1991 – seven year-old Jane bears witness to the inexplicable murder of her mother. Jane saw the killer’s face but despite investigation his identity and motive remain unknown and to this day he roams free. Twenty-three years later Jane (Clare Goose - Mount Pleasant Exile Waking the Dead) is a grown woman married with a daughter of her own. Her mother’s murder still haunts her and the spectre of that man has stalked her into adult life. She wakes up and the thought of him is there… She goes to work and the thought of him is there… She returns home at night and the thought of him is there… One day she pays a routine visit to the local hospital and comes face to face with him. Jane is utterly convinced that she has found her mother’s killer a ghost from the past here in the flesh. She sets about trying to prove it any way that she can determined to bring to justice the man who took her mother away. But what if Andrew Rawlins (Peter Firth - World Without End Spooks) a well-respected doctor and a beloved family man is just as ordinary and innocent as he claims. After all Jane has been wrong before… Written by acclaimed writer Chris Lang (A Mother’s Son The Reckoning) this gripping and tense psychological thriller for ITV1 co-stars Felix Scott (Doc Martin Missing) Christine Bottomley (DCI Banks) and Pippa Haywood (Scott & Bailey).
The vampire Countess Carmilla Karnstein (Ingrid Pitt) makes her way through the Austrian countryside creeping into the households of aristocrats and taking their daughters as victims. The families begin to catch on when a pattern of deaths in the area takes shape. Vampire hunter Baron Hartog (Douglas Wilmer) is called upon to put an end to Carmilla's wicked ways and end the legacy of terror the Karnstein family is known for.
A fourth series of leisure centre management mishaps with Gordon Brittas. Episodes comprise: 1. Not A Good Day... 2. The Christening 3. Biggles Tells A Lie 4. Mr Brittas Changes Trains 5. Playing With Fire 6. Shall We Dance? 7. The Chop 8. High Noon
The original 1960 version of Village of the Damned is regarded as a classic of science fiction and horror, and it remains one of the creepiest movies of its kind. Directed with occasional flair by John Carpenter, this 1995 remake trades subtlety for more explicit chills and violence, but the basic premise remains effectively eerie. In the tiny, idyllic town of Midwich, a strange mist causes the entire population to fall asleep, and when everyone awakes the town physician (Christopher Reeve) discovers that 10 women--including his wife and a local teenage virgin--have mysteriously become pregnant. Their children are all born on the same day, with matching white hair and strange, glowing eyes, grow at an accelerated rate and thus raise Reeve's suspicion that they are not of earthly origin. These demonic brats can control minds and wreak havoc with the power of their thoughts, so of course they must be destroyed. Only Reeve knows how to get the job done, and his performance (the actor's last big-screen role before his paralysing accident in 1995) grounds this otherwise superfluous remake with enough credibility to hold the viewer's attention. But for the real chills, definitely check out the original version--it's 20 minutes shorter but twice as spooky. --Jeff Shannon
Edith Holden's hugely successful book 'The Country Diary Of An English Lady' has been published in 13 languages and has sold millions of copies all over the world. Filmed entirely on location in and around Warwickshire Dartmoor and London this special DVD version is a faithful adaptation of the famous nature diary and stars Pippa Guard as Edith Holden and James Coombes as Ernest Smith.
The story of Thomas the Squire of High Banks Hall who wasted his fortune and fathered many illegitimate children each marked with a flash of snowy white hair.
