"Actor: Martin Drew"

• Firestarter | DVD | (17/06/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Stephen King wasn't exactly in peak form when he wrote Firestarter, so this 1984 movie adaptation was at a disadvantage even before the cameras rolled. There were so many King movies being made at the time the weaknesses of this one became even more apparent. In her first film role after her memorable appearance in E.T., Drew Barrymore stars as a little girl whose parents acquired strange mental powers after participating in a secret government experiment. From this genetic background she has developed the mysterious ability to set anything on fire at will, especially when she's angry. That makes her very interesting to government officials seeking to exploit her skill as a secret weapon. Her father tries to protect her by using his powers of mind-control, while George C. Scott plays an Indian who believes the girl must be destroyed. There is a routine climax involving a lot of impressive pyrotechnics, but none of this is grounded in a dramatically solid foundation, and none of the characters are developed enough for us to care about them. Director Mark L. Lester, who the following year made Commando with Schwarzenegger, keeps the pace cracking along, but nevertheless the movie gradually turns into a laughable thriller with no suspense whatsoever. It's a movie only a pyromaniac could love. --Jeff ShannonOn the DVD: This is a largely no-frills presentation, albeit with a decent anamorphic print. The only extras are the original theatrical trailer and a nicely presented menu. A fold-out booklet has informative liner notes and a reproduction of the film poster.

• Cube / Cube 2 / Cube Zero | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £20.99

  Cube: Six Strangers awaken from their daily lives to find themselves trapped in a surreal prison - a seemingly endless maze of interlocking cubical chambers armed with lethal booby traps. None of these people knows why or how they were imprisoned. But it soon emerges that each of them has a skill that could contribute to their escape. Who created this diabolical maze and why? There are unanswered questions on every side whilst personality conflicts and struggles for power em

• Slap Shot | DVD | (03/10/2002) from £16.16   |  Saving you £-6.17 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Paul Newman and his Butch Cassidy director, George Roy Hill, made a very original comedy in this 1977 story of an over-the-hill player/coach (Newman) for a lousy hockey team who gets results when he teaches his players to get dirty. One of the most hilariously profane movies ever to come out of Hollywood, this is the kind of film that makes its own rules as it goes along. Newman is very good, and while Hill goes for the gusto in terms of capturing the violence of this world, his instinct for comedy has never been sharper. Great support from Strother Martin, Paul Dooley, and the rest. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Men Behaving Badly - Series 5 | DVD | (03/07/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 5 includes: "Hair" in which Tony returns from holiday to discover Dorothy has convinced Gary she should move in. And that Tony should move out; "The Good Pub Guide" in which our heroes are dismayed when The Crown gets a new look and new landlord (The Fast Show's John Thomson). Tony rescues the pub's old condom machine as a present for Deborah ("I thought it was something we could enjoy together."); "Cowardice" in which Tony becomes convinced Deborah is going through a lesbian phase; "Your Mate Vs Your Bird" in which increased tension in the household persuades Dorothy to reconsider her living arrangements; "Cardigan" in which Gary, concerned he's becoming middle-aged, suggests they go to a rave; "Rich and Fat" in which Tony goes on a diet after Gary accuses him of being "a bit of a podgemeister"; "Home Made Sauna" in which temptation comes Gary's way when Dorothy and Deborah go away for a sailing weekend. The DVD version also features aquiz.

