"Actor: Bob Sessions"

• Porterhouse Blue | DVD | (15/07/2002) from £17.94   |  Saving you £-7.95 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based on Tom Sharpe’s satirical novel and set in a fictional, all-male Cambridge College, 1987’s Porterhouse Blue is a crusty delight. Ian Richardson stars as the austere moderniser who takes over as master of Porterhouse with a view to bringing in radical changes; David Jason is Skullion, head porter for 45 years and a bulldog-style traditionalist.Porterhouse Blue is a wonderfully grotesque and not inaccurate depiction of an Oxbridge college that has set itself resolutely and decadently against the modern world. Crammed with hoggish, port-swilling dons who are more concerned that the college stay "head of the river" than with academic achievement, the highlight of Porterhouse’s year is the Founder’s Feast, in which students and tutors gorge debauchedly on roast swan stuffed with widgeon, to the horror of the new vegetarian master. Jason’s Skullion looks on approvingly: he’s a stickler for Porterhouse’s inverted values, disapproving, for instance, of student Zipser (John Sessions), the only fellow at the college actually there to work. When the master eventually fires Skullion, the forces of traditionalism gather in sympathy and attempt their revenge.Unfolding over 190 leisurely minutes, Porterhouse Blue is an elegantly turned comedy in which practically every morsel of dialogue is to be savoured for its delicious tang. Jason and Richardson are reliably excellent in what is an overall exhibition of British TV thespianism at its finest. --David Stubbs

• The Forgotten Toys | DVD | (15/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A tale of love and friendship. Annie the rag doll and Teddy Bear are in search of a child who will love them. Their search takes them on an incredible adventure through an overwhelming city. Based on the book 'The Night After Christmas'by James Stevenson. Contains all four seperate stories: The Night After Christmas: This beautifully animated special from Hibbert Ralph entertainment is a heart-rending tale of love and friendship whick follows Annie a refinded rag doll and Teddy a rather gruff teddy bear in search of a new home after being thrown out in favour of the latest high tech toys. They set out into the cold of the big city on an adventure which brings an unexpected friendship between the two toys as they search for the love of a child. Forgotten Again: Teddy and Annie think they are going on holiday and are most annoyed at being squashed into a holdall bag. Unfortunately they've been forgotten again this time left at the airport! When they find the luggage label attached to the bag their hopes rise as they plan to find their way home. Toy Boy: When Annie falls into a drain Teddy finds himself pushed aside by a toy soldier in his frantic attempts to rescue her. Annie falls in love with her rescuer who is handsome with a battery of high-tech devices. Teddy is not very impressed with Annie's new-found love and soon finds the chance to prove that her hero is not quite as magnificent as she first thought... Toy Stars: Teddy and Annie stumble into a puppet theatre. They are dressed up to be the main stars for that night's show but finds it hard to move freely with strings attached! Is a life in theatre for them?

• Randall And Hopkirk Deceased - The Complete Second Series | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The second chapter to the terrific remake of the cult classic 'Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)' stars Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer as the dead detective and his hapless but very much alive partner. Mad ghosts mummified bodies experiments that mysteriously change a person's gender; nothing it seems is beyond the perlexing world inhabited by super-sleuth characters Jeff Randle and Marty Hopkirk aided and abetted by ghost-busting glamour girl Jeannie (Emilia Fox) and Hopkirk's mentor Wyvern (Tom Baker). This release features the complete second series of 'Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'. Episodes comprise: Whatever Possessed You?: Jeff and Jeannie are hired to investigate goings on at a hotel that is supposed to be haunted. Jeff has a disbelief in ghosts until Marty re-appears and gives Jeff back his memories of Marty being a ghost. Revenge Of The Bog People: Jeff's ex-fianc''e Freya Cargill asks him to re-open investigations into the death of her Egyptologist father. Jeff and Jeannie head for the museum where he worked and meet some of the strange staff who work there. O Happy Isle: Jeff and Jeannie are hired to investigate the apparent suicide of a young gay man on the remote island of Strait Isle in Scotland the inhabitants of which are starting to show some bizarre character traits. Painkillers: At the request of Bulstrode and Lacey Jeff and Jeannie pose as doctors to investigate activities at a secret underground pain-research laboratory. Marshall & Snellgrove: Jeff and Jeannie are hired to investigate what is happening at the home of an eccentric family. But so are their arch-rivals Marshall & Snellgrove another firm of private detectives... The Glorious Butranekh: When the baby of their secretary Felia is kidnapped by the sinister Butranekh Cult Jeff and Jeannie investigate some unpleasant goings on in Latvia. Two Can Play That Game: Jeff and Jeannie investigate an empty department store where a crook's love of playing games has reached lethal extremes. But Jeff and Marty's relationship has reached such a nadir that Marty is cast adrift in Rhadamanthus-On-Sea.

• The Sherlock Holmes Collection (23 Disc Box Set) | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £159.99

  The Sherlock Holmes Collection is a comprehensive box set containing all 36 hour-long episodes plus the five feature-length specials of Granada TV's classic series starring Jeremy Brett. Originally screened in 1984, the series ran intermittently until the mid-1990s, when the leading actor's chronically failing health forced a final end (he died in 1995). Still hailed by many as the definitive Holmes, Brett presented the great detective as a solitary, nervous and depressive personality whose brilliant flashes of inspiration were interrupted by long bouts of introspection and drug-induced lethargy. In the later feature-length episodes, the actor's own ill-health added a poignant extra dimension that both deepened and darkened his portrayal of Holmes. In a welcome departure from earlier adaptations, Dr Watson (originally played by David Burke, then by Edward Hardwicke) is a thoroughly sensible, pragmatic--if rather unimaginative--companion, not at all the bumbling sidekick made famous by Nigel Bruce in the Basil Rathbone era. Aside from impeccable central casting--bolstered by a host of distinguished thespian guest stars--and scripts that remain remarkably faithful to Conan Doyle's original stories, the series also boasts lavish period production design and a haunting music score from Patrick Gowers. Although latterly they both err too far on the side of melodrama, overall both the series and Jeremy Brett's tour de force performances are likely to remain unsurpassed. On the DVD: The Sherlock Holmes Collection DVD box set might be complete, but the individual discs themselves are disappointingly spartan, with no additional features of any kind nor any attempt to clean up the rather scratchy 4:3 picture quality or the dull mono sound. --Mark Walker

