"Actor: Bill Mumy"

• Papillon | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £5.39   |  Saving you £7.60 (141.00%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Franklin J Schaffner's Papillon is quite possibly the definitive prison escape drama. Not as thrilling as The Great Escape, nor as emotionally cathartic as The Shawshank Redemption, its unflinching emphasis on the barbarism of "civilised" societies is nevertheless unparalleled. Significantly, the only characters to display any real kindness in this film are the social outcasts: the lepers and native Indians; everyone else has been corrupted and debased by the true villain, the penal system itself. Based on Henri Charrière' s heavily fictionalised "autobiography", the film's timeless themes of man's insatiable desire for freedom and the indomitability of the human spirit are thankfully not dependent for their impact on the source material's veracity. Dalton Trumbo's liberal-minded screenplay echoes the themes of his earlier script for Spartacus, and Schaffner's innate gift for epic cinema (this was made just two years after his great war biography Patton) is fully equal to the task of realising it on screen. The director's painterly eye for widescreen composition and his careful pacing impart a gravitas to proceedings even during the film's most squalid depictions of brutality, of which there are many emphasising the cheapness of human life among the convicts and their equally criminal prison guards in the penal colony of French Guiana. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman form a remarkable screen pairing, with Hoffman outstanding as the pusillanimous Dega. McQueen magnificently overcomes his tough-guy persona in the extraordinary solitary confinement sequences as he is gradually reduced to a shambling, cockroach-eating wreck. Longtime collaborator Jerry Goldsmith, who had previously scored Schaffner's Planet of the Apes and Patton, attained yet another career high with his music. On the DVD: The anamorphic widescreen print of the original Panavision 2. 35:1 ratio looks fine without being as stunning as some more modern prints; the Dolby 5.1 audio does however do great service to Jerry Goldsmith's score, which can also be selected separately from the Audio Setup menu as an isolated track (note that there's no music at all in the first 20 minutes of the film). The 12-minute "Magnificent Rebel" featurette was made at the time of the film's release , and includes some fascinating footage of Henri Charrière touring the prison se t, reminiscing about his experiences and pontificating ("Society does not want free men, society wants conditioned men"). --Mark Walker

• Papillon (1973) | Blu Ray | (17/09/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.00

  Henri 'Papillon' Charriere's account of life in the infamous and reputedly inescapable Devil's Island prison, brought to the screen with Steve McQueen as its eponymous hero. Refusing to surrender to the cruelty of the prison regime, Papillon protects the bespectacled Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) from an abusive guard, makes a bid for freedom, and ends up spending a long spell in solitary confinement. When he is finally released back into the main prison, he again refuses to surrender and, along with Dega, makes another escape attempt.

• Lost In Space - Season 2 | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The second series of the camp TV sci-fi classic Lost In Space literally starts with a bang as the Jupiter 2 blasts off into space and into full colour for the very first time! The Robinson family Dr. Smith and The Robot visit a variety of alien planets and encounter a whole host of strange beings in the course of this action-packed adventure series from the imagination of legendary film producer Irwin Allen. The box set release includes the fans' favourite episode The Golden M

• Lost In Space - Complete DVD Collection | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £57.19   |  Saving you £42.80 (74.84%)   |  RRP £99.99

  This collectible DVD set is out of this world! This intergalactic family saga is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi classic that earned an enormous following of devoted fans. Created by legendary film producer Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure Towering Inferno) and set in the space age ""future"" of 1997 this exciting adventure series followed a typical American family their trusty robot and a stowaway villain named Dr. Zachary Smith. In the year 1997 Earth is suffering from massive overpop

• Babylon 5: Season 3 | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £10.49   |  Saving you £44.50 (424.21%)   |  RRP £54.99

