"Actor: Alexis Cruz"

• Stargate (Director's Cut) | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A self-consciously epic sci-fi adventure of Cecil B DeMille-sized proportions, Stargate refreshes and combines several well-worn sci-fi and sword 'n' sandal genre conventions with some Erich von Daniken-style Biblical Egyptology. The directing-writing-producing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had previously collaborated on B-movies Moon 44 (1990) and Universal Soldier (1992), but handed a significantly bigger budget they were able to give their Steven Spielberg pretensions free reign here ("Indiana Jones and his Close Encounters with the Chariots of the Gods" might be a suitable subtitle). James Spader is endearingly dithery as the fish-out-of-water academic who finds himself teamed with taciturn tough guy Kurt Russell: the two excellent leads are largely responsible for imparting what depth there is to otherwise two-dimensional characters. British composer David Arnold makes his major studio debut in the grandest fashion with an outstanding score that pays suitable homage to epic film music (John Williams' CE3K and Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia in particular). It's all done with such unabashed enthusiasm that viewers will happily forgive the film's derivative elements and even overlook the high-camp theatricality of Jaye Davidson's bizarre bad guy. Despite subsequent huge box-office hits (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot), Stargate remains Emmerich and Devlin's freshest, most satisfying film. On the DVD: This special edition version adds approximately seven minutes of additional footage, much of which is in the form of slightly extended scenes, but does also include an opening sequence in Ancient Egypt, a scene with Kurt Russell and the fossilised Horus guards, and Ra's bath scene. These are also collected in a bonus "Promo Reel". The anamorphic widescreen presentation of the 2.35:1 Panavision picture looks sharp and clear, although some of the additional footage is degraded; the sound is suitably spectacular 5.1 or DTS. Devlin and Emmerich provide a relaxed, chatty commentary ("We have nothing to do with the TV series"!), although you have to access this from the Set Up menu not the Special Features menu. There's a photo gallery and trailer, but sadly no "making-of" documentary. --Mark Walker

• Stargate | Blu Ray | (04/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  It has been buried for thousands of years. A mystery. A secret. A threshold. Stargate. One man will break its code and open the door the other will lead the way. They prepared for danger they expected the unknown but they could never have imagined what they would discover. Now they must find the key to return home or remain trapped on the other side of the known universe forever. The most amazing discovery of our time is about to become the most extraordinary adventure of all time.

• Stargate | Blu Ray | (29/03/2010) from £9.05   |  Saving you £17.20 (220.80%)   |  RRP £24.99

  It has been buried for thousands of years. A mystery. A secret. A threshold. Stargate. One man will break its code and open the door the other will lead the way. They prepared for danger they expected the unknown but they could never have imagined what they would discover. Now they must find the key to return home or remain trapped on the other side of the known universe forever. The most amazing discovery of our time is about to become the most extraordinary adventure of all time. The original epic movie from director Roland Emmerich (2012 Independence Day) that spawned a galaxy of fans Stargate remains a thrilling adventure through space and time that is not to be missed. Now for the first time see and hear the movie like never before with multiple versions of the film presented in 1080p High Definition and all new 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio - and go beyond the gate with special features that capture how Stargate unlocked a massive franchise universe and became a must-see modern sci-fi classic.

• Stargate SG-1: Season 2 | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  The success of the first year meant that Stargate SG-1's second series could afford to spread its wings. In only the second episode, Carter is temporarily possessed by a good Goa'uld. This immediately allowed for both any amount of quick fix inside knowledge as well as story off-shoots, now that the show was bent on franchise longevity. There appeared to be information overload (splinter group Tok'ra, Earth's second Gate, Machello, endless Apophis encounters), as the finely interwoven threads of alien histories and inter-relationships were developed. But thankfully, SG-1 never lost sight of the need for great individual stories. There was a planet of Native American Indians; a planet on the edge of a Black Hole; a planet of aliens sensitive to sound. Even a planet run by Dwight Schultz! Better still, they found time to have fun with their universe, too. "1969" remains one of the best comic romps the series has enjoyed, and is a near-perfect self-contained time-travel story to boot. The team of actors had obviously bonded early on in the first year. It may be a bit of a military faux pas that there is only ever four of them leading every major explorative expedition, but the limited number of principals is actually something else the show has always had in its favour, allowing quality screen time to be spent on each of them from the outset (although Richard Dean Anderson would probably rather not have spent an entire episode impaled by a spike). --Paul Tonks

