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Friday 26th April 2019 |
How on EARTH are we already pressing against the end of April? Crikey. Well, here's our latest update: we hope you find plenty of interest. We'd be very interested to hear which kinds of titles you're most interested in. DVDs? TV? Radio? Books? Films on Blu-ray? Hit reply and let us know.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster have just launched a week-long series of offers on tickets, both in the West End and across the country. Have a look at their array of family events, theatre and more, with up to 50% off and no booking fees.
Coming soon
Old Boys
Survival of the fittest is the philosophy at all-boys boarding school Caldermount. If you're not a champion on the sports field, you're a nobody. No one knows this better than bookworm Amberson (Alex Lawther), who's been at the bottom of the social ladder since he can remember. When the French teacher's fiery daughter Agnes arrives, Amberson's life is turned upside down. He suddenly finds himself playing matchmaker for Winchester, the school's handsome but spectacularly dim school-hero. Winchester definitely has the looks to win over Agnes but it's Amberson who has the wits. Will Amberson have the courage to reveal himself to her and stand up for who he really is?
Sara Pascoe - Sex Power Money
"Joji, a 50-year-old man from Japan, was squished to death by his porn collection in 2016. He might have been a really funny man, very kind, brilliant at crosswords or a super good swimmer. But we don't know anything about him, because his death is the kind that obliterates any life. People don't usually get physically hurt by their pornography use. Marjorie didn't get paper-cut to death by her copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. But there remains much discussion about its danger and harmful effects..." Part comedy, part anthropological study, here is everything Sara Pascoe has learned from scientists, sex ed teachers, psychologists, sex workers, serial daters and others; about masculinity, status, and stuff. Like her first book, Animal, Pascoe over-thinks and overs-hares in the name of our entertainment and education.
White Gold - Series 2
1985. Eight months have passed since Vincent Swan - Essex's most amoral double-glazing salesman - teamed up with gangster Ronnie and forced his boss to sell Cachet Windows. Now he's realised that working for a dangerous criminal isn't much fun. But business is booming, until a new rival salesman appears, stealing most of Cachet's business. But to their surprise, the team discover this salesman is actually a saleswoman. Meet Jo Field. She's ruthless in her pursuit of success. And there's one prize she values above all - Vincent Swan himself.
Sofie Hagen - Happy Fat
A searing and impassioned debut from comedian Sofie Hagen - who urges us to fight back and reframe our toxic relationships with our bodies. Sofie Hagen has always been fat. But after years of struggling with her body image and subjecting herself to countless diets, Sofie began to question the incessant body shaming and internalised fatphobia that she had always taken for granted. She started to worry less about fad diets and impossible beauty ideals and began to challenge the origins of these superficial aspirations. Fat is a response to this exploration: part-memoir, part-social commentary, Sofie describes how she conquered a negative relationship with her body and provides practical tips for readers to do the same - drawing wisdom from fat liberation champions along the way.
Up The Garden Path
It's the beginning of a new school term, and Izzy is dreading it... Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30-something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men. Over the three series of Up The Garden Path, Izzy, played by Imelda Staunton, deals with the complicated ups and downs of her attempts to find true love. Along with Staunton, Marty Cruickshank plays Maria, Nicholas Le Prevost is Michael and Mike Grady is Dick. Adapted by Sue Limb from her 1984 novel.
Cannibals And Carpet Fitters
New British comedy horror film. A group of carpet fitters are sent on a job to an old country house. However, after arriving they very quickly discover it's a trap set up by the inhabitants: a savage, cannibalistic family.
Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back)
William can't take it any more. The futility of existence has become too much. However, after ten failed attempts to kill himself, from bridge-leaping to the old toaster-in-a-bath routine, the young writer (Aneurin Barnard) seems to be as bad at death as he is at life. So he decides to outsource his suicide to an elderly hit-man called Leslie (Tom Wilkinson). Leslie seems very keen; he even has a brochure offering different demise options, from the deluxe 'hero's death' to the no-frills 'quick and painless'. What happens, though, if he changes his mind?
