"Actor: Peter West"

• The Tomorrow People - The Slaves of Jedikiah | DVD | (01/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Tomorrow People was a children's science fiction adventure series launched in 1973 as ITV's answer to Doctor Who. In the opening five-part adventure "Slaves of Jedikiah" we meet Stephen (Peter Vaughan-Clarke) who is about to "break-out" to the next level of human evolution, becoming a Homo Superior, or "Tomorrow Person". Developing telepathic and telekenetic powers, as well as the ability to teleport, he becomes the target for mysterious American cult leader, Jedikiah (Francis de Wolff). Already secretly established with biological supercomputer TIM in an abandoned underground tunnel are three Tomorrow People--John (Nicholas Young), Carol (Sammie Winmill) and Kenny (Stephen Salmon)--who rescue Stephen and then find themselves on a damaged starship in a race against time to save its alien captain. Although the budget was low--the tin robot with his head on fire is particularly laughable--the story is ambitious and the utilitarian special effects are in plentiful supply. There's a trippy, post-2001: A Space Odyssey quality to some of the visuals, a great theme tune and acting of decidedly pantomime calibre. The Tomorrow People themselves come from a past in which teenagers still say "smashing!", but the fantasy of advanced, pacifist children saving the world had a lasting appeal, enough that the show ran eight seasons, then was revived for three more in the 1990s. --Gary S Dalkin

• Britten: Owen Wingrave - Berlin/Nagano | DVD | (22/12/2003) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Owen Wingrave is perhaps Britten's most radical opera, both politically and artistically. Originally written for television, and here presented in a 2001 Channel 4 version, the 1970 score is based, like The Turn of the Screw, on a Henry James ghost story. Britten, though, is more in tune than James with the pacifism into which Owen revolts from a long family tradition of military service. The fluid, impassioned, often declamatory music given Owen makes him one of the most sympathetic of Britten's outsider protagonists, though he has a streak of self-centredness, which stops him being an implausible paragon. Gerald Finley is quite admirable in the part, conveying fully the sense that by losing and dying at the hands of family ghosts, Owen demonstrates the integrity which is central to his character. The other parts are admirably filled here, notably Martyn Hill as Owen's harsh General grandfather, Josephine Barstow as his aunt and Charlotte Hellekant as the fiancee who unknowingly sends him to his death. They and Elizabeth Gale are quite extraordinary in the first act quartet of recrimination and condemnation. This excellent performance compares vocally with the original on almost entirely equal terms--modern technology means that the ghost scenes are far more dramatic and plausible. Kent Nagano and the Berlin Orchestra do full subtle justice to the chamber orchestra sonorities of one of Britten's most interesting scores, never overstressing its complex musical architecture at the expense of the drama. On the DVD: Owen Wingrave is presented in a widescreen 16:9 visual aspect ratio with PCM stereo sound. It is accompanied by The Tender Heart, a documentary about Britten's career full of personal reminiscences by his surviving friends, colleagues and family, that concentrates on Peter Grimes, the War Requiem and Death in Venice, the three popular masterpieces of his early, middle and late career. It has menus and subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish. --Roz Kaveney

• Love On The Land | DVD | (15/05/2004) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-16.99 (-170.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An epic drama spanning forty years in the lives of Thomas and Kate Linthorne through their trials and tribulations while raising their children during the period after the Civil War. As they rise from poverty to wealth this story captures the power of love and the meaning of sacrifice. When Thomas Linthorne sets out to start a new life he acquires a large piece of land and goes on a search for the woman of his dreams. He rescues Kate from an abusive relationship and they develop a strong love for one another. Kate is unaware of the threat that is standing before her when a beautiful married woman moves in next door. Thomas' choices threaten to destroy his family his marriage and his life. Adapted from George Dell's critically acclaimed novel 'The Earth Abides'.

• Thomas And Sarah - Episodes 1 To 7 | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The continuation of the Upstairs Downstairs saga which follows the lives of the two servants Thomas and Sarah. Episodes included: The Vanishing Lady Made In Heaven Alma Mater Birds Of A Feather The Silver Ghost The Biters Bit and A Day At The Metropole.