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DVDs in the Works

Archive for December, 2010

Here’s to 2011!

I don’t know how you are feeling by this time of the year but we’re beat! 2010 was a busy year, filled with successful new launches like Sherlock, Luther, and Life, but we certainly felt like we were all working twice as hard just to stay in place. As it quiets down I thought I’d take a look at the slate we’ve put together next year and share just a few of the things we’re looking forward to sharing with you in the upcoming year:

(1)    Human Planet.  For the first time our Natural History Unit has turned its world class cameramen and story tellers on the most successful animal on the planet—Humans.  What I’ve seen so far looks great!

(2)    More Sherlock!  ‘Nuff said.

(3)    Hamlet at Elsinore.  This much requested version stars Christopher Plummer in the title role.  Sir Michael Caine mentioned at a recent screening we attended that this was the best Hamlet he ever saw (he was also in it) and he wished it would come to DVD.  Your wish, Sir Michael, is our command.  There is also a new Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart, which is airing now in the UK.

(4)    More Primeval!  More MI-5!  More Being Human!  I’m getting a bit overexcited here, aren’t I?

(5)   And finally, our first BD releases of Top Gear (Series 14 and 15).

I don’t want to spoil all our surprises—we’ll have over a 100 new titles next year—but since we’re taking the next week off, we wanted to give you this exciting dose of DVD news to start off what we hope will be a great New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Congratulations to BBC’s Golden Globes nominees

Romola Garai, Idris Elba, Judi Dench

We’re pleased to see so much British talent recognized in this year’s Golden Globes roster of nominations.  Leading the nomination tally is the British-Australian film The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth (Pride and Prejudice), Geoffrey Rush (OK, technically he’s Australian) and Helena Bonham-Carter (A Room with a View, Henry VIII). It’s quickly becoming a favorite among the staff who have seen this film, and we’re monitoring the DVD announces closely so that we can post it as soon as it becomes available for pre-order. On the TV side, three BBC productions received acting nods.  Dame Judi Dench in Return to Cranford and Romola Garai, in her incandescent turn as Emma, will vie for Best Actress in a Mini-series.  And former Wire star Idris Elba is nominated for Best Actor in a Mini-series for his bravura performance in Luther. The good news is that all of these performances are available on DVD now so you can buy them and decide for yourself. Winners will be announced on Sunday, January 16th.

Maggie Smith rules!

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Maggie Smith, a stately country house and a screenplay by Julian Fellowes – that’s a combination that worked in Gosford Park and promises to be unbeatable in the miniseries Downton Abbey, which kicks off Masterpiece’s winter season on January 9th.  The eight-part series was an instant hit in the UK, and launched a renewed love affair with the Edwardian age and its quirky details. Who knew that ironing a newspaper would keep the ink from rubbing off?  The titular head of the household is Robert, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville, Diary of a Nobody), who married Cora (Elizabeth McGovern, Daphne), the daughter of an American millionaire. They have three daughters, but no son who could inherit the title and the estate. Maggie Smith, as Robert’s mother, Violet, is none too pleased.  In Radio Times, Julian Fellowes described the dowager countess as a woman “who sees it as her duty to protect her family from their own misjudgments. I would be lying if I were not to admit that I write for Maggie. I know she can play these women, opinionated and bullying, yet with a strong sense of reality and even justice underlying their prejudice.” Filling the important role of Downton Abbey itself is Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England, which may be familiar as Totleigh Towers to Jeeves & Wooster fans. Regular online visitors may have noticed that the Downtown Abbey DVD is already posted for pre-orders under Upcoming Releases. Availability date is January 11th.

Woo-Who! Same day Doctor Who!

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

If you’ve tuned into BBC AMERICA lately, you’ll already know that this Christmas — for the first time in history – a Doctor Who episode will air in Britain and America on the same day, only hours apart! Over the past five years, the Doctor Who Christmas Specials have become a Christmas tradition for British viewers, so it’s quite a coup for BBC AMERICA to bring the tradition to the States this year with Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol. A number of factors have raised the pitch of excitement this time around. This is the first special to be penned by Steven Moffat (with a tip of his hat to Dickens). It’s the first special for 11th Doctor Matt Smith, who told Radio Times: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I started the show. I love Christmas, plus I’ve always wanted to film something in July that has got snow in [it], loads of snow… it’s very Christmassy.”  And to play the Christmas-challenged Kazran Sardick is the legendary Sir Michael Gambon – legendary in the Harry Potter films as Professor Dumbledore, legendary in television for The Singing Detective, and legendary on Top Gear for executing a flying turn on a corner of the test track that now bears his name.

Watch the Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol trailer below and mark your calendars for tune-in time: Saturday, December 25, at 9pm Eastern/8 Central. To help set the mood, at 1pm on Christmas BBC AMERICA will also air the Doctor Who Prom, which we plan to include on the DVD and Blu-ray. Look for them next year, hopefully before the winter snows thaw.