• The Gallic Wars | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £5.28   |  Saving you £4.71 (47.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Gallic Wars tells the story of the campaigns from 58BC to 53BC in which Julius Caesar and his Roman legions conquered Gaul and the Celts on the mysterious island of Britain. Caesar's intervention in the brutal Gallic intertribal warfare was originally prompted by genuine concern for Italian security but as the campaign developed Caesar began to hatch plans for full conquest.

• New Orleans 1815 | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  General Andrew Jackson's great victory over the British Army commanded by Sir Edmund Packenham during the war of 1812. The British landed at New Orleans in an attempt to win decisive control over the Mississippi valley but Jackson aided by the French pirate Jean Laffitte constructed formidable fortifications. During the fight which followed only 71 American troops became casualties while the losses on the British side amounted to some 2000. The British cause was lost and they soon

• The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (-21.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was the first modern war in Europe. It took place at the dawn of a new era marked by huge advances in infantry and artillery weaponry. The ineptitude of the French commanders contrasted sharply with the brilliance and professionalism of the Prussian generals. The final stages of the war would see the French capital besieged by Prussian troops and eventually throw France into a state of civil war. This programme features dramatised re-enactments expe

• Hannibal And The Punic Wars | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A true giant of military history Hannibal forged his formidable reputation during the Punic Wars of the second century BC. Famed for his fifteen day journey across the Alps and for his great victories over the Romans at Trebbia and Cannae Hannibal remained undefeated in battle until his raw armies were crushed by Scipio at Zama in 203BC leaving Carthage at the mercy of the hated Romans. This DVD provides an atmospheric description of life in those troubled times. Superb re-constructions and re-enactments convey the savagery of battle in the ancient world. Expert comment and analysis and period imagery combine to tell the story of one of military history's greatest generals.

• Hoplite Warfare | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (-21.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The mighty armoured warriors at the heart of Greek legend were the famous Hoplites. Fighting shoulder to shoulder armed with their long thrusting spears and colourful shields these were men who dominated the battlefields of the ancient world during the conflicts of the Peloponnesian wars.

• The Confederates | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £9.98   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Romance still surrounds the brave but doomed Confederate Army of the American Civil War and in particular Robert E. Lee's army of Northern Virginia. Lee was a brilliant military tactician and an outstanding leader of men as well as a humane and compassionate man with a deep love for his wife and family. This is the story of how Lee's rag-bag army came within a whisker of defeating their Federal enemies. Featuring large-scale battle reconstructions dramatised ""eye-witness"" accounts

• WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR - THE FIRST NORMAN KING OF ENGLAND | DVD | (14/04/2007) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It was on the bloody battlefield of Hastings in 1066 that William Duke of Normandy defeated and killed the gallant but battle-weary Harold II of England. From that day on England would never be the same - uprisings in the north were mercilessly crushed and a new ruling class of Norman barons was gradually established. This programme paints a unique portrait of a remarkable man who was at once a great warrior and a ruthless politician and statesman. Architect of the Domesday Book builder of countless beautiful churches and castles William The Conqueror's reign truly shaped the future of the nation.

• Funny Man | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  He's cheeky & he's cruel! When Max Taylor (Benny Young) wins the ancestral home of the mysterious Mr Chance (Christopher Lee) in a hand of Poker he doesn't realise that far from ending the game has just begun. As soon as the Taylor family move into their new home Max's wife (Ingrid Lacey) and two kids are brutally dispatched one-by-one at the hands of the resident demonic jester (Tim James); an evil joker with a varied and imaginative repertoire of homicidal techniques

• Rebel Sabres - The Battle Of Brandy Station 1863 | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (-21.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Fought as a result of the build up to the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War this is the story of a titanic clash between two huge cavalry forces numbering some 18 000 horsemen. Until that fateful meeting the Confederate cavalry had been considered invincible but at Brandy Station the Yankees were to prove more than a match for their enemy. This DVD features grand-scale re-enactments from the battlefield atmospheric recreations of camp life expert analysis and dram

• The Sherlock Holmes Catalogue - The Eligible Bachelor | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £19.30   |  Saving you £-9.31 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A little over-extended as a two-hour movie, The Eligible Bachelor was one of several such feature-length productions made (late 1992) in Granada Television's long-running Sherlock Holmes series. Based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, this TV movie finds Holmes (the ailing Jeremy Brett, playing an increasingly darker and more neurotic detective) and Dr. Watson (Edward Hardwicke) called upon to help in a case involving the disappearance of Henrietta Doran (Paris Jefferson), fiancé of the noble Lord Robert St Simon (Simon Williams), who was last seen with a former lover of St Simon's, Flora Millar (Joanna McCallum). The unimaginative Scotland Yard instantly arrests Millar on suspicion of foul play, but it is Holmes who has to find the missing woman. Fans of the entire series might best enjoy this slightly clunky programme, though there is much of interest about Brett's performance to recommend it. --Tom Keogh