Fleabag - Series One & Two
Series 1 & 2 of the acclaimed comedy are brought together for the first time in this box set, starring and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Fleabag is a funny and poignant window into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, porn-watching, grief-riddled woman trying to make sense of the world. As she hurls herself headlong at modern living, Fleabag is thrown roughly up against the walls of contemporary London, with all its frenetic energy, late nights and bright lights, in this very modern mix of fatalism and hedonism, sustaining a merry-go-round of broken dreamers. But underneath it all are a very strained family, emotions at breaking point, suppressed truths - and serious mental health issues to address.
Sliding Doors - 21st Anniversary Edition
Celebrating the 21st anniversary of its cinematic debut, this new release features more than 90 minutes of all-new, specially commissioned extras and is endorsed by director Peter Howitt and star John Hannah. Gwyneth Paltrow plays London publicist Helen, effortlessly sliding between parallel storylines that show what would have happened if she does or does not catch a morning train back to her flat. Love, deception, trust, friendship & comedy. All come into focus as the two stories shift back and forth, overlap and then surprisingly converge in this classic romantic comedy.
Deborah Frances-White - The Guilty Feminist: From Our Noble Goals To Our Worst Hypocrisies
"In 2015 I described myself as 'guilty feminist' for the first time. My goals were noble but my concerns were trivial. I desperately wanted to close the pay gap, but I also wanted to look good sitting down naked."
A funny, joyful, frank and inspiring book about embracing both feminism and our imperfections from the creator of the hit comedy podcast of the same name, Deborah Frances-White. From inclusion to the secret autonomy in rom-coms, from effective activism to what poker can tell us about power structures, Deborah explores what it means to be a 21st Century feminist, and encourages us to make the world better for everyone. The book also includes exclusive interviews with performers, activists and thinkers - Jessamyn Stanley, Zoe Coombs Marr, Susan Wokoma, Bisha K. Ali, Reubs Walsh, Becca Bunce, Amika George, Mo Mansfied and Leyla Hussein - plus a piece from Hannah Gadsby.
Stan & Ollie
Stan & Ollie, the box office smash-hit, tells the previously untold story of the world's greatest comedy double act's final fling in the spotlight, during a stage tour of UK and Ireland in 1953. Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly deliver stunning and uncanny performances as the legendary Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. We can't recommend this film highly enough.
Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section - The Complete Series 1 - 3
Alex Horne and his special guests bring together stand-up and live music in three series of free-wheeling and spontaneous combination. Each episode sees Alex, his band and guests explore a different topic. These range from love to technology, the seasons to the body. In this complete collection guests include David O'Doherty, Isy Suttie, Kevin Eldon, Phill Jupitus, Matt Lucas, Doc Brown, Sara Pascoe, James Acaster, Marcus Brigstocke, Adam Buxton, Al Murray and Tim Key.
Ghosts
Ghosts is a multi-character sitcom created by the lead cast of writer-performers from the award winning Horrible Histories, Yonderland and Bill. The crumbling country pile of Button Hall is home to numerous restless spirits who have died there over the centuries - each ghost very much a product of their time, resigned to squabble with each other for eternity over the most inane of daily gripes. But their lives - or, rather, afterlives - are thrown into turmoil when a young urban couple - Alison and Mike - inherit the derelict house and make plans to turn it into a bustling family hotel. As the ghosts attempt to oust the newcomers from their home, and Mike and Alison discover the true scale of the project they've taken on, fate conspires to trap both sides in an impossible house share where every day is, literally, a matter of life and death.
Gonks Go Beat
Carry On's Kenneth Connor, Terry & June's Terry Scott, and Are You Being Served?'s Frank Thornton star in this groovy comedy-musical-sci-fi. Featuring performances from Lulu and the Luvvers, The Nashville Teens and The Graham Bond Organisation, Gonks Go Beat has been newly remastered in HD from the original physical film. In the far future, Earth has split into two musically-opposing factions: Beatland - where all the cool cats live - and Balladisle, where it's customary to sport smart jumpers and trouser creases. Perturbed at this squabbling The Great Galaxian decides to send an ambassador to bring harmony to these unruly Earthlings. Unfortunately, the only one available is a rather unorthodox chap with a disgraceful record of incompetence!
