Class. Or… Buffy meets Torchwood via Doctor Who. Or maybe… Buckets of Blood at High School! Snappy dialogue, interesting characters and a nice dose of moral ambiguity combine in this rather stylishly violent teen sci-fi drama, that spins off from Doctor Who. There have been numerous Doctor Who spin-offs coming to our television screens over […]

The Deep is an Australian/Canadian co-produced animated series based on the graphic novels by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer (see my review). It’s a thrilling undersea sci-fi adventure in the vein of live action shows such as seaQuest DSV (see my review) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (see my review), but with […]

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is the latest in a series of comic book super hero tv shows based on DC comics. The characters were setup in Arrow and The Flash (to the detriment of season 2 of The Flash – see my review), before being released into the wild with their own series. The result […]

After one season back in the 1990s, comic book super hero, the Flash, returned to television in a new series in late 2014. This first season (see review) was pretty damn good and showed great promise for the future. Sadly, season two doesn’t quite live up to that promise. It’s by no means bad, but […]

Yes… another comic book super hero adaptation. Believe me, when I first heard about it I thought, we don’t need any more. But then I watched it. And, guess what? I loved it! Supergirl is fun. Supergirl is smart. Supergirl subverts expectations. And in this current age of male-dominated superhero shows, having a powerful female […]

After two successful seasons of the television series (see review of Series 1 and Series 2), Nowhere Boys has transitioned to a feature-length film. The Book of Shadows had a limited cinematic release at the start of 2016, then screened on ABC3. And now it’s on DVD. While perhaps not as strong as the series, […]

Running for five seasons from 1989 to 1993, Quantum Leap is a science fiction, time-travel TV series with bucket-loads of heart. The whole series has been available on DVD for a number of years, but the first season has now been released on Blu-ray… a perfect time to revisit it. The premise is simple. In […]

Based on the best-selling books by Terry Brooks, The Shannara Chronicles is a lavish 10-part fantasy series. A mix of fantasy clichés and intriguing ideas, it’s good-looking and a lot of fun. Set hundreds of years after an apocalypse that has wiped out human civilisation, the Four Lands are now ruled by elves, with other […]

Things have changed in Atlantis! The second season of this British fantasy series is a huge shift of direction, both in terms of story and style. It’s not better or worse… just difference. And certainly not quite the family show it once was. Series One (see review) followed the adeventures of Jason, Hercules and Pythagoras […]

If, as I do, you like an extra helping of cheese with your retro 80s sci-fi, you simply can’t go past Automan. This 13-episode series from 1983/4 is a barrel-load of ridiculous, over-the-top FUN! Police computing expert Walter Nebicher creates a crime-fighting artificial intelligence program that manifests itself as the hologram called Automan, complete with […]

The Flash is one of the many recent super hero comic book adaptations. The question is… do we really need yet another super hero tv show? The answer is YES — YES we do. ‘Cause this one is pretty awesome! SPOILER WARNING! Yep, lots of spoilers in this review, so if that bothers you… you […]

After a delay of a year, the ABC finally renewed this wonderfully entertaining murder/mystery series for a third season. Based on the books by Melbourne author Kerry Greenwood, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries follows the adventures of Lady Detective Phryne Fisher in 1920s Melbourne. Despite the popularity of the first two seasons (read my reviews here […]

Sadly, and in my opinion, unfairly, this film as been much maligned by reviewers. I just don’t get it. Exciting and visually stunning, Jupiter Ascending does for space opera what The Matrix did for cyberpunk. It’s one hell of a ride! A matriarch dies, leaving her three heirs to fight for control of the House […]

It’s been over two years since the first season of the bizarre Aussie comedy/adventure series Danger 5 (see review). But now it’s back! Bigger, bolder and way more over-the-top, the seven eps of Series 2 need to be seen to be believed. Elite espionage team Danger 5 disbanded after defeating Adolf Hitler in a 60s […]

Mockingjay is the finale of the successful Hunger Games trilogy of books, and has been split into two films. Part 1 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD, with Part 2 set for a cinematic release later this year. As half of a third of a story, Mockingjay Part 1 is only one-sixth of a […]

