British Comedy Merchandise - New Releases

Agony - The Complete Second Series (DVD)

Contains seven episodes of the hit ITV sitcom.

BAFTA-nominated actress Maureen Lipman stars as Jane Lucas, writer of a problem page in a glossy magazine and radio agony aunt. A huge hit for ITV in the late 70s and early 80s, Agony lasted three series and a sequel fifteen years later. Based on the experiences of real-life Agony Aunt Anna Raeburn, Agony trod a thin line between black humour and genuine sadness - the darkest joke of all being that Jane offers solutions to people on a daily basis but can't solve her own personal problems.

Our Review: Another series of the 80s sitcom Agony sees Maureen Lipman reprise her starring role as Jane Lucas, the agony aunt with worse problems herself than those she tries to help.

The second series continues from the first, both in style and story. It's rather good fun without being particularly 'twee' or clichéd, managing to address and challenge the taboo, risqué, and darker aspects of modern relationships.

Deceptively typical 1980s ITV-fayre on the surface, but the aforementioned topics linger close beneath, offering something a little more than the average LWT sitcom.

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Modern Toss - Series 2 (DVD)

Rude, offensive, and downright weird, Modern Toss is an animated series that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. It's a world where alphabets are illegal, astronauts abuse ducks, and the sight of Alan Titchmarsh is enough to turn a man into a giant red monster. Don't expect it to make much sense, just sit back and let it wash over you like a tidal wave of guacamole. This release contains every episode from the show's second series.

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Only When I Laugh - The Complete Second Series (DVD)

The second series of this hilarious sitcom sees the return of the much loved hypochondriac layabouts James Bolam (The Likely Lads), Peter Bowles (To the Manor Born) and Christopher Strauli (Rising Damp The Movie). They continue their misadventures in the hospital wards patrolled by Doctor Thorpe (Richard Wilson - One Foot in the Grave).

This hugely successful comedy is one of the many successes of Eric Chappell (Rising Damp) and directed by Vernon Lawrence (Duty Free). Apart from the eccentric, adorable main characters, it also features Derrick Branche as the meaning but incompetent Nurse Gupte. This disc contains all seven episodes of the second series, available for the first time on DVD complete and uncut.

Our Review: A second look into the somewhat paranoid world of Figgis, Binns and Glover, confined to their hospital beds with various strange and unexplained illnesses.

Carrying on much in the vein of the first series (if it ain't broke, don't fix it), the second sees the mismatched trio still stuck together in the same hospital ward, and getting up to the familiar bizarre time-wasting activities as always.

Only When I Laugh is unlikely to be remembered as one of ITV's greatest ever sitcoms, but it's far from the worst, and should satisfy most comedy fans.

Some people will be disappointed with Network's lack of DVD extras, but in our minds this is not especially surprising given the age and relatively obscure nature of the material. At the BSG, we're just glad that shows such as this are being released at all!

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Hi-De-Hi! - Series 7 (DVD)

The MUCH overdue and extremely long-awaited seventh series of Hi-De-Hi! on DVD.

Episodes:
1. The Great Cat Robbery
2. It's Murder
3. Who Killed Mr. Partridge?
4. Spaghetti Galore
5. A Lack Of Punch
6. Ivory Castles In The Air
7. Man Trap

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Last of the Summer Wine - Series 9 & 10 (DVD)

The trio find themselves in more scrapes and adventures in this the ninth and tenth series of the long running BBC sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine.

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Love Soup - Series 1 & 2 (DVD)

Tamsin Greig and Michael Landes star in this romantic comedy drama penned by sitcom legend, David Renwick.

Love Soup looks at what happens when your first love is a distant memory but you haven't yet found "the one". Dealing with the parallel lives of a perfectly matched couple who have yet to meet each other, the comedy-drama follows their hopes, fears and dating disasters as they try to remain sane in a world from which they each feel increasingly excluded.

Tamsin Greig (Green Wing) plays Alice Chenery, an account manager for a perfume company in a London department store, struggling to maintain a flat in Brighton she cannot afford. Michael Landes, who has starred in The Wonder Years and The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, plays Gil Raymond, a successful American comedy writer who has fled his home country in search of artistic integrity and a lasting relationship.

