British Cult Television

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset

New for 2005, The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset packs together the original 14-DVD megaset with the two-disc Monty Python Live in space-saving Thinpaks. While more cautious fans may want to pick and choose among the previously released individual volumes of Monty Python for their collection, true Pythonites will want to own this definitive megaset that contains all 45 episodes (in chronological order) of Monty Python's Flying Circus. This "persistently silly" collection encompasses three-and-a-half seasons of dead parrots, cross-dressing lumberjacks, loonies, upper class twits, and spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, and spam. Click past the occasional clunker and go directly to such signature sketches as the Ministry of Silly Walks, the Spanish Inquisition, the Fish-Slapping Dance, the Dead Parrot Sketch, the Lumberjack Song, the Cheese Shop, the Argument Clinic, and Nudge, Nudge. Taken as a whole, one marvels at how Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam thoroughly subverted television convention with "something completely different," like sketches with no punch lines ("Your average TV viewer isn't going to understand this"). A warning to the uninitiated: there is much "material that some may find offensive, but which is really smashing." Violations of something called the "Strange Sketch Act" are the least of the troupe's offenses, as witness the Oscar Wilde Sketch, the Dirty Vicar Sketch, and the Most Awful Family in Britain Sketch, all of which achieve "the really gross awfulness" all Python fans are looking for. Say no more.

Monty Python TV shows, movies, records, and books are a time capsule of their anarchic lunacy. But more precious is an audience with Python, and as close as we can get is Live at the Hollywood Bowl, the long-sought-after 1982 concert film in which the Fab Six perform their greatest hits before a wildly enthusiastic crowd. Robert Klein moderates Live at Aspen, the irreverent 1998 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival tribute that reunited John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones onstage for the first time in 18 years on the occasion of the troupe's 30th anniversary. Highlights include a shockingly funny moment involving Graham Chapman's ashes, and a joyous "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" sing-along. Less essential is 1989's clip show Parrot Sketch Not Included: 20 Years of Python, which also does not include "The Oscar Wilde Sketch," "Cheese Shop," "Nudge-Nudge," and many other signature sketches. --Donald Liebenson

This unassuming case is packed with 16 tons of funny: 14 discs of THE COMPLETE MONTY PYTHON S FLYING CIRCUS packed with every madcap moment from the programme s four year run plus 2 MONTY PYTHON LIVE! discs featuring--well you figure it out.While to the uninitiated they may look like ordinary .65 oz. digital video discs due to the unique physics of comedy (it s like quantum but with fewer dead cats) each disc actually weighs a full metaphoric ton! Please remember to lift with your knees.This 16-Ton Megaset contains every single episode of MONTY PYTHONG S FLYING CIRCUS--four years of blood sweat and blancmange--jammed into slivers of plastic the size of a tea plate and MONTY PYTHON LIVE!--Legendary live performances the 20-year celebration of Monty Python Parrot Sketch Not Included and the all-German Monty Python s Fligender Zirkus episode #1 squashed like pancakes. Sad really.Want to find the funny fast? Jump right to your favorite sketches in The Flying Circus with this index!Disc 1: The Funniest Joke in the World The Wrestling Episode and Nudge NudgeDisc 2: Art Critic Silly Job Interview and Crunchy FrogDisc 3: Dead Parrot Lumberjack Song and Vocational Guidance CounselorDisc 4: Undertaker s Film Upperclass Twit of the Year and AlbatrossDisc 5: The Ministry of Silly Walks The Spanish Inquisition and ComplaintsDisc 6: The Bishop Blackmail and DungDisc 7: Attila the Nun Silly Vicar and Exploding Penguin on the TV SetDisc 8: Scott of the Antarctic Dirty Hungarian Phrase-book and Exploding Blue DanubeDisc 9: Icelandic Saga Fish-Slapping Dance and Argument ClinicDisc 10: Blood Devastation War and Horror Mount Everest - Hairdresser Expedition and Gumby Brain SpecialistsDisc 11: Cheese Shop A Naked Man and The Olympic Hide and Seek FinalDisc 12: Elizabethan Pornography Smugglers Kamikaze Scotsman and PenguinsDisc 13: Montgolfier Brothers Department Store and RAF BanterDisc 14: Hamlet and Ophelia Mr. Neutron and Most Awful Family in BritainDisc 15: Live at the Holl

