Archive for the ‘BBC’ Category
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 6th, 2010
“One year ago, the MOD test system at Eskmeals confirmed radioactivity of above normal background levels at the Corry Reservoir, Craigmills, Yorkshire. The usual emergency procedurals were activated under NAIR arrangements, and the reservoir was shut down. An independent inquiry was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Anthony Marsh.”
Edge Of Darkness is something of a classic to the British. It cleaned up in the 1986 BAFTA awards, taking almost every award they have with the possible exception of Best Coffee In Craft Services. The mini-series has apparently stood the test of time, maintaining such high regard for nearly 25 years.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on January 18th, 2010
Robin Hood is a fantastic tale, and one that can be re-told again and again without fail. The story begins with a man that steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This is a great way to give us a hero to cheer for and has worked for Errol Flynn and even Kevin Costner. This summer, Russell Crowe tries his hand at making the arrow stick for a successful box office run. But will Jonas Armstrong make a viable enough Robin Hood for a third season of this BBC series? We will just have to see.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2009
“Yellowstone. Volcanic wonderland. Two million acres in the heart of North America, Yellowstone is deep in the Rocky Mountains, an isolated high plateau defended by rugged peaks; in the middle is the National Park. The park and the surrounding mountains form one of the most important and spectacular wilderness areas on Earth.”
There have been a lot of these nature shows coming to Blu-ray high definition lately. No less than two of them cover the beauty that is Yellowstone National Park.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2009
“Its cold outside, There’s no kind of atmosphere, I’m all alone, More or less.
Let me fly, Far away from here, Fun, fun, fun, In the sun, sun, sun.
I want to lie, Shipwrecked and comatose, Drinking fresh, Mango juice, Goldfish shoals, Nibbling at my toes, Fun, fun, fun, In the sun, sun, sun…”
If you recognize that silly ditty, then you know it can only mean one thing. After 10 long years of silence, witness the return of the BBC science fiction comedy, Red Dwarf. With the huge success of the rebirth of Doctor Who, it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 5th, 2009
“There’s one thing I always wanted to ask Jack back in the old days. I wanted to know about that Doctor of his, the man who appears out of nowhere and saves the world, except sometimes he doesn’t. All those times in history where there was no sign of him, I wanted to know why not. But I don’t need to ask anymore. I know the answer now. Sometimes The Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame.”
It all started some decades ago with the BBC’s immensely popular television series, Dr. Who.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2009
We’ve seen many instances of American television shows that have been inspired by or directly copied from British shows. This has been particularly true of comedy series and is not a new phenomenon. All In The Family and Sanford And Son from the 1970’s are great examples of American sit-coms based on British hits, Till Death Do Us Part and Steptoe And Son respectfully. Recently The Office has been a successful British import. In the inspired by category you have to include Mistresses. There’s no question that the show comes from a combination
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 15th, 2009
“The power of the Sun drives the seasons, transforming our planet. Vast movements of ocean and air currents bring dramatic changes, create some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth.”
The Planet Earth series from the BBC brought with it critical acclaim and 11 hours of some of the most spectacular video footage from around the globe that we’ve seen on television. It was a particular treat to anyone who was fortunate enough to catch it on an HD broadcast.
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Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 14th, 2009
British comedy for me has always been big hit or big miss for me. There really is no between. Monty Python & The Holy Grail – big hit. This movie makes me laugh from the first second until the closing credits. But some of the Monty Python sketches or all of Meaning of Life – big miss. Same thing with television, the Black Adder is simply awesome. Absolutely Fabulous? I never got it and found it completely droll. So I was eager to see Gavin & Stacey and find another wonderful British hit. I was totally pleased.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 28th, 2009
There are many examples of excellent BBC series and miniseries. Some eventually get remade into American shows. State Of Play is one of those fantastic BBC drama thrillers that is now making its way to American audiences, not as a copycat series, but as a major box office film staring Russell Crowe. While I have not seen this theatrical release as of yet, I am intrigued with the story and will eventually find myself watching this movie version. Unfortunately for the likes of Crowe and director Kevin Macdonald, I have a hard time believing that a 2 hour film can pack in as much detail
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Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 25th, 2009
This set contains all of the episodes from the first season (or “series” as it is termed in the UK). The show follows a standard teen drama format of a group of high school friends, this time from Bristol. Each token stereotype is covered in the main characters (the quirky girl, the party animal, the dweeb, the cool guy & girl, the ethnic guy & girl, the gay guy) and each receives their own episode to focus on them, with a few ongoing romantic plots stringing all of their stories together. Each of said episodes ends with the focus character coming to some sort of new advancement or revelation in their lives (Example: the character with an eating disorder bites into a burger).
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 25th, 2008
This BBC mini-series has the unenviable task of winning over audiences very likely familiar with Ang Lee and Emma Thompson’s excellent theatrical adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. And the opening scene might very alarm many a viewer: the rather steamy seduction on display does not, at first blush, seem to fit in to the comedy of manners one is expecting. The post-credit sequence is also rather more gothically melodramatic than one might anticipate (or hope for).
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on February 19th, 2008
When MI-5 first hit American shores, Alias was in full swing, and the comparisons were inevitable. After all, both were sy shows set in a post September 11 world, and both were slick, fun thrillers. Fast forward to 2006, however, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Alias is now off the air, having crashed in spectacular fashion, yet MI-5 is still going strong. In fact, the show just seems to keep getting better and better.