• The Very Best Of The Royle Family | DVD | (25/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Spanning the three series of this superb sitcom, The Very Best of The Royle Family is a prime taster for those not familiar with the series. Co-created by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, who star as Denise and Dave respectively, The Royle Family deserves its own comedic category. They had a hard fight persuading the BBC to leave a laughter track off the show, which would have disrupted its unique ambience and chemistry. Never departing from the house of lazy, good-for-nothing but defiantly sardonic Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson) and wife Barbara (Sue Johnston), The Royle Family chronicles the everyday chat and banal comings and goings of this Northern household, which barely qualifies as "working" class, since mostly they are slumped on the sofa in front of the telly in a cathode-induced stupor. Confused viewers waiting for something to "happen" in the conventional sitcom manner will be disappointed. What they'll get instead is an irresistible stream of dialogue that captures unerringly the humdrum cadences of "ordinary" people. These episodes capture the Royles in customary, festive mood--Denise's marriage, Christmas, baby David's birthday party and so forth--which is good, as we get to see more of Liz Smith's magnificent Nana. As each seemingly inconsequential scene vividly illustrates, this is hardly a romanticised family. Denise is an appallingly negligent mother, there's probably never been a green vegetable in the house, most of their friends, including Darren, are well dodgy, and mum Barbara is unfairly put-upon ("Eh, I've been so busy this morning I haven't had time to smoke", she laments at one point). Yet undoubtedly, unlike their regal counterparts, this Royle Family are close-knit, somehow getting by. The family that watches telly together stays together. On the DVD: The Very Best of the Royle Family, disappointingly, has no extra features. --David Stubbs

• The Royle Family - The Complete Series 3 | DVD | (19/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  On paper, The Royle Family doesn't sound that promising: a working-class family from Manchester sit in their cluttered living room, watch the telly and argue over domestic details (the arrival of a telephone bill, for instance, provides the big dramatic event of the first episode, which aired in September 1998). But from such small everyday incidents, Royle Family creators Caroline Aherne and Dave Best (who play young couple Denise and Dave) have crafted one of the most successful shows on British television--a comedy about the joys and frustrations of family life that's warm, honest and very, very funny. It's Britain's answer to The Simpsons, whose success the show rivalled when it started broadcasting on BBC2 (the programme jumped channels to BBC1 for its second series). Now in its third series, The Royle Family has seen its characters develop like real folk. Denise and Dave got married and now have a little sprog; Barbara starts menopause (how many sit-coms are brave enough to use that for laughs?) and Denise's kid brother Anthony shakes off his surly adolescence when he turned 18 in series two. Unlike Oasis--who provide the shows theme song "Halfway Round the World"--this programme just keeps getting better. But no soap--not even Brookside in its dafter moments--has one-liners as brilliantly crafted as The Royle Family's. Slouched in his armchair, Jim's dour running commentary on the TV shows that are on at the time are particularly priceless. Changing Rooms, for instance, boils down to "a cockney knocking nails into plywood... Is this what it's come to?" Not quite; as long as the Royle Family are around, there is something worthwhile to watch. --Edward Lawrenson

• Depeche Mode : The Videos '86-'98 - Deluxe Edition | DVD | (25/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The videos of Basildon synth-pop pioneers Depeche Mode are justly celebrated not only for charting the band's musical evolution but also their penchant for stylish visual imagery. This collection features all of the band's videos from 1986 to 1998. Of the 20 videos here, director Anton Corbijn was responsible for 18, including classics such as "Enjoy the Silence", "Strangelove" and "Personal Jesus", which means this is as much a profile of his work as Depeche Mode's. Much of Corbijn's material was shot in black and white, lending it an artful edge which captures some of the majesty of Mode's music. The non-Corbijn videos are Peter Care's for "Stripped", notable for its bleak imagery, and Clive Richardson's assured "A Question of Lust". The videos are presented chronologically and bookended by interviews with the band discussing the videos and the singles, making this a fantastic retrospective not only of Depeche Mode's visual side, but of their enduring musical legacy too. On the DVD: Depeche Mode: The Videos has a bonus disc featuring an extra hour-and-a-half of rare and exclusive material, including three insightful documentaries that centre around the albums Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra, and the US videos for "One Caress", "Strangelove 88", "Condemnation" and "But Not Tonight". All of this is good stuff and a valuable addition to the package. Both discs are pleasantly presented in a sturdy fold-out cardboard case, and recorded in Dolby stereo with a screen ratio of 4:3. The menus and screens are slickly presented and easy to use. --Paul Sullivan

• The Survivalist | Blu Ray | (18/04/2016) from £6.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  ˜The Survivalist' is the near future story of a man (Martin McCann) eking out a meagre existence on a secluded smallholding deep in the forest. When a starving woman (Olwen Fouere) and her teenage daughter (Mia Goth) discover his farm his loneliness drives him to strike a bargain with them in return for bed and board. But as desire becomes stronger than necessity the exchange becomes an uneasy ongoing arrangement, which threatens not only his carefully constructed world but also his life.

