Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 13th, 2004
Synopsis
We’re back at the open plan offices of Wernham-Hogg in Slough, which have now mergedwith the branch at Swindon. This spells disaster for manager David Brent (Ricky Gervais). His(erroneous) self-image of popular, entertaining boss is dealt a mortal blow by the arrival of theSwindon employees and their genuinely smart and funny manager, who becomes Brent’simmediate superior.
The style, as in the original series, is mockumentary, with a fly-on-the-wall handheld camera...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2004
Most American Doctor Who fans are most familiar with the Tom Baker Who. There is no question he added a flair to the role. In this 10th Anniversary special episode we get to see the first 3 Doctors in action. John Pertwee was the current Who. He teams up mostly with 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton. The first Doctor was played by William Hartnell and was limited to view screen images as he was quite aged and ill. The idea would occur again with the 5 Doctors to celebrate 20 years of Doctor Who. The story is a bit contriv...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 22nd, 2004
The 1980’s saw a second British entertainment invasion reach the shores of America. That’s when the BBC began to unleash its peculiar brand of humor mixed with sci-fi on PBS stations in the US. College campuses all over the land were tuned to the likes of Dr. Who and later Red Dwarf.
There’s no question that this stuff is not for everyone. Red Dwarf brought us the cheesy f/x and dry humor of Tom Baker’s Dr. Who and added a generous helping of Monty Python and Benny Hill. With the third season, however, thi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 23rd, 2004
Synopsis
René (Gorden Kaye) is the owner of a cafe in occupied France. All he wants to do is getthrough the war, and avoid making any waves, and so is very obsequious towards the Germans.Unfortunately, the French resistance wants him to hide two British airman. And every woman insight throws herself at him. And his wife is jealous. And, and. and... One complication afteranother descends upon his head.
I'll confess that I've never been a fan of Are You Being Served?, s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 15th, 2004
Synopsis
The format is familiar (as is pointed out by the series creator): this is a “precinct” show. Onlyinstead of cops, we’re dealing with spies, who fight against threats to Great Britain, whilejuggling complicated personal lives. Given the combination of ensemble cast, investigations, andsnazzy, futuristic look of the MI-5 headquarters, you might want to imagine a cross betweenNYPD Blue and La Femme Nikita. The performances are strong, the productionvalues are hig...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 23rd, 2003
Synopsis
We begin is the 1930s, as the forces of Fascism are rising on the European continent.Convinced that Communism is the hope of justice for the future, Cambridge University gradsKim Philby (Toby Stevens), Anthony Blunt (Samuel West), Guy Burgess (Tom Hollander) andDonald Maclean (Rupert Pehry-Jones) become Soviet agents. We follow their lives over thecourse of twenty years, as they rise (in no small part due to the British class system) to everymore important positions ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2003
This wonderful British comedy comes to DVD once again… this time in a Vol. 6-10 box set. If you are not familiar with this outrageous show, it ruled BBC airwaves from 1972-1985, and continues to entertain today on DVD. Taking place solely on a single floor of a department store, this show covers the lives and misadventures of the staff who are employed there.
Audio
Not much can or should be expected from an aging British television audio track such as this. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 8th, 2003
Absolutely Fabulous is a British series that aired on the BBC starting in 1992. The show stars Jennifer Saunders as Edina, who is a fashion-world publicist whom with her best friend Patsy, played by Joanna Lumley, tries to re-live their younger days by consuming large amounts of alcohol and drugs. Gotta love those crazy Brits! This formula worked well enough for 4 seasons of the show, which are now available on DVD. Apparently Rosanne Barr tried to convince the networks in the US to make an American version but they...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 5th, 2003
Rik Mayall (Drop Dead Fred) and Adrian Edmondson are the stars in this British comedy about two obnoxious loaners at the bottom of the food chain. Follow along with Richie Richard and Eddie Hitler on their quest for love and money as they try out pheromones, dating services and visit the carnival. This DVD collection contains all three seasons of the show for a total of 18 episodes.
Video
This disc contains a 1.33:1 fullscreen transfer of very good quality. The putrid green color of Richie and Eddie’s apartment comes through in all its grimy glory.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Set in a dismal industrial park (appropriately named the Slough), the offices in questionbelong to Wernham Hogg, a paper company. Principle characters are insufferable boss DavidBrent, skeletal yes-man Gareth Keenan, cynical receptionist Dawn, and bored-out-of-his-skullsales rep Tim. The characters each get their turn speaking to the camera (especially thepsychotically pleased with himself Brent), and we see them interacting too. The tone is not unlikeLarry Sanders, and the...
