"Actor: Tom McGowan"

• Frasier: Complete Series 1 | DVD | (24/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Thanks to sharp writing and a pitch-perfect ensemble cast, Frasier became one of the smartest and funniest television shows of the 1990s. Following the 1993 demise of Cheers, Diane's fussy psychiatrist boyfriend Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) seemed an unlikely candidate for a spin-off series. Yet the show earned smash ratings and dozens of Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor (Grammer) in the very first series. In an inspired bit of casting, Grammer was matched with David Hyde Pierce as his brother and fellow psychiatrist Niles, and the rest of the players included his radio-programme manager, Roz (Peri Gilpin), his father, Marty (John Mahoney), his father's physical therapist, Daphne (Jane Leeves) and the dog Eddie (Moose). In the first series, Frasier and Marty try to learn how to coexist in the same apartment, Niles and Daphne spend a stormy evening in Niles's house, Frasier acquires pushy agent Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris) and searches for love with Amanda Donohoe among others, his ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) makes a guest appearance, the family takes a cross-country trip in a Winnebago and the two brothers collaborate on a book. --David Horiuchi

• The Birdcage | DVD | (01/02/2000) from £11.26   |  Saving you £4.73 (42.01%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The great improvisational comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May reunited to (respectively) direct and write this update of the French comedy La Cage Aux Folles. Robin Williams stars as a gay Miami nightclub owner who is forced to play it straight and ask his drag-queen partner (Nathan Lane) to hide out when Williams's son invites his prospective--and highly conservative--in-laws and fiancée to a meet-and-greet dinner party. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest play the straight-laced senator and his wife, and Calista Flockhart (from television's Ally McBeal) plays their daughter in a culture-clash with outrageous consequences. May's witty screenplay incorporates some pointed observations about the political landscape of the 1990s and takes a sensitive approach to the comedy's underlying drama. Topping off the action is Hank Azaria in a scene-stealing role as Williams's and Lane's flamboyant housekeeper, "Agador Spartacus." --Jeff Shannon

• Frasier: Complete Series 2 | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £21.98   |  Saving you £13.01 (37.20%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Frasier picked up its second series with another round of comedy as intelligent as its pompous title character. Fortunately, the sniping between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his father, Marty (John Mahoney), that took up a lot of the first series is mostly past, and the crack ensemble was ready to roll in a number of memorable episodes. Frasier tries to set up Daphne (Jane Leeves) with the new station manager in "The Matchmaker", Frasier, Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Marty go fishing in "Breaking the Ice", Frasier and Niles jump into politics in "The Candidate", the team of Frasier and Roz (Peri Gilpin) breaks up ("Roz in the Doghouse") and Frasier and Niles open a restaurant in "The Innkeepers". It was Pierce's Niles who emerged as a star in the second series, lusting after Daphne, learning about parenthood in "Flour Child" and challenging a Bavarian fencer for the hand of his ever-absent wife, Maris, in the comic tour de force "An Affair to Forget". Pierce picked up a well-deserved first Emmy and the show repeated its first-series Emmys for comedy series and lead actor. Frasier's dates included Jobeth Williams (whom he takes on a disastrous getaway to Bora Bora), Shannon Tweed and Tea Leoni. Other guest stars were Nathan Lane and, from his original show, Cheers, Bebe Neuwirth and Ted Danson. --David Horiuchi

• Heavyweights | DVD | (12/04/2004) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (178.62%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A group of adolescents are enjoying a wild summer at 'Fat Camp' until a neurotic fitness fanatic buys the camp and imposes an absurd diet and exercise regime! Now the kids must gain control before their summer wastes away...

• Ghost World | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £6.35   |  Saving you £7.64 (120.31%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Based on the succesful alternative graphic novel this tells the story of two girlfriends spending the summer after high school graduation together.

• Robbie The Reindeer In Hooves Of Fire | DVD | (27/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Robbie the Reindeer is as short as many of the made-for-TV classics that have preceded it. However, so much action, zippy dialogue and witty visual puns have been packed into its 29-minute running time that you'd swear it was longer. The content of the film, like many new animations and cartoons, is geared slightly in favour of older audiences, because of its sexual innuendos and adult comedy, but the kids will love the slapstick comedy and loveable characters. Robbie's father is another stop-motion favourite, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and pop is keen to see his loveable--but lazy--son follow in his famous hoof prints. The adult theme continues in the shape of the storyline, which was actually inspired more by Rocky than by Rudolph. As in Rocky, there's a supportive female (Donner) and a crusty trainer (Old Jingle). Together they help Robbie get in shape for the Reindeer Games, where he'll have the chance to show Santa whether he has the right stuff or not. Fans of Aardman Animations should appreciate the detailed animation and clever humour. The cream of Britain's comic crop provides the voices, including Jane Horrocks as Donner. Robbie Williams narrates the story, and Mark Knopfler provides the music. --Kathleen C Fennessy, Amazon.com

• Only An Excuse - The Best Of Only An Excuse | DVD | (09/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Only An Excuse