• L.A. Story | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Something funny is happening in L.A.... Steve Martin is Harris Telemacher a wacky television weatherman who thinks his life is perfect except for an erratic relationship with a style-conscious girlfriend (Marilu Henner). Then one bright and smoggy L.A. day an electronic freeway sign changes his life when its advice leads him into a frivolous romance with a young and beautiful blonde (Sarah Jessica Parker) and ultimately to true love with the woman of his dreams (Victor

• Some Kind Of Wonderful / Pretty In Pink / Planes, Trains And Automobiles | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Ferris Bueller. Larger than life. Blessed with a magical sense of serendipity. He's a model for all those who take themselves too seriously. A guy who knows the value of a day off. Ferris Bueller's Day Off chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man Ferris (Matthew Broderick). One spring day toward the end of his senior year Ferris gives in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sa

• Men Behaving Badly - Series 6 | DVD | (08/05/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 6 includes: "Stag Night" in which Gary agrees with Dorothy's suggestion they get married ("We've tried everything else.") provoking potentially disastrous stag-night shenanigans; "Wedding" in which Gary and Dorothy's wedding day fails to run smoothly. ("I don't want to get married--I haven't slept with enough women," he complains. "Do you want to squeeze one in?"); "Jealousy" in which the quartet make the grave error of going away for a weekend in the country; "Watching TV" concerns a quiet night in with Captain Kirk & Co ("On the Starship Enterprise, when no one's looking, do you think they all swivel round in their chairs really fast?"); "Ten" in which the communal boat is rocked by the simultaneous arrival of Dorothy's nephew and Deborah's mother; and "Sofa" in which Tony buys a snake. --Clark Collis The DVD version also features a quiz.

• Men Behaving Badly: Series One | DVD | (01/05/2000) from £6.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The pageant of boorishness and slobbery known as Men Behaving Badly launched itself upon an unsuspecting audience in 1992. Over the course of six episodes, Gary (Martin Clunes), the disgruntled manager of a security alarm company, struggles to break up with his long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) while competing with his aimless flatmate Dermot (Harry Enfield) for the attentions of their fetching new upstairs neighbour Deborah (Leslie Ash). The plots are built on contrivances like a chess match over opera tickets or an attempt at seduction via a synthesized flamenco guitar, but the humor always springs from the petty, careless, and generally inane behavior of Dermot and Gary. Gary persuades Dorothy to accept an open relationship, then becomes consumed with jealousy when she sees another man; Dermot tries to persuade Deborah to relieve their basic needs while her boyfriend is in Singapore. It could be tiresome squalor--and according to reviews, the American remake of the show (featuring Rob Schneider and Ron Eldard) was just that--but Clunes and Enfield invest this pair of clods with enough humanity to make their mishaps both excruciating and funny. Enfield left after this first sextet of episodes; Clunes and Enfield's replacement Neil Morrissey took the show to five more series, but Enfield's charming dimness makes this first series worth a look. --Bret Fetzer

