Product Description

Somewhere in the dark and nasty regions where nobody goes, stands an ancient castle. Deep within this dank and uninviting place lives Berk, overworked servant of the thing upstairs. But that's nothing compared to the horrors that lurk beneath The Trapdoor. For there is always something down there, in the dark, waiting to come out. Don't you open that Trapdoor. You're a fool if you dare! The Trap Door contains 40 episodes of the popular children’s series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1791 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 200 minutes

Customer Reviews

Absolute classic
I remember watching this back when I was little and feeling the delicious shivers creep up and down my spine as the theme music started. I was overjoyed to see that it was finally out on DVD - more than that, it still holds up pretty well if you want to watch something that isn't too demanding and doesn't try to be adult like a lot of animation nowadays. Seems to have a bit of social commentary going on with the 'orrible Thing Upstairs having a blatant Cockney accent while Burk speaks with West Country vowels and Boney sounds like a baritone Kenneth Williams. But never mind that, revel in the joy of plasticine models, the sheer absurdity of Drut being male and having babies, and the wonderfully inventive monsters which come out of that trapdoor. It's a pretty good metaphor for the psyche, now I think about it: superconcious, ego, id.

Warning: as others have stated, this DVD does not include the opening and ending theme for each episode. The opening theme is included separately, which seems pointless as it is very much an introduction to the episode and doesn't really stand on its own. That's the only reason I gave this four out of five stars.

"Stay away from that trapdoor, cause there's something down there..."

Near Perfect
When i found out that the complete Trap Door was being released on dvd i couldn't wait to buy it, as i loved it when i was younger. It's great to see all these episodes again, including what was probably the most disturbing one of all (when you were young), which is 'the splund'. the only problem is that, aside from the last episode of series 1, and the last one of series 2, they've cut off all the end credits, plus the sound of the trap door slamming before the end music starts. And, none of the episodes contain the starting credits, which have been kept seperately as an 'extra'. It would've been better just to spread it on to 2 dvds instead of cramming it into one. but, as long as the actual episodes are there, its still brilliant.

A great novelty, but with some of the best bits cut out!!
In theory, this is great. The Trap Door (with Willie Rushton narrating) is fantastic viewing from the ninetees. This is what made the kids of my age what we are today (!!).

Whilst it is nice to see all the episodes, they have commited a cardinal scene and have cut out one of the aspects the show was famous for: The opening music and introduction, and the end credits. Whoever's bright idea this was should be shot.

My guess is that this is due to the fact that watching the same bits of music every 5 minutes throughout the DVD would annoy - so why not add an option to watch with or without the opening and closing credits. Problems solved. Both parties are happy, and with the power of DVD, this is surely not too hard.

A good idea for a trapdoor fan, and still worth a purchase for all those nostalgic show chasers, but in the age when most DVD's come with extra bits, the decision to cut out some of the good bits here is a big mistake.