OUT NOW WHIPLASH

In August 1851, the discovery of gold in Ballarat, Australia, sent shockwaves across the world. Hordes of adventurers flocked to the new land of the golden dream, encountering a harsh, frequently violent land. Despoiled by bushrangers, brutalised by the old convict system and torn by class conflicts, it took a certain kind of settler to rise to the challenges of the new country. Boston-born Christopher Cobb is one of those people. Seasoned with experience gained in the Californian gold rush, Chris’s job is to find rights of way through the arid terrain of New South Wales, survey new lines of communication, and secure lucrative contracts for his expanding stagecoach business. He is a gentleman, yet no stranger to violence, and possesses an inherent hatred of injustice in any form - a trait that leads him into highly dangerous situations. In a land that has no sympathy for weaklings, Chris becomes whatever man he needs to be to. American actor Peter Graves (Mission: Impossible) brought his sun-bleached good looks to this joint venture between ATV/ ITC and the Australian Seven Network, with input from an American production crew and writers, Whiplash transposed the frontier drama of the classic western to the heat and dust of the bush and Cobb defended himself with a bullwhip rather than a pistol. First broadcast in the UK in 1960, Whiplash features fast-moving scripts, including several by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and a memorably rousing theme composed by Edwin Astley and sung by international star Frank Ifield. This complete series is released here for the very first time.

OUT NOW RAVEN

Raven, a 15-year-old Borstal boy, is released on probation to live with Professor Young, an archaeologist immersed in research into Arthurian legend, and his wife, an amateur ornithologist. The professor is working in deep underground caves whose carved symbols suggest that King Arthur may have used them as a hiding place, and Raven is intrigued by his belief that Arthur was not one man, but a succession of chiefs. But the professor’s research in is peril: the government plans to build a nuclear waste reprocessing plant on the ancient site. As Raven is drawn into the battle to save the cave system, he begins to understand its mysteries - and the brightly coloured bird that has accompanied him on his journey holds the key to the discovery of his own unique destiny. Future Quadrophenia and EastEnders star Phil Daniels is Raven, alongside Michael Aldridge (Last of the Summer Wine) and Carry On... stalwart Patsy Rowlands, in this six-part fantasy series in which occult and supernatural themes are interwoven with environmental concerns. Raven was written by Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray, creators of the groundbreaking Children of the Stones, and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Graphics. The series, produced by ATV, first aired in 1977 and has long been believed to be incomplete in the archive but we have tracked down the original 2” VT tapes for transfer, specifically for this DVD release.

OUT NOW A BUNCH OF FIVES

Typically filled with tips on how to eke out one’s pocket money, reports on the dangers of cigarettes and alcohol, wickedly accurate personality profiles, creative prose, poems and reviews, the school magazine offered a uniquely adolescent perspective on life during the 1970s. This ATV drama series for teenagers follows the progress and pitfalls of a group of fifth-formers at Oxford Lane Comprehensive School who, appalled by the blandness and timidity of their school’s official effort, decide to launch a punchier alternative... A Bunch of Fives, starring Jamie Foreman and Lesley Manville, was devised by John Sichel with Colin Rogers and mostly written by BAFTA-winning writer Paula Milne. Every bit as hard-hitting and humorous as its BBC contemporary Grange Hill (which debuted inbetween series one and two of A Bunch of Fives) this release comprises both series, originally screened in 1977 and 1978. Pupil Chris Taylor is accused of something he didn’t do and, in exasperation, writes about the incident for the school magazine. When games master Mr Buck refuses to print the article, Chris and some of the other fifth-formers decide to pool their journalistic talents: putting together their own magazine, ‘A Bunch of Fives’, they begin to seek out more relevant stories from the community in which the children live.