The Prisoner - Complete Series Megaset (40th Anniversary Edition)

If a top-level spy decided he didn't want to be a spy anymore, could he just walk into HQ and hand in his resignation? With all that classified knowledge in his head, would he be allowed to become a civilian again, free to go about his life? The answer, according to the stylish, brilliantly conceived 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, is a resounding no. In fact, instead of receiving a gold watch for his years of faithful service, our hero (played by Patrick McGoohan) is followed home to his London flat and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a picturesque village where everyone is known by a number. Where is it? Why was he brought here? And, most important, how does he leave?

As we learn in Episode 1, Number 6 can't leave. The Village's "citizens" might dress colorfully and stroll around its manicured gardens while a band plays bouncy Strauss marches, but the place is actually a prison. Surveillance is near total, and if all else fails, there's always the large, mysterious white ball that subdues potential escapees by temporarily smothering them. Who runs the Village? An ever-changing Number 2, who wants to know why Number 6 resigned. If he'd only cooperate, he's told, life can be made very pleasant. "I've resigned," he fumes. "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own." So sets the stage for the ultimate battle of wills: Number 6's struggle to retain his privacy, sanity, and individuality against the array of psychological and physical methods the Village uses to break him.

So does he ever escape? And does he ever find out who Number 1 is? "Questions are a burden to others," the Village saying goes. "Answers, a prison for oneself." Within this complete 17-episode set (which contains the entire series), all is revealed. Or is it? --Steve Landau

Though it ran for a mere 17 episodes the British sci-fi spy drama THE PRISONER is one of television's biggest cult hits. The brainchild of star Patrick McGoohan the series followed the adventures of No. 6 (McGoohan) a former secret agent who is being held captive in a highly secured village the location of which remains a mystery throughout the series. This groundbreaking and innovative show reached an unfortunate end when British TV bosses got cold feet following low ratings and increasingly strange story lines. But McGoohan himself took control and steered the show to an ending that continues to cause great debate among THE PRISONER's faithful fans. This release includes the entire series of the show.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 733961758580 Manufacturer No: AAE-75858

Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete Series

Bertie Wooster is feeling a bit shy of the mark when his new valet reports for duty, bringing with him a much-needed cure for the effects of the previous night's excesses. On the strength of this sterling debut, Jeeves is formally retained, and the unsuspecting servant is thrown headlong into the glorious mix of overbearing aunts, unbidden guests, friends in need and romantic entanglements that is Bertie's lot in life.

To millions of devoted fans, P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" stories are a delightful obsession, an irresistible and irreverent romp through the drawing rooms of Edwardian England's tweedy elite. Now, these comic masterpieces come to life in acclaimed productions with an extraordinary cast that features Hugh Laurie (Sense and Sensibility, Strapless) as the well-meaning but dim aristocrat Bertie Wooster, and Stephen Fry (Wilde, Cold Comfort Farm) as Jeeves, his hilariously arch and resourceful valet. This 8-DVD collector's set includes 23 digitally restored and remastered episodes.

The Complete UFO Megaset

UFO was Gerry Anderson's first live-action TV series after a decade of producing such children's animated classics as Stingray (1963) and Thunderbirds (1964). The premise of UFO, which ran for a single season of 26 episodes in 1970, was like a more serious version of Anderson's Captain Scarlet (1967): in the near future of 1980, a high-tech secret organization, SHADO, waged covert war against mysterious alien attackers. Ed Bishop played the American head of SHADO--he had been previously featured in Captain Scarlet and Anderson's Doppelganger (1969)--though in all other respects this was a thoroughly British production. As with all Anderson series, UFO evidenced remarkable technological inventiveness and groundbreaking production values, coupled with startling lapses in fundamental logic too numerous to list.

