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DVDfever.co.uk – Network DVDs: First half of September 2009
Network DVD
Posted: August 21st, 2009.
DVD: 
Network DVD is set to release light-hearted, popular drama series STAY LUCKY THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES (12) on 7th September 2009, RRP £14.99. This Yorkshire-based comedy thriller tells the story of a cockney wide boy, a headstrong, fiercely independent northern woman and her precious houseboat.
Dennis Waterman (The Knock) is Thomas Gynn, a London gangland member on the run from demons old and new. He heads north in an attempt to carve out a new life for himself. At a rain-lashed service station on the A1, Thomas meets widow Sally Hardcastle (Jan Francis Just Good Friends), a feisty, no-nonsense local businesswoman. The sparks literally fly as he fixes Sallys broken-down car and is reluctantly offered a lift to Leeds. With much unwillingness and a degree of surprise, the mismatched pair find themselves becoming reliant upon each other through a series of misadventures
The DVD is released on September 7th, it runs for 150 mins and retails for £15.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £11.69.
DVD:
Christopher Eccleston and Ricky Tomlinson star in the BAFTA-winning ITV drama HILLSBOROUGH (Cert TBC), released by Network DVD on 7th September 2009, RRP £15.99. It is available for the first time in any format.
The DVD comes 20 years after the tragedy and in the wake of this governments decision to release official documents relating to the disaster.
Written by Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, The Street), HILLSBOROUGH is an emotionally powerful and highly acclaimed dramatisation of personal grief and public issues in the wake of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster, where 96 Liverpool FC fans were crushed to death at a FA cup semi-final match against Nottingham Forest.
Following the stories of three victims families, from the initial excitement of match day to the legal battles that followed the tragedy, Hillsborough presents a raw, honest portrayal of the campaign for truth within a culture of closed ranks and cover-ups.
The drama also seeks to dismantle damaging lies regarding fans conduct, perpetuated by sections of the popular press and seen by McGovern and others as symptomatic of an ongoing vilification of the working class within the British media.
Initially broadcasted in 1996, Hillsborough won countless awards, including a BAFTA for Best Single Drama and the Writers Guild of Great Britain award for Best TV Play.
The impact of Hillsborough is considered an important factor in the setting up of an official inquiry into the disaster and the way football matches are policed today.
The DVD is released on September 7th, it runs for 110 mins and retails for £15.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £9.98.
DVD:
A police a sergeant at a time of industrial progress and enormous changes that rendered cityscapes unrecognisable: Network DVD is delighted to be the one to give this gem of a series a much deserved DVD release. SERGEANT CORK THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES (12) is out on 7th September 2009 as a 4 disc set, RRP£39.99; this set contains all thirteen episodes from the first series unseen since the sixties, complete and uncut.
John Barrie (Patton, Z-Cars) stars in this enthralling series as Sergeant Cork one of the early members of Londons Metropolitan Police CID: these were plainclothes detectives tasked with maintaining law and order in the seething metropolis of Victorian London. The immense boom in population due to industrialisation and expansion resulted in the greater mix of people from all walks of life, the difference between the rich and the poor had never seemed so stark, and the crime wave appeared to increase and the work was never finished or done. Assisted by Bob Marriott (William Gaunt The Champions) from his attic office at Old Scotland Yard, Cork has to contend with the endless cases, murders and intrigues.
Created by Ted Willis (Dixon of Dock Green) and produced by Jack Williams (Within These Walls, New Scotland Yard), Sergeant Cork features inventive scripts from Willis, Richard Harris (Man in a Suitcase), Julian Bond (The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes) and Bruce Stewart (Timeslip) among others.
Special Features: Episodic and PR image galleries on each disc, ITC episode guide PDF (Disc Two)
The DVD is released on September 7th, it runs for 650 mins and retails for £39.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £28.98.
DVD:
Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Palmer and John Gordon Sinclair star in the LWT newspaper satire HOT METAL THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES (15), released by Network DVD on 7th September 2009, RRP £14.99.
Twiggy Rathbone, newspaper tycoon and owner of Rathouse International, relaunches his Daily Crucible newspaper as a completely downmarket, sex and sleaze-centric tabloid. To aid him in this crusade he brings in South African newspaper editor Russell Spam, whose job is to deflect the complaints of the ‘old guard’ and re-employ bottom-of-the-barrel reporters like Greg Kettle, the sort of person who thinks nothing of using a Medium to interview victims of capital punishment…
HOT METAL is Andrew Marshall and David Renwick’s (Whoops Apocalypse, 2point4 Children) razor-sharp satire of the ongoing shenanigans of the day-to-day running of a tabloid newspaper. It was a cult success when first broadcast on ITV and remains an outstandingly clever and wickedly funny comedy twenty years on.
