"Actor: Geoff Nicholls"

• The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin - The Complete First Series | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin

• Black Sabbath - The Last Supper | DVD | (15/12/2003) from £16.19   |  Saving you £-6.20 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  There was something genuinely heart-warming about the decision by Black Sabbath's founding members to take to the road again in 1999. The fractious intra-band relationships that have characterised Black Sabbath's long career were a major inspiration for the writers of This is Spinal Tap, and so there was something pleasingly symmetrical and evocative of the closing scenes of that fine film about the Sabs' reunion.The concert footage was taken from six of the concerts on that tour. It is conclusive proof that the original quartet of Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward--or, in Osbourne's words, "four dickheads from Aston, near Birmingham"-­were every bit as exuberantly juvenile a rock & roll band in their early fifties as their late teens. Also included is a sketchy biography and interviews with the band by Henry Rollins, one of the countless contemporary musicians influenced by Sabbath. It's a nice idea, but the only real weakness of the package is that Ozzy is never granted time to wheel out any of his peerless reserve of grotesque rock & roll anecdotes. Nevertheless, the already formidable case for Osbourne's knighthood is strengthened further. --Andrew Mueller

• The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin - The Complete Third Series | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin - The Complete Second Series | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £9.23   |  Saving you £6.76 (73.24%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin

• Music Makers - The Drums | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £11.93   |  Saving you £1.06 (8.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Whatever style you eventually want to play the basics have to be learned. Too many people give up at this stage because learning the basics can be laborious and discouraging. This DVD makes learning interesting effective and fun! The Drums is presented by Geoff Nicholls who's musicianship led him to co-write present and play drums on both series of BBC TV's 'Rock School'. He has played in every type of musical situation from reggae to free jazz from blues to West End musicals and big bands. He has an extensive history of band membership recording session work and live tours through Europe and the USA.