UK DVD in the USA
While we here in North America have been quite fortunate with the number
of British TV shows released here on video and DVD the more avid telly
fan may still find themselves pining for, if not the Fjords, at least a more eclectic
selection of their favorite shows. We've gotten (or are getting shortly) Blackadder,
AbFab,Fawlty Towers, Doctor Who, The Pallisers, The Avengers and the like on DVD,
and an even wider selection on the soon to be obsolete medium of VHS, but there are many
shows that it is unlikely will ever surface here in the colonies that, those of us who
obsess over this sort of thing, would simply love to add to our home libraries. So, I'm
going to quickly sketch out my personal reasoning on why DVD is superior to VHS (or even
broadcast) and how it's possible for telly fans in the US and Canada to watch and enjoy UK
only DVD and video releases.
DVD vs. VHS
Thanks to the groundbreaking work of PBS there's been a decent
selection of top telly available on video in the States for quite a while now. The current
PBS video catalog is chock a block with terrific titles, almost exclusively on VHS,
that would be welcome in many fan's home libraries - including mine. But, and this is a
big but, the once unavoidable pitfalls of VHS - shoddy sub-broadcast picture quality,
constant and inevitable degradation of sound and picture and, most alarming of all, high
prices can now be circumvented with the recent advent of DVD technology. Instead of
shelling out $20 or more per tape - many with only one or two episodes included -
for lackluster sound and vision on a medium that lost a bit of quality every time you ran
it through your VCR you can now snare entire seasons, sometimes entire series, on DVD for
a fraction of the VHS price. DVD gives you, when mastered properly, nearly perfect audio
and video in a relatively non-degradable format (your shiