson
- Don S. Davis
- Amanda Tapping
- Christopher Judge
Run time: 800 min.
Creator: Jonathan Glassner
RRP: £59.99
Price: £44.97
Review Stargate SG-1: Season 5 / MGM Entertainment:It now seems clear that year five of Stargate will be remembered as the one where something went awry with Daniel Jackson. Lots of behind-the-scenes rumours fuelled the idea of cast tension, but whatever the problem, his sudden departure from the show was obviously via a hastily contrived scenario. In retrospect, there must have been a problem for some while before the weird penultimate episode ("Meridian"). Michael Shanks looks frequently bored in his rare moments of individual screen time as he infiltrates a Goa'uld meeting and even when making friends with a creature everyone else wants dead. In fact, there's only one point when everyone really seems to be having fun, and that's in the spoof 100th episode "Wormhole X-treme!" Most shows go through a run-around, skin-of-their-teeth period awaiting renewal and it certainly seems to have affected storylines this year. For example, a next generation of younger SG teams is introduced. Replacements? The most unfortunate aspect of things however was that not a single episode managed to stand alone on its own merits. Every single story was dependent on a part of the greater interwoven warring species threads. Some of the one-off tales were terrific in and of themselves, but it was as if the writers fell into the trap of having to refer to as much backstory as possible, perhaps to ensure loose ends could be easily wrapped up? Ultimately none of this mattered since the show went on for quite a while. -Paul Tonks.
Actors & Directors
- Celia Imrie
- Julie Walters
- Duncan Preston
- Trevor Nunn
Run time: 121 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.50
Review Acorn Antiques - The Musical / Channel 4 DVD:
Release date: 2006-07-10
Run time: 400 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.98
Review London's Burning - The Complete Third Series / London's Burning:
Actors & Directors
- John Hillerman
- Larry Manetti
- Roger E. Mosley
- Tom Selleck
Run time: 998 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £15.99
Review Magnum PI - Series 7 - Complete / Universal Pictures UK:
![Review Cinema Club / Waiting For God - Series 5 [1994]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NTD23YXWL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Stephanie Cole
- Graham Crowden
Run time: 238 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £15.10
Review Waiting For God - Series 5 [1994] / Cinema Club:
![Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Futurama - Bender's Game [Blu-ray] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61vawNHGTJL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2008-11-03
Run time: 87 min.
RRP: £28.99
Price: £16.99
Review Futurama - Bender's Game [Blu-ray] [2008] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:
![Review Vision Video Ltd. / Eddie Izzard : Circle [2000]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NP15Y5XHL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2002-11-18
Run time: 111 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £14.21
Review Eddie Izzard : Circle [2000] / Vision Video Ltd.:Circle reminds us that, despite his less than successful dalliances with film and TV, Eddie Izzard's reputation rests securely on his genius for stand-up comedy. Circle comes on the back of an ever-growing global touring schedule, with this particular performance being recorded in New York. Always sensitive to his environment, the comedian throws in several local references to gratify his strongly partisan audience. Much of the delight of an Izzard performance is watching him weave from topic to topic, often painting himself into a corner, and Circle is no exception. A little slow to get started, once he finds his stride this is a veritable masterclass in live comedy, dealing with subjects ranging from the absurd to the everyday. Indeed, Izzard is almost a human equivalent of The Far Side cartoon series, weaving the worlds of the bizarre and the ordinary together to make fresh points: witness his show-stopping account of the Death Star canteen. This is a must for all fans, equally so for those yet to fall under his spell. -Phil Udell.
![Review Cinema Club / Howards' Way - Series 2 [1985]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T9DT2R63L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Sarah Hellings
- Susan Gilmore
- Jan Harvey
- Glyn Owen
- Stephen Yardley
- Keith Washington
- Edward Highmore
- Tristan DeVere Cole
Run time: 650 min.
Creator: Jeremy Burnham
RRP: £29.99
Price: £12.65
Review Howards' Way - Series 2 [1985] / Cinema Club:
![Review Universal Pictures UK / Sliders - Series 4 - Complete [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51L3YXxVJOL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Adrienne Barbeau
- Kari Wuhrer
- Cleavant Derricks
- Jerry O'Connell
- Charlie O'Connell
Run time: 952 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £15.99
Review Sliders - Series 4 - Complete [1998] / Universal Pictures UK:
Actors & Directors
- Lucy Punch
- Carol Catz
- Joe Absolom
- Ian McNeice
- Martin Clunes
Run time: 667 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £9.59
Review Doc Martin : Complete Series 1 & 2 / Momentum:
Release date: 2008-01-14
RRP: £29.99
Price: £12.91
Review The Wildlife Diaries Box Set / 2 Entertain Video:
Actors & Directors
- Tyler Labine
- Kari Matchett
- Lisa Sheridan
- Eddie Cibrian
- William Fichtner
Run time: 872 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £7.84
Review Invasion - The Complete Series / Warner Home Video:Created and produced by Shaun Cassidy (yes, the former teen idol who also produced American Gothic), Invasion starts in a flurry with a devastating hurricane threatening a Florida city and a 21st-century family happens to be in the middle of it. There's park ranger Russell Groves (Eddie Cibrian) and his wife, Larkin (Lisa Sheridan), who's an inquisitive television reporter. Living with them is Larkin's no-account brother, Dave (Tyler Labine), who blogs about conspiracy theories and aliens while between jobs. Also living with them some of the time are Russell's kids, Rose (Ariel Gade) and Jesse (Evan Peters), who also spend time with their mother, doctor Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), who has also remarried, to the town's sinister sheriff, Tom (William Fichtner). Tom also has a child from a previous marriage, sexy teen Kira (Alexis Dziena). Amid the chaos of the hurricane, little Rose is the only one to notice a group of strange lights dropping from the sky into the water, then Mariel disappears only to turn up in a swamp the next morning, seemingly unharmed but now with a strange affinity for water. Not so lucky is Dave, whose investigation of Rose's colored lights leads to the discovery that those lights have a pretty fierce set of teeth. And what does the sheriff have to hide? Parts of Invasion feel like The X-Files or 24, and obviously the central concept isn't new, but it has enough revelations and spooky chills to keep the viewer coming back for more. Unfortunately, even all that wasn't enough to keep Invasion from being canceled after its first season. The problem is that the season-and the series-ends in a whopping cliffhanger, which may never be resolved. [+]So before you invest yourself into a full season of Invasion, be warned. -David Horiuchi.
