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Review ITV DVD / Thunderbirds: Volume 4 [1965]
Actors & Directors
  • John Tate
Release date: 2004-07-19
Run time: 194 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £6.95

Review Thunderbirds: Volume 4 [1965] / ITV DVD:

"Filmed in VIDECOLOR-[explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax]-and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a)the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audience's affections to their cool machines-the real stars of the show-while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company. ) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: The four episodes are: "Vault of Death", "The Mighty Atom", "City of Fire" and "The Imposters". Amazon. com.

Review Optimum Home Entertainment / The Mind Benders [1963]
Actors & Directors
  • Dirk Bogarde
  • Wendy Craig
  • Michael Bryant
  • Basil Dearden
  • John Clements
  • Mary Ure
Release date: 2007-10-01
Run time: 105 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £6.89

Review The Mind Benders [1963] / Optimum Home Entertainment:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who Terror of the Zygons [1963]
Actors & Directors
  • Nicholas Courtney
  • Ian Marter
  • Richard Martin (IV)
  • Tom Baker
  • Elizabeth Sladen
  • John Gorrie
Release date: 1999-08-02
Run time: 91 min.
Price: £10.99

Review Doctor Who Terror of the Zygons [1963] / 2 Entertain Video:

Loch Ness is the setting of this very traditional 1975 Doctor Who monster story, even though it was actually filmed in southern England with local atmosphere provided by Scottish character actor Angus Lennie (The Great Escape). The Doctor (Tom Baker) is called in to investigate a mystery involving the destruction of several oil rigs and it's not too long before the Loch Ness Monster is revealed as the culprit. But it's actually just a biomechanical weapon being manipulated by the evil Zygons who have been living at the bottom of the Loch plotting world domination. The organically designed sets and monsters are very striking, as are the visual effects with one notable exception: Really Big Creatures have always been a bane for the series with its limited budget to pull off and this story's reliance on an obvious puppet monster, especially during the climax, diminishes its impact. But there is still much to relish, particularly the dialogue of writer Robert Banks Stewart (who would go on to create the long-running BBC series Bergerac) that provides a number of gems including the Doctor admonishing the Zygons that if they succeed in their plans, "you'll have to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle". With much derring-do, the Doctor saves the day as usual but not before four exciting episodes of fun and action. -Ryan K. Johnson.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - The Visitation/Black Orchid [1963]
Actors & Directors
  • Janet Fielding
  • Peter Davison
Release date: 1994-07-04
Run time: 146 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £10.00

Review Doctor Who - The Visitation/Black Orchid [1963] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Twilight Zone / The Twilight Zone - Season 3 (Colour)
Release date: 2006-05-08
RRP: £59.99
Price: £17.99

Review The Twilight Zone - Season 3 (Colour) / Twilight Zone:


Review ITV DVD / Thunderbirds: Collection Part 1 (Vols 1 - 4 ) [1965]
Actors & Directors
  • John Tate
Release date: 2004-07-19
Run time: 780 min.
RRP: £63.99
Price: £27.97

Review Thunderbirds: Collection Part 1 (Vols 1 - 4 ) [1965] / ITV DVD:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - The Colin Baker Years
Actors & Directors
  • Colin Baker
  • John Nathan-Turner
Release date: 1994-03-07
Run time: 89 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £1.95

Review Doctor Who - The Colin Baker Years / 2 Entertain Video:


Review MGM / The Angry Red Planet (REGION 1) (NTSC) [1959]
Actors & Directors
  • Gerald Mohr
  • Naura Hayden
  • Ib Melchior
  • Les Tremayne
  • Jack Kruschen
  • Paul Hahn
Release date: 2001-11-20
Run time: 83 min.
Price: £2.46

Review The Angry Red Planet (REGION 1) (NTSC) [1959] / MGM:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - Planet Of The Spiders [1974]
Actors & Directors
  • Jon Pertwee
Release date: 1991-04-02
Run time: 148 min.
Price: £19.99

Review Doctor Who - Planet Of The Spiders [1974] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review BBC Warner / Doctor Who: The Key to Time - The Complete Adventure [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Tom Baker
Release date: 2002-10-01
Run time: 633 min.
Price: £42.08

Review Doctor Who: The Key to Time - The Complete Adventure [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BBC Warner:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - Planet Of Fire [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Peter Moffatt
  • Nicola Bryant
  • Peter Davison
Release date: 1998-09-07
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £11.99
Price: £30.00

Review Doctor Who - Planet Of Fire [1984] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Fabulous Thunderbirds / The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Live from London [1986]
Release date: 2005-11-14
Run time: 59 min.
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.76

Review The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Live from London [1986] / Fabulous Thunderbirds:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - The Sun Makers [1977]
Actors & Directors
  • Louise Jameson
  • Pennant Roberts
  • Tom Baker
Release date: 2001-07-09
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £19.99

Review Doctor Who - The Sun Makers [1977] / 2 Entertain Video:

