OUT NOW FROST ON FRIDAY

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One of the triumvirate of Frost programmes that dominated ITV weekends in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, Frost on Friday concentrated on current affairs – often creating the headlines, as well as reporting on them. Made at a time when David Frost was hosting a chat show in the US and then jetting back to the UK to do three shows over the weekend, Frost on Friday concentrates this energy into forty minutes worth of incisive and insightful commentary on current affairs as well as a number of remarkable interviews with often controversial, high-profile public figures. A number of editions of Frost on Friday no longer exist but of the shows remaining this set includes General Moshe Dayan discussing his role in the Six Day War, war criminal Baldur von Schirach on his relationship with Hitler, Cardinal Heenan outlining his position on contraception and a highly emotional interview with firebrand politician Enoch Powell. Muhammad Ali is interviewed in New York (during a period when he had been stripped of his title and boxing licence for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam conflict) and James Callaghan gives a bullish and frank interview in his position as then-Home Secretary. A powerful debate on capital punishment includes contributions from the father of Derek Bentley – a teenager hanged for murder in 1953 (and pardoned three decades after this debate was recorded).

OUT NOW RETRO ACTION (on BLU RAY)

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The programmes contained on this disc have rarely, if ever, been seen at their full technical potential and certainly not on the medium they were originally designed for. It is the legacy of both producers and contributors who aspired to high production values but only now can their work be fully appreciated. These new high definition transfers and restorations from the original 35mm elements herald a new era for these iconic shows for both loyal fans and new audiences. Episodes featured: The Persuaders!: Chain of Events | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? | Department S: A Small War of Nerves | The Champions: The Invisible Man | Strange Report: Report 2493: Kidnap - ‘Whose Pretty Girl Are You?’ - Other volumes are available.

OUT NOW REVELATIONS

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An early creation of multi-award-winning writer and producer Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk), and producer Antony Wood (Coronation Street, Hollyoaks), this innovative late-night soap opera traces the secrets, scandals and conflicts of the wealthy family of a Church of England bishop. Exploring dramatic and controversial themes close to Davies' heart, Revelations stars Paul Shelley as the morally flawed Edward Rattigan and Judy Loe as his manipulative wife, Jessica, both of whom have to deal with their troubled son Gabriel, a methadone addict whose homosexuality is a closely guarded secret, and promiscuous daughter Charlie. Lucy Robinson plays Rachel - who enters the turbulent, secretive and collusive family via marriage to Gabriel, but finds herself out of her depths in a world in which nothing is ever quite as it seems.

OUT NOW CHILDREN OF THE STONES

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Children of the Stones was an undisputed landmark in children's television. Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray's groundbreaking fantasy series, starring Iain Cuthbertson and Gareth Thomas and filmed largely in Avebury in Wiltshire, combined scientific fact and fiction with pagan mythology and rural folklore in its portrayal of a village held captive by the sinister power of its Neolithic stone circle. Intelligent, atmospheric and genuinely unnerving, the series – often cited by those who grew up in the Seventies as the most frightening thing seen on television – was the result of collaboration between writers Burnham and Ray, producer Patrick Dromgoole (whose previous credits had included classic HTV series Sky and Arthur of the Britons) and producer/director Peter Graham Scott; classical composer and conductor Sidney Sager scored the series' chilling theme and incidental music. Unsurprisingly, Children of the Stones has gained a devoted cult following in the decades since its first transmission in 1977.

OUT NOW PATHFINDERS IN SPACE

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One of ITV's earliest dramas written specifically for children and a precursor to the development of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman's Pathfinders series is one of the most eagerly awaited archive television releases of all time. Over three series the Pathfinders journeyed to the Moon and other worlds, proving tremendously successful with the viewing public and even getting into the regional top ten on occasion – unheard of for a children's programme. With intelligent and engaging scripts by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice, the Pathfinders faced drama at every turn - from space hazards to Venusian dinosaurs! – and this set contains all three series: Pathfinders in Space, Pathfinders to Mars and Pathfinders to Venus.