The 1988 Carlton mini-movie The One Game is the perfect definition of cult TV. Originally shown as four Saturday night instalments, it was a success with audiences and critics alike at the time and remains an extremely original piece of television. On the surface, the story is as simple: an ex-business partner exacts a very personal revenge. The game being played by Magnus (an almost unrecognisable Patrick Malahide) upon the arrogant Nick (Stephen Dillon) makes the tale far more interesting, however. If the premise sounds a little familiar, that's because the 1997 Michael Douglas movie The Game has striking similarities. The show captured society's interest in games at exactly the right time. First there's the Arthurian context, which visually struck a chord with a decade of Dungeons and Dragons fans. Then there's the constant reference to the new dawn of computer games, which everyone was excited about going into the 90s. But Nick is embroiled in a theory of Reality Gaming that turns everything on its head. He doesn't know who of his friends or colleagues may be in on the game, and since it begins with the sting of a £2 million theft, he's prepared to make sacrifices along the way. Changes in fashion and technology can't detract from what remains a cracking good yarn, well told and well played. On the DVD: The One Game arrives on disc superbly packaged. The attractive box contains an informative booklet relating the show's place in TV history. Unfortunately there's nothing at all in the way of extras on the disc itself--a disappointment, which, like the 4:3 ratio and stereo sound, is only to be expected for an all-but forgotten gem. --Paul Tonks
An off-beat comedy set in a hospital Green Wing throws in a bit of soap opera and a dose of the sketch-show to create something unique and absolutely hilarious! Created by the team behind Smack the Pony the series features some of the finest comedy cats to adorn our screens in quite some time. Be prepared for one of the most surreal journeys you're ever likely to take as you dive into the anarchic world of Green Wing Hospital! Featuring all the episodes from series 1 and 2!
The Vampire Lovers was Hammer's first and only co-production with Hollywood's leading horror specialists American International. This film tapped a new source of classic horror literature the work of J. Sheridan Le Fanu and injected an audacious dose of sex into the proceedings. Ingrid Pitt is beautiful female vampire Mircalla Karnstein alias Carmilla. Carmilla rises from the grave to avenge the deaths of her relatives claiming not only the odd male as victim but also several attractive young girls. Moving on to the family of Roger Morton (George Cole) Carmilla continues her revenge afresh on his impressionable daughter Emma (Madeleine Smith).
With their loved ones behind bars this acclaimed BBC drama tells the gripping stories of the women left behind... Series OneFrom the prison visiting room we follow the stories of Gemma whose perfect life is destroyed when her husband is arrested; Francesca the glamorous wife of a career criminal; Harriet a respectable mother whose tough love has seen her son imprisoned and Lou whose boyfriend has taken the rap for her crimes. Each are about to find their own way to get by while the men do their time... Series TwoFrancesca is back thrown into managing her gangster husband's business while long-suffering Harriet finds solace in the attentions of the prison chaplain. Meanwhile new visitors include bride-to-be Aisling the dynamic daughter of a repeat offender and the desperate Kim struggling to prove the innocence of her husband.
Adapted by celebrated screenwriter Jack Rosenthal (Coronation Street) from C. F. Taylor's acclaimed play of the same name, And a Nightingale Sang struck a chord with audiences when it first aired for its bittersweet, sharply observant and humorous portrait of working-class family life on the British Home Front during World War Two. Despite air raid sirens, gas masks, ration books and whistling bombs punctuating their everyday lives, the Stott family remain stoic as they focus on keeping life as normal as possible. Helen Stott is the family's sensible 30-year-old daughter: a kindly yet self-deprecating girl who walks with a limp, whose life so far has not been very kind to her. Surprised to find love during the chaos of war, she falls for gentle soldier Norman. However, the course of true love runs less than smoothly Starring Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as the pitiful Helen Stott, and Tom Watt (Eastenders) as the soldier who steals her heart. Helen's flirty younger sister Joyce is played by Pippa Hinchley (Coronation Street), who is attracted to every solider apart from her own husband (Stephen Tompkinson DCI Banks). John Woodvine (The Crown) also features as the Stott family's father, preferring to escape awkward family situations by banging out popular tunes on the piano than face conflict, and Oscar-nominee Joan Plowright (Enchanted April) as the devoutly Catholic family matriarch, who finds herself drawn to her priest. The DVD will also feature fascinating extras in the form of three real wartime public information films, giving insight into the unrivalled efforts on the British Home Front, from the Imperial War Museum: They Keep the Wheels Turning (1942), Britannia is a Woman (1940) and The New Britain (1940).
Writer/director/producer/comedian Yahoo Serious turns out his third opus this time starring as egg factory maintenance man Roger Crumpkin. Roger's a little bit cracked but his love for Sunday Valentine (Helen Dallimore) will make him stop at nothing to prove his worth. When it turns out his employers might be adding something to their eggs to make them more addictive Roger dons the yolk of social responsibility and sets out to scramble the factory's nefarious schemes!