The second season of the British murder/mystery series, Broadchurch, is as riveting as the first. Stunning locations, beautiful cinematography and direction, intelligent writing and a superb cast, make this outstanding television viewing. There is so much attention to detail in every aspect of this production. The first season (see review) was about the police investigation […]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a well-produced, exciting near future (for its time), action/adventure series about the crew of an advanced submarine called Seaview. This first season of 32 episodes screened in black and white in 1964/65. Despite its age, it holds up very well. It’s tense, dramatic and, at times, quite […]

The Wind Rises is the new animated feature from Japan’s Studio Ghibli, and the last film from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. It is everything you would expect it to be… and yet it manages to surprise. Inspired by the life and work of aeroplane designer Jiro Horikoshi, the film is a lyrical mixture of fact […]

The eighth series of the revived Doctor Who burst onto our screens with renewed vigour earlier this year. A new Doctor and a new direction catapults this set of 12 episodes to new heights. And now it’s out on DVD and Blu-ray to enjoy all over again… and again… and again… and… Clara: Where are […]

The Great Train Robbery is a new BBC mini-series about the biggest train robbery in British history. The names most often associated with the infamous robbery are Ronnie Biggs and Buster Edwards, but this version focuses on the organiser Bruce Reynolds and the investigating officer Tommy Butler. In 1963 a bunch of mid-level thieves got […]

HAL is an amazing Japanese animated film. It’s a science fiction story about love, grief and redemption. It’s a difficult film to classify and it’s hard to review it without spoilers, but here goes… A robot is given human appearance to help a young lady deal with the death of her boyfriend. The robot is […]

The Ghost & Mrs Muir is a 1960s US sitcom about a widow and her family, who move into a house that is haunted by the ghost of a sea captain. I reviewed Season 1 a couple of months ago (see review) and now it’s time to take a look at the second (and final) […]

The Cat Returns is a Japanese animated film from the famed Studio Ghibli. It’s not as well known as other Ghibli films, such as Princess Mononoke (see review) and My Neighbour Totoro (see review), and is only the third theatrical feature from that studio not to be directed by studio founders Hayao Miyazaki or Isao […]

Princess Mononoke is a classic Studio Ghibli animated film from legendary Japanese writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. Originally released in Japan in 1997, the English dub premiered two years later. The film won numerous awards, as well are garnering critical and popular acclaim. It’s easy to see why — it’s a stunning film that has lost none […]

Loosely based on a novel of the same name by RA Dick, The Ghost & Mrs Muir is a 1960s sitcom about a widow and her family, who move into a house that is haunted by the ghost of a sea captain. Although formulaic and sexist, it’s also quaint and rather sweet at times. The […]

Presented as a documentary, Europa Report is a science fiction film about a troubled mission to one of Jupiter’s moons in search of extra-terrestrial life. The result is a convincing and compelling drama that really does look and feel like it could have happened. Private corporation Europa Ventures launches a crewed mission to Europa. Based […]

The season two finale of the ABC’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries also doubles as the 2013 Christmas special. “Murder Under the Mistletoe” finishes things off with multiple deaths, a snowy setting and yes… kissing under the mistletoe. It’s a wonderful end to the season, but unfortunately it may also be the final ep of the […]

The Escape Artist is a three-part television series from the BBC. Part courtroom drama, part thriller, part perfect-crime setup, it is great television. Will Burton is a barrister who has never lost a case. He is a barrister who wins cases even when the accused is guilty. He is a barrister who wins a particular […]

The quote on the front cover of this Blu-ray says: “Triple shot of apocalyptic weirdness from South Korea”. And it’s not wrong! Doomsday Book is an anthology film, comprising three end-of-the-world scenarios. The first story, a biological apocalypse, is the most uncomplicated; with the following two providing increasing increments of bafflement. A geeky young man […]

Upside Down is a visually stunning, romantic fantasy film from Canada. Despite some problems, it is a captivating watch. Upside Down is a classic romantic story — boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back. But it’s set within a wonderfully original fantasy world (or worlds to be more accurate). There are two […]

Broachurch is a convoluted and intriguing murder mystery series set in a small English town. It’s well written and beautifully produced, and had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. In fact, I watched all eight episodes in just two nights. The lives of people in the town of Braodchurch are […]

The Invisible Man is a US television series made in 1975. Although the series claims to be based on the HG Wells novel, there really is no connection beyond the premise of a man turning invisible. It only lasted for twelve episodes (plus pilot), and is rather dated, but still manages to be an interesting […]

