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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Q5" or "Q6" or "Q7")

 

directed by Ian MacNaughton
UK 1969

 

Less familiar to stateside fans of the Britcoms than contemporaries Monty Python and Benny Hill, Spike Milligan - whose 1973 Benson & Hedges commercial with Peter Sellers did rate a couple mentions in an episode of ARE YOU BEING SERVED? - made a splash on BBC radio with THE GOON SHOW, but his television sketch show Q5 (co-written by Neil Shand, possibly redeeming himself for his stint with The Daily Mail) would prove highly influential on sketch comedy (particularly MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS with which the series shares director Ian MacNaughton). The surviving three episodes of series one from 1969 reveal comedy either too juvenile or obscurely nation-specific for the Yank viewer, but series two from 1975 and series three from 1978 are more consistently amusing, with Milligan and company - among them THE VICAR OF DIBLEY's John Bluthal, GOLDFINGER's Margaret Nolan, LIFE OF BRIAN, and 'ALLO 'ALLO!'s John D. Collins - skewering British personages historical and contemporary (including artist Francis Bacon, Margaret Thatcher, and Princess Anne), satirizing or just taking pot shots at fellow BBC shows (a Dalek plays the ethnic half of a Pakistani-Christian marriage), and a few sketches that inspired Monty Python like a decathlon for the disabled. A decidedly non-PC bent was likely another reason that the show did not travel well.

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: 24 March 1969 - 21 February 1978

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DVD Review: Simply Media - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

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Distribution

Simply Media

Region 2 - PAL

Runtime 7:41:39
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.79 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles English HoH, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Simply Media

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
� Disc One:
� Surviving Series 1 Episodes 2, 3, and 4 (with 'Play All' option; 1:22:45)
� Disc Two:
� Complete Series 2 Episodes 1-6 (with 'Play All' option; 2:54:18)
� Disc Three:
� Complete Series 3 Episodes 1-7 (with 'Play All' option; 3:24:36)

DVD Release Date: November 21st, 2016
Amaray

Chapters 48

 

 

 

Comments

The single-layered first discs features the three surviving episodes of the first series while discs two and three feature the whole of the second and third series. The first series from 1969 is the most variable with some minor tape damage and generally soft resolution. The videotaped - with film inserts - series two and three episodes look better overall but are subject to the usual live TV studio issues with blown out highlights, hot spots, and some distortion in saturated colors. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono is fine overall, and the HoH subtitles have fewer noticeable transcription errors than in some past releases.

  - Eric Cotenas

 


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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from

Distribution

Simply Media

Region 2 - PAL

 

 




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