Much more adult in story and content than earlier Anderson productions, and surprisingly dark with its pragmatic view of human nature and downbeat endings, the show now seems like a forerunner of The X-Files and the equally short-lived Dark Skies (1996). Barry Gray's memorable theme and atmospheric music greatly enhanced the overall impact. Stylishly made, though terribly sexist by current standards and featuring eye-catching costumes more fitted for a campy dress party than the front line of a futuristic war, this cult classic eventually evolved into Space: 1999 (1975).

The UFO DVDs have been beautifully designed and produced. The mono sound is exceptionally strong, and the restored and remastered picture is almost unbelievably good for a 1970 TV show. With barely a flaw anywhere, the episodes look so clear, colorful, and detailed that they could have been filmed last week. This eight-disc megaset features all 26 episodes. --Gary S. Dalkin

The Avengers - The Complete Emma Peel Megaset (2006 Collector's Edition)

Along with Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Avengers practically defined British cult television, and it was never better than during the three years that Diana Rigg's Emma Peel character tossed out her witty barbs and karate kicks. The supercool 2006 edition of The Complete Emma Peel Megaset encompasses all 51 episodes from 1965-66 (in black and white) and 1967 (in color) plus a new bonus disc, all in 17 space-saving Thinpaks. Paired with Patrick Macnee as the dapper, umbrella-wielding John Steed, Rigg's Mrs. Peel turned heads with her sexy outfits, then broke skulls of the various would-be world-dominating bad guys who crossed her path. Like the mixed crime-fighting teams who came after them in shows like Moonlighting and The X-Files, Steed and Mrs. Peel had a constant platonic playfulness. In one episode when Mrs. Peel is working undercover at a department store, Steed drops in for a visit, remarking, "They told me 'Mrs. Peel is in Ladies Underwear.' I rattled up the stairs three at a time." However, unlike their spiritual successors, Steed and Mrs. Peel never jumped the shark; instead she bid a fond farewell as she passed the torch to Steed's next partner, Tara King (Linda Thorson), just as she had been passed the torch from Honor Blackman. (Blackman left her Kathy Gale character to go on to fame as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger--in one episode, Steed receives a postcard from Gale sent from Fort Knox.) But although Macnee had some enjoyable moments with other partners throughout the series' run, it's the Emma Peel years that fans remember most fondly, not only for the great chemistry between the lead actors, but the superb writing and distinctly British, and distinctly '60s, quirky charm.

The 216-minute bonus disc is the new addition to the 2006 set. Completists will appreciate the "lost" episodes from the first season. Of the very first episode, "Hot Snow," however, only the first 15 minutes were recovered. "Girl on the Trapeze" features a vanilla-esque Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel investigating the death of a circus performer, while "The Frighteners" perks things up considerably with the addition of Macnee's Steed character, who displays a bit of the comedic twinkle that would be the cornerstone of the series through its entire run. All in all, the episodes aren't nearly as watchable as the peak years of the series. Of greater interest to fans is "Avenging the Avengers," a 1992 documentary recapping the series through clips and interviews with Macnee, crew members, and actresses Honor Blackman (Cathy Gale, 1962-64) and Linda Thorson (Tara King, 1968-69). Diana Rigg appears briefly in older interview footage. The documentary lasts 25 minutes, and an additional nine minutes of interviews are added to the end. There's also a three-minute promotional film that Macnee and Rigg made to promote the series' switch from black and white to color, an alternate opening sequence, and a 1977 episode in which Mrs. Peel makes a cameo appearance. The bonus disc is also available separately for those who already have the 2001 Megaset and don't want to upgrade just for the sake of saving shelf space. --David Horiuchi