  Matters of Honour" launches the third series of Babylon 5 with the introduction of the White Star, a spacecraft added to enable more of the action to take place away from the static space station. Also introduced is Marcus Cole (Jason Carter) who, in another nod to The Lord of the Rings, is a Ranger not so far removed from JRR Tolkien's Strider. In "Voices of Authority" the show finds an epic scale as Ivanova seeks the mysterious "First Ones" for allies against the Shadows, and evidence is discovered pointing to the truth behind President Santiago's assassination. A third of the way through the series "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return" and "Severed Dreams" prove pivotal, changing the nature of the story in a way previously unimaginable on network TV. Earth slides into dictatorship, the fascistic Nightwatch takes control of off-world security and Sheridan takes decisive action by declaring Babylon 5 independent. "Interludes and Examinations" presents the death of a major supporting character, while the two-part "War Without End" reaches apocalyptic dimensions in a complex tale resolving the destiny of Sinclair and the fate of Babylon 4 (dovetailing elegantly with the events of Year One's "Babylon Squared"), resolving a 1,000-year-old paradox and presenting a vision of a very dark future for Sheridan and Delenn. All this is trumped by the monumental "Z'ha'dum". In the preceding "Shadow Dancing", Anna Sheridan (Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner's real-life wife) returns from the dead, no longer entirely human. In the mythologically resonant climax Anna invites Sheridan back to the Shadow homeworld with no hope of survival. Just as Gandalf fell into the abyss at Khazad-Dum, so Sheridan takes a comparable leap into the unknown on an alien world. On the DVD: Babylon 5, Series 3 presents all 22 episodes anamorphically enhanced at 16:9 for widescreen TVs. While not up to blockbuster movie standards these are the finest looking B5 discs yet. Likewise the remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 sound packs a considerable punch in the many action scenes while remaining clear and atmospheric throughout. Reasonable though unremarkable extras are in line with previous box sets, with detailed and informative commentaries by series creator J Michael Straczynski on episodes "Z'Ha'Dum", and the Hugo Award-winning "Severed Dreams". Actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs and Ed Wasser offer a more jokey and backslapping appraisal of "Interludes and Examinations". Introduction to Point of Return is essentially a six-minute trailer for the season, while Behind the Mask: Creating the Aliens of B5 offers make-up artist John Vulich, JMS, and producer John Copland reflecting on the creation of various races. Complementing this is a seven-minute look at Building a Better Narn. Designing Tomorrow: The Look of Babylon 5 focuses on the work of production designer John Iacovelli. Finally The Universe of Babylon 5 presents five short character profiles. The set offers an alternative French soundtrack and subtitles in English, English for the hard-of-hearing, French and Dutch. --Gary S Dalkin

• Babylon 5: Season 4 | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £54.99

  The fourth series of Babylon 5 begins on a high point with Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire". If this colossal narrative is resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turns out to be a tad disappointing, it's still one of the most powerful slices of space opera ever to grace the small screen. In the aftermath the sheer scale drops back a little but the pace never slows as the rest of the year plays out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth regime. Meanwhile, Delenn finds herself increasingly in conflict with her own people and, paralleling her relationship with Sheridan, Garibaldi becomes involved with his ex-fiancée Lise Hampton (Denise Gentile); in addition, an intense platonic love grows between Ivanova and Marcus Cole. On an unstoppable wave fuelled by roller-coaster plot twists and spectacular action shows from "No Surrender, No Retreat"--when Sheridan avows to overthrow EarthGov--to "Rising Star"--when the aim is realised--this series of Babylon 5 achieved a consistent excellence rare in television. Yet within that run "Intersections in Real Time" stands out as a bold experiment; essentially a two-hand drama taking place entirely within one dimly lit room. Then in "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", a descendant of humanity one million years hence reviews excerpts from the history of Babylon 5. In one sequence set in 2762 a Brother is devoted to the preservation of history some time after the "Big Burn". In a homage to Walter M Miller's SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, Sheridan and Delenn have themselves become the stuff of legend. --Gary S DalkinOn the DVD: All 22 episodes of Season 4 of Babylon 5 are presented on six DVDs. Anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TV, the picture is significantly stronger than on the original TV broadcasts, if not up to blockbuster movie standards. The remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is punchy and richly impressive, if again not quite state-of-the-art. As with previous seasons the main extras are three commentaries. The first, by actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik and Patricia Tallman, finds these leading cast members having a great time joshing around on Falling Towards Apotheosis and failing to say anything very interesting. Series creator and writer J Michael Straczynski and director Michael Vejar discuss The Face of the Enemy, the conversation tending towards a technical scene-by-scene analysis, while by far the most interesting commentary is J Michael Straczynski alone on The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. JMS covers many aspects of the show, going into depth explaining both his ideas behind the series and the practicalities of realising his vision. Celestial Sounds is an interesting but too-short five-minute look at the scoring process with composer Christopher Franke, complemented by a powerful six-minute musical suite. The package also includes a six-minute introduction, a three-minute gag reel and video data files of characters, organisations and places. An Easter egg offers a comparison between untextured and completed CGI models of Babylon 5 itself. There is an optional French soundtrack, plus English, English for Hearing Impaired, French and Netherlands subtitles. --Gary S Dalkin