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Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2008
Imagine a world where William Shakespeare is being controlled by creatures akin to witches, a place where Santa is a deadly menace, and a rather eccentric fellow travels about in a police call box with a rather deceptively spacious interior. To Dr. Who fans of all ages, this is all very familiar territory. I fell in love with Dr. Who as played by Tom Baker from 1974 – 1981. He was the fourth actor to portray the Doctor and arguably the most popular. With a pocket full of jelly babies and a trusty sonic screwdriver,
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2007
Synopsis
Robin of Locksley returns to England from the Crusades to find the home he had left behind has taken a drastic turn for the worse under the tyrannical Sheriff of Nottingham. He is forced to take up an outlaw life, fighting for justice for the common man. Marian, fending off the advances of Guy of Gisborne, is his mole in the houses of power.
Of course, you probably knew all of this, didn’t you? What’s new to this version of the Robin Hood’s adventures is a rather contemporary aware…
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Disc Reviews by Brian Wortz on June 5th, 2007
There’s no question that our home world is full of amazing wonders. While there have been hundreds of documentaries made to capture the uniqueness of our planet, none have ever been made with the scope, technology, and budget as the BBC mini-series Planet Earth. BBC reportedly spent $25 million to send filmmakers literally across the globe in an attempt to create the mother of all nature films and I believe they have succeeded.
Planet Earth was originally broadcast over 11 episodes on the BB…
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Disc Reviews by Tom Buller on April 18th, 2007
Planet Earth – The Complete Series presents the original U.K. broadcast version with narration by David Attenborough, not the version airing on Discovery narrated by Sigourney Weaver.
Have you ever sat back and wondered about the sheer size and shape of our world, its diversity of habitats or the incredible variety of life we share it with? It’s hard to get your head around it all, especially when most of us are living out our existences in one tiny slice of the place, with the only the odd vacation …
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on February 19th, 2007
Seriously, have criminals ever been this cool or this much fun to watch? Since Ocean’s Eleven, I mean. For those that don’t know, Hu$tle is a BBC drama that follows the exploits of a team of five con artists as they “earn” their keep. For the sake of keeping the charaters interesting, the majority of the jobs they pull target people who deserve to be conned. Sort of a modern day band of Merry Men, so to speak. If you are a fan of Spooks (known as MI-5 here in the states), you will probably…
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on August 16th, 2006
If you ask me, what sitcoms need are fewer contrivances and more realistic humor. That’s what made Seinfeld so brilliant. As horrible as those people were, the sad truth is that all of us have a little bit of that twisted humor lurking within us. That’s just the kind of thing that happens with The Worst Week of My Life. This amazingly funny BBC series lasts just seven episodes, but I guess that should be expected judging from the show’s title. The names of the episodes themselves are “Sunday”, “Monday”, “Tuesday” and so on. By the end of the season, viewers have been treated to what is often-times the worst week of many people’s lives.
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on July 2nd, 2006
Doctor Who is much more of a cultural phenomenon in the UK than it is here in the States. In fact, the series about a time traveler who fights evil is very much on par with the Star Trek series in North America in terms of its rabid cult following. The original series ran for a staggering 26-seasons on the BBC before finally fading away. The show has become one of the most popular Science Fiction programs of all time.
In 2003, the dead show was brought back as a new series, following the same ba…
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on February 18th, 2006
I think all true DVD fans have a list in their mind of movies or television programs that they find to be utterly captivating, and simply cannot fathom why the rest of the world doesn’t feel the same. I have some products on that list in my mind, and MI-5 may very well be on the top.
I first discovered MI-5 when I was sent Volume 2 to review. Upon watching the first episode of that season , I was so completely blown away that I promptly sent away for Volume 1 before proceeding any farther. I was…
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Disc Reviews by Brendan Surpless on March 12th, 2005
No, this is not the NBC series from the mid-90’s starring Rob Schneider. This is the original UK show. All 12 episodes from the first two seasons are available here on 2 discs. In fact, it’s not just a two disc set, but two completely separate releases packaged together.
At first, I was a little surprised that this mediocre show lasted for six full seasons. I changed my mind, however, when I thought about such American staples as Family Matters and Boy Meets World. They are not great monuments…
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on March 7th, 2005
Five discs, ten episodes, one amazing show.
For those that are unaware, MI-5 (or Spooks, as it is called in the UK) is a popular spy series set in London. While some similarities will inevitably be drawn to ABC‘s Alias, MI-5 is an excellent show in its own right. I highly recommend that those that are new to the series start with Season One of the show and work their way up. Starting in the middle of a series cliffhanger is never a good idea, as I learned all-too-late. Of course,…
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Disc Reviews by Mark Dancer on March 4th, 2005
The complete fourth season of the UK’s hit show Coupling arrives on DVD in 6 exciting episodes.
Wait a minute…did I just say “complete season” and “6 episodes” in the same breath? Unfortunately, yes. Now, I can’t really blame the DVD producers; they’re just putting out content that has already been made. Television seasons are short in the UK… what are you going to do? The rumor is that season five has been ordered for production by the BBC, but the show is currently on hiatus, so there is no guarant…
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 13th, 2004
Synopsis
This is a two-part special episode of The Office, picking up some time after the endof the second season. The loathsome but self-regarding David Brent no longer works in theoffice, but still hangs out there all the time. Gareth is now in Brent’s position, and Brent is tryingto launch a pop career, and at the same time find himself a girlfriend in time to avoid humiliationat the Christmas party.
This is more of the viciously corrosive humour that made this sho…
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Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2004
Synopsis
The most enduring creation of Barry Humphries (recently the voice of the shark inFinding Nemo), Dame Edna is a “megastar housewife” and this series is “her” version ofa talk show. Guests include Jane Fonda, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tony Curtis, Dolph Lundgren,Grace Jones, Princess Michael of Kent, Lauren Bacall and so on. An eclectic bunch, you’ll admit.The interviews are really much more about Edna than they are about her guests: she barely letsthem get a word in edge…
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