A collection of four Catherine Cookson classics: The Mallen Streak: The story of Thomas the Squire of High Banks Hall who wasted his fortune and fathered many illegitimate children each marked with a flash of snowy white hair. Part 1 in the series. The Mallen Girls: The Squire of High Banks Hall has to move to a cottage with his two wards Barbara and Constance. The Squire's two bastards become regular visitors there and eventually Constance agrees to marry Donald. Then one night Barbara is savagely raped. Part 2 in the series. The Mallen Secret: Before the late Squire Thomas Mallen killed himself he left a trail of illegitimate children all over the hills of 19th Century Northumberland. One of them Miss Barbara is deaf and has been kept from the truth by her governess. Now a beautiful and wilful young woman she falls in love with her cousin Michael whose mother is also obsessed with keeping him ignorant of his own illegitimacy. Part 3 in the series. The Mallen Curse: Barbara has been rejected by her cousin Michael and enters into a loveless marriage with Dan whose family the Benshams have owned the Hall since her father Squire Mallen went bankrupt. The widowed Mr. Bensham proposes to Anna Brigmore fulfilling her ruthless ambition to be mistress of High Banks. But their happiness is soon shattered when they discover that Barbara and Michael have become lovers again. Part 4 in the series.
Broadcast between 1991 and 1997, The Brittas Empire is a sitcom set in Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. It stars Chris Barrie as Gordon Brittas, the prattish, blazered manager who remains loudly oblivious to the fact that his high-handed efforts at running the place result in utter calamity. As his gin-supping, nervous wreck of a wife observes, he thinks he's the oil that lubricates the machine but in reality he's "a bag of grit". This first series introduces Brittas, whose arrival at the new Centre prompts a rash of resignations as his petty and pedantic managerial methods constantly rebound on him. Mishaps in these episodes include a malfunctioning set of automatic doors, a disastrous wedding in the pool and a lost baby. Somehow, however, Brittas' strange sense of idealism keeps him bobbing up as all others sink into despair. The Brittas Empire could either be seen as a satire on the new tier of superfluous middle-management types who flourished in Tory Britain, or a 90s update of the old stereotype of the bureaucratic buffoon. Compared to, say, Alan Partridge, Brittas seems a bit broad and one-dimensional, a sketch-show character stretched beyond its limits. The rest of the cast don't offer much in the way of resistance or support and Brittas very swiftly becomes very annoying. Despite all problems, however, The Brittas Empire was an immense success, attracting over eight-million viewers at its peak. On the DVD: The Brittas Empire include some perfunctory, text-only items, including a Chris Barrie biography and a Brittas Fitness Quiz, as well as a sketch performed at the Royal Variety Performance of 1996, in which Brittas reveals himself as an enthusiast for conformity with EEC regulations. --David Stubbs
Catherine Cookson was born Catherine McMullen in 1906. Her life began in poverty and she grew up believing her real mother was her sister. In a life that could have been taken from any of her own novels Catherine aspired to achieve more than many of her time. From poverty to wealth she left the sadness behind to start a new life in Hastings where she was to meet her husband Tom Cookson. As a form of therapy Catherine began to write and never stopped and became one of the world's be
Gordon Brittas goes from strength to strength. Despite his failed endeavour and despite the endeavours of both his staff and his wife to depose him Whitbury Leisure Centre continues to thrive. Brittas continues to dream up new schemes to promote and improve the centre including a bungee jump sequential staff reviews and computerisation - all with the usual Brittas diplomacy aplomb and mayhem. Julie heavily pregnant embraces the bungee jump whereas Tim tries everything he ca
The fifth season of leisure centre mangament mishaps with the earnestly inept Gordon Brittas. The Old Old Story: ""Songs of Praise"" is to be presented from the newly rebuilt Whitbury Leisure Centre. However a series of accidents leads Brittas to believe that a serial killer may be on the loose in the Centre but he is determined that the recording of ""Songs of Praise"" should not be interrupted. Blind Devotion: Promotion is on the cards for one of the staff at Whitbury Le
Gordon Brittas (Chris Barrie) is the manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. Although he means well and wants to be a good manager he has a talent for bringing about total disaster. While Brittas is busy dreaming up new ways to make the lives of his staff more difficult his assistant Laura (Julia St John) does her best to keep the Leisure Centre operational. Meanwhile Helen Brittas (Pippa Haywood) tries (unsuccessfully) to retain her sanity as she struggles to cope with her hu
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