Review, buy Television: Babylon 5 - Vol. 4.09 - The Face Of The Enemy / Intersections In Real Time [1994], Red Dwarf III - Backwards, Babylon 5 - Vol. 5.08 - Darkness Ascending / And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder [1994], Avengers, The - Never, Never Say Die / Murdersville [1967], Blake's 7 - Vol. 2 - Episodes 5 To 8 [1978], Fabulous Thunderbirds-Tuff, Star Trek : Deep Space Nine - Vol. 6.11 - The Reckoning / Valiant, BLAKES 7 (#16) The Harvest Of Kairos / City At The Edge Of The World, Blake's 7 - Vol. 3 [1978], Star Trek Voyager - Vol. 4.3 (Revulsion/The Raven) [1996], Thunderbirds 2086-Nightmare/Metal, The Thunderbirds [2004], Blake's 7 - Vol. 5 [1978], Star Trek Voyager Vol 4.5 [1996], Avenging The Avengers [2000], Star Trek The Next Generation - Vol. 3.4 - The Defector / The Hunted / The High Ground [1990], Star Trek The Next Generation 81 : Force Of Nature / Inheritance [1993], Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds 2086, Thunderbirds/Stingray double pack, Star Trek The Next Generation - Vol. 3.3 - The Enemy / The Price / The Vengeance Factor [1990]

From the outset, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was about conflict. Producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller challenged the utopian ideals of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek universe to create something totally different from its predecessors. This meant no familial camaraderie, squeaky-clean Federation diplomacy or beige décor. Instead they wanted interpersonal friction, ruthless enemies (Gamma Quadrant Imperialists-The Dominion) and rebellion at every turn. The DS9 concept was originally facilitated by introducing the Cardassian/Bajoran war during The Next Generation's final days. After a muted first reception fans gradually came to accept the new look, but no one liked Star Trek without a starship and eventually the producers capitulated to viewers' wishes by introducing the USS Defiant (an apt name) in Season 3. Relying far less on technobabble than TNG, DS9 was unafraid to focus on matters of the spirit demonstrating a gutsy independence from its parent shows. Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by Babylon 5, improved CGI space battles also became a fan favourite. Throughout the increasingly serialised story arc there were rebellious factions within the different establishments: Kira had belonged to the Shakaar resistance cell; The Maquis was Starfleet vs. Cardassians; Section 31 was a secret Starfleet group; The True Way was a Bajoran group opposed to peace; the Cardassians had their Obsidian Order and the Romulans their Gestapo-like Tal Shiar. [+]

Yet for all its constant bickering and espionage (even Bashir got to be James Bond) there was always some contemporary social commentary lurking: the Ferengi were used as a comedic foil to frown on materialistic greed; drugs were looked at via the Jem'Hadar foot soldiers' addiction to Ketracel White. Perhaps Sisko summed up the real heart of things: "Bajor doesn't need a man, it needs a legend". A future vision that retains a place for religion and spirituality turned out to be Deep Space Nine's first best destiny. -Paul Tonks.

More info…

BLAKES 7 (#16) The Harvest Of Kairos / City At The Edge Of The World

Review BLAKES 7 (#16) The Harvest Of Kairos / City At The Edge Of The World:

More info…

Review Fremantle Home Entertainment / Blake's 7 - Vol. 3 [1978]

Blake's 7 - Vol. 3 [1978] (Fremantle Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

Douglas Camfield
Vivienne Cozens
Viktors Ritelis
Jonathan Wright-Miller
Fiona Cumming

Release date: 2003-11-17
Run time: 102 min.
RRP: ~~£12.99~~
Price: £9.43

Review Blake's 7 - Vol. 3 [1978] / Fremantle Home Entertainment:

More info…

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Star Trek Voyager - Vol. 4.3 (Revulsion/The Raven) [1996]

Star Trek Voyager - Vol. 4.3 (Revulsion/The Raven) [1996] (Paramount Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

Roxann Dawson
Ethan Phillips
Kenneth Biller
Robert Beltran
Robert Picardo
Kate Mulgrew
LeVar Burton

Release date: 1998-04-06
Run time: 88 min.
RRP: ~~£5.99~~
Price: £12.29

Review Star Trek Voyager - Vol. 4.3 (Revulsion/The Raven) [1996] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

More info…

Thunderbirds 2086-Nightmare/Metal (ITC LL0007)

Run time: 46 min.
Price: £9.99

Review Thunderbirds 2086-Nightmare/Metal / ITC LL0007:

More info…

Review Universal Pictures Video / The Thunderbirds [2004]

The Thunderbirds [2004] (Universal Pictures Video)

Actors & Directors

Brady Corbet
Ben Kingsley
Anthony Edwards
Sophia Myles
Jonathan Frakes
Bill Paxton

Release date: 2004-11-15
Run time: 91 min.
RRP: ~~£14.99~~
Price: £0.68

Review The Thunderbirds [2004] / Universal Pictures Video:

More info…

Review Fremantle Home Entertainment / Blake's 7 - Vol. 5 [1978]

Blake's 7 - Vol. 5 [1978] (Fremantle Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

Vivienne Cozens
Fiona Cumming
Viktors Ritelis
Douglas Camfield
Jonathan Wright-Miller

