New releases announced today, September 11:
Jonathan Creek - Season 3 will be coming out January 20
Lovejoy - The Complete Season 4 will be coming out January 13
MI-5 - Volume 6 will be coming out January 20, prior to the USA broadcast debut of these episodes!
Saxondale - The Complete Seasons 1 and 2 will be coming out January 13
Skins - Volume 1 will be coming out January 13
Visit TVShowsOnDVD.com for the complete stories on these and other news items.
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Warner Home Video, which distributes DVDs on behalf of BBC Video, has issued an immediate recall notice for their recently released MI-5 - Volume 5 package. Since the set hit stores on January 8th, consumers have reported that episodes on the third disc simply will not play. The studio has verified the issue, and initiated this recall "due to a manufacturing error on Disc 3."The defective version being recalled can be identified with UPC # 794051423429, and the new release (which is expected to ship on January 31st) will have UPC # 883929017317. Not everyone's copy is defective; fellow DVD Team member Gord Lacey tells me that his third disc works just fine! However, if yours doesn't, then you may get a free replacement for the 3rd Disc by calling 1-800-553-6937. Be ready to provide the agent you talk to with your name, address and telephone number. — David Lambert
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The British equivalent of the FBI, MI-5 is the UK’s domestic security agency. MI-5 kicks off the fifth season with an explosive two-part special which sees Britain on the verge of anarchy. A series of sinister terror strikes, combined with chronic fuel shortages, has plunged Britain into crisis. As a desperately weakened Prime Minister fights to hold onto power, the public mood turns increasingly anarchic. MI-5 supremo Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and team leader Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) begin to face the horrifying possibility that the country is under attack from sinister forces right at the heart of the establishment. So begins a dangerous game of bluff and counter-bluff. This 5 disc set includes all 10 episodes from the 5th season, plus 2 commentary tracks, a trailer for season 5, sneak peek for season 6, and some cast interviews. The bonus material falls short of the extras on previous sets, but the show is excellent. — Gord LaceyBuy MI-5: Season 5 on Amazon.com.
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As the threat of a Writers Guild strike continues to loom, network suits are considering perhaps using finished and already aired-elsewhere episodes of international hits and/or cable series to fill schedule gaps should the stop-action happen. According to Variety, non-U.S. programming such as the U.K.'s Footballers Wives and MI-5, CBC's Little Mosque on the Prairie and CTV's Corner Gas could make their way to the Big 3 — and Warner Bros. is said to be shopping around The Closer — though execs maintain such acquisitions would be a last resort. "Right now," says NBC entertainment cochair Ben Silverman, "we're just hoping there's not a strike." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Non-American Broadcasting Cooperative says, "Hey, whatever you do, don't send Black Donnellys our way."
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Question: Is it possible that BBC America will pick up MI:5? It's the last thing I've watched on A&E, which I thought once stood for "Arts and Entertainment." I now find it stands for neither. And speaking of good cable networks going bad: Is the History Channel going down the same road? I noticed it will be airing Planet of the Apes. What is the possible logic behind that?
Answer: Hmmm, maybe they're doing an Alternative History Channel month? (Because we all know how the first Planet film ends, right?) Otherwise, I can't fathom what History is thinking. But here's some good news: In announcing a pretty radical makeover of its schedule last week, BBC America let slip that it has acquired rights to air MI-5, which sure would be welcome right about now as we fret over what's left of 24. At the moment, BBCA has rights to only the first two seasons (no airdate yet), but I think we can assume all parties would like it not to stop there, so let's be patient. Anything to get it away from th ...
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