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing - The Complete First Series
After life-changing heart surgeries, comedians and lifelong friends Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse embark on a relaxing yet epic journey around Britain, eating great food and attempting to catch some of the nation's iconic fish. Ahead of a second series coming to screens (expected later this summer), 2018's Series 1 is released on Blu-ray (and lower quality DVD) for you to delight in their comic escapades and the stunning British scenery once more. A heart-warming, series bursting-with-joy that is not to be missed.
Ben Schott - Jeeves And The King Of Clubs
Storm clouds loom over Europe. Treason is afoot in the highest social circles. The very security of the nation is in peril. Jeeves, it transpires, has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty's Government must turn to the one man who can help ... Bertie Wooster. In this magnificent new homage to P. G. Wodehouse, Ben Schott leads Jeeves and Wooster on an uproarious adventure of espionage through the secret corridors of Whitehall, the sunlit lawns of Brinkley Court, and the private clubs of St James's. We encounter an unforgettable cast of characters - old and new - including outraged chefs and exasperated aunts, disreputable politicians and gambling bankers, slushy debs and Cockney cabbies, sphinx-like tailors, and sylph-like spies. There is treachery to be foiled, naturally, but also horses to be backed, auctions to be fixed and engagements to be escaped.
It's All Happening
Tommy Steele heads an exceptional line-up of pop talent in this highly successful comedy musical from the early 1960s. Billy Bowles is unlucky in both love and work. An orphan himself, the news that the orphanage he visits is in danger of being closed prompts him to set up a star-studded benefit concert - with unforeseen results! Featuring John Barry, Russ Conway, Marion Ryan, Geoff Love, and Shane Fenton & the Fentones, It's All Happening is presented here as a new high definition transfer from the original film elements.
1,423 QI Facts To Bowl You Over
The eye-popping, gob-smacking, rib-tickling phenomenon that is QI serves up a brand new selection of 1,423 facts to bowl you over. Iceland imports ice cubes. A group of ladybirds is called a loveliness. It is illegal in Saudi Arabia to name a child Sandi. Eight billion particles of fog can fit into a teaspoon. People who read books live longer than people who don't. Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table in Corfu. Netflix's biggest competitor is sleep. Find all of this and much more in this very latest compendium of the strange, the curious, and the downright unbelievable.
Eaten By Lions
Eaten By Lions tells the heart-warming story of half-brothers Omar (Antonio Aakeel) and Pete (Jack Carroll), who were raised by their Grandma after their parents were tragically killed by lions in a bizarre accident. When their beloved Gran passes away, they embark on a life-changing journey to find Omar's birth father. What follows is a funny and touching journey of self-discovery for both boys in Blackpool. The Choudray family represent a truly contemporary example of modern multicultural Britain, but what will the brothers make of their eccentric new-found family? Asim Chaudhry, Johnny Vegas, Vicki Pepperdine and Kevin Eldon are amongst the remarkable supporting cast.
For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.
Out now
The News Quiz - Series 98
The complete 98th series from the long-running topical BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show hosted by Miles Jupp. Eight more episodes featuring a panel of comedy guests who trawl through news stories big and small to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence. Guests include Hugo Rifkind, Zoe Lyons, Andy Hamilton, Lucy Porter, Susan Calman and Desiree Burch. Each week, the panellists discuss the week's top stories including Vladimir Putin's suggestion to log off from the World Wide Web, Theresa May's return to Brussels to discuss the backstop, and the Polar Vortex.
Minor Adjustment
The Stubbs family - cartoonist Richard, therapist Sarah, 16-year-old Kate and three-year-old Amy, who has Down syndrome - feature in this six-part sitcom chronicling the highs and lows of family life. Richard (played by Peter Davison) and Sarah (Samantha Bond) juggle their way through life's minor disruptions, such as well-meaning TV crews turning up unannounced, summons to the headmaster's office to discuss teen Kate and the arrival of Sarah's sister with a horse-box full of expressionist art and three moulting cats. On top of it all, Sarah considers a third child. Perhaps a holiday will do? Written by son and father team Andy and Eric Merriman (best known for Beyond Our Ken), the series was inspired by Andy's own four-year-old daughter, Sarah.