Release date: 2004-01-05
Run time: 204 min.
RRP: ~~£12.99~~
Price: £15.02

Review Blake's 7 - Vol. 5 [1978] / Fremantle Home Entertainment:

More info…

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Star Trek Voyager Vol 4.5 [1996]

Star Trek Voyager Vol 4.5 [1996] (Paramount Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

Robert Beltran
Kate Mulgrew
Roxann Dawson
Michael Vejar
Robert Duncan McNeill
Ethan Phillips
Alexander Singer

Release date: 1998-06-01
Run time: 88 min.
RRP: ~~£5.99~~
Price: £7.50

Review Star Trek Voyager Vol 4.5 [1996] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

More info…

Review Contender Entertainment Group / Avenging The Avengers [2000]

Avenging The Avengers [2000] (Contender Entertainment Group)

Actors & Directors

Linda Thorson
Diana Rigg
Patrick Macnee
Paul Madden
James Hill
Honor Blackman
Dean Stockton

Release date: 2000-06-05
Run time: 40 min.
Price: £9.99

Review Avenging The Avengers [2000] / Contender Entertainment Group:

More info…

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Star Trek The Next Generation - Vol. 3.4 - The Defector / The Hunted / The High Ground [1990]

Star Trek The Next Generation - Vol. 3.4 - The Defector / The Hunted / The High Ground [1990] (Paramount Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

Robert Scheerer
Cliff Bole
Gates McFadden
LeVar Burton
Gabrielle Beaumont
Michael Dorn
Jonathan Frakes
Patrick Stewart

Release date: 2000-06-05
Run time: 131 min.
RRP: ~~£5.99~~
Price: £8.80

Review Star Trek The Next Generation - Vol. 3.4 - The Defector / The Hunted / The High Ground [1990] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

In 1987, some 20 years after the original series had ended, Star Trek: The Next Generation was launched into a decade renowned for its materialistic greed, but also for its hesitant steps towards a more unified world order. Creator Gene Roddenberry revised his vision of humanity's future accordingly, shifting the Trek timeline 80 years on and reinventing the new Starship Enterprise as an Ark-like exploration vessel full of families, schools, soothing recreational facilities and a maternally pacifying computer voice (Roddenberry's wife, Majel Barrett). The Next Generation crew were not soldiers, but scientists and diplomats. Unlike the fiercely individualistic Captain Kirk, Patrick Stewart's patrician Captain Jean-Luc Picard was a model team leader: no matter how desperate the crisis, he ensured that everyone got to sit round the Conference Room table and talk it over. And in a true late-1980s touch, a key member of the Bridge crew was psychoanalyst Counsellor Troi, always on hand to discuss everyone's feelings. Season Two saw the welcome introduction of the cybernetic horror that was the Borg. Originally a powerful symbol of technological misuse in an otherwise technologically utopian universe, ultimately their hive-like existence served to reinforce the message that everyone would be much happier as a team player. Even renegade super-entity Q (John De Lancie) relied on Picard as much as his fellow god-like playmates; Data followed Pinocchio and Spock in a quest to discard what made him an individual; and there was even an episode that rationalised why all aliens basically looked alike (we're all one big family). Even the slogan change to "Where no one has gone before" acknowledges that there's no "one" in a team. But for all its earnest political correctness and an over-reliance on "technobabble", good stories played by an appealing ensemble cast were at the heart of the show's success. [+]

After seven successful seasons, "All Good Things" finally came to an end. Until Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, that is. -Paul Tonks.

More info…

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Star Trek The Next Generation 81 : Force Of Nature / Inheritance [1993]

Star Trek The Next Generation 81 : Force Of Nature / Inheritance [1993] (Paramount Home Entertainment)

Actors & Directors

LeVar Burton
Patrick Stewart
Robert Scheerer
Michael Dorn
Robert Lederman
Jonathan Frakes
Gates McFadden

Release date: 1994-06-06
Run time: 88 min.
RRP: ~~£10.99~~
Price: £4.27

Review Star Trek The Next Generation 81 : Force Of Nature / Inheritance [1993] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

More info…

Review POLYGRAM / Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds 2086

Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds 2086 (POLYGRAM)

Actors & Directors

CAPTAIN SCARLET

Run time: 60 min.
Price: £4.99

Review Captain Scarlet/Thunderbirds 2086 / POLYGRAM:

SPECRTUM STRIKES BACK FIRE BALL COMPUTER MADNESS

More info…

Review 1981 ITC Entertainment Inc / Thunderbirds/Stingray double pack

Thunderbirds/Stingray double pack (1981 ITC Entertainment Inc)

Run time: 193 min.
Creator: Gerry Anderson

Review Thunderbirds/Stingray double pack / 1981 ITC Entertainment Inc:

As Stated on the Sleeve: Thunderbirds International Rescue sends the incredibel Thunderbirds on the most dangerous rescue mission yet. They must save the Empire State Building from collapsing on New York City and at the same time battle a deadly fire blazing out of control in a mid-Atlantic oil station. STINGRAY: Captain Troy Tempest battles the fiercest enemy of all time in this action-packed adventure film. The evil lord Titan, who rules a vast and dealy empire under the seas is waging a war to take over the land masses and enslave the peoples of the Earth. With the help of Titan's slave, Marina, Captain Tempest and Stingray battle the evil Lord and his underwater armies in the most incredible undersea adventure of all time.

More info…