She is the perfect balance of sexiness and sophistication wit and whimsy. The object of many prepubescent lads desires Mrs. Emma Peel dazzled television screens on both sides of the Atlantic from 1965-1967. Starring Dame Diana Rigg as Peel and Patrick Macnee as John Steed the Emma Peel era of THE AVENGERS was the high-water-mark of the groundbreaking series with adventures more fantastic than ever. A one-stop haven for DVD collectors this special 17-disc Collector s Edition features all 51 digitally remastered Emma Peel episodes plus a new bonus disc containing three "lost" episodes from the debut season of THE AVENGERS a making-of documentary film a classic Emma Peel cameo episode from THE NEW AVENGERS 77 and more.System Requirements:DVD Features: Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Exclusive new bonus disc includes: 3 never-before-released "lost Avengers episodes from Season One: "Hot Snow" "The Frighteners" and "Girl on the Trapeze" Avenging The Avengers behind-the-scenes bonus documentary Excerpt from a rare promotional short film: The Strange Case of the Missing Corpse ALternate USA Chessboard Opening Sequence Special Emma Peel cameo episode from The New Avengers 77: "K Is For Kill: The Tiger Awakes" Running Time: 2913 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 733961745825 Manufacturer No: AAE-74582

Secret Agent (aka Danger Man) - The Complete Collection Megaset 2007

It was 1965 when American audiences first welcomed handsome principled secret agent John Drake (Patrick McGoohan of The Prisoner ) into their homes as CBS ran the unique spy series known as SECRET AGENT.Now at last John Drake s entire crime-solving career including the first season that aired only in the U.K. under the name Danger Man as well as all 47 episodes of the international hit Secret Agent is available in one unique collection. Each episode of this exciting spy thriller is complete and uncut and presented in the original broadcast order from the original Danger Man episodes through the two rarely seen color episodes of Secret Agent that provided a vivid finale to the long-running suspense thriller.The complete Secret Agent series including the first season that aired only in the U.K. is now available togther for the first time in one high-margin 18-disc set.Features all 86 episodes from the SECRET AGENT A.K.A. DANGER MAN series at a 50% discount from buying the Danger Man and Secret Agent Megaset™ collections separatelyStarring the Emmy® Award-winning Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner ). Special Features: Patrick McGoohan Biography/Filmography WComplete Full-Length Original U.S. Opening Featuring SecretAgent Man Sung by Johnny Rivers WPhoto GallerySystem Requirements:Run Time: 3420 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 733961768589 Manufacturer No: AAE-76858

Space 1999 - 30th Anniversary Edition Megaset (17DVD)

When it was first broadcast in 1975, there had never been a more lavishly produced science fiction TV series than Space: 1999, a British production whose budget for the first of its two seasons ran an astounding £3.25 million. What keeps us fans enthralled after all these years has only partly to due with the first-rate production values, the plausibly constructed spaceship models, and expert special effects. The tone of the show is one of scientific dispassion, setting it apart from its TV sci-fi predecessors such as Star Trek, whose mood was more convivial. Our heroes here are in dire circumstances that require cool heads as a survival trait. Those circumstances: the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha experience a cataclysm that causes the moon to break away from Earth's orbit and travel endlessly through space, turning our heroes into unintentional explorers. No TV series has created a more palpable feel of hard science fiction than this.

Of course the show is not without its detractors; it has been soundly lambasted for its many scientific errors. No less august a figure than Isaac Asimov criticized the show for its premise in the opening episode, "Breakaway," which had nuclear explosions on the "dark side of the moon" somehow propelling it out of Earth's orbit and flying through space without regard to any physical laws. In "Earthbound," aliens traveling to Earth state it will take them 75 years to reach their destination, making one wonder why it didn't take the moon that long to encounter the aliens. While these are serious complaints, fans tend to remember the scientific seriousness of the series and the sense of awe created by the many strange creatures and phenomena that the crew members encounter on their journey through the galaxy.

The Space: 1999 30th Anniversary Mega Set collects all 48 episodes broadcast over the show's two seasons, contained on 17 DVDs that include vintage interviews, production stills, TV promotional spots, and interactive menus, and some material that was not seen in the original U.S. broadcasts has been restored. The episodes do not use the 2005 high-def remasters, so this is essentially the same as the 2002 Mega Set, but at a fraction of the shelf space (the Thinpak packaging is nicely compact) and a fraction of the price. --Jim Gay

All 48 episodes of this acclaimed space adventure are contained in this complete collection, digitally remastered from the original 35mm film, plus bonus footage, featured extras, and much more! With its progressive plotlines, an outstanding cast, and astonishing special effects from Oscar® winner Brian Johnson (Alien, The Empire Strikes Back), SPACE: 1999 has secured its place as one of the most thought-provoking series of the 21st century—and beyond.

