Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
The hilarious animated comedy continues in a Griffin family meets Star Wars spoof, exclusively released on DVD and Blue-ray on 28th December 2009.
The limited edition disc comes with a T-shirt, collector cards and free digital copy. This hour-long episode is a sequel to the Star Wars Parody, Blue Harvest that took spoof to a new level, and is to be followed by a further Star Wars spoof, We Have a Bad Feeling About This.
Characters from the cult cartoon are transformed into slightly cooler characters from the movie who are shown from a different perspective. In this episode, Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin), Princess Leia (Lois), Chewbacca (Brian) and Han Solo (Peter Griffin) have been pursued by the Imperial Starfleet and their evil master, Lord Darth Vader (Stewie Griffin) to the planet Hoth. Luke has a vision of his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), who tells him to go to the planet Dagobah and learn of the ways of the “Farce” from the Jedi Master Yoda (Carl). But after he has a further vision of the Empire capturing his friends he decides to go and save the galaxy instead. Meanwhile Princess Leia finds herself falling in love with the pilot Han Solo (Peter Griffin).
Some have said this is the funniest version of Family Guy so far.
Star Wars - the animated series
From a galaxy far, far away… comes the Complete Season One of the animated Star Wars series to land in a shop near you on 16th November.
The four disc set contains 22 action-packed episodes with seven Director’s Cut episodes, 22 Behind-the-Scenes interviews with the director and crew, an exclusive 68-page Production Journal complete with original sketches and artist notes, plus a sneak preview of Season Two.
It sounds too good to be true and even better, The Clone Wars comes with a RRP of £39.99. It continues the adventures of the Star Wars saga. A fierce battle rages throughout the universe and in particular, on the planet of Christophsis, as the clones steadily advance on the Separatist forces, but the threat of the droid army is ever present. Anakin and Ahsoka, a young Padawan are charged with rescuing the child of Jabba the Hutt who has been kidnapped as a plot to make the Hutts join the Separatists under the evil General Grievous. The fate of the Republic lies in the hands of the heroic Jedi knights – can they rescue Jabba’s son and save the universe?
The voice cast includes Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Sir Christopher Lee as Count Dooku and Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu with Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano. The animation pays homage to the Japanese anime and manga and the marionette-based British series, Thunderbirds, with George Lucas specifying that he wanted a stylized look rather than a realistic one and uses long camera shots and strong lighting. This special edition is a must for Star Wars fans everywhere.
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Bones Release Date
American crime drama, Bones, was first aired on US TV in 2005 and is loosely based on the successful author, Kathy Reichs, crime novel series, which in turn is based on Kathy’s own real life as a forensic anthropologist and crime investigator.
The main character, Dr Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, DC and is also a best-selling crime novelist. The show’s humour comes from her brilliance and intelligence in her work coupled with her social ineptitude.
Brennan assists FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) when human remains cannot be identified without her skills in forensic anthropology. Booth provides a layman’s interpretation of Brennan and the other scientists jargon-filled theories.
Bones is released on DVD through FoxVideo on 21st September.
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Spooks Series 7 Release Date
Spooks returned to our screens last October with an 8 episode run and the shock departure of Adam Carter (Rupert Penry Jones) and the return of Ros Myers (Hermione Norris) and Jo Portman (Miranda Raison). The team are also joined by Lucas North (Richard Armitage ), a British agent who has been held in a Russian prison for the past eight years. Following Adam’s demise, Ros is made the section leader and Lucas replaces her as a Senior Case officer.
The popular crime drama has won a score of awards including two BAFTAS and one Royal Television Society Award for best drama series. Filming began in March for series 8 which will be shown later in the year.
Spooks Series 7 is available through Contender Video on 12th October 2009.
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In Loving Memory Series 2 DVD Release Date
‘In Loving Memory Series 2’ will be released to DVD on 6 July 2009. This popular television series of the 1980s starred the hugely funny Thora Hird along with Christopher Beeny and Colin Farrell.