More costume drama goodness from the BBC. Yay! The Paradise is a lavish spectacle of life, love and melodrama set against the backdrop of England’s first department store in 1875. Loosely based on Émile Zola’s novel Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies’ Paradise), this eight episode series transports the action from Paris to London. Entrepreneur […]

Adventure Time would have to be one of the weirdest shows I’ve ever watched. I’m not even sure I can adequately explain it. But weird though it is, the first season of this series is also very entertaining in a WTF kind of way. Adventure Time is an animated comedy which, I presume, is aimed […]

The fourth season of Misfits — a unique humorous, sci-fi drama about a group of young people on community service who acquire strange powers after a mysterious storm — faces somewhat of a challenge. How can a show like this survive once all the original regular cast have left? Easy! Reinvent itself and move on […]

There are some films that you never tire of watching, no matter how many times you have viewed them. For me, My Neighbor Totoro is one such film. Having watched and re-watched it on DVD, it is a pure joy to now be able to enjoy it on Blu-ray. My Neighbor Totoro is an animated […]

Looper would have to be one of the best time travel films ever made. It’s slick and entertaining. It is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. And you’re never really 100% certain how it’s going to end. A ‘looper’ is a hired killer. A looper is hired by gangsters from the future, to kill people sent back […]

The BBC fantasy series The Adventures of Merlin returns for a fifth and final season of 13-episodes. Questions are resolved, characters progress, secrets are revealed, and the epic story is brought to a satisfying conclusion. This season is set three years after the last (see my review). Things have moved forward in Camelot since Uther’s […]

Based on William Shatner’s novels and made in the mid-1990s, Tekwar is a series of four tele-movies followed by an 18-episode season of a weekly series. Like many other sci-fi shows from this era, it has a reasonable premise but a patchy delivery. It is, nonetheless, an entertaining show. I’ve never read the novels (apparently […]

Episodes is an unusual comedy series. Created and written by two Americans, but made in the UK by the BBC, with Matt LeBlanc playing a fictionalised version of himself. Series 2, like Series 1, is funny, engaging and intelligent. In Series 1 (see my review) husband-and-wife writing team, Beverly and Sean Lincoln, are lured to […]

Arrietty, the latest animated film from Japan’s Studio Ghibli, was released on Blu-ray earlier this year. It is a lovely film (see my review). Now it’s been re-released in a special edition. The main difference between the two editions is the inclusion of the U.S. version of the film. The first edition has the original […]

Originally screened in 1997, Crime Traveller is a police series with a sci-fi twist, where time travel plays an integral part in the solving of crimes. It is an interesting although rather flawed series — entertaining if you’re able to ignore the bits that don’t make sense. Holly Turner is a police science officer who […]

The Jane Austen Collection is a set of three tele-movies from the ITV Studios in the UK — Emma, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. They are three quite varied productions. They are well produced but if, like me, you’re a fan of the BBC productions, you are likely to find these a little disappointing. First […]

I reviewed the Blu-ray release of Melbourne-made television series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries last month (see review), and also gave away a few copies. Now it’s time to do the same with the CD soundtrack. This CD is actually a compilation of songs rather than a proper soundtrack, which is probably why it’s not actually […]

Episodes is an unusual comedy series. Created and written by two American writers but produced and shot in the UK by the BBC, it revolves around Hollywood’s tendency to remake British TV shows for the US market by changing everything about the originals that made them successful. Episodes is a witty, odd and often scathing […]

The Sarah Jane Adventures is one of two spin-offs from the hugely popular revived Doctor Who series. With Doctor Who aimed squarely at a family audience, the spin-offs diverge with Torchwood heading for adult territory and The Sarah Jane Adventures going for the kids. This fourth season is very entertaining and continues to see the […]

A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost move in together. That was the original basis of the British series Being Human. Each of the first three seasons was unique in it own way, changing tone and direction. (see review) But this latest season really mixes things up. Season three ended with the death of Mitchell, […]

Based on the string of successful novels by Australian author Kerry Greenwood, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries follows the adventures of Lady Detective Phryne Fisher in 1920s Melbourne. Although it deviates from the books in both character and story lines, the television series is very entertaining and enjoyable in its own right. I’ve only read the […]

