"I don't know much about art, but..."

Terrific stuff with a great cast and a very witty script e.g. Count Scarlioni suggests that if Romana and Tom Chadbon's marvellously thick Duggan wanted to see him, they only had to ask instead of the failed break in to his chateau. He observes"You had no need to resort to, well one could hardly call it"stealth"!

Julian Glover gives a perfect performance as the time splintered alien posing as an art thief. He has clearly got used to the finer things of his"Not very satisfactory mode of existence".
Catherine Schell gives him a marvellous trophy wife, making something special out of the scene where the Doctor plays on her doubts about the"man" she married.

We also get a lovely Eastern European scientist from David Graham and a wonderful butler-he's so violent!

Uncle Tom and Lalla are the perfect team for such a setting and both make the most of lines like"Patron, 3 waters and make them doubles!"

The script is a very good 1 and probably the nearest to what Douglas Adams had wanted with the humour and drama working together. Some strong concepts too like Scaroth's existence in different times.

The mask for the Jagaroth is not too bad for the time and when it's worn by a man in a sharp looking suit makes for an iconic image.

Of course this is the 1 with a marvellous cameo by Eleanor Bron and John Cleese assessing the Tardis' artistic merit!

The documentary has many of the cast and crew and for once the celebrity fans have good things to say-esp. Dark Lord Steven Moffat. There is a recreation of the original version of the story, brief but still fairly detailed and broken up into episodes. Hope we'll get this on some other stories. There is a great sense of humour throughout which is very successful.

The commentary sadly is not a Tommentary and lacks Lalla but Julian Glover and Tom Chadbon are still good value.

For once, I enjoyed the specially recorded comedy sketch. This one features Sardoth the dissolute second to last of the Jaggaroth. A highlight has him rattling a tin for donations crying"Save the Jagaroth!"

There is a duff photo feature about filming a chicken and a nest of easter eggs(the best of which are a BBC Xmas tape sketch and Douglas Adams recounting a cross continental drinking session!).

A great package for a great story, 1 for everyone!

Good as far as things go.

I have nothing bad to say about this season. The quality of the first two continues. The conspiracy deepens and their are some first rate stand alone episodes. There just isn't anything new or groundbreaking here to be honest.

The first down right funny episodes apear here as well."War of the Coprohaghes" and"John Chung's From Outerspace" which both take a comedic stance on the content and characters of the series.

Eminently watchable

I sat down to watch a couple of episodes from this boxset at 10.30 one evening before bed. I just kept watching. I know people complain about Doctor Who under John Nathan Turner, about how it was so designed, about how it"destroyed" the classic series, but it worked a lot of the time.

Three stories: Keeper of Traken, Logopolis, Castrovalva. In the first Tom Baker travels to the the paradise of Traken, only to discover that an old foe is waiting for him. In Logopolis, it's Tom's swansong, the introduction of the iconic Tegan Jovanka, and a threat to the whole universe using mathematical equations. Castrovalva is Peter Davison's first (though the fourth he filmed) story and it involves a space/time trap and an unstable regeneration.

And it's all a lot of fun. Tom is subdued, but it means he gives a more measured performance rather than hamming it up, and there is a sense of predestination when he regenerates into Pete. Pete's performance doesn't coalesce into his Doctor's personality until the final scenes of Castrovalva, meaning that the companions carry his story, but he does some impressions of previous Doctors along the way that are a lot of fun.

While Keeper of Traken is more of a fantasy tale about ossifying evil, Logopolis and Castrovalva are built on solid science, and although the special effects budget can't quite visualise the grand ideas, they are fascinating. Logopolis particularly prefigures the new series' School Reunion.

The extras are great too, Tom and Peter have never been afraid of sharing their opinions on Who, so there are some real insights here. And the commentaries are chucklesome.

This is delightful stuff.

Stargate, ratings the size of Dumbo on steroids

Ok so the original enemy is dead now SG1 starts getting into new and funky story lines inc more lavish scenery and props and nice meaty story lines infact only 2 i thought were ok, the rest rocked, filled with features and great picture and sound
BUY NOW

x files series four

Not a bad season only a couple of duds in my opinion the main one being HOME. Sorry diehards but this was so poor it was the only time i considered skipping the whole episode( i have all the x files) Its not so much the premise that was bad but the acting and plot, they seemed bored and unimpressed. i know how they felt.

