"Actor: Alicya Eyo"

• Bad Girls - Series One | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £24.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (60.02%)   |  RRP £39.99

  If the concept of a TV drama set in a woman's prison was one potentially fraught with cliché, the critical and commercial success of Bad Girls is a testament to fine writing, performance and production. With no preamble or scene setting, Series 1 immediately plunges the viewer into the world of Larkhall Prison, its inmates and staff. This approach leaves the characters to reveal themselves at varying pace, with each episode bringing new details about their life on the outside. Given the nature of the setting, it is unsurprising that the show is an ensemble, female-dominated piece. Simone Lahbib, Mandana Jones and Debra Stephenson are all excellent in the three key roles, with impressive support throughout the cast. Male characters are generally relegated to the sidelines, with the exception of sleazy warden Jim Fenner (played with skin crawling accuracy by Jack Ellis). The sexual realities of the environment are handled realistically and sensitively, and not for nothing is the word "uncut" splashed across the cover: there are some quite disturbing scenes, especially in the earlier episodes. On the DVD: The DVD enhances the show's attempts to capture the atmosphere of prison, with sharp contrast between light and darkness and the constant barracking, cat-calling and snide asides sounding crisp, clear and suitably nasty. Of the impressive 70 minutes of extra features much will only be of real interest to absolute devotees. A documentary examining work on the forthcoming third series may go into admirable detail, but how much interest a costume truck can actually be is perhaps debatable. The footage itself is a little unpolished, but does provide the cast members with an opportunity to reveal themselves, as does the extensive interview section. Not only do the main actors give valuable insights into their characters, but it is also interesting to see how the process has influenced their opinions on the prison system. A feature on a book signing in London certainly puts the show into an audience context, but the collection of outtakes (presented in a, supposedly intentionally, amateurish and tacky manner by Lahbib) is at best superfluous. There is more than a hint of trying to find material to fill the space, but overall this is an impressive effort. --Phil Udell

• Bad Girls - Series 3 | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Separated from their homes children and lovers the female inmates of HMP Larkhalls continue to struggle with the harsh reality of life in this hidden world. Bad Girls Series 3 doesn't shy away from the cruelties and tense relationships inside the prison but also captures the warmth and humour the women need to survive the system. This DVD release features all 16 episodes across 5 discs.

• Bad Girls - Series 5 | DVD | (23/08/2004) from £18.99   |  Saving you £31.00 (163.24%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Bad Girls is about a closed world governed by petty rules and harsh punishments. Where women prisoners and officers are thrown together in intense physical and emotional relationships. Left outside their homes their partners and their children. And inside they must negiotiate their position in the prisoners' hierarchy and.... make new sexual choices.... Features all 16 episodes from Series 5.

• The Alcohol Years | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Winner of the City of Melbourne Award for Best Short Documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival (in 2000) Carol Morley's highly acclaimed documentary 'The Alcohol Years' is a courageous moving and often funny account of five self-destructive years of her life in early 1980s Manchester. Also included on this release are the titles 'Stalin My Neighbour' and 'Everyday Something'. Almost 20 years after leaving it behind Carol Morley returned to Manchester where she had

• Carol Morley- The Alcohol Years | DVD | (18/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Alcohol Years: Almost 20 years after leaving it behind Carol Morley - winner of the City Of Melbourne Award for Best Short Documentary at the 2000 Melbourne International Film Festival - returned to Manchester where she had spent several years lost in an alcoholic haze at the centre of the city's burgeoning musical and cultural scene. From booze fuelled nights at the city's legendary Hacienda club to inebriated revelries at New Order's expense 'The Alcohol Years' is a poetic retrieval of that time in which Carol's rediscovered friends and acquaintances recount tales of her drunken and promiscuous behaviour. Carol Morley's search for her lost self and the conflicting memories and viewpoints of those around her weave in and out revealing a poignant portrayal of the city its pop culture the people who lived it and of a young woman who found herself at the centre of a defining moment in Manchester's cultural history. Among those contributing to Carol's story are many of the most notable and significant figures from the era including broadcaster record company executive and entrepreneur Tony Wilson author and DJ Dave Haslam Buzzcocks singer Pete Shelley Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column musician journalist and TV presenter Dick Witts Jesus And Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart and Nico's former manager Alan Wise. 'The Alcohol Years' features music by New Order The Durutti Column Pete Shelley Vini Reilly ToT Stella Grundy and Fall drummer Spencer Birtwistle. Everyday Something: Based on Carol Morley's collection of newspaper cuttings and narrated by the late John Peel 'Everyday Something' presents private moments that give strange glimpses into everyday life.

• Tube Tales | DVD | (28/10/2002) from £7.43   |  Saving you £-1.44 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  London's Tubes: cylindrical objects underground crammed full of blank faces with blank pasts and blank futures. However, Tube Tales endeavours to expel this theory, even if it's just for the length of time it takes nine short stories to flicker past your eyes. Created via a competition in Time Out magazine, which asked their readers to send in stories relating to experiences on the London Underground, a group of directors were then charged with the task of bringing the public' s images of the tube to life for 12 minutes each. Showcased at the London Film Festival 1999 and then moving on to be shown on Sky Premier a few days later (this being the first film Sky has produced) it is possibly one of the most intriguing and underrated dramas to come out of Britain at the turn of the new century. These films offer a great showcase for British talent, combining established stars like Ray Winston in "My Father the Liar" with new up-and-coming actors like Hans Matheson in "Steal Away", the film also offers a great chance to play spot-the-star. Along with this Tube Tales offers many actors their first chance to try out their talents behind the lens with directorial debuts from Ewan McGregor-"Bone", a beautiful story of a man's fleeting obsession with a photograph--and Jude Law--"A Bird in the Hand", which brings a little bit of nature back to the Cement City. Both these directors choose to offer very calm and ambling visuals with little dialogue (how many people actually talk to strangers on the Tube?), allowing the power of images and body language to take hold. In another way Bob Hoskins "My Father the Liar" and Gaby Dellal's "Rosebud" offers us a version of the tube through the eyes of a child, a place populated by innocents and full of terror. In diverse contrast are the offerings from Armando Iannucci ("Mouth") and Stephen Hopkins ("Horny"), who both offer a grotesque humoristic interpretation of their stories. However, the true showpiece of these films is the last, Charles McDougall's "Steal Away", an energetic and exuberant piece which turns into a spiritual journey. Many of these films wash over your emotions, evoking laughter, innocence and desire, but "Steal Away" leaves you with strong opinions on the nature of humanity. Nikki Disney On the DVD: The special features are predictably laid out like a tube map. Given the wealth of talent on display in Tube Tales the disc is happily littered with interviews, trailers and on-location features, offering opinions and theories on the Tube from the huge cast and crew that went into the making of these films. Picture and sound quality are impeccable.

• Bad Girls - Series 4 | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  All sixteen fully uncut episodes of the fourth season of conflicts crises chaos and camaraderie from inside HMP Larkhall...