Customer Reviews

Classic British Christmas Comedies, Volumes 1&2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At just ten under hours this is a great 2 set of some classic British sitcoms from the past -- all holiday episodes. The source material on some is bargain basement at best but for the most part it is a good set to have. I've only watched a few but for the price, I'm happy I got this one! Be forewarned some of the shows are VERY un PC! Here's a listing of the offerings in this 2 disc set:

Disc #1:

1. The Dustbinmen - Christmas Special
2. Please Sir! - And Everyone Came Too!
3. On The Busses - Christmas Duty
4. All This - And Christmas Too!
5. Nearest and Dearest - Cindernellie
6. Billy Liar - The Gift of the Magi
7. Two's Company - A Loving Christmas
8. Stanley Baxter's Christmas Box (variety show from the 70's)
9. The Rag Trade - The Christmas Rush
10. Bless Me Father - The Season of Goodwill
11. The Army Game - Bootserella
12. George and the Dragon - Merry Christmas

Disc #2

1. My Husband and I - No Place Like Home
2. Only When I Laugh - Away For Christmas
3. That's My Boy - Cold Turkey
4. Hallelujah - A Goose For Mrs. Scratchitt
5. Duty Free - A Duty Free Christmas
6. You're Only Young Twice - T'Was The Night Before Christmas
7. Home To Roost - Family Ties
8. Watching - Seasoning

Get this one quick! A great diversion from the usual holiday fare. A "Happy Christmas" to all!

Familiar Britcom faces from the 70's and 80's abound in this collection of holiday-themed episodes from the vaults of London Weekend Television and Yorkshire Television.

Highlights include Molly Sugden playing mostly to type as an office executive (MY HUSBAND AND I) and an estranged mother (THAT'S MY BOY); Arthur Lowe is a loveable and cranky Irish priest in BLESS ME FATHER; Peter Bowles, Richard Wilson and James Bolam raise temperatures in the hospital comedy ONLY WHEN I LAUGH; Usually serious John Thaw excels as a playboy dad, newly saddled with teenaged children (HOME TO ROOST) and Sid James' rioutous suburban holiday in ALL THIS AND CHRISTMAS TOO.

Many hidden gems lurk within this 2 DVD collection (which clocks in at just under TEN hours): The quip-filled cockney romance of WATCHING; A daydreaming young man's search for romance (and parental approval) in BILLY LIAR; Prim, proper and pear-shaped marital infidelity on holiday (DUTY FREE); Workplace hi-jinx as only the Brits can pull it off in THE RAG TRADE; and a group of madcap lady pensioners run riot in YOU'RE ONLY YOUNG TWICE.

Sure, there are a few clinkers in this set (surely there was a better episode of PLEASE, SIR! out there?), but the gold nuggets FAR outweigh the coal.

The video source material is surprisingly good for programmes shot (mostly) on 70's/80's videotape, with clear strong audio (but no subtitles).

Overall, VERY highly recommended for the British TV comedy fan, especially if you're looking for something other than the same-old, same-old Britcom material found on PBS or BBC America.

I watched this on Christmas day, and it brought back so many memories of being in England and watching these old comedies. Great stuff if you English and love the old classics I recommend it.

This DVD was a big disappointment. We expected the comedies like Are You Being Served and Keeping Up Apperances. Instead we got very very old shows that were not that funny.

This so called comedy is absolutely awful. The acting is bad, the so called comedy is overdone by pedantically over emphasizing the lines the actors, directors or writers thought were funny. Essentially, not worth the postage! War and Peace has more laughs than these travesties