• Babylon 5 : In The Beginning | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £11.12   |  Saving you £8.87 (79.77%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the gap between seasons four and five of Babylon 5, fans suffering withdrawal symptoms were sated by this first TV movie. As a prequel to the series' timeline, creator J. Michael Straczynski had an awful lot of continuity to consider. Amazingly, there's only one inconsistency throughout (a matter of who met whom and when), making this an essential part of the overall storyline. The tale is told cleverly from the future as the remembrances of Londo (Peter Jurasik), who is now Emperor of a dying Centauri homeworld. He looks back at the beginnings of the Earth-Minbari war and links together many clues strewn throughout the shows' early years. We see exactly how Delenn contributed to the first blows, the death of dignitary Dukhat, and most importantly what really happened to Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) at the Battle of the Line. The FX showcased by the battle are genuinely spectacular, but overshadowed by the make-up department which had the thankless task of making everyone look younger. Their best success is on an uncredited Claudia Christian who appears as an 18-year-old Susan Ivanova dealing with the death of her brother. Being a prequel there's little in the way of a surprise finale, but there's plenty of intrigue along the way. --Paul Tonks

• Lost In Space - Season 1 | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Lost in Space began life in 1965 as a science-fiction take on The Swiss Family Robinson. Produced by Irwin Allen, then in the midst of his run of spectacular-but-childish TV SF (before he became the master of big-screen disaster movies), the show featured a family of all-American space colonists cast away on a mysterious planet. Gradually the whole thing devolved into a silly (but sometimes fun) exercise in childish camp. This box set includes all 29 black and white episodes from the first season (with a burst of colour at the end of the last show--a foretaste of the garish look of the remaining two seasons) along with "No Place to Hide", the expensive pilot show that sold the series but which prompted Allen to revamp the whole premise in comic mode when network execs responded best to its unintended humour. "No Place to Hide" has action scenes that cropped up in the first six regular episodes but is missing several of the show's trademark aspects, most notably that infectious theme from Johnny Williams (later, John Williams of Star Wars fame) and the scheming presence of Dr Smith (Jonathan Harris) and his alternately menacing and comical robot ("It does not compute"). As the series progresses (or degenerates, depending on your taste), Harris's Smith changes from pantomime villain, a saboteur who is trying to kill the family, into pantomime dame, a panicky old idiot whose foolishness, cowardice and avarice are an endless source of plots. It mostly makes do with the regular cast plus an array of shaggy-suited, snarling aliens, but you do get sterling ham from visiting astronauts such as Warren Oates ("Welcome Stranger"), Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet ("War of the Robots") and a very young Kurt Russell ("The Challenge"). Stories about surviving on an alien world give way to lifts from fairy tale, myth and old movies as Smith gets hold of a wishing cap, becomes a giant, is chosen as a sacrificial king, turns the children over to an alien zoo, squeaks in fright as a werewolf approaches or is cursed with a platinum Midas touch. --Kim Newman

• Babylon 5: Season 5 | DVD | (17/01/2005) from £14.72   |  Saving you £40.27 (273.57%)   |  RRP £54.99

  A disappointment after the superb two previous seasons, the final run of Babylon 5 found Claudia Christian departed and Ivanova replaced by Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins), who in a soap-opera twist turned out to be Sheridan's first wife. Sheridan was promoted to President of the Interstellar Alliance and the action moved to a group of telepaths seeking sanctuary from the PSI-Corp on B5. Giving a prominent role to Patricia Tallman's Lyta Alexander, a love story for her was woven with the leader of the telepaths, Byron (Robin Atkin Downs). Meanwhile the aftermath of the Shadow War was explored as the origin of human telepaths became clear in "Secrets of the Soul," and the appearance of PSI-Corp's Bester (Walter Koenig) brought the plight of the refugees to a powerful close in "A Tragedy of Telepaths" and "Phoenix Rising." This was immediately followed by a rare episode not written by J. Michael Straczynski. Much was expected of "Day of the Dead," penned by Neil Gaiman, the British creator of DC's landmark Sandman comic and graphic novel series. Yet despite a change of tone including a guest appearance by Penn & Teller as 23rd-century comedy favorites Rebo & Zooty, the story proved an incongruous side trip into an unexplained twilight zone of fantasy. As usual the season picked up toward the end, with a string of fine political episodes leading to "The Fall of Centauri Prime" and the haunting "Objects at Rest," in which Sheridan and Delenn leave Babylon 5 for new quarters on Minbar. The final episode, "Sleeping in Light," was directed by J. Michael Straczynski and made an epilogue to the series. Set 20 years later, after all the sound and fury this quiet, elegiac tale is the apotheosis of the love story that proved the balance to the tragedy of the preceding darkness. A personal story resolved against a background of the epic, at once transcendent, deeply human, and profoundly optimistic, "Sleeping in Light" is as moving as any hour in the history of television drama and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to one of the greatest series ever made. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Lost In Space - Season 3 | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £25.99   |  Saving you £24.00 (92.34%)   |  RRP £49.99