Home
The summer holidays are over. Peter and Katy, and Katy's son John, are driving back to Britain. But when the family arrive home in (not so exciting) Dorking, Peter discovers a surprise package stashed in the car boot. And we're not talking duty free. Peter finds Sami, a Syrian refugee. Gradually the family welcomes Sami into their lives. They help him find his wife and child, who've set up home in Germany, but can Sami and his adopted family convince his loved ones to live in Britain? Surprisingly free of clichés, Home explores the fragile forces that pull families apart, and those that bind them back together again.
The Dawson Watch - The Complete Series
This BBC series sees comedy legend Les Dawson tackle a different subject in each episode, with his unique comic wit. Running for 19 episodes in 1979 and 1980, Les co-wrote the comedy with Andy Hamilton and Terry Ravenscroft. Unlike his variety shows, The Dawson Watch was themed, addressing subjects ranging from education, transport and health to law and the media. Each episode, mixes Les's trademark stand-up with a variety of short sketches illustrating his sharp observations - including the beloved Cissie and Ada. Fantastic supporting and guest stars abound in the three series, which remains laugh-out-loud funny to this day.
Mr. Topaze - Dual Format Edition
Chosen by the British public to be digitised by the BFI in 2016, Peter Sellers directs and stars in this bittersweet character comedy based on a Marcel Pagnol short story, alongside Herbert Lom, Billie Whitelaw, Leo McKern, John Le Mesurier and Joan Sims. Playing the eponymous poor, provincial French schoolteacher, it is the tale of a naive man taken advantage of by corrupt businessmen and politicians, slowly corrupted by their world. Unseen for decades, this lost comedy classic comes with an array of extra features and is now available for the first time on Blu-ray and DVD.
Pitching In
TV favourite Larry Lamb returns to screens as Frank Hardcastle, a recently widowed Londoner getting to grips with big changes in his life, in the Welsh-set comedy drama Pitching In. Welcome to Daffodil Dunes Holiday Park in the picturesque village of Glan Mor on the north Wales coast: the heartbeat of this close-knit community, run by salt-of-the-earth Cockney Frank for 50 years. When his flighty daughter Carys (Caroline Sheen) and grandson Dylan (William Romain) show up at his 71st birthday party and announce they are staying for good, Frank considers whether it might be a good time to sell up and start again. Especially as local estate agent, Iona Driscoll (Hayley Mills) has a very tempting offer for him to consider...in more ways than one.
Still Game - The Complete Collection
It's here - every side-splitting episode of the acclaimed comedy series Still Game in one box set! So come to Craiglang, pour yourself a Midori and enjoy a comic feast with Jack, Victor and the rest of the gang as Britain's favourite OAPs take on the world and all it has to throw at them... usually by the local neds! Created, written by and starring Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill.
Strangeways Here We Come
Sucked into debt and finding themselves trapped by evil loan shark Danny Nolan, the desperate residents of the Owen Street estate in Salford come to the conclusion that the only way to free themselves is by bumping him off. One fateful morning, after a rollicking house party, that's exactly what happens. However, these are not professional killers and things unravel when a tough, uncompromising woman starts asking awkward questions. They think she's a copper, but Steph is Nolan's wife and she's twice as evil as he ever was. Nervous hilarity, guilt and stumbling paranoia quickly set in.
The Likely Lads
Spinning off from the incredibly popular 1960s TV sitcom and its BAFTA-winning 1970s sequel, James Bolam and Rodney Bewes star as Terry Collier and Bob Ferris, two life-long friends with vastly different outlooks on life. Written by legends Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Porridge, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet), The Likely Lads is presented here as a beautiful new high definition transfer from the original film elements. Thelma's continued annoyance at her husband Bob's disruptive friend shows no sign of abating, but when Terry lands himself a new girlfriend Thelma sees her chance to finally get Terry married off and out of her and Bob's life forever. Her solution of touring the north of England in a caravan, however, leaves a lot to be desired...