Tom Baker's fourth season of Doctor Who marked a change from the exploration of Gothic horror. The unusually satirical "The Sun Makers" finds the Doctor, Leela (Louise Jameson) and robot dog K9 involved in a struggle against capitalism-gone-mad at the outer limits of the solar system. The Earth exhausted, mankind has colonised Pluto and lives in six vast "megropoli" lit by artificial suns. These colonies are run by The Company, with drugged human "work units" slaving simply to pay their funeral expenses. With video monitors, brain-washing and ruthless repression there is an obvious a debt to 1984, the white corridors echoing George Lucas' THX 1138 (1970) and the action a low-rent Star Wars. Michael Keating, who played a rebel in Dalek creator Terry Nation's Blake's 7 (1978-1981), is similarly cast as a reluctant freedom fighter. There are plentiful pot-shots at over-zealous taxation and bureaucracy-Robert Holmes wrote the story as revenge on the Inland Revenue after a frustrating VAT audit-and splendidly theatrical performances from Richard Leech and Henry Woolf as the ultra-capitalist villains. With no monsters and little conventional horror, Baker is on fine form in a briskly directed four-part comedy-thriller distinguished by its political edge. -Gary S Dalkin.

Actors & Directors
  • Peter Davison
  • Mary Ridge
Release date: 1993-01-04
Run time: 98 min.
Price: £10.99

Review Doctor Who - Terminus [1983] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - Horns Of Nimon [1979]
Actors & Directors
  • Janet Ellis
  • Tom Baker
  • Kenny McBain
Release date: 2003-06-02
Run time: 100 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £6.99

Review Doctor Who - Horns Of Nimon [1979] / 2 Entertain Video:

In Doctor Who: Horns of Nimon, the declining Skonnon Empire's quest for the technology to launch a second galactic empire rests upon tributes from the people of the planet Aneth. The fourth doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward), encounter a starship full of such young people, including Janet (Blue Peter) Ellis, on their way to be sacrificed to the bull-like alien Nimon. While Romana becomes trapped in the Nimon's ever-changing labyrinth, the doctor struggles to repair the Tardis and finds that someone, or something, is engineering an artificial black hole. Doctor Who had previously explored the Cretan legend of the Minotaur in "The Time Monster" (1972), and here pays homage to the story without attempting to incorporate it into the Who mythos. Tom Baker is on good form and script editor Douglas Adams keeps the story tight without allowing the humour to take over. The best performance comes from Lalla Ward, fully at home as Romana and a commanding presence in her own right. The set and costume design are notable except for the Nimon itself, which is rather laughable. This story, finally making its video debut, is an entertaining if ultimately unexceptional adventure for the good Doctor. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review Rhino Home Video / They Saved Hitler's Brain [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Walter Stocker
  • Marshall Reed
  • David Bradley
  • John Holland
  • Audrey Caire
  • Carlos Rivas
Release date: 2000-08-22
Run time: 92 min.
Price: £2.67

Review They Saved Hitler's Brain [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Rhino Home Video:


Review Vci Video / Gorgo [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Bill Travers
  • Joseph O'Conor
  • Eugène Lourié
  • William Sylvester
  • Vincent Winter
  • Christopher Rhodes
Release date: 2000-08-29
Run time: 86 min.
Price: £3.11

Review Gorgo [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Vci Video:


Actors & Directors
  • Jon Pertwee
  • Christopher Barry
Release date: 1995-02-13
Run time: 122 min.
Price: £10.99

Review Doctor Who - The Daemons [1971] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Marooned [1969]
Actors & Directors
  • James Franciscus
  • Gene Hackman
  • Richard Crenna
  • David Janssen
  • Gregory Peck
  • John Sturges
Release date: 2004-07-26
Run time: 124 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.39

Review Marooned [1969] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Doctor Who - Nightmare Of Eden
Actors & Directors
  • Tom Baker
  • Lalla Ward
Release date: 1998-12-28
Run time: 96 min.
RRP: £11.99
Price: £4.75

Review Doctor Who - Nightmare Of Eden / 2 Entertain Video:


Models & Brands:
Thunderbirds: Volume 4 [1965], The Mind Benders [1963], Doctor Who Terror of the Zygons [1963], Doctor Who - The Visitation/Black Orchid [1963], The Twilight Zone - Season 3 (Colour), Thunderbirds: Collection Part 1 (Vols 1 - 4 ) [1965], Doctor Who - The Colin Baker Years, The Angry Red Planet (REGION 1) (NTSC) [1959], Doctor Who - Planet Of The Spiders [1974], Doctor Who: The Key to Time - The Complete Adventure [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Doctor Who - Planet Of Fire [1984], The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Live from London [1986], Doctor Who - The Sun Makers [1977], Doctor Who - Terminus [1983], Doctor Who - Horns Of Nimon [1979], They Saved Hitler's Brain [1963] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Gorgo [1961] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Doctor Who - The Daemons [1971], Marooned [1969], Doctor Who - Nightmare Of Eden

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