• Men Behaving Badly - Series 2 | DVD | (05/06/2000) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey' Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 2 includes: "Gary and Tony", in which Tony moves into the Gary's flat and makes his first disastrous attempt to woo upstairs-neighbour Deborah; "Rent Boy" in which Gary thinks Tony is gay; "How to Bump Your Girlfriend" in which no sooner has Tony got back together with his old girlfriend and filled her in about Gary ("nice bloke, ears like the FA Cup") than he decides to give her the shove; "Troublesome Twelve Inch" in which Gary tries to sell a rare record belonging to Dorothy without her knowing; "Going Nowhere" in which Tony buys a van to impress Deborah who in turn gets stuck in a lift with Gary; and "People Behaving Irritatingly" in which Tony's brother and missus visit the flat much to Gary's annoyance ("It's not enough that they were at it all last night, now they're trying to set up a national sperm bank in my bath.) --Clark Collis

• The Royle Family - The Complete First Series | DVD | (06/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  On paper, The Royle Family doesn't sound that promising: a working-class family from Manchester sit in their cluttered living room, watch the telly and argue over domestic details (the arrival of a telephone bill, for instance, provides the big dramatic event of the first episode, which aired in September 1998). But from such small everyday incidents, Royle Family creators Caroline Aherne and Dave Best (who play young couple Denise and Dave) have crafted one of the most successful shows on British television: a comedy about the joys and frustrations of family life that's warm, honest and very, very funny--Britain's answer to The Simpsons, whose success the show rivalled when it started broadcasting on BBC2 (the programme jumped channels to BBC1 for its second series).The Royle Family marked an on-screen reunion for Brookside-actors Ricky Tomlinson (who plays bearded, big-hearted, banjo-playing Jim Royle) and Sue Johnston as his wife Barbara, the driving force behind the Royle household. It is smart casting because The Royle Family is as much a soap opera as a situation comedy. Now in its third series, The Royle Family has seen its characters develop like real folk. Denise and Dave got married and now have a little sprog; Barbara starts menopause (how many sitcoms are brave enough to use that for laughs?) and Denise's kid brother Anthony shakes off his surly adolescence when he turned 18 in series two. Unlike Oasis, who provide the shows theme song "Halfway Round the World", this programme just keeps getting better.But no soap--not even Brookside in its dafter moments--has one-liners as brilliantly crafted as The Royle Family. (The scripts from the series are available to buy.) Slouched in his armchair, Jim's dour running commentary on the TV shows that are on at the time are particularly priceless: Changing Rooms, for instance, boils down to "a Cockney knocking nails into plywood... Is this what its come to?" Not quite: because as long as the Royle Family are around, there is something worthwhile to watch. --Edward Lawrenson

• Depeche Mode: Devotional | DVD | (20/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Directed by the innovative photographer and director and longterm Depeche Mode visual collaborator Anton Corbijn this hugely impressive and visually stunning film perfectly captures the essence of one of Britain's most pioneering acts at the height of their powers. On its release in 1993 `Devotional' was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Long Form Music Video. The `Devotional' 2 disc DVD is a compilation of the band's live performances recorded in Frankfurt and Barcelona on th

• Cold Light of Day | Blu Ray | (21/03/2022) from £10.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  February, 1983. Detectives are called to a residential address in the London suburbs following reports that the drains have been clogged by human remains. One of the property's residents, Dennis Nilsen a mild-mannered and unassuming civil servant is brought in for questioning, leading to the discovery of one of the most shocking and disturbing cases of serial murder ever to rock Britain. Offering a grim and gritty retelling of the story of Des Nilsen, often dubbed the British Jeffery Dahmer, 1989's Cold Light of Day stars Bob Flag (the face of Big Brother in Michael Radford's 1984) as Nilsen-cipher Jorden March, delivering one of the most chilling and credible portrayals of a serial killer ever committed to screen. From writer-director Fhiona-Louise, Cold Light of Day which picked up the UCCA Venticittà Award at the 1990 Venice International Film Festival is a hugely underseen and underrated British effort that can stand proudly alongside the likes of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer as one of the most unflinching true-crime films of all time. Special Features: Limited Edition of 2000 units Brand new 2K restoration from the original 16mm camera negative approved by director Fhiona-Louise Original uncompressed mono audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Brand new audio commentary with writer/director Fhiona-Louise Brand new audio commentary with film historians/writers Dean Brandum and Andrew Nette Newly-filmed interview with actor Martin Byrne-Quinn Newly-filmed interview with actor Steve Munroe Original Cold Light of Day promo film made to raise financing for the feature Re-Release Trailer Two short films starring Cold Light of Day director Fhiona-Louise and photographed by Star Wars DP David Tattershall, newly restored in HD: Metropolis Apocalypse (1988, 11 mins) and Sleepwalker (1993, 2 mins) Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx Limited Edition Die-cut O-card Limited Edition collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jo Botting and a look at how the press reported Dennis Nilsen's real-life crimes by Jeff Billington