OUT NOW THE HANGED MAN

There have been three attempts to kill Lew Burnett. After the third attempt Burnett decides to stay ‘dead’ – so that he can stay alive. Burnett, owner of an international construction company, begins scouring his past to find out who hated, loved or envied him enough to want him out of the way for good; he is not running from his enemies but trying to draw them out. Undercover and on borrowed time, he has been given a second chance at life. In this state of transition – symbolised by the Hanged Man of the Tarot – he can no longer fall back on his money or influence, just the wits and hands with which he built up his own small empire. In the process, he is forced to confront some painful truths. In an exceptional performance, acclaimed RSC player and character actor Colin Blakely (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Son of Man) stars as Lew Burnett alongside Michael Williams as Alan Crowe and Gary Watson as hired assassin John Quentin. This powerful eight-part thriller series also features guest appearances from Jane Seymour, Gareth Hunt, James Grout and Frederick Jaeger, and is scripted by Edmund Ward, whose previous credits include The Power Game and The Main Chance. Ward found inspiration for the series in his own experiences in the often morally dubious world of international construction; The Hanged Man is both a story of self-discovery, and a journey into dark places where the global reach of money ultimately holds the power of life or death. This complete series, made by Yorkshire Television and originally screened in 1975, is now available for the first time in DVD format.

OUT NOW THE BLACKHEATH POISONINGS

This gripping Victorian murder mystery, based on the novel by Julian Symons, features a stellar cast that includes Ian McNeice, Zoë Wanamaker, Patrick Malahide, Judy Parfitt and James Faulkner. Created by Inspector Morse producer Kenny McBain, adapted by celebrated novelist and scriptwriter Simon Raven and directed by the BAFTA-nominated Stuart Orme (The Sculptress), The Blackheath Poisonings is essential viewing for all fans of period drama and suspense. The Collards and the Vandervents form an extended family in the respectable, if ostentatious, splendour of Albert Villa, on the edge of the London suburb of Blackheath. But dangerous emotions boil beneath the calm surface in a household of ill-matched adults, thrown together for the sake of the family toy business; while the arrival of a scheming stranger stretches the fragile harmony of Albert Villa to breaking point, it becomes clear that the façade is crumbling when a gruesome death threatens to reveal sordid secrets and illicit love – and the darker, hidden face of Victorian life.

OUT NOW THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

Edmond Dantès, a young merchant sailor, is falsely accused and convicted of treason, and incarcerated in one of the most feared prisons of nineteenth-century France: the notorious Chateau d’If. During his imprisonment, however, the Abbé Faria, a dying fellow inmate, tells Dantès of the treasure hoard that can be found on the Italian islet of Monte Cristo. He seizes his chance and breaks out of the prison, eventually locating the island treasure and claiming it as his own; and when Edmond Dantès re-enters society, it is with a new name and a new, aristocratic identity. Thus begin the adventures of the Count of Monte Cristo...George Dolenz (father of future Monkees star Mickey) leads the cast in this enormously popular series based on Alexandre Dumas’ famous story of betrayal and redemption. Lacing Dumas’ tale with swashbuckling adventure, the series sees the wronged Frenchman fighting injustice wherever it is encountered as he traverses Europe against a backdrop of revolutionary ferment, dynastic feuding and political intrigue. The Count of Monte Cristo was an early ITC production, originally screened in 1956 and intended for a younger audience, and features appearances from several now-familiar television faces including Patrick Troughton and Stratford Johns. This release contains every episode of the complete series.

OUT NOW ANOTHER SUNDAY AND SWEET F.A.

“What we’re about to witness is called a football match. Not the beginning of World War Three. Not the destruction of the human race. A football match!” Every weekend, long-suffering referee Mr. Armistead wades into the melee to try to teach two sets of testosterone-fuelled maniacs the value of restraint, justice and fair play. Why does he persist in this near-futile endeavour? Is it because he has a dangerously masochistic streak? Or is it because Mr Armistead genuinely believes that he can use his peaceful philosophy of life to tame the wilder excesses of the players of Co-op Albion and, on this occasion, the Parker Street Depot? Another Sunday and Sweet FA, originally transmitted in 1972 as part of Granada’s celebrated Sunday Night Theatre anthology, was written by multiple BAFTA winner Jack Rosenthal – one of Britain’s most consistently successful television dramatists – and directed by the internationally renowned Michael Apted (7Up, The World Is Not Enough). Taking a ref’s-eye view of the life-or-death drama of match day, Another Sunday and Sweet FA is laden with Rosenthal’s characteristically insightful humour and features excellent performances from a cast that includes David Swift (Drop the Dead Donkey), David Bradley (Harry Potter) and Coronation Street stars Fred Feast and Anne Kirkbride.