Finding its feet again

Unlike my other ratings of Red Dwarf only series VII and VIII go below 5 stars. 3 for VII and 4 for VIII. Series VIII itself isnt too bad however Red Dwarf was not the same. For a starters the writers revived the crew of Red Dwarf. This changed the scenario completely and can sometimes feel like your watching a Spinoff series entitled Red Dwarf - The Prison years. The episodes are on the mend for example Krytie TV is a right corker and has me laugh everytime I see it. However some mistakes were made in my opinion by doing such things as stretching out the first story into three episodes. Far too long and what starts as a great return to Red Dwarf in the first episode gradually starts to decline from the second series onwards. The return of Chris Barrie is paramount. He should never have left and Series VII really lost something when he left. I still think this Series is great and I am sure that when the movie is made and/or Series IX is made they producers /directors and everyone will have learned from their mistakes.

ONE OF THE BEST

This is probably one of the best collections so far, has a great selection of funny and serious episodes in. For the x files fans would really recommend this but even if you only watched a few this is still great viewing

Would have been good to be pursued...

...yes, the characters we're not quite as lively as we can remember G'Kar or Londo... Delean and all the other B5 characters including those passing by as Eric as the Techno-Mage and all the others... yet, I truely thought this Legend of the Rangers had an excellent potential for development if pursued a bit longer and given at least a season! Compared to a lot of sci-fi films the level was still supreme. The design of this starship was fascinating and impressed even me as someone who was always more interested in the storytelling and the fate, twists and turns of those B5 rather then technical finesse... the characters would have evolved I am sure especially with writers like Stracincsky... well perhaps somebody out there is hearing the voices of all those Sci-Fi explorers and will answer it with an excellent transmission of storytelling and venturing out to the stars and remembering that there is more to life???

The Aztecs- A Sacrifice Worth Making!

This episode is truly amazing! I’m sure that you are aware that most Doctor Who fans will tell you that the Black & White episodes of Doctor Who are absolute classics. Well they’d be right! This is not ONLY a black & white episode; it stands out. Everything except the effects proclaims this as an amazing feast, and I can proudly say that this is THE best b&w episode ever!

This episode is unique in that one of the companions, Barbara, gets the main plot. However, every other companion gets their own sub-plot which doesn’t support the main plot, it is a fascinating experience in itself. The acting is the best acting ever seen on Doctor Who. The effects do not impress much, but don’t forget that you can’t expect too much in that department from B&W episodes. At least the BBC didn’t try out too much, so the effects aren’t bad, they’re just not impressive.

What is interesting is that, although this story is based purely on history (i.e. no futuristic or alien elements) it is still fantastic!

You don’t need to be a fan of Doctor Who to enjoy this. If you are a first-time buyer, this should be a strong contender, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, as I’m sure most fans will agree that this is AMAZING!

BUY IT!!!

Red Dwarf at its best

This is definitely the best series in my opinion. The episodes are all exceptional with superb concepts ranging from straw wielding brain thirsty aliens to a world made from Rimmers sub-conscious (theres a scary thought!!). This is extremely well written, acted brilliant with the chemistry obvious and I'm thankful that they never got rid of Cat after series 3!! Its well worth buying if your into great British comedies, as a fan or even not. Buy it buy it buy it!!!