  ""Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"" In the year 1997 Earth is suffering from massive overpopulation. Professor John Robinson his wife Maureen their children (Judy Penny and Will) and Major Don West are selected to go to the third planet in the Alpha Centauri star system to establish a colony so that other Earth people can settle there. However Doctor Zachary Smith an agent for an enemy government is sent to sabotage the mission. He is successful in reprogramming the ship's robot

• Rascal | DVD | (06/07/2004) from £12.31   |  Saving you £2.68 (21.77%)   |  RRP £14.99

  If man's best friend is a dog get ready to meet man's funniest friend: he's 4lbs of sheer delight and one of the best scene stealers to ever upstage an actor! Rascal tells a story of a boy (Bill Mumy) and his rescued pet raccoon an animal whose talent for causing loads of mischief is equalled only by his power to trigger tons of laughter!

• Papillon / Midnight Express / Missing | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Papillon (Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner 1973): They called him Papillon meaning butterfly. If only he had wings to go with the name. Unable to fly Henri Charriere virtually willed himself free. He persisted until he did the impossible: escape Devil's Island. Based on Charriere's bestseller and shot in Spain and Jamaica Franklin J. Schaffner's film of Papillon united two stars at key career junctions. After a decade of fine work in The Great Escape The Sand Pebbles and Bullitt Steve McQueen found in Charriere another ideal tough-guy role. Coming off The Graduate Midnight Cowboy and Little Big Man Dustin Hoffman again distinguished himself as Dega Charriere's scruffy friend. Midnight Express (Dir. Alan Parker 1973): Brad Davis and John Hurt star in this riveting true story of a young American's nightmarish experiences in a Turkish prison and his unforgettable journey to freedom. Busted for attempting to smuggle hashish out of Istanbul American College student Billy Hayes (Davis) is thrown into the city's most brutal jail. After suffering through four years of sadistic torture and inhuman conditions Billy is about to be released when his parole is denied. Only his inner courage and the support of a fellow inmate (Hurt) give him the strength to catch the Midnight Express (prison code for escape). Missing (Dir. Costa Gavras 1982): Director Constantin Costa-Gavras made his English-language film debut with this political thriller based on a true story. Although the nation depicted is never named directly the action clearly takes place in Chile after the military coup. Missing centers around the disappearance of Charles Horman (John Shea) an American expatriate who lives with his wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) in South America. One night armed soldiers enter their home and drag him away. In desperation Beth decides to contact Charles's father Ed (Jack Lemon) and ask for help. In contrast to his left-wing daughter-in-law Ed is staunchly patriotic. But as he gets the runaround from both American and Chilean officials Ed receives a cold hard lesson in political reality... and learns some ugly truths about US involvement in Latin America.

• Twilight Zone - Series 3 (Black & White) | DVD | (20/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call...The Twilight Zone! Episodes comprise: 1. Two 2. The Arrival 3. The Shelter 4. The Passerby 5. A Game of Pool 6. The Mirror 7. The Grave 8. It's a Good Life 9. Death's Head Revisited 10. The Midnight Sun 11. Still Valley 12. The Jungle 13. Once Upon a Time 14. Five Characters in Search of an Exit 15. A Quality of Mercy 16. Nothing in the Dark 17. One More Pallbearer 18. Dead Man's Shoes 19. The Hunt 20. Showdown with Rance McGrew 21. Kick the Can 22. A Piano in the House 23. The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank 24. To Serve Man 25. The Fugitive 26. Little Girl Lost 27. Person or Persons Unknown 28. The Little People 29. Four O'Clock 30. Hocus-Pocus and Frisby 31. The Trade-ins 32. The Gift 33. The Dummy 34. Young Man's Fancy 35. I Sing the Body Electric 36. Cavender Is Coming 37. The Changing of the Guard.