This DVD covers all of series 2 from the comedy show that is set in 1929 at Unsworth & Co. Funeral Directors. Thora Hird is ‘auntie’ Ivy Unsworth the widow of Jeremiah. Her accident prone nephew Billy assists her in running the funeral business. The series sees wall-to-wall funny moments such as the telephone call from a client which goes like this “so what is it you want on his headstone” “erected in the memory of Fred Bloggs who was tragically drowned in the Bridgewater Canal by his loving family” Auntie Ivy tells the client that this may need re-wording and suggests one of their set pieces which goes like this “Ta ta Grandad all the best the North lost a gud un when you went west”!
‘In Loving Memory Series 2’ is a very entertaining and funny show that is timeless and has a great feel good factor about it. It will be released on 6 July 2009.
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Dollhouse DVD Release Date
‘Dollhouse’ will be released to DVD on 14 September 2009. It stars Eliza Dshku, Harry Lennix and Fran Krantz as the main characters.
The ‘actives’ are a group of people who will be anything or do anything that their rich and powerful hirers want them to be or do. Each ‘active’ has had their personality and memory blanked by reprogramming, they are then primed as a new character. The ‘active’ will totally absorb into the role the client has for them regardless of its legality. At the end of each mission the ‘active’ returns to the ‘Dollhouse’ where the last job is scrubbed from their minds and a new one impregnated. Echo an ‘active’ seemingly has no recollections or does she?
The FBI start to close in on the illegal and underground ‘Dollhouse’ find out the compelling stories as it releases DVD on 14 September 2009.
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Dallas: The Complete Season 11 DVD
‘Dallas the Complete Season 11’ will be released to DVD on 20 July 2009. Anyone of a certain age will surely remember being glued to the television for the latest episode of the supremely popular show of its time Dallas.
A touch of nostalgia beckons as the complete elevenths series becomes available. We had the continuous sibling rivalry between the Ewing Bros Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and JR (Larry Hagman). Then there was the ever tumultuous love lives of the two brothers and their on off wives Sue-Ellen (Linda Gray) and Pam (Victoria Principal). The ever popular Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) was always on a constant mission to keep her often warring family in line.
‘Dallas the Complete Season 11’ is full off opulence, power, sex and supreme wealth that the Oil family often had great problems controlling. This six set DVD will be released on 20 July 2009.
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Hustle Season 5 Release Date
The fifth series of the massively popular comedy drama series, Hustle, sees two main character changes. Danny Blue (Marc Warren) and Stacie Monroe (Jaime Murray) have stayed on in the US to carry on their on “cons” while the UK team have been joined by brother and sister teams, Emma Kennedy (Kelly Adams) and Sean Kennedy (Matt Di Angelo).
This series has attracted viewing figures of over 6 million and the BBC have already commissioned a 6th series which will be filming this year and air 2010. US interest from Fox who have bought the film rights to Hustle has sparked rumours that there will be a film version of the TV series coming in the near future.
Hustle Season 5 is released on 25th January 2010.
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Mad Men Release Date
Matthew Weiner’s US TV drama, Mad Men, has received worldwide critical acclaim as well as several awards including 6 Emmys, Golden Globes and BAFTAs.
Set in the 1960’s the drama centres around a fictional advertising agency in New York, called Sterling Cooper and the lives, families and friends of the people who work there, most notably the high level Creative Director, Don Draper (Jon Hamm).
Of particular interest and quality is the authenticity and historical accuracy of the production design, sets and costumes. The story lines are superb and well crafted as well as beautifully acted.
Mad Men: Season 2 is released simultaneously on DVD and Blu Ray on 13th July.
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My Family Release Date
My Family has been running consistently since 2000 and so far has notched up to date 98 episodes and currently showing on TV is Season 9 which is released on DVD later this year.
Starring Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker as middle-class parents, Ben and Susan Harper, the show also features their 3 very different children, Nick, Janey and Michael and centres around the ups and downs of family life with the father as a laid back dentist and the mother as a control freak, trying desperately to maintain order when all about seems to go awry at the slightest hint of trouble.
The comedy was created by US writer, Fred Barron and has a team of script writers working much like the American writing method of US sitcoms. The series has already been commissioned for 2 new series taking it into 2011.
My Family: Season 9 is released on DVD on 25th May.
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