Three steps to Heaven

The Tenth anniversary of Doctor Who kicked-off with this, the first televised multi-Doctor story. The Three Doctors introduces another rogue Timelord, Omega, after the sudden death of Roger Delgado meant that The Master could no longer be involved. The story is somewhat lacking in depth but a real treat for any fan of the 'classic series'.
After a rollicking start, where a mysterious and shapeless energy bubble begins terrorising the countryside and abducting random people, the story seems to settle into a classic Third Doctor Earthbound adventure. All goes well until we are properly introduced to Gallifrey, the Doctor's home planet, for the first time in the series, although the name is not used at this point. This could have been a fantastic plot device and given the fans a much-anticipated insight into The Doctor's origins, however it is simply presented as a load of crusty, hirsuite old men; the worst of whom is The President of the Timelords, played by possibly the most wooden and uncharismatic actor in the show's series (and yes, I've seen 'The Mutants'!) Still, it's good to at least see some more of The Doctor's people and it does give a good idea as to why he needed to escape!
The story's second episode is a somewhat stretched affair but Patrick Troughton is in fine form as The Second Doctor and gets all the best lines - before seeing this story I thought The Fourth Doctor was the originator of the jelly babies. The Third Doctor and Jo are transported to a world of anti-matter and we get to see the fabled Omega for the first time. Brief glimpses of The First Doctor (who is trapped in a 'time-eddy') show a clearly decrepit but still imposing William Hartnell and his line,"so these are my replacements, a dandy and a clown!" is pure joy. In fact, he turns out to be the linchpin for the story's resolution and it remains a fitting epitaph for the original 'Doctor'.
In the third episode we see the UNIT HQ transported to Omega's world, along with The Brigadier, Benton and The Second Doctor. The Third Doctor pits his wits against the renegade Timelord but there is a lot of filler in this episode - fortunately Jo's shapely legs help to sustain interest throughout...The unnamed, 'jelly-like' creatures who serve Omega, chase our heroes down lots of globule-encrusted corridors whilst Doctors Two and Three squabble in humorous fashion before uniting against Omega. The episode ends in slightly hallucinogenic fashion, with The Third Doctor slow-mo battling Omega's 'dark side' in the form of a hideous gremlin. This prompts the watching Timelords, in the final episode, to send The First Doctor into the black hole to help his future selves.
Overall the production qualities of this anniversary story befit its status. Apart from the feebly realised 'jelly monsters' the effects, locations and cast are all top-notch. Plot holes are excusable as it is a celebratory story after all, and I'm sure that the cast and crew had no idea of the programme's colourful future...

Exactly the same as the UK Carlton discs (but with Dutch menus)

Having recently rented one of the Carlton discs and then picking up this set in the Netherlands, I can confirm that the transfer, menu design and bonus features are exactly the same as the older UK release. The only difference is that the text in the menus is in Dutch, and the subtitles default to 'on', but can be switched off. The transfer is very good for a made for TV series from 1965 and actually better than I expected. I certainly would not have grounds to criticise it like another review here!

This is quite a bargain compared to the newer 9 disc set, but lacks the bonus disc in that set. How much is that worth to you?

Might have been 5 stars but some of the extras appear to be missing...

I'll leave the other reviewers to speak for the quality of this season ( I think it holds up pretty well) but the packaging of this box set is misleading. Please note that two of the documentaries ("The Making Of The Truth" and"Reflections On The Truth") listed in the contents booklet as being on disc 6 don't actually appear to be on disc 6, or on any of the other discs. And I have looked extensively for them, believe me. So not as much extra value as I first thought. This is in reference to the region 2 M-lock version released in 2005.

The Two Doctors

Okay, first of all lets get something out of the way. Think Three Doctors - think 10th anniversary, think Five Doctors - think 20th anniversary, think Two Doctors think no anniversary. This may seem that I'm stating the obvious however it is something that needs to be said as quite a few people come into this story knowing of multi doctors, a script written by Robert Holmes and knowing of the returning Sontarans that they immediately think rip roaring epic anniversary tale and come away disappointed. There are other aforementioned stories that suit this tag (and some unmentioned) but this is not one of them.

This story is one of the rare examples of exploring the nature of time travel. Throughout the course of the series The Doctor has got himself into various situations that he has been able to get out of, however this story starts off with The Second Doctor walking into a trap that has been set up by an alien that has been augmented to the level of a super genius. Due to his later incarnation turning up at the scene after the events in question due to a completely unrelated matter its up to the Sixth (and at the time current) Doctor to save his previous self.

With such a simple kidnap and rescue plot a good deal of screen time goes to character building moments and at the length of a traditional six parter it gives the story time to breath, not leaving the story feeling as frenetic as the rest of the season. A good thing about the relaxed plot is that it gives Colin Baker some time to build up his newly regenerated Doctor which as this was his first proper full season is only fair. In fact the entire of the first half of the story, scenes which feature Colin Bakers Doctor and Peri see them exploring a battered space station trying to figure out what happened, in terms of character building it is reminiscent of Tom Bakers 4th Doctor and the opening episode of Arc in Space.