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Love Soup - Series 2 (DVD)

Tamsin Greig and Michael Landes star in this romantic comedy drama penned by sitcom legend, David Renwick.

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Love Thy Neighbour - Series 8 (Dvd)

The fourth series of the cult '70s TV Comedy. One of the highest rated sitcoms of the 1970s, attracting 16 million viewers at the peak of its popularity, Love Thy Neighbour explores the culture clash between black and white neighbours Bill Reynolds and Eddie Booth.

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Not Only But Always... (DVD)

A biopic of the relationship between Peter Cook (Rhys Ifans) and Dudley Moore (Aidan McArdle) who became one of the best loved British comedy double acts...

Credited as the inventors of modern British satire, 'Not Only But Always' charts the searing highs and lows of these two extraordinary and different comedians, whose careers and private lives often swung in as uncontrolled and anarchic turns as their wit.

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Romance with A Double Bass (DVD)

Romance with A Double Bass is a truly delightful film and an important piece of film history. Based on a short story by Anton Chekhov this project was one of John Cleese's first post-Python projects. Romance With A Double Bass was the second writing collaboration for Cleese and Booth, and their first on screen appearance together, before they created the classic, Fawlty Towers. A bassist (Cleese) shows up early for the betrothal ball of a beautiful princess (Connie Booth) and whiles away the time having a dip in the river. The princess is doing the same unbeknownst to the bass player, but when someone steals their clothes the bass player helps the princess to preserve her dignity by transporting her back to the castle in his bass case; along the way they overcome many mishaps and discover they have feelings for each other. The film also starts a host of British talent including June Whitfield, Graham Crowden, Freddie Jones, Jonathan Lynn and Andrew Sachs.

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The Fenn Street Gang - The Complete Second Series (DVD)

Contains the complete second series of the classic television show The Fenn Street Gang, a spin-off from the highly successful series Please Sir!.

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Up The Elephant and Round The Castle - Complete Series (DVD)

A sitcom, with Jim Davidson cast as a cockney Jim-the-lad bachelor, on the dole, chasing birds, boozing down the Freemasons Arms and getting into all manner of scrapes - and not entirely legal ones at that.

Contains all three series' of the now very lowly regarded (and probably a little unfairly so) sitcom.

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Benidorm - The Complete Series One (DVD)

A six-part ITV1 comedy series from Derren Litten (co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show) featuring a strong ensemble cast of some of the finest comedy talent in the UK.

Set in the Solana all-inclusive Resort, Benidorm follows regulars and first-time holiday makers on their journeys abroad. Despite their disparate backgrounds they all have one thing in common - a quest for getting value for money!

Extras include out takes from the show.

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Morecambe & Wise - The Complete Fourth Series (DVD)

Morecambe and Wise are perhaps the best loved and most fondly remembered of all British comedy performers and England's first truly great double act. This collection features all the episodes from the show's fourth series.

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The Thoughts of Chairman Alf (DVD)

Featuring Warren Mitchell as the character Alf Garnett at his one-man show at the Beck Theatre in Hayes.

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Absolutely - Everything! (DVD)

The legenary Absolutely finally makes its debut on DVD after Absolutely Productions finally re-aquired the rights to all 4 series' of their namesake programme. Written by and starring Moray Hunter, Morwenna Banks, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy & John Sparkes, the late 80s early 90s sketch show has been described as "one of Channel 4's best-kept secrets".

This box set finally collects together all four series'. That's 28 episodes amounting to 15 hours and 52 minutes of material!

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Shameless - Series 1-5 (DVD)

Shameless flows from the pen of acclaimed writer Paul Abbott (Reckless). Fiona, Lip, Carl, Liam, Ian, and Debbie are the sons and daughters of loveable waster Frank Gallagher, and he even found the time to sire another two kids with his lover, Sheila. The mother of the family disappeared years ago, so responsibility falls on the shoulders of the oldest sister, Fiona, who has to cope with innumerable problems as the family members go through all-too familiar growing pains. This collection includes series 1 through 5, serving up a heady cocktail of sex, drugs, gratuitous violence, love, and scams - so there's something for everyone!