OUT NOW CALLAN: THE MONOCHROME YEARS

An almost direct contemporary of the Len Deighton/John Le Carre sub-genre of downbeat morally tortured anti-heroes existing in a grim twilight world of treachery and deceit, the character of unwilling British government employed assassin David Callan, made his television debut in a screenplay by author and creator James Mitchell, entitled 'A Magnum for Schneider'. Edward Woodward gives an electrifying performance as a reluctant professional killer working for British Intelligence. Callan became a national phenomenon in the late 1960s, making Woodward one of the highest profile actors on television and paving the way to his eventual career in America on shows like The Equalizer. Created by James Mitchell (When the Boat Comes In) and exploring the dingy, twilight world of the professional spy, Callan was the antithesis of James Bond (back in the days of Connery and Moore) and presented, until that point, television's most realistic portrayal of government espionage. This set contains the original Armchair Theatre pilot play, A Magnum for Schneider, along with all the remaining black and white episodes from series one and two - unseen in nearly forty years and available on any format for the first time.

OUT NOW THE DOOMBOLT CHASE

Peter Vaughan (Fox) and Ewen Solon (Maigret) star in this six-part adventure series, written by Dr Who contributor Don Houghton and aimed at a teenage audience. The Doombolt Chase combines science fiction and naval intrigue, with location filming, authentic action scenes and a constantly surprising plot. Originally screened in 1978 and produced by HTV – the independent company known for several memorably successful children’s series, including Arthur of the Britons, Sky and King of the Castle – The Doombolt Chase is available here for the first time in any format and has been transferred from its original film elements specifically for this release. When Commander David Wheeler is arrested for a seemingly motiveless attack on a mysterious vessel, his son Richard, along with friends Lucy and Peter, embark on a search for the secret information that might clear his name – becoming entangled in an intrigue of codes, espionage and a fearsome new weapon under the sea.

CURRY AND CHIPS

Written by Johnny Speight, creator of Till Death Us Do Part, and based on an idea by Spike Milligan, Curry & Chips proved to be one of the most controversial situation comedies ever made. Originally screened in 1969, the series featured Milligan as Kevin O’Grady, a man of mixed Asian and Irish descent who has just started his new job at Lillicrap Ltd, manufacturer of cheap novelty items and seaside souvenirs. Inevitably, he soon becomes the butt of jokes from his resoundingly intolerant workmates. Speight’s determined attempt at confronting racism with its own conventions polarised critical opinion, although it was extremely popular with the viewing public and ended up in the ITV Top Ten. Co-starring with Milligan was long-term friend, writing partner and comedy legend Eric Sykes as shop foreman Arthur Blenkinsop. Kenny Lynch, Norman Rossington and Geoffrey Hughes played their narrow-minded workmates. Reflecting the widespread and overt prejudices of its time, Curry & Chips attempted to confront bigotry in daily life by caricaturing it. Exploring similar territory to Johnny Speight’s earlier and highly successful Till Death Us Do Part, Curry & Chips will inevitably shock modern audiences in its language and single-minded focus on race. Forty years after its initial screening, the series is made available for the first time in DVD format. This release also includes Saturday Night Theatre: The Salesman A one-off play by Speight from 1970, starring Ian Holm.

