Comedy

• Red Dwarf: Just The Shows (Vol. 1) | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £13.12   |  Saving you £21.87 (166.69%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Notoriously, and entirely appropriately, the original outline for Doug Naylor and Rob Grant's comedy sci-fi series Red Dwarf was sketched on the back of a beer mat. When it finally appeared on our television screens in 1988 the show had clearly stayed true to its roots, mixing jokes about excessive curry consumption with affectionate parodies of classic SF. Indeed, one of the show's most endearing and enduring features is its obvious respect for the conventions of SF, even as it gleefully subverts them. The scenario owes something to Douglas Adams's satirical Hitch-Hiker's Guide, something to The Odd Couple and a lot more to the slacker SF of John Carpenter's Dark Star. Behind the crew's constant bickering there lurks an impending sense that life, the universe and everything are all someone's idea of a terrible joke. Later series broadened the show's horizons until at last its premise was so diluted as to be unrecognisable, but in the earlier episodes contained in this box set the comedy is witty and intimate, focusing on characters and not special effects. Slob Dave Lister (Craig Charles) is the last human alive after a radiation leak wipes out the crew of the vast mining vessel Red Dwarf (episode 1, "The End"). He bums around the spaceship with the perpetually uptight and annoyed hologram of his dead bunkmate, Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie, the show's greatest comedy asset) and a creature evolved from a cat (dapper Danny John Jules). They are guided rather haphazardly by Holly, the worryingly thick ship's computer (lugubrious Norman Lovett). --Mark Walker

• Early Doors - Series 2 | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £5.04   |  Saving you £14.95 (296.63%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The welcome return of the gentle critically acclaimed comedy set entirely in The Grapes a small pub in the North of England. Into this warm slightly hopeless environment come a group of lovable characters who like a pint but more than that like each other. Lads Joe and Duffy command centre table and most of the conversation largely at the expenses of landlord Ken's less acute regulars such as Eddie for whom a change in the town's traffic flow can become a preoccupation . Mean

• My Stepmother is an Alien | Blu Ray | (13/12/2021) from £16.39   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  He married a girl from out of town Way out of town. Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters), Kim Basinger (The Nice Guys) and Jon Lovitz (Southland Tales) star in a fish-out-of-water comedy with a sci-fi twist that questions whether a romance between two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart can ever work. When widowed astronomer Steve Mills (Aykroyd) inadvertently causes a gravitational disruption in deep space, a race of hyper-advanced alien lifeforms sends one of their own to investigate, disguised in the alluring human form of Celeste (Basinger). Tasked with seducing the lovelorn Steve in a bid to gain access to his scientific research, Celeste finds herself falling for the man she's been sent to swindle. But they've reckoned without Steve's young daughter Jessie (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who's none too thrilled by the prospect of a new mother especially not one from another planet. Funny and touching in equal measure, My Stepmother is an Alien is an offbeat and at times surprisingly risqué comedy that confirms the adage that what unites us is far greater than what divides us even if what divides us happens to be an entire galaxy. Special Edition Contents Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 2.0 stereo audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Brand new audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman Cosmetic Encounters: Directing My Stepmother is An Alien, a brand new interview with director Richard Benjamin Original trailer Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch First Pressing Only: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Amanda Reyes

• Office Space | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Peter Gibbons, thanks to a hypnotic suggestion, decides not to go to work at the same time his company is laying people off.

• Chance In A Million - The Complete Series | DVD | (04/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Chance In A Million the classic 1980s series widely regarded as one of the best UK sitcoms of its day comes to DVD for the very first time! Episodes Comprise: Plumstones Honour Thy Father and Mother Flowing with the Tide The Birthday Party Man of Iron Stuff of Dreams The Taxman Cometh For Whom the Bell Tolls The Lost Weekend And What Shall We Do for a Ring? Winning Streak Naming the Day Goodbye Mr Hemstridge Guess Who's Not Coming for Dinner The Blessing The Once and Future Chance Pre-Matrimonial Tension The Wedding

• As Time Goes By - The Reunion Specials (Amazon.co.uk Exclusive) | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Long ago Lionel a dashing young British Army officer met Jean a lovely student nurse and fell deeply in love. When Lionel was shipped off to fight in the Korean war the two lost touch. Now they meet again and slowly begin to rekindle their romance. After 64 episodes the writer Bob Larbey has agreed to write two final special episodes.

• Along Came Polly | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £7.98   |  Saving you £12.00 (200.33%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Ben Stiller stars as an over-cautious risk assessor who falls in love with Jennifer Aniston's adventure-craving, ferret-loving free spirit.

• Remember Me | DVD | (26/07/2010) from £2.96   |  Saving you £17.03 (575.34%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Remember Me is an unforgettable story about the power of love, the strength of family, and the importance of living passionately and treasuring every day of one's life.

