Raven, a 15-year-old Borstal boy, is released on probation to live with Professor Young, an archaeologist immersed in research into Arthurian legend, and his wife, an amateur ornithologist. The professor is working in deep underground caves whose carved symbols suggest that King Arthur may have used them as a hiding place, and Raven is intrigued by his belief that Arthur was not one man, but a succession of chiefs.
The Doctor Who adventure "Carnival of Monsters" finds Jon Pertwee's third Doctor and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) materialising on the SS Bernice in the Indian Ocean in 1926, on the very day the ship is about to give rise to a famous sea mystery. Passengers and crew, including Ian Marter (who would return as companion Harry Sullivan two years later), are reliving the same few moments over and over again, and there is a plesiosaur in the ocean. Meanwhile two travelling show people, Vorg (Leslie Dwyer), and Shirna (Cheryl Hall), have arrived on the bureaucracy laden planet Inter Minor with an illegal Miniscope peepshow. In a variation on the miniaturisation plot of Fantastic Voyage (1966), and harking back to Doctor Who's own "Planet of the Giants" story from 1964, the Doctor and Jo have materialised within the Miniscope's compression field and are trapped inside. For company they have the ferocious alien Drashigs while outside the machine a potentially devastating conspiracy is afoot. As the second story in the 10th season of Doctor Who, this fast-moving, witty and surreal adventure slots into series continuity between "The Three Doctors" and "Frontier in Space". A long-time fan favourite, the four-part thriller remains one of the most enjoyable of the Jon Pertwee era stories. On the DVD: Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters on DVD has an excellent 4:3 image and mono sound far better than was ever heard on the original broadcasts. Heading a massive range of extras is a commentary with Katy Manning being wonderfully enthusiastic and producer-director Barry Letts getting a little more technical. There are English subtitles not only for the episodes but also for the commentary, as well as a separate on-screen information text option. Also included are two extended and one deleted scene, Barry Lett's more tightly edited preferred ending, a trailer for a 1981 season of Doctor Who repeats and a never used arrangement of the title music. Additionally there is a compilation of visual effects test film, some studio shooting footage, a short computer animation of the TARDIS, a photo gallery and a demonstration of the CSO special effects technique. Anything more comprehensive would be hard to imagine. --Gary S Dalkin
Nicholas Lyndhurst - fresh from his success in the endlessly popular Only Fools and Horses - stars as twenty-something computer programmer Ashley opposite Janet Dibley as Elaine his marriage-phobic girlfriend in this long-running sitcom from LWT. This first series also featuring one of the last TV roles for Doctor Who legend Patrick Troughton was originally screened in 1986 and is available here for the first time in any format. Ashley Phillips is an average young man with a fairly average set of ambitions: he yearns for semi-detached bliss with a mortgage a wife and a baby. He already shares a basement flat with the fiercely independent Elaine a doctor's daughter but she resolutely rejects every one of Ashley's marriage proposals. To make matters worse Elaine works in a cr''che - an eye-opening experience that has left her with absolutely no desire to start a family... at least not just yet! Although Ashley's life is frequently interrupted by the ministrations of his overbearing mother Lilian there is always someone he can turn to for advice on matters of the heart: Perce his laid-back and lovable granddad.
Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin
This box set features the entire third series of the classic British Television drama Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. The Ghost In The Machine: Valuable erotic paintings are stolen from the stately home of Lord Hanbury and his disappearance is soon investigated by Morse... 2. The Last Enemy: A body is found in the canal and the only clue to its identity points to a connection with one of the Oxford colleges. When Morse discovers that intense riva
Two more cases for Holmes and Watson to solve. A Scandal In Bohemia: The King of Bohemia engages Sherlock Holmes to help him recover a compromising photograph. Soon Holmes is on the trail of someone who is to prove one of his greatest adversaries - she whom he will always call in later years 'The Woman'. The Dancing Men: The mysterious chalk figures that have appeared on the wall of an English country house are terrifying Hilton Cubitt's young wife Elsie. They soon lead Sherlock Holmes to a surprising link with a Chicago gangster.
Three more rollicking good tales starring Michael Palin in various guises. Written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. 'The Testing Of Eric Olthwaite' 'Whinfrey's Last Case' and 'The Curse of The Claw'. The Testing of Eric Olthwaite: A Ripping Northern Yarn set in the dark days of the depression before Last of the Summer Wine started bringing jobs to the area. Eric's tough mining parents find their son so boring that they run away from home. Eric torn between love for his parents and lack of brain cells becomes involved with a hardened criminal. The rest is history. Whinfrey's Last Case: Dashing Gerald Whinfrey saves his country twice a week but in 1913 a German plot to start the First World War without telling anybody coincides with his holiday. Where do Whinfrey's priorities lie? Has he got any? A knockout tale of international intrigue. If only Dickens could write like this - Mrs Reg Dickens Eltham. The Curse of the Claw: Gothic terror comes to Maidenhead. A timely reminder of what happens when men dabble in the dark world of oriental superstition. Michael Palin aided by inexpensive plastic surgery plays old and young Kevin as well as Kevin's childhood hero Uncle Jack - an enormously cheerful physical disaster area who has every disease known to man usually at the same time.
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