OUT NOW MORECAMBE & WISE - COMPLETE BBC COLLECTION

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Morecambe and Wise are the greatest comedy double act ever to grace our TV screens. The fabulous mixture of sketches, musical numbers, insights into their ‘home’ life’ and the play's 'wot Ernie wrote' brought them audiences in the millions. On stage they were living legends with Eric’s raised eyebrows, Des O’Connor jibes and cheeky catchphrases putting every audience in the palm of their hands. And, of course, the stars – from Shirley Bassey and Elton John to Laurence Olivier and Glenda Jackson – lined up to join in the fun. This complete series includes nine series and five Christmas Specials and features every memorable moment of Eric and Ernie’s BBC career including the legendary Singin’ in the Rain, the famous André Previn appearances and the acclaimed Breakfast Stripper sketch – as well as every shoulder-and-cheek slap, Luton Town reference and “Not Now Arthur!” in between.

OUT NOW DRAMARAMA - SPOOKY

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A welcome release on DVD for this classic children's drama series. Providing a showcase for some of Britain’s most accomplished screenwriters, Dramarama was an acclaimed 1980s anthology series which became a staple part of children’s television viewing and is still widely remembered today. Spooky aired shortly before the main series was broadcast, exploring the supernatural vein that would appear throughout Dramarama’s run. These outstanding screenplays venture into the dark corners of the imagination to create some of the most spine-tingling scenes ever seen on children’s television! Nicholas Ball, Wilfrid Brambell and Colin Jeavons are among the performers; high-calibre writers include BAFTA-Award winner Paula Milne, Grange Hill contributor Jane Hollowood, and authors Leon Garfield and Alan Garner, both recipients of the Carnegie Medal for children’s literature.

OUT NOW THE STRANGE WORLD OF GURNEY SLADE

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"A mixture of Walter Mitty, the Goons and Alice in Wonderland." Daily Mail. Both firmly of its time and spectacularly ahead of it, The Strange World of Gurney Slade is to television comedy what The Prisoner has become to television drama - brilliantly inventive, startlingly surreal and unlike anything previously seen on television. Anthony Newley stars as an actor who walks off the set of a banal sit-com and into a fantasy world of his own imagination. In this surreal odyssey through his own personal alternative reality he indulges in random conversations with both animals and inanimate objects – it’s a world in which characters can step out of advertising posters and where he can hear the most intimate thoughts of passers by. An unpredictable, absurdist fantasy, Gurney Slade created an indelible impression upon anyone who saw it. Created by Newley and written by the highly talented Sid Green and Dick Hills (who were soon to become key writers for Morecambe and Wise) this series has been newly transferred from the original 35mm film elements specifically for this release.

OUT NOW OUT OF TOWN

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Out of Town was a hugely successful series from Southern Television that ran for twenty-five years, each episode presented by Jack Hargreaves who, with his relaxed and amiable style, offered viewers a fascinating insight into the ways of rural life of years gone by, as well as the dwindling traditions and values of the people who inhabited a world devoid technology and who quite gratefully distanced themselves from the rat-race of modern life. Hargreaves effortlessly managed to cross the generation gap and, like a kindly, worldly wise grandfather, imparted his knowledge of country life and times gone by. An article in 'Television and Radio 1978', informed viewers that 'whether it shows the shoeing of horses, angling or rabbiting, 'Out of Town' presents a complete and unsentimental picture of country life in all its aspects. It is not a programme solely about fishing, nature or gardening, but all of these things as they effect the countryman; if it is interesting and part of country life it will be in the programme.' The link between the town, the country and the programme and its audience was not just one way communication and Jack would often turn up old rural implements that would baffle even the experts. Each week, TVS' postbag would be full of viewers letters recognising the flat tyned fork used for turning clay in the vale of Evesham, or the measuring device used by excisemen to find out how much beer was in a barrel, or the whereabouts of a type of squirrel. And the show received international recognition including the first ever prize in the cultural category of the World Newsfilm Awards, whilst at home Jack received a 1972 silver award from the Royal Television Society for outstanding creative achievement in television in front of the camera, and later still a royal OBE from the Queen.

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