• Airplane! - 80s Collection | DVD | (27/08/2018) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Return to the disco days of the 1980s in this exclusive collection, featuring ALL NEW ARTWORK that celebrates Generation X's neon dream decade, and the movies that defined it. Voted one of the 10 funniest movies ever made by the American Film Institute, 'Airplane!' is a masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy. Featuring Robert Hays as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning; Julie Hagerty as his girlfriend/stewardess/co-pilot; and a cast of all-stars including Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar... and more! Their hilarious high jinks spoof airplane disaster flicks, religious zealots, television commercials, romantic love... the lists whirls by in rapid succession. And the story races from one moment of zany fun to the next! BONUS FEATURES: Theatrical Trailer & Group Commentary with Jon Davison, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker and David Zucker

• Mid-August Lunch | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £8.95   |  Saving you £7.04 (78.66%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Mid-August Lunch

• Housesitter | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £8.87   |  Saving you £1.12 (12.63%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A slick, smart vehicle for Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, Housesitter offers an acceptably daffy premise and enough inventive business to sustain it through to the, not unexpected, happy ending. Architect Martin builds a dream home for his childhood sweetheart (Dana Delaney) only to be rejected when he proposes marriage. After a one-night stand, Hawn--a daffy waitress with a gift for making up improbable but convincing lies--moves into Martin's house and tells his parents (Donald Moffatt, Julie Harris) and the whole community that she is his surprise new wife. When he sees how this impresses Delaney, Martin goes along with the charade, encouraging wilder and wilder fictions and doing his best to join in so that he can rush through to a divorce and move on to the woman he has always wanted. Hawn has to recruit a couple of winos to pose as her parents and impress Martin's boss into giving him a promotion, but we glimpse her real misery at his eventual intention to toss her out of the make-believe world she has created because her own real background is so grim. Its sit-com hi-jinx are manic enough not to be strangled by an inevitable dip in to sentiment towards the end, and Hawn, who always has to work hard, is better matched against the apparently effortless Martin than in their subsequent pairing in Out-of-Towners. Martin, often wasted in comparatively straight roles, has a few wild and crazy scenes as Hawn prompts him into joining her improvised fantasies. Director Frank Oz, a frequent Martin collaborator (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Shop of Horrors, Bowfinger), is the model of a proper, competent, professional craftsman when he sets out to put a comedy together--but the film misses streaks of lunacy or cruelty that might have made it funnier and more affecting. On the DVD: The disc offers a pristine widescreen non-anamorphic transfer, letterboxed to 1.85:1. There are no extra features to speak of, just text-based production notes, cast and director bios, plus a trailer and an assortment of language and subtitle options. --Kim Newman

• South Park: The End of Obesity | DVD | (02/12/2024) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2 Disc Set) | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £7.74   |  Saving you £12.25 (158.27%)   |  RRP £19.99

  George Clooney stars in the latest film from the Coen brothers, a musical about a con on the run in the Deep South of the 1930s.

• Brass Eye | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £6.94   |  Saving you £13.05 (188.04%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The most talked about and reviewed comedy series ever! 6 Episodes and Brass Eye Special: 'Animals' 'Drugs' 'Science' 'Sex' 'Crime' 'Moral Decline' Brass Eye Special!(

• Dear John - Complete Collection - Series 1 & 2 Plus The Christmas Special | DVD | (04/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.95

  This collection contains the entire series of Dear John featuring all the episodes from Series One and Two plus the Christmas Special. John Lacey arrives home to find a letter from his wife informing him she has left him for his best friend. After spotting an advert in the local paper for the '1-2-1 Club' an encounter group for the divorced and separated he decides to go along. Here he meets the feisty Kate the bland bespectacled Ralph the exuberant Kirk St. Moritz resplendent in white suit and medallion and of course club founder Louise who asks everyone with relish Were there any sexual problems?

• Wish You Were Here | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in an austere post-war Britain Wish You Were Here tumbles through the hilarious and outrageous sexual adventures of 15 year old Linda. It is a story of an irrepressible human spirit that refuses to be crushed by her colourless surroundings. Showered with awards together with critical and public acclaim since its first triumphant showing at the Cannes Film Festival Wish You Were Here was honoured with 3 BAFTA nominations 2 Best Actress awards for Emily Lloyd and the Peter Sellers

• The 51st State | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £5.60   |  Saving you £14.39 (256.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Samuel L Jackson is a streetwise master chemist from L.A. who comes to Liverpool to launch his new designer drug. Collected from the airport by local 'fixer' Robert Carlyle its not long before he's involved in a web of shady underworld double dealings.

• Futurama - Into The Wild Green Yonder | DVD | (23/02/2009) from £8.20   |  Saving you £7.79 (95.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In this all-new Futurama extravaganza mankind stands on the brink of a wondrous new Green Age. But ancient forces of darkness three years older than time itself have returned to wreak destruction. Even more shocking: Bender's in love with a married fembot and Leela's on the run from the law - Zapp Brannigan's law! Fry is the last hope of the universe...so if you're in the universe you might want to think about going somewhere else. Could this be the end of the Planet Express crew forever? Say it ain't so meatbag! Off we go Into The Wild Green Yonder!

• Bridget Jones 2: The Edge of Reason | DVD | (25/02/2005) from £2.90   |  Saving you £22.09 (761.72%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking

• Friends: Complete Series 3 - New Edition | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £4.45   |  Saving you £45.54 (1,023.37%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Seemingly low-key but as wittily crafted as the first two series, this season develops minor characters--Gunther, Central Perk's proprietor, who is in love with Rachel; Phoebe's half-brother Frank (played by rising-star Giovanni Ribisi); the chick and duck--who will play key parts later on while the foundations for crucial story lines developed in Series 4 are laid down. The most momentous story arc covers Rachel and Ross splitting up when she suggests they take a "break" and he sleeps with the girl from the copy shop. Phoebe gets to know her little brother Frank who falls in love with the much-older Alice, for whom Phoebe will bear triplets in a later series. Monica pines after Richard and then starts dating the millionaire Pete, although towards the end Chandler is trying to persuade her he's good boyfriend material--clearly an omen of things to come. --Leslie Felperin