2. Dad's Army - The Complete Collection [DVD]
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Dad's Army was created and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the duo who were also responsible for 'Allo 'Allo, Hi-De-Hi! and It Ain't Half Hot, Mum . Perry came up with the idea when it struck him that people had forgotten the role that the Home Guard played in the Second World War.
The sitcom followed the farcical exploits of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon, led by Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) and it ran on TV from 1968 to 1977. The story begins in May 1940 with Sir Anthony Eden's plea to men to come forward as Local Defence Volunteers. In the fictional town of Walmington, the pompous bank manager George Mainwaring declares himself commanding officer ("Times of peril always bring great men to the fore,") and gathers together a loyal but incompetent platoon of local men to defend the town against invasion.
Although reviewers initially criticised the series for mocking the Home Guard, the plotline was surprisingly realistic. The real Home Guard lacked uniforms and weapons at first, and the huge influx of volunteers meant that the organisation was quite shambolic. The age limit for recruits was supposed to be 65, but this was not enforced to begin with, allowing First World War veterans in their seventies and eighties to creep in.
Dad's Army had its own elderly, incontinent Private Godfrey, played by Arnold Ridley, who had fought in WW1 himself. The actor was seriously injured at the Somme, rendering his left arm almost useless, and leaving him susceptible to blackouts.
Among the rest of the cast were Clive Dunn (who simultaneously drew in a different audience as the chart-topping pop star 'Grandad'), Hattie Jacques' former husband, John le Mesurier and a baby-faced Ian Lavender, who has since resurfaced as Derek in EastEnders.
This box set features the entire collection of surviving episodes of the programme. Includes all nine surviving episodes from Series 1 and 2 and the complete series 3-9.
Nothing really gay about this at all, but it just one of the finest British comedies ever to appear on the small screen.
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| 3. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme: Complete BBC Boxset DVD
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All 19 episodes from Seasons 1 to 3 of the BBC sitcom that follows the ongoing chaotic adventures of over-the-top tart Lynda La Hughes (Kathy Burke) and perenially lonely gay guy Tom Farrell (James Dreyfus) - who happen to share both a London flat and a yearning lust for whatever luckless man happens to cross their paths. Series one episodes are: 'Who's That Boy?', 'The Big Break', 'Legs and Co', 'Do They Take Sugar?', 'Saturday Night Diva', 'I Do, I Do, I Do!'. Series two episodes are: 'Millennium Special', 'Teacher's Pet', 'Stiff', 'Prison Visitor', 'Dirty Thirty', 'Glad to be Gay?' and 'Sofa Man'. Series three episodes are: 'Down and Out', 'Lollipop Man', 'Secrets and Flies', 'Trauma', 'Singing in the Drain' and 'Decoy'.
Starring: Kathy Burke, James Dreyfus, Beth Goddard, Rosalind Knight, Brian Bovell
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| 4. Summer Heights High [DVD]
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Summer Heights High, written by and starring Chris Lilley (We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year), is the award winning Australian mockumentary series starring three of the funniest protagonists--all played by Lilley to hit our screens in years.
The effeminate, yet megalomaniacal, Greg Gregson--aka 'Mr G'--is the self-appointed "Director of Performing Arts", passionate about his "innovative" teaching methods and determined to write his own "Arena Spectacular". Summer Heights High is the third school in eighteen months for Jonah Takalulah, a teenager with Attention Deficit Disorder and problems with aggression. His best hope is to avoid being expelled, but he says he’s "not dumb" he’s just "choosing not to be smart at the minute." Private school exchange student Ja'mie King is struggling to cope away from her privileged background at "like, the boganist school ever."
Starring: Chris Lilley
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| 5. Vicious - Series 1 [DVD]
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Vicious tells the story of partners Freddie (Ian McKellen) and Stuart (Derek Jacobi), two men who have lived together in a small central London flat for nearly 50 years. Constantly picking each other apart and holding on to petty slights for decades, we can still see that underneath all their vicious co-dependent fighting they have a deep love for each other. Into their world steps a young man, Ash (Iwan Rheon), as their new upstairs neighbour. Joining Freddie and Stuart is feisty best friend Violet (Frances de la Tour), young at heart and with a deliciously dry sense of humour.
Starring: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Francis de la Tour, Iwan Rheon
The first series drew mixed reviews. It had some funny moment but felt very 'stagy' and somewhat outdated and, you had to wonder if they were constantly so bitchy towards each other, why they bothered living togather. Regardless of that, a second series has been commissioned for ITV.
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