EXECUTIVE STRESS

With her five children now grown up, Caroline Fairchild decides to resume her former career in the cut-throat world of publishing. Against the wishes of husband Donald, also working in the industry, she takes up the position of Editorial Director for her old company, Oasis Publishing, in London. Little does Caroline realise that Oasis Publishing – part of an American conglomerate overseen by the megalomaniac Edgar Frankland Jr. – is poised to take over Donald’s employer, Ginsberg Publishing, and that Frankland takes a rather harsh line on married couples working together within his empire. Caroline and Donald’s solution is unorthodox, yet practical: they become an undercover couple, with Caroline using her maiden name and Donald steadfastly refusing the advances of female colleagues. The ploy seems to work – but there is one unpalatable aspect for Donald: he now finds himself taking orders from his wife...Two of British comedy’s greatest stars come together for this highly original and cleverly written series. Executive Stress features Penelope Keith (The Good Life, To the Manor Born) and Geoffrey Palmer (Butterflies, As Time Goes By) as the middle-aged couple struggling to keep their marriage under wraps to protect both of their careers, a situation partly inspired by the difficulties faced by the wife of writer George Layton (Don’t Wait Up, Doctor in Charge) on returning to professional life after having had two children. This immensely popular Thames series also reunites Penelope Keith – who brings what one reviewer described as ‘wit, finesse and touching vulnerability’ to the role of Caroline – and The Good Life’s producer, John Howard Davies, and features a theme song composed by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice, and performed by Julie Covington.

SERGEANT CORK

Set in London in the 1890's, Sergeant Cork worked for the newly formed CID, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police. The show was created by Ted Willis, who was responsible for the long running -and at that time, modern day police series, 'Dixon of Dock Green'. Willis would often repeat the story of how the series came about when he went to see ATV executive Lew Grade to pitch an idea about a different series to him. Grade wasn't interested and asked Willis if he had anything else to offer. Willis didn't, but not wanting to leave Grade's office without a commission and thinking on his feet he said 'what about a series about a Victorian detective, fog shrouded London, Jack The Ripper, music halls and all that?" Grade took a long thoughtful puff on his cigar and said, "I'll take 26." The series proved so successful that eventually 65 episodes were made over the next three years. John Barrie is Sergeant Cork, one of the early members of London’s Metropolitan Police C.I.D. - plain-clothes detectives tasked with maintaining law and order in the seething metropolis of Victorian London. Assisted by Bob Marriott (William Gaunt) from his attic office at Old Scotland Yard, Cork has to contend with the heavy crimewave created by the massive population boom, industrial expansion and an ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. Unseen since the sixties, this set contains all thirteen episodes of the first series.

THE JENSEN CODE

Sixteen-year-old Terry Connor is sent, along with a few of his friends, to an Outward Bound centre. On his first day at the centre Terry is taken pot-holing by the senior instructor, Alex. All goes well until, at 100 feet underground, Alex goes to search for the torchthat Terry has dropped. Hours pass, and, to Terry’s astonishment, when Alex finally returns he has no recollection whatever of having been absent. Terry suspects something sinister is taking place – it is surely no coincidence that there is a secret Ministry of Defence establishment nearby. But just how deeply his curiosity will involve him in dangerous matters becomes clear when he learns the truth about the ‘Jensen Code’... 'The Jensen Code' was a highly unusual children’s thriller series, written by Carey Harrison (author son of actor Rex Harrison), and starring David (Dai) Bradley, the BAFTA-winning young star of 'Kes', as the teenager who unwittingly uncovers a terrifying space-age espionage project. This complete 13-part series, rarely seen since its original transmission in 1973, is released here for the first time in any format. Originally made in colour, 'The Jensen Code' now exists only as black and white telerecordings made for overseas sales, the full colour episodes having been junked many years ago.

ESCAPE INTO NIGHT

Compelled to find her own amusement whilst confined to bed after a riding accident, Marianne fills her sketchpad with drawings of an imaginary place. When she sleeps she dreams of her imaginary world and realises that the more she draws in her waking hours, the more she can explore when she sleeps. She draws a house to investigate in her dreams and is shocked to find a boy looking at her through one of its windows... A milestone in children’s television drama, 'Escape Into Night' was adapted from Catherine Storr’s novel 'Marianne Dreams' by Ruth Boswell ('Timeslip', 'The Tomorrow People'). The combination of Boswell’s taught scripts, Richard Bramall’s clever direction and Alan Coleman’s production enabled the juvenile cast to give memorable and, sometimes, terrifying performances. More experimental than most children’s drama series,' Escape Into Night’s' surreal, dark tone and eerie sense of unearthliness made an indelible impression on its viewing public and is still remembered, perhaps with a sense of unease, after nearly 40 years. Originally made in colour, 'Escape Into Night' now exists only as black and white telerecordings made for overseas sales, the original colour videotapes having been junked many years ago.

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