"Actor: Beth Morris"

• The Tribe - Vol. 1 - Episodes 1-4 | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Let's admit it right away, The Tribe may just be the best kids' TV show ever. To be precise, it's for older children and teenagers (and their parents will find it insightful, too), the very age group that occupies all the roles in this post-apocalyptic tale. Mixing the scenario of Lord of the Flies (except there are, y'know, girls in it as well) with the visual imagery of Mad Max and the angst-ridden psychodrama of Sweet Valley High, The Tribe tells of a near-future in which the world's adult population has been wiped out by a virus. Of course, society's infrastructure has gone, too, so the youthful survivors not only have to deal with all the usual trials and tribulations of childhood and adolescence but must also develop some form of functioning society of their own, without any form of adult intervention and with only the barest amount of technology. What happens, of course, is that all the social ills of the old world, from bullying to teenage pregnancy, are writ 10 times larger in the new. The ways in which the characters cope (or fail to cope) with these issues are both exasperating and deeply moving. --Roger Thomas

• The Tribe - Vol. 2 - Episodes 5-8 | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £7.86   |  Saving you £8.13 (50.80%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Let’s admit it right away, The Tribe may just be the best kids’ TV show ever. To be precise, it’s for older children and teenagers (and their parents will find it insightful, too), the very age group that occupies all the roles in this post-apocalyptic tale. Mixing the scenario of Lord of the Flies (except there are, y’know, girls in it as well) with the visual imagery of Mad Max and the angst-ridden psychodrama of Sweet Valley High, The Tribe tells of a near-future in which the world’s adult population has been wiped out by a virus. Of course, society’s infrastructure has gone, too, so the youthful survivors not only have to deal with all the usual trials and tribulations of childhood and adolescence but must also develop some form of functioning society of their own, without any form of adult intervention and with only the barest amount of technology. What happens, of course, is that all the social ills of the old world, from bullying to teenage pregnancy, are writ 10 times larger in the new. The ways in which the characters cope (or fail to cope) with these issues are both exasperating and deeply moving. --Roger Thomas

• Armchair Thriller Vol.7 - The Circe Complex | DVD | (06/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  With memorable and unsettling opening credits and exceptional performances and direction Armchair Thriller became a massive hit for Thames Television in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With its trademark ghoulish razor-sharp cliff hangers and iconic theme tune (by Roxy Music's Andy Mackay) this haunting anthology series was an immediate success its eerie disturbing and downright scary tales regularly attracting over 15 million viewers. Each of its ten stories is a gripping exercise in compelling television showing ordinary people plunged into extraordinary situations. For many this series remains a high-watermark of dramatic television and its many frightening and spooky moments are remembered by viewers nearly thirty years after its original transmission. The Circe Complex: Tom Foreman has hidden ''400 000 worth of jewellery from a robbery and is now in prison but his wife Val has a plan for aiding his escape. In prison Tom's health begins to deteriorate and is finished off by his cell-mate Ollie Milton. But Ollie soon starts showing hints on insanity and he is driven mad trying to decipher the meaning behind Tom's last words on the whereabouts of the loot.