There are so many good performances in this, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are on form as the regulars and the guest cast also features some good parts. Shockeye the food obsessed Androgum and Oscar the out of work actor are wonderfully OTT. Jacqueline Pearce makes for a good villain as the super genius Androgum Chesene (which she confesses is a similar part to her more well known role in Blakes 7). However the main joy for most people is seeing Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines slip effortlessly back into the roles of The Second Doctor and Jamie. Its a surprising fact that due to the kidnap element Jamie gets more screen time however Patrick does give a good performance. A few of the stories detractors complain that the Second Doctor doesn't get as much to do as the later Doctor, however Troughton does get a lot of screen time in episode one and goes wonderfully OTT in episode three when he gets implanted with androgum genes, also he gets to do a lot more than he did in his previous appearance.

In short this is a fun slice of Who full of character building, good dialogue and fun moments. In all honesty most people would probably give the story 3 or 4 stars but I has a real soft spot and I can't resist giving it the 5 star treatment. The only negative aspect is the Sontarens who are not really needed in the script and don't do much.


There's a good amount of extras on the DVD, I'm a big sucker for behind the scenes footage and there is about an hours worth of studio and location footage (sadly there's not much footage of Troughton though). The commentary featuring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Frazer Hines, Peter Moffat (director) and Jaqueline Pearce is very entertaining especially when they have to take turns explaining what's going onto Pearce. A Fix With Sontarans is an amusing piece of nostalgia as is Wavelength. Adventures in Time and Space sadly didn't interest me and I lasted 5 mins before switching off deciding that anecdotes being given on a UK beach about finding locations in Spain was a bit dull. Behind the Sofa is a documentary about Robert Holmes and his contribution to Who, he's written some good stories and was script editor during one of the best era's of Who. Its easy to forget how many good stories he wrote, when I think of I think the auton stories and Pyramids of Mars, its nice to be reminded he wrote the likes of Caves of Androzani and Carnival of Monsters.

Satisfactory sci-fi, marred only by poor onscreen effects

I recall the week this film came out. I was on a camping holiday with my brother Anders and his friend Braithwaite. We had ventured to the rocky retreats of a local rivine. The trip turned out to be a total disaster, mainly because I forgot to bring the gas stove and also because Braithwaite drowned in some rapids. I do remember being excited though about the 'Alien' film, which was premiering at the time.
Myself and Anders went to see it the following week. He had always been a non believer in aliens and made it clear he was only going to see the film as a favour to me.
Directed by the late Ridley Scott, brother of Hollywood veteran George C.Scott, the film moves at a lethargic pace for the first hour. Some tedious scenes ensue, mainly with the crew sitting down to meals and discussing the mechanics of the ship. I found the first hour extremely dull and there is nothing to engage the viewer, except for some trite incidental music every now and then.
The cast is acceptable, if not a little thin on talent. Newcomer Sigourney Weaver (pronounced Sin-your-ree Wevver) was plucked from obscurity to play the heroine Helen Ripley. She brings no charm to the role and plays the character without emotion or pity, something which I found implausible.
I was pleased to see the wonderful Yaphett Kotto in the film, playing a world weary vet. I had followed his career since his debut in the sitcom 'Me, Janet And Mr Wilson'. He is commanding in this role and despite being the second only actor to have ever starred in a sci-fi film up to this point, he tackles the part with confidence and integrity.
My main criticism is the poor effects. The budget of two million dollars had to be stretched to great lengths and the special effects team were granted a meagre amount to play with. The alien is unconvincingly a man in a rubber suit and the spaceship interiors are clearly made out of cardboard and tissue paper.
On a positive note, the ending is a joy. Weaver battles the alien wearing just a bra. My brother Anders had left the cinema by the time this scene came on, so I was able to savour every delicious moment myself. The erotic interplay between Weaver and the alien in the final confrontation is quite majestic and dare I say it, a little arousing.
Alien has been re-issued several times since the film's release in various versions. I recommend watching the version where the alien dies at the end, rather than the version where they befriend it and invite the alien to take a position on the ship as a chef.

Well...it's a blockbuster.