This release also includes two previously lost episodes of the original BBC2 sitcom. We spoke to Clement and La Frenais about their recovery.
Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators - Series Two
The complete second series of BBC One's hit daytime comedy drama. Jo Joyner and Mark Benton star as the titular detective duo: one with the investigative nous and the other with the people skills necessary to get the job done. A fantastic array of guest cast members includes Marek Larwood, Julia Deakin, Victor McGuire, Sian Reeves and James Dreyfus in this second collection of ten 45-minute episodes. A lighter, spiritual successor to Jonathan Creek, this comedy drama is oodles of fun and suitable for all the family.
Slaughterhouse Rulez
Welcome to Slaughterhouse, an elite boarding school where boys and girls are groomed for power and greatness... and they're about to meet their match. This ancient and ordered world is about to be shaken to its foundations - literally - when a controversial frack site on prize school woodland causes seismic tremors, a mysterious sinkhole, and the release of an unspeakable horror from the depths of the Earth. Soon a new pecking order will be established as pupils, teachers and the school matron become locked in a bloody battle for survival. Hermione Corfield, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole and Michael Sheen are amongst the stars.
The Smallest Show On Earth
Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers star in Basil Dearden's The Smallest Show On Earth. This gentle comedy also features Bernard Miles, Leslie Phillips and Sid James in the tale of a small, traditional cinema in competition with a modern picture palace. Overjoyed to learn that they've inherited a cinema in the north of England, Matt and Jean Spenser are hugely disappointed to arrive and discover it's less of a picture palace and more of a fleapit - with three equally decrepit employees. Can the couple make a go of it or will they be forced to sell up and watch the Bijou Kinema be redeveloped into a car park? This delightful feature is available as a fresh HD restoration on Blu-ray.
Natalie Haynes Stands Up For The Classics - Series 1-4
A humorous and informative look at historical characters from Ancient Greece and Rome. Natalie is a recovering comedian who is a little bit obsessive about the fascinating ancient civilisations. Each week she takes a different figure from the Ancient World and tells their story through a mix of stand-up comedy and conversation. Over the course of these four series she explores the likes of Sophocles (who invents the TV detective with Oedipus - bad things happen), Virgil (who creates Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Aspasia (how to be a notorious woman in Ancient Greece), Plato (on the chunky side, but very good at wrestling) and Sappho (a lot of gossip from over 1,000 years ago).
Comedy Capers: Trouble With Eve & Double Bunk
Two classic British comedies from the 1960s. In Trouble With Eve, scandal rips through a quiet British village after a woman converts her cottage into a tearoom.
Ian Carmichael, Sid James and Liz Fraser are amongst the stars in Double Bunk. When newly-weds Jack and Peggy face eviction, they are tricked into buying a run-down houseboat. After rebuilding the engine, they take their friends Sid and Sandra on a trip down the river to Folkestone, but somehow they end up in France. A delightful double-bill of classic British films.
Johnny English - 3-Movie Collection
Rowan Atkinson stars as the titular bumbling secret agent in these three international smash-hit, blockbuster Johnny English spy spoofs. It starts when Johnny, an office-bound junior intelligence worker, finds himself suddenly thrust into the spotlight when the Crown Jewels are stolen from the Tower of London and a plot is uncovered that threatens world security. A bit unseasoned but extremely enthusiastic, English is quickly outfitted with a highly-specialised automobile, armed with the ultimate in intelligence gadgetry and allowed highest access to the agency's files. All of England's hopes are resting on English...
For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.
Thanks for reading
You can find our full comedy shop on our website at any time, and some of the best new release news, competitions and bargains on Twitter: @BritComedyShop. If you haven't done so already, there's still time to enter our competition to win a copy of Timothy Spall's Stanley A Man Of Variety on DVD.
British Comedy Guide
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