“In the closet, no one can hear you squeal” is the tag line for this ABC comedy series about a group of gay science fiction fans. Although perhaps a little too niche for its own good, this six-part series is smart, funny and rather unique. Outland is a strange mix of science fiction geek humour […]

This is the second film in director Guy Richie’s blockbuster series based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. And like its predecessor, it’s actually more of an action/adventure flick than a Sherlock Holmes film. It is, however, highly entertaining. This time around Holmes and Watson come face to face with Professor Moriarty, a […]

Danger 5 is a six-part Australian comedy series that originally screened on SBS. It is without a doubt one of the weirdest things I have ever viewed. It literally has to be seen to be believed. And I loved it! Danger 5 follows the adventures of an elite international team of espionage agents during WWII […]

Noted Doctor Who scribes Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis have teamed up to create this updated version of the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is a thoroughly modern series, yet it is extremely faithful to Doyle’s characters and the essence of his stories — stylish, smart and utterly addictive, […]

Five young people doing community service get caught in a freak storm that ends up giving them bizarre superpowers. That’s the premise of Misfits, a humorous British science fiction series. It’s odd. It’s rude. It’s crude. And it is one of the most original shows I’ve seen in a long time. I must admit that […]

The Adventures of Merlin — this hugely successful series about Merlin and Arthur in their younger days is back for a fourth season. Building on the progression of the myth from season three, this season heads further towards the legend we are familiar with, but also substantially deviates from it. Lots of interesting things happen, […]

I’ve never read the famed Tintin comics by Hergé. And I’d never seen the series prior to getting this DVD set. Coming to it with very little prior knowledge, I found myself completely engrossed in The Adventures of Tintin. This series is a French/Canadian coproduction made in 1991/92, and its remastered released is well timed, […]

I get excited whenever the BBC announce a new costume drama — they are so damn good at that genre. Although some are better than others, I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in one. A new adaptation of Great Expectations is their latest on DVD… and it is, as you would expect, BRILLIANT! It’s […]

The Octonauts is an animated kids’ series based on a set of four picture books (see my review over at Literary Clutter). This DVD release, The Octonauts: Ready For Action, contains seven of the 52 episodes that were made in 2010/2011. The series has being quite a hit and seems to be popular with a […]

A new strain of influenza sweeps across the world and wipes out the vast majority of human beings. This BBC series follows the adventures of a small group of survivors — hence the title: Survivors. There’s nothing new about this concept, but this series, despite some problematic details, handles it all rather well. Survivors has […]

One of the things that I love about the DVD revolution is the fact that all sorts of weird, wonderful and obscure television shows are getting a new lease on life. I’m a fan of crappy old sci-fi shows… so I was pleased to find out that M.A.N.T.I.S., a series I missed during its initial […]

Based on a series of crime novels by Michael Dibdin, Zen is a BBC series of three tele-films about Italian police detective Aurelio Zen. The series is stylish, well-written and shot in Rome — what more could you want? Aurelio Zen is a mid-level police detective working in Rome. Surrounded by corruption, he ambles along, […]

Troll Hunter is a Norwegian dark fantasy film, shot in the style of a documentary. When I first discovered this, I immediately expected low-budget schlock. Boy, was I surprised when I actually watched it. Troll Hunter turned out to be an unanticipated little gem. A trio of Uni students set out to make a documentary […]

Remember Star Blazers? It was a Saturday morning cartoon show that I watched as a kid in the 1980s. It was the American adaptation of a Japanese anime series called Space Battleship Yamato. (I use the word ‘adaptation’ because rather than just dub the series, elements were changed and much was edited out.) Now, it’s […]

The third and last season of seaQuest has finally made it onto DVD in Australia. Yay! I’ve been waiting for this for quite a while, as I have never seen it before. When originally screened in the 1990s it was shuffled from one timeslot to another and I lost track of it towards the end […]

I love DVDs. (I may have mentioned this in previous posts.) Why do I love them? Let me count the ways. (Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning for the butchered misquote.) One. I love the fact that the advent of DVDs introduced the concept of ‘extras features’ as a standard rather than as a special treat… […]

For a number of years I’ve been reviewing DVDs for various websites and blogs (for a complete list check out my reviews page). Now I’ve finally taken the plunge and started my own reviews blog. Why? Why not? After all, I am just a tiny bit obsessed with DVDs — watching them, collecting them, stroking […]