• Stargate SG-1: Season 1 | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Like the very best of SF TV, Stargate SG-1 began very simply. Of course it had the benefit of a movie preceding it--in which the alternate universe, its rules and its characters were largely established--so this premiere season was therefore able to concentrate on good storytelling. In 1997 not every new show was obsessed with securing a syndication-guaranteed franchise (same goes for Buffy debuting the same year), instead one-off episodes were the way of things, exploring interesting scenarios and conundrums. Naturally there were allusions to the feature film, but most were subtle and inspired. For example, a trip to retrieve the trapped professor who'd worked on the Gate decades ago was an unusual way of tying up loose ends. Some groundwork was laid for continuation should the show be renewed into an ongoing series. Knowing that these elements were pure wishful thinking at the time makes the tapestry of System Lords and the interlinks with our history and mythology all the more enjoyable in revisiting the show from its beginnings. With Richard Dean Anderson, leading the team in a far more charismatic and empathetic way than Kurt Russell in the movie, the series also benefited from some spot-on casting that instantly won audiences over. Special effects and use of studio sets may be less dazzling in these initial shows, but its solid grounding in old-fashioned SF won for the show a loyal audience. --Paul Tonks

• Stargate | DVD | (04/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It has been buried for thousands of years. A mystery. A secret. A threshold. Stargate. One man will break its code and open the door the other will lead the way. They prepared for danger they expected the unknown but they could never have imagined what they would discover. Now they must find the key to return home or remain trapped on the other side of the known universe forever. The most amazing discovery of our time is about to become the most extraordinary adventure of all time.

• Larry McMurtry's Streets Of Laredo | DVD | (13/06/2005) from £8.08   |  Saving you £16.91 (209.28%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Streets Of Laredo is the third title in the Lonesome Dove Saga. An exhilarating tale of legend and heroism continues the epic of the waning years of the Texas Rangers. Captain Woodrow Call is long in the tooth but still a legendary hunter. He is hired to track down a young Mexican train robber and killer Joey Garza. Riding with Call are an Eastern city slicker a witless deputy and one of the last remaining members of the Hat Creek outfit Pea-Eye Parker. Their long chase leads the

• Target For Rage | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £7.98   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Johnson High School will never forget the day when ex-student Jason Copeland (Rick Schroder) decided to inflict a devastating revenge on the system that had rejected him. Armed and dangerous he marched into the school and started to fire indiscriminately at both students and staff then took dozens of terrified students hostage barricaded himself into a classroom and began a bloody reign of terror. But from this murderous mayhem an unlikely hero emerged: Deputy Skip Fine (Henry Winkler). Ignoring the mockery of both his colleagues and the FBI Fine took on the role of go-between- knowing that only his courage and negotiating skills could prevent even more bloodshed.

• Stargate / Deep Star 6 / Flash Gordon | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Stargate: It has been buried for thousands of years. A mystery. A secret. A threshold. Stargate. One man will break its code and open the door the other will lead the way. They prepared for danger they expected the unknown but they could never have imagined what they would discover. Now they must find the key to return home or remain trapped on the other side of the known universe forever. The most amazing discovery of our time is about to become the most extraordinary adventure of all time. Deep Star Six: Not All Aliens Come From Space. Save Your Last Breath...To Scream. Far below the surface of the unforgiving sea the daring crew of DeepStar Six are explorers in a forbidding world of impenetrable darkness and unimaginable pressure. They have invaded the icy fathoms into which no human has ever ventured. Their mission is to establish a top secret Navy base on the ocean floor. But something's down there and the crew of DeepStar Six are about to make a startling discovery - there's no escape from the terror of the deep. Director Sean Cunningham has created a new horror that will plunge you into the depths of fear. Better hold your last breath...to scream! Flash Gordon: Ming the Merciless Emperor of planet Mongo has begun his plan of destruction for planet Earth. Zarkov a mad scientist detects the signs of an intergalactic assault and forces Flash Gordon star football player and the beautiful Dale Arden to board his rocket and save the human race from the evil Emperor. Can Flash save the universe?