I agree with the last review when it says that this one has ruined any chance for a darker comeback of Giger's little pet, and it is a shame, indeed it is. I would very much thrive on a Sir Ridley Scott/ James Cameron movie about origins. Oh, yes I would...

About this movie, even though you don't get the darker side, you get a very enjoyable movie to watch, if you pre-conceive that this has nothing to do with the original franchising. It's well written, it has a nice cast, and it's visually nice. I have to add that this story doesn't corrupt the original storyline, and it's congruent to think that an alien species that hunts through this galaxy as a way of living would know about such a feared species as the Alien. So, as a crossover it isn't the worst you could get.

Excellent

This season is where Farscape kicks off into a higher gear. My personal favourite season is season 3, but this one is a fantastic mix-up of leather, pop culture references and bodily fluids. An exceptionally well made series cut down in it’s prime, but at least we got Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars which gave us a sense of closure.

Whacky, insane sci-fi for the fans who don’t take their TV weird shows too seriously.

Simply brilliant sci-fi

Keeping this short and sweet, i dont want to spoil anything for anyone who hasnt seen it, this is a great sci-fi movie. On its own it could be a little confusing so i would reccomend seeing the first few seasons of the series first. It has a great story and acting and some of the best special effects in a straight to video and dvd release. The spaceships all move as they would in real life, no unrealistic WWII style dogfights here (Lucasfilm really need to brush up on their physics!), the Earth Force Starfury slides, rotates, and pulls off maneouvres that you will never see an x-wing do. And the Minbari ships are works of art. Buy it and you wont be dissapointed.

one of the best of the series

Ive been trying to keep some kind of record of each episode of the x-files (of which there were nine seasons) for some time now but with little success. This is a geeky thing for me to do firstly because of the series itself (sci fi, alien abductions anyone?) and also just trying to provide a summary for a show that had some 180 plus episodes is a little bit obsessive. The problem seems to be that I put on an episode (I have alot of time because I am now unemployed yes?) and then I potter around, fix a coffee, my hair, my lunch and have no idea as to what's gone on with the aliens. I can just about remember whether what Ive seen is either a 'mythological' or 'stand alone' episode. Mythological tales begun with Fox Mulder's sister being abducted by non- humans when he was a child and then general alien related stories which always effect Mulder and Dana Scully is some emotional and physical way. Stand alone episodes are about everything elses and can be silly, funny, ironic, frightening, complicated, dull; you get the point. They are always resloved in the same episode.

I'm currently watching Season 7 and have worked my way here starting with season 1 in season order. I watched the first 5 seasons when they originally aired. Looking at them now they seem dated and crude; the chemistry between Mulder and Scully which is really the defining point of the show, undeveloped. By season 6 I'd begun to actually stop experimenting with my hair and was sitting down watching the show. When I took out season 7 from the box I realised that I already knew many of the episodes from title and was very familiar to the plots and had enjoyed many of the episodes already. See our heros had really begun to fully inhabite their charaters and the emotional dynamic between the two had well truly taken off. I think this season is also the one in which Mulder leaves, to come back only for those 'Myth' episodes and the series final. So a beautifully acted season, funny and engaging and fully realised.

A different beast to Alien

Although this sequel is set on the same planetoid inhabited by the same monsterous aliens and uses many of the same plot devices, it feels completely different from the magnificent Alien. This is a longer film but it doesn't mess about much trying to create tension and set the scene before giving us a chill, it just thrills us, and keeps thrilling us, in fact the thrill factor is relentless throughout. Okay, it's nowhere near as subtle as the original, granted, but neither does it come across as pretentious at times, whereas Alien most certainly did. It has weak points and is a bit fast and loose in its narrative, is pretty corny in patches (like little Newt surviving), and feels a bit like a Spielberg movie in the way it all falls together for our hero, but it is also full of invention, is visually stunning, superbly crafted and is a testament to the quality of big blockbuster movies you can make in England. Lastly the very best thing about this alien blast fest movie, Sigourney Weaver in a blistering performance you cannot forget. She has never been better and she has never been hotter than she is here. I have to take a cold shower after watching this great movie, the woman is that hot. And playing her maternal instinct off against that of the Queen alien was a masterstroke. A masterpiece of modern cinema.