Thanks to the wonders of the Internet and mail order British Telly fans have a wider selection of neat stuff to lust after than ever before. Telly addicts need no longer beg, bother and bribe friends and family visiting blighty to score them goodies, we can now abuse our credit lines from the comfort of our own home. With the holiday's fast approaching and the postal services , on both sides of the pond, about to be stretched to their limit it only makes sense to get that holiday shopping done as early as possible. Here then is our British Television fan's Holiday Gift Guide (aimed at those of us, primarily in North America, who don't have the luxury of popping out to the shops to get this sort of stuff)
Videos and DVDs
When shopping for British telly there are a few technical things you need to keep in mind. First, British videotapes are recorded in PAL format while most North American VCR's only accept NTSC. The differences are purely technical - something about lines of resolution - but unless you have a PAL compatible VCR you'll want to avoid the obvious temptation of buying telly tapes direct from the UK. Amazon.co.uk has a terrific selection, and that Thunderbirds boxed set is just begging for me to buy it but until Father Christmas brings me a multi-standard VCR I'm out of luck.
DVD users will find the same sort of problem when shopping UK sites, North America is Region 1, the UK is Region Two and never the twain shall meet, unless you have a multi-region DVD player, in which case you can pick up such swell gifts as a nine disc Thunderbirds set, The Sweeney, The World at War, Blackadder, Only Fools and Horses, Queer as Folk and Gormanghast. Color me green with Christmas envy.
If you do have a PAL computable VCR or a DVD player capable of playing Region 2 encoded discs don't hesitate to check out the amazon.co.uk.
So now that we've gotten all the clever multi-standard, multi-region people out of the way here's the lowdown for the rest of us: the selection may not be overwhelming but there are a surprising number of top notch telly programs available for North American consumption, and the choices range far beyond the typical Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, AbFab and Inspector Morse fare, though if you haven't picked these classics up yet, for yourself or your loved ones, there's no time like the present.
You can search online video shops such as Amazon.com,