Robert Hardy (All Creatures Great and Small) takes a dual role and Geoffrey Palmer (Butterflies) co-stars as outgoing editor Harry Stringer.
The DVD is released on September 7th, it runs for 150 mins and retails for £14.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £8.98.
DVD:
Bill Maynard stars in the hilarious ITV sitcom OH NO, ITS SELWYN FROGGITT! THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES, released by Network DVD on 7th September, RRP £12.99.
Selwyn Froggitt is the kind of man everybody comes across all too often. The kind of man who thinks he can fix anything. The kind of man who, when you see him coming, makes you run for cover. Selwyns favourite phrase is Leave it to me. Whatever the problem, he knows what to do and how to handle it. The trouble is that despite boundless confidence in his own abilities, Selwyn really knows very little, and can handle even less. But that doesnt stop him
Bill Maynard stars as the council labourer, Scarsdale Working Mens Club secretary, hapless handyman and all-round public nuisance in this classic Yorkshire Television sitcom from the pen of award-winning writer Alan Plater (Beiderbecke).
OH NO, ITS SELWYN FROGGITT! boasts a regular supporting cast featuring Bill Dean (Brookside) – who also wrote lyrics for each shows theme song – and Robert Keegan (Z Cars), and remained a firm favourite with the viewing public throughout its two-year run, establishing Bill Maynard as a household name. This release contains every episode of the complete second series, originally broadcast in 1977.
The DVD is released on September 7th, it runs for 175 mins and retails for £12.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £7.98.
DVD:
NETWORK will release the acclaimed LWT drama A PIECE OF CAKE THE COMPLETE SERIES (12) on 14th September 2009. This 2-disc set includes all 6 episodes complete and uncut, RRP £19.99.
Based on the novel by former RAF fighter plotter and Booker Prize nominee Derek Robinson, A PIECE OF CAKE tells the story of twelve young RAF pilots of Hornet Squadron and their sojourn in France, during the brief period of peace before they get called upon to engage in the warfare that is carried out against an enemy that is ultimately better armed, better experienced and better trained than they are. It is September 1939 and Britain has entered the War. The twelve young pilots leave for France with the prospect of flying beautiful aircraft in perfect formation. In their youthful and exuberant minds, they are ready for any situation and any enemy. Despite the raging war, life is still for the living after all. As they endure the mounting anticipation of the phoney war, the novices some still in their teenage years are determined to sample the delights that France has to offer.
A PIECE OF CAKE stars Tim Woodward (Wings), Neil Dudgeon (Life of Riley), Nathaniel Parker (Bleak House) and Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park). Featuring meticulously researched combat scenes and restored period aircraft, stunning aerial photography and special effects, A PIECE OF CAKE also emphasises the fragility and vulnerability of the pilots. As a result, the characterisations are rounded and the youthful heroes of the Battle of Britain are brought vividly to life.
The DVD is released on September 14th, it runs for 310 mins and retails for £19.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £11.98.
DVD:
John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Edward Woodward, Patrick Mower and Diane Keen are juts some of the top British actors that appear in the groundbreaking television drama ARMCHAIR CINEMA THE COLLECTION (CERT TBC), one of the first projects undertaken by Thames Televisions Euston Films subsidiary. Based on the format of the hugely successful and influential Armchair Theatre, this series of individual film dramas is perhaps best remembered for the phenomenally successful film – Regan, which introduced John Thaw and Dennis Watermans maverick Flying Squad detectives, gaining a huge audience and leading to the commissioning of The Sweeney. This DVD is available to buy on 24th August 2009, RRP £49.99.
The standard of drama offered by the series was consistently high – its flexibility and scope attracted some of the best contemporary television writers, and every film showcased the talents of first-class performers – including John Thaw, Edward Woodward, Anthony Valentine and Tom Bell.
This five-disc set also includes Rumour and Suspect two Thames Television filmed plays by Mike Hodges (Get Carter) which were a dry run for the Euston Films style alongside The Sailors Return and Charlie Muffin, two standalone television movies made by Euston Films.
The DVD is released on September 14th, it runs for 890 mins and retails for £49.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £37.39.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.