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Shameless - Series Five (DVD)

The Gallaghers are back in Shameless: Series 5!

Meet the Gallaghers. Mum went AWOL years ago, Dad stayed at home with the six children only to hit the bottle. And sometimes the kids. The real head of the family is big sister Fiona (20), who looks after Carl (11), Debbie (9) and baby Liam (3). She is occasionally helped, more often hindered, by reluctant virgin 'Lip' (16) and the actively gay but very private Ian (15). Welcome to a hectic world of sexual adventures, triumphs, love, scams and a fair bit of crime on a rough Manchester housing estate, where wheel-less cars are the norm and the moving ones are stolen.

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Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps - Series 7 (DVD)

Series 7 of the Runcorn-based comedy series.

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Desmond's - Series 2 (DVD)

Comedy series set in a South London barbershop, owned by grumpy Desmond Ambrose and his sweetnatured wife Shirley, where the customers come more for the conversation than the haircuts.

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St. Trinian's (DVD)

Starring Stephen Fry, Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Mischa Barton, Russell Brand and Gemma Arterton, St. Trinian's is the sixth in a series of films based on the works of cartoonist Ronald Searle. The previous five films include: The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957), The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960), The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) and The Wildcats of St Trinian's (1980).

St Trinian's, a school for "young ladies" with its anarchic doctrine of free expression, brings together a motley crew of ungovernable girls who, using their wit and ingenuity, save the school from bankruptcy.

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Pulling - The Complete Series One (DVD)

The first series of this sitcom about a thirtysomething woman who ditches her reliable fiance to move in with a group of single girls.

Donna isn't dull, she isn't ordinary and she's definitely meant for big things in life, so dumping her ultra-dependable and slightly beige fiance Karl just days before their wedding isn't such a major thing for her.

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The Green Green Grass - Series Two (DVD)

In John Sullivan's Only Fools and Horses spin-off The Green Green Grass Boycie and Marlene are off to pastures new as they swap their Peckham mansion for a rambling farmhouse in the middle of the Shropshire countryside.

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... And Mother Makes Three - The Complete First Series (DVD)

And Mother Makes Three stars Wendy Craig as a slightly dotty young widow trying to hold down a job while bringing up two rather challenging sons.

Quite innocently, and with the best will in the world, widow Sally Harrison has a great facility for putting her foot in it - in fact both feet, right up to her neck. Somehow she always manages to win through in the end, but not before dealing with an array of problems involving Auntie, the children and her long-suffering boss, the vet...

Contains all seven episodes from the first series.

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Tittybangbang - Series 2 (DVD)

Tittybangbang's roster of comedy talent, led by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, returns for a second seven-part series that includes a special, festive episode - Chrissytittybangbang.

This outrageous collection of characters includes returning favourites like the Italian Cleaning Lady ("Don't look at me, I'm shy!"), the over-indulging queen of cosmetic surgery - Maxine "It's just a little bit of seepage" Bendix and Paula the Twitching Darter ("Right there!").

Frustrated bachelor Don Peacock receives a very special guest in his grim bedsit, the Harrogate Ladies leave the comfort of their dining room for a camping holiday and Pete Wade gets a new job. There are also return appearances from Carol, her model daughter Leslie-Marie and newly-acquired fiancé Dennis; Trina and Jean, the combative stately home stewards; and Melanie, Nathalie and Colleen who have turned their attention towards television and bring you a running patios TV commentary.

These well-known faces are joined by brand-new comedy creations: look out for Veronica Cooper, a horsey blonde cantering through the countryside with posh best friend Christina, sharing their favourite outdoor pursuit; Jackie and her exceptionally gullible mate Nikki; Barnsley's first Vampire Slayers and some very Salty Tales from a storm-blasted village in Scotland. Tom Cruise, the world-famous movie megastar also makes an appearance, sampling the traditional delights of England as he tours the country.

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