Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34012 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 600 minutes

Synopsis
Features ON THE BUSES, NEAREST AND DEAREST, RISING DAMP, PLEASE SIR!, DUSTBINMEN, TWO'S COMPANY, BILLY LIAR, HOME TO ROOST, THE RAG TRADE, DUTY FREE, and WATCHING.

Customer Reviews

ITV comedy....and plenty of it !
Amazon labelling it 'Sid James - ITV Christmas Comedy' is very misleading. Sid only appears in two episodes, a one-off entitled 'All This and Christmas Too' and George and the Dragon.
Although at 20 episodes the DVD may seem like 'Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width', it is well worth the money. Sure, ITV sit-coms in the main aren't as good as the BBC ones. But this set is all the more refreshing for that reason. There are some real gems (Watching, Duty Free, Billy Liar, Nearest & Dearest, Hallelujah!), and some duds (The Army Game, Bless Me Father) but overall this is a fair representation of what we watched years ago. I have to say that time hasn't been kind to Stanley Baxter's Christmas Box or that may just be me. They were real extravaganzas but now they looks so dated. Nice to see George and the Dragon, The Rag Trade, On The Buses and Only When I Laugh. I even enjoyed My Husband And I!
Would have liked to have seen Get Some In! on here but hopefully Network DVD will issue a second set of Christmas episodes. BTW, there is no Rising Damp episode on here. Maybe Network don't have the rights to it.
This is the contents in full:

The Dustbinmen - Christmas Special 1969
Please Sir! - And Everyone Came Too 1970
On The Buses - Christmas Duty 1970
All This and Christmas Too! - 1971
Nearest and Dearest - Cindernellie 1972
Billy Liar - The Gift of the Magi 1973
Two's Company - A Loving Christmas 1976
Stanley Baxter's Christmas Box - 1976
The Rag Trade - The Christmas Rush 1977
Bless Me Father - The Season of Goodwill 1979
The Army Game - Bootserella 1960
George and the Dragon - Merry Christmas 1966
My Husband and I - No Place Like Home 1987
Only When I Laugh - Away For Christmas 1981
That's My Boy - Cold Turkey 1983
Hallelujah! - A Goose for Mrs Scratchitt 1984
Duty Free - A Duty Free Christmas 1986
You're Only Young Twice - Twas the Night Before Christmas 1980
Home to Roost - Family Ties 1987
Watching - Seasoning 1987.

Pure Xmas TV GOLD
How anyone could not settle down to this in the run-up to Christmas and feel full of festive joy is beyond me. It is funny, nostalgic, cosy and just what your dad needs in his stocking.

Depends on how much you pay
Sitcom was never ITV's strong point, and I only enjoyed about a third of these programmes. But then again, never mind the quality, feel the width. You do get an awful lot (but with absolutely no extras), and so if you can get it cheap enough, it's worth it. I enjoyed The Rag Trade and Watching, and I was surprised to find myself enjoying Billy Liar and even Two's Company (and I could never stand Elaine Stritch). Some of the low points on this collection are All this and Christmas Too, My Husband and I, and, sad to say, the Stanley Baxter Christmas Collection. The humour is often laboured and can make you cringe, so it's best to watch it on your own without the kids sneering at it because they're used to stuff like Catherine Tate. The black and white episodes are Please Sir, On the Buses, the Army Game and George and the Dragon. All the programmes have their ad bumpers and idents, which is nice if you remember channels like LWT or Yorkshire.