The Saint Megaset

Nineteen actors have portrayed Simon Templar, the gentleman adventurer created by Leslie Charteris in 1928. Among the most memorable incarnations were George Sanders (in a series of 1930s films) and Vincent Price (who voiced the character on radio in the 1940s). But for baby boomers, there is only one Simon: Roger Moore, who starred in this classic 1960s British TV series. Moore makes a better Templar than he did a Bond (and he is certainly better than Val Kilmer, who stared in the 1997 feature film), and the inside jokes include guest appearances by Lois Maxwell, best known to 007 fans as Miss Moneypenny. Except for the gadgets, The Saint has all the pleasures of the Bond films: a real international man of mystery impeccably dressed (these entertaining adventures are "more cloak than dagger"), exotic locations, cold war intrigue, sparkling bons mots, and beautiful (albeit chaste) women, and the highlight of any episode is the devilishly funny prologue, in which, no matter where he is, someone always identifies our hero as "the infamous" Simon Templar, prompting him to cast his eyes heavenward as he is crowned by his signature animated halo. This 14-disc set includes all 47 original color episodes presented in their U.S. broadcast order. --Donald Liebenson

The Avengers '62 - Complete Set

Before Mrs. Emma Peel joined the team and before THE AVENGERS came to America Mr. Steed (Patrick Macnee) was a familiar figure on the British telly pursuing his crime-fighting career alongside a shifting cast of sidekicks.During THE AVENGERS' second season Steed was busy at work with Dr. Martin King a beguiling jazz singer named Venus Smith and the beautiful anthropologist Mrs. Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman). With Cathy onboard that elusive chemistry was just right and THE AVENGERS was well on its way to achieving cult phenomenon status.Go back to the beginning of THE AVENGERS with these 14 seminal episodes from the show's second season:Mr. Teddy Bear / Propellant 23 / The Decapod / Bullseye / Mission to Montreal / The Removal Men / The Mauritius Penny / Death of a Great Dane / The Sell-Out / Death on the Rocks / Traitor in Zebra / The Big Thinker / Death Dispatch / Dead On CourseSystem Requirements:Running Time 728 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS UPC: 733961706536 Manufacturer No: AAE-70653

Jeeves & Wooster - The Complete First Season

P.G. Wodehouse's much-loved stories about Bertie Wooster and his brilliantly clever valet, Jeeves, were brought faithfully to life in Jeeves and Wooster, starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry as master and servant. The scripts of this perfectly cast production retain all the sparkling wit of Wodehouse's prose, and it's hard to see how any future adaptation of his work could surpass this wonderfully funny series.

This boxed set contains the entire first season of Jeeves and Wooster. In "Jeeves Takes Charge," young man-about-town Bertie Wooster employs a new valet called Jeeves, and not a moment too soon. Thanks to his Aunt Agatha, Bertie faces the terrible prospect of marriage to the statuesque Honoria Glossop, and only Jeeves can save the day. "Tuppy and the Terrier" finds Bertie in trouble again when he loses Aunt Agatha's dog. Further aunt-related complications arise when Bertie's chum Tuppy falls for our hero's cousin Angela. Aunt Dahlia is not amused. An uncle in love with a waitress, a trip to the country, a speedy choirboy, and a secret betting syndicate all lead to trouble in "The Purity of the Turf." Jeeves, of course, is the only one who can put things right.

Jeeves and Wooster really hits its stride in the final episodes of the first series, "The Hunger Strike" and "Brinkley Manor." When Bertie visits Aunt Dahlia, he is called upon to solve the romantic problems of his friends Tuppy Glossop (in love with cousin Angela) and the delightful Gussy Fink-Nottle (in love with Madeleine Basset, a young lady who believes the stars to be God's daisy chain.) Unwisely, Bertie decides to cook up his own plan and before long disaster strikes. Aunt Dahlia's superb chef Anatole gives his notice, and Bertram is to blame. Thank goodness for Jeeves. --Simon Leake