• King and Castle - The Complete Series 2 | DVD | (16/07/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Devised by Sweeney creator Ian Kennedy Martin, this grittily humorous series stars Derek Martin and Nigel Planer as rather unlikely business partners...Having hastily left the Met before his dubious activities finally caught up with him, ex-detective Ronald King has formed the Manor Debt Collection Agency with David Castle, a young, somewhat nave martial arts expert and part-time genealogist. Castle's skills come in handy in his new line of work, as do King's old police contacts, and in their dealings with a range of duplicitous, sometimes dangerous clients the chalk-and-cheese duo somehow manages to survive on the right side of the law.In this series they face dramas both personal and professional, with King experiencing cashflow problems and Castle's love life remaining as tangled as ever; and, as tales of Castle's debt-collecting activities reach the Aikido Foundation, he finds himself facing expulsion...

• Oscar Peterson Trio - The Berlin Concert | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £14.52   |  Saving you £5.47 (27.40%)   |  RRP £19.99

  On DVD live - the piano genius of the legendary Oscar Peterson. One fine day in 1949 the radio of a taxi taking a quiet passenger to the Montreal airport was tuned to a concert from the Alberta Lounge. Passenger Norman Granz ordered the driver to do a U-turn and race back to the concert hall. Such was the beginning of the partnership between Oscar and the greatest impresario in the history of jazz. First a perennial mainstay of Jazz at the Philharmonic the charismatic Oscar Peterson soon enjoyed universal popularity. Joined with massive success by Ray Brown Barney Kessel Herb Ellis Ed Thigpen and other jazz heavyweights he delighted audiences around the world with his superb trios. Forty years later in Berlin here is the 'Master of the Keyboard' Tracklist 01: Salute To Bach 02: Who Can I Turn To 03: Blues Etude 04: Yours Is My Heart Alone 05: Falling In Love With La Belle Provi... 06: Nigerian Marketplace 07: Cakewalk 08: Skylark - My Foolish Heart 09: Perdido 10: Caravan

• Men Behaving Badly - Series 3 | DVD | (05/06/2000) from £4.75   |  Saving you £15.24 (320.84%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 3 includes: "Lovers" in which Gary becomes worried that he hasn't slept with enough women; "Bed" in which Dorothy and Gary experience problems in the boudoir ("What's the matter? We always have sex after I've cooked for us. That's why I do it."); "Casual Ties" in which a depressed Deborah decides to sell her flat and go travelling, while Tony fails to cheer her up by impersonating different types of Cheese; "Weekend" in which Tony gets a job at The Crown; "Cleaning Lady" in which Tony reconsiders his professional options ("I could be an escort." "What, a car?" asks Gary); "Marriage" in which Gary joins Dorothy for a candlelit dinner ("Why she couldn't find a restaurant with proper lighting I don't know"). --Clark Collis

• Joey | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A young boy's friendship with a playful kangaroo leads him on the ultimate adventure in this fun-filled story for all ages. 12 year-old Billy McGregor lives on a ranch in the wild rugged Australian Outback with a loving mom and lots and lots of great animal friends - especially a baby kangaroo named ""Joey"". But when Joey's parents are kidnapped by poachers Billy knows he must do whatever it takes to help them and reunite Joey with his rightful family. Boarding a train for the big