Great Genre TV (14 titles)

TV to appease the nerd in us all (or in me at least...)

77.6% from 8 members

Farscape, the marmite of SF TV. Yes, the first year is a little rough around the edges, but that was always part of the show's iconoclastic charm. Muppets in space they said. Well, so what? Puppetry through its very tactility creates something more authentic than CGI. And the utterly magnetic Claudia Black... steals every scene she is in.

Farscape - Season 1 (10 discs) on DVD (1999)
Starring: Ben Browder, Anthony Simcoe, Claudia Black
Director: Rowan Woods, Pino Amenta
Certificate:
An astronaut testing an experimental space craft is catapulted into another dimension in space. Chased by the maniacal leader, John Crichton battles against all the odds to get back to Earth. Include the Episode 1.01 - 'Premiere' which finds Crichton's space craft Farscape taken aboard a 'living' ..read more »

Rate this: 74% from 3,700 members

Farscape - Season 2

By the end of Season 2 Farscape had evolved into something very special indeed. Intricate, intelligent and emotionally involving. Those able to retain their composure during the season closer 'Die Me, Dichotomy' must have hearts of stone.

Farscape - Season 2 (10 discs) on DVD
Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey
Director: Andrew Prowse, Tony Tilse, Rowan Woods
Certificate:
Features all episodes of the second series of the cult TV show, including: Mind The Baby, Vitas Mortis, Taking The Stone, Crackers Don't Matter, The Way We Weren't, Picture If You Will, Home On The Remains, Dream A Little Dream, Out Of Their Minds, A Kiss Is But A Kiss, I Do I Think, The Maltese ..read more »

Rate this: 78% from 2,336 members

Farscape - Season 3

Whilst there are several weak individual episodes (an unavoidable facet of protracted TV seasons), overall Season 3 is widely and rightly regarded as the apotheosis of Farscape's achievement. But it was also by this year that newcomers to the show would have found following what was going on very hard...

Farscape - Season 3 (10 discs) on DVD
Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe
Director: Ian Watson, Ian Barry, Tony Tilse
Certificate:
The penultimate series of sci-fi extravaganza, Farscape, this 10-disc Box Set contains all 22 episodes

Rate this: 76% from 2,368 members

Farscape - Season 4

...and by season 4 it had become almost incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Season 4 is an odd beast, for much of the early part of the season it seems in genuine danger of floundering. But the return to Earth episodes and the final Act are amongst the strongest material in the history of SF television. Don't bother with the horribly overrated mess that is the 'Peacekeeper War' mini-series, stick with the achingly poignant final shot of Season 4 which gave the show an ending to be cherished...

Farscape - Season 4 (10 discs) on DVD
Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe
Director: Ian Watson, Ian Barry, Tony Tilse
Certificate:
The final series of sci-fi extravaganza, Farscape, this 10-disc Box Set contains all 22 episodes

Rate this: 75% from 2,420 members

Ultraviolet

A neat little UK TV genre gem, unfairly buried by Channel 4 who realised too late that they had gone and commissioned SF by mistake. A stylish and inventive updating of the vampire mythos.

Ultraviolet (2 discs) on DVD (1998)
Starring: Jack Davenport, Susannah Harker, Idris Elba
Director: Joe Ahearne
Certificate:
ULTRAVIOLET is a six-hour miniseries that takes place in a world where vampires have lived with humans for centuries and have gone mostly undetected. However, this changes when detective Michael Colefield (Jack Davenport) investigates the strange disappearance of his partner and discovers a ..read more »

Rate this: 62% from 4,444 members

Sapphire And Steel - Assignments 1-6

Attempting to explain Sapphire & Steel is a genuinely Sisyphean task. Time itself is our enemy and mysterious agents must combat it on our behalf. It remains a classic due to the enigmatic nature of the protagonists and the doom-laden atmosphere it creates.

Sapphire And Steel - Assignments 1-6 (6 discs) (1979)
Starring: David McCallum, Joanna Lumley
Director: Shaun O'Riordan, David Foster
Certificate:
This unusual late 1970s/early 1980s sci-fi series features Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as Sapphire and Steel (respectively), otherworldly operatives who appear as humans on Earth to right mysterious wrongs. In ASSIGNMENT I (the first six episodes), Sapphire and Steel must deal the ..read more »

Rate this: 72% from 619 members
Not available for rental

Doctor Who - City Of Death

Douglas Adams' influence leaps out at you from this excellent Dr Who offering. Both hilarious and suspenseful, the crackling dialogue showcases Tom Baker at his very best.

- our price: £6.93
Doctor Who - City Of Death on DVD (1979)
Starring: Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, Tom Chadbon
Director: Michael Hayes
Certificate:
A peaceful holiday in Paris turns into a race through time for the Doctor and Romana when they uncover a plot by the evil Count to steal the Mona Lisa.

Rate this: 72% from 2,071 members

Doctor Who - Horror Of Fang Rock

Exiled from his beloved London to Birmingham to shoot this one, Tom is patently grumpy throughout this chilling adventure. This fits perfectly with the gothic tone and also gives the superb Louise Jameson as best ever Who companion Leela the opportunity to steal the limelight.

- our price: £13.93
Doctor Who - Horror Of Fang Rock on DVD (1993)
Starring: Tom Baker
Director: Paddy Russell
Certificate:
An engineer dies in mysterious circumstances on the lighthouse on the isle of Fang Rock. The Doctor and Leela soon discover clues that suggest that no-one is safe on Fang Rock...

Rate this: 71% from 1,925 member

Doctor Who - The Talons Of Weng Chiang

Original (and best) Dr Who is exemplified by the wonderful Tom Baker and this is both the finest story of his 7 year reign and, in my opinion, the greatest Who serial of all. So good even those who don't like Who should watch it, Talons is masterful stuff.

- our price: £7.93
Doctor Who - The Talons Of Weng Chiang (2 discs) on DVD (1977)
Starring: Tom Baker
Director: David Maloney
Certificate:
This feature-length adventure, set deep in the heart of Victorian London, sees the good Doctor in deadly combat with giant creatures from the sewers, the deformed and dangerous Magnus Greel, and a bizarre Chinese illusionist....

Rate this: 72% from 2,155 members

Doctor Who - The Robots Of Death

More from the classic Tom & Louise run of Who, Robots is an Agatha Christie style whodunnit in space. Another great set of scripts from legendary Who writer Robert Holmes.

- our price: £13.93
Doctor Who - The Robots Of Death on DVD (1977)
Starring: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson
Director: Michael E. Briant
Certificate:
In this episode, Doctor Who (Tom Baker) and his new companion, Leela (Louise Jameson), land on Storm Mine 4, a planet where a few humans oversee the work of a multitude of servile robots who do the mining. Almost as soon as they arrive, Dr. Who and Leela are accused of committing two recent murders...read more »

Rate this: 72% from 2,052 members