"Director: Alan Ball"

• True Blood Season 1 (HBO) | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £7.06   |  Saving you £32.93 (466.43%)   |  RRP £39.99

  True Blood: Season 1

• Six Feet Under: The Complete First Series | DVD | (07/07/2003) from £18.93   |  Saving you £32.06 (169.36%)   |  RRP £50.99

  Six Feet Under is not just a smartly written, sublimely acted soap that happens to be set in a funeral home; it's a profound mixture of emotional truths and whimsical black comedy that uses its setting to comment upon the way we live, with the omnipresent spectre of death throwing life's problems into sharp relief. Creator Alan Ball (American Beauty) understands modern neuroses more than most, it seems, and his rich sense of the absurd is given added potency, not to say piquancy, by the sometimes comically ridiculous juxtaposition of life and death. The first series introduces the Fisher family, whose already weighty emotional baggage is bolstered by the sudden demise of their patriarch, who has willed the family funeral home to his two initially hostile sons, wayward Nate (Peter Krause) and in-the-closet David (Michael C Hall). Teenage younger sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and repressed mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) have their own problems, as does put-upon mortician Federico (Freddy Rodriguez). The first year's unfolding story arc includes the family's resistance to a hostile big corporation, Nate's budding romance with wild card Brenda (stunningly good Rachel Griffiths), David's attempts to reconcile his Christian faith with his homosexuality, Claire's self-destructive boyfriend trouble and Ruth's gradual realisation that, although she was a wife and is a mother, she's entitled to have a life too. On the DVD: Six Feet Under, Series 1 spreads 13 episodes across four discs. Care has been taken to reflect the show's stylish look in everything from the novel external packaging to the menu layouts. Picture is good, but only standard 4:3 ratio, though sound is vivid Dolby 5.1. The bonus features include two episode commentaries from creator Alan Ball, who happily chats about the pilot and the season finale, both of which he wrote and directed. There's a 22-minute "Behind the Scenes" featurette--standard HBO fare with cast interviews. More interesting is "Under the Main Titles", which explores Digital Kitchen's creation of the fascinating opening title sequence and talks to genius composer Thomas Newman about his theme music. The music can also be heard in an audio-only track as well as in Kid Loco's "Graveyard" remix. Text biographies, episode synopses and Web links complete the extras. One minor niggle: there's no "Play All" facility, so you can't indulge the luxury of watching uninterrupted episodes back-to-back. --Mark Walker

• Six Feet Under: Complete Series 3 | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £16.59   |  Saving you £34.40 (207.35%)   |  RRP £50.99

  The complete third season of the quirky U.S. drama series created by 'American Beauty' writer Alan Ball. One of the most acclaimed shows on TV Six Feet Under takes a darkly comic look at a dysfunctional L.A. Family running an independent funeral home. This season thanks to the financial contributions of their mortician Frederico Fisher & Sons has become Fisher & Diaz and the Fisher family members face major adjustments as they open a new chapter in their professional and perso

• More Ripping Yarns | DVD | (27/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three more rollicking good tales starring Michael Palin in various guises. Written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. 'The Testing Of Eric Olthwaite' 'Whinfrey's Last Case' and 'The Curse of The Claw'. The Testing of Eric Olthwaite: A Ripping Northern Yarn set in the dark days of the depression before Last of the Summer Wine started bringing jobs to the area. Eric's tough mining parents find their son so boring that they run away from home. Eric torn between love for his parents and lack of brain cells becomes involved with a hardened criminal. The rest is history. Whinfrey's Last Case: Dashing Gerald Whinfrey saves his country twice a week but in 1913 a German plot to start the First World War without telling anybody coincides with his holiday. Where do Whinfrey's priorities lie? Has he got any? A knockout tale of international intrigue. If only Dickens could write like this - Mrs Reg Dickens Eltham. The Curse of the Claw: Gothic terror comes to Maidenhead. A timely reminder of what happens when men dabble in the dark world of oriental superstition. Michael Palin aided by inexpensive plastic surgery plays old and young Kevin as well as Kevin's childhood hero Uncle Jack - an enormously cheerful physical disaster area who has every disease known to man usually at the same time.

• Flipper/Fly Away/Simple Wish/the Flintstones | DVD | (12/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Flipper (1996): What starts out to be a bummer of a summer for a rebellious teenage boy turns into one of the most action-packed vacations of his life. Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood star in this exciting all-new 'Flipper' family adventure hit. When Sandy (Wood) is sent to the Florida Keys to stay with his salty Uncle Porter (Hogan) he never dreamed he'd become best mates with a feisty orphaned dolphin whose life he saved. Sandy and Flipper get into some high seas antics and thrilling escapades fighting dangerous enemies and making new friends. Sandy's special relationship with Flipper helps clear the decks for a closer bond with his well-meaning uncle and a whole new outlook on his own life. 'Flipper' is a splashy tidal wave of family entertainment based on the popular 60's TV series. It combines action-filled underwater photography with an exciting and emotion-charged story. Fly Away Home (1996): Young Amy (Anna Paquin) is reunited with her father (Jeff Daniels) after a nine-year separation. One day Amy discovers a nest of orphaned goose eggs and decides to take them home and nurture them until they hatch. When the newly hatched goslings adopt her as their Mother Goose Amy and her father become airborne adventurers battling against bad weather and a host of other pitfalls in their efforts to teach the geese to fly... Simple Wish (1997): Anabel's 'simple wish' is that her father a taxi driver would win a leading role in a Broadway musical. Murray her male fairy godmother wants to grant her wish but unfortuantly his magic wand is broken and it falls to Anabel to fight against the evil witches Claudia and Boots. Flintstones (1994): After an aptitude test mix-up Fred Flintstone (John Goodman) trades his job as Slate & Company Bronto-crane operator for a vice presidency. But there's trouble brewing in Bedrock: An evil executive (Kyle MacLachlan) and his sinister secretary (Halle Berry) are now plotting to use Fred as the fall guy in an embezzlement scheme!