![Review Network / After Henry - Series 1 - Complete [1988]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gFOnZO8pL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Joan Sanderson
- Peter Frazer-Jones
- Prunella Scales
Run time: 150 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £7.88
Review After Henry - Series 1 - Complete [1988] / Network:
Release date: 2008-10-27
Run time: 795 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £14.00
Review Most Haunted - Series 1 - Complete / Most Haunted:
Actors & Directors
- Phil Cornwell
- John Sessions
Run time: 100 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £7.87
Review Stella Street - Series 1 - Complete / Universal Pictures UK:
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Mork & Mindy - The First Season [1978]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tiWCPpGiL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Elizabeth Kerr
- Conrad Janis
- Robin Williams
- Pam Dawber
- Ralph James
Run time: 610 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £7.87
Review Mork & Mindy - The First Season [1978] / Paramount Home Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Jonathan Frakes
- Jeri Ryan
- Avery Brooks
- Patrick Stewart
- Kate Mulgrew
Run time: 636 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £9.85
Review Star Trek: Fan Collective - 'Q' Box Set / Paramount:Volume 3 in the Star Trek Fan Collective series focuses on the show's resident deity, Q, played with indignant mischief by John De Lancie. While previous Fan Collectives have taken votes to select which episodes around a certain theme would be included, Q makes things easy (the character never made things easy) by simply including all 12 episodes (two are double-length) in which he appeared. And because Q was especially fond of tormenting Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew, most of the episodes are from The Next Generation, including that series' first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint". Subsequent episodes are "Hide and Q" in which the crew plays a deadly game; "Q Who," in which a temper tantrum throws the Enterprise into its first-ever encounter with the Borg (also included on the Fan Collective: Borg set); "Deja Q," in which the character becomes a normal human; "Qpid," in which Q tries to play matchmaker by turning Picard into Robin Hood; "True Q" in which Q reveals the truth about a mysterious young woman; "Tapestry," in which Picard shares a near-death experience with the godlike thorn in his side; and the series finale, "All Good Things…" Q also made brief stops in the first season of Deep Space Nine ("Q Less") and in Voyager. In "Death Wish," Q tries to help Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) recover her male crew members after an encounter with another member of the Q Continuum, "The Q and the Grey," in which Q wants Janeway to bear his child; and the final season's "Q2," in which Q's son arrives to cause chaos, such as removing Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) clothes. As with previous Fan Collective sets, the only new features (and in this case there are no other features) are text commentary on three episodes by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda. -David Horiuchi.
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Jackass 2.5 [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iNnRPfcqL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2008-03-10
Run time: 64 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.64
Review Jackass 2.5 [2007] / Paramount Home Entertainment:Sitting somewhere between the television series and the two movies, Jackass 2. 5 delivers pretty much what you'd expect: it's Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera and company risking bodies and dignity, all in the quest to raise a laugh. Jackass 2. 5 runs to just over an hour, and it's made up of the footage that didn't make the second film. That's not to say this is B-grade material, as there's plenty packed in here that the Jackass fan simply won't want to miss. There are cows, bikes, rockets, snakes and a whole lot more standing between the team and their laughs. If it's hardly a radical formula after all this time, then there's good reason. Put simply, Jackass 2. 5 delivers, and raises hair-raising guffaws with real regularity. Whether it's a re-enactment of King Kong, frequent explorations of wind or a unique take on a bullfight, there's a lot to enjoy. [+]Jackass 2. 5 won't win over any converts to the franchise, and it's shorter than you'd ideally like it to be, but it's still a very fun way to spend an hour. It's also, it should be said, not for the squeamish. But you probably knew that already… -Jon Foster.
Actors & Directors
- Patricia Richardson
- Tim Allen
- Earl Hindman
- Richard Karn
Run time: 566 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £8.85
Review Home Improvement - Series 1 - Complete / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:
| Models & Brands:
Doctor Who - Carnival Of Monsters [1973], Stargate SG-1: Season 5, Acorn Antiques - The Musical, London's Burning - The Complete Third Series, Magnum PI - Series 7 - Complete, Waiting For God - Series 5 [1994], Futurama - Bender's Game [Blu-ray] [2008], Eddie Izzard : Circle [2000], Howards' Way - Series 2 [1985], Sliders - Series 4 - Complete [1998], Doc Martin : Complete Series 1 & 2, The Wildlife Diaries Box Set, Invasion - The Complete Series, After Henry - Series 1 - Complete [1988], Most Haunted - Series 1 - Complete, Stella Street - Series 1 - Complete, Mork & Mindy - The First Season [1978], Star Trek: Fan Collective - 'Q' Box Set, Jackass 2.5 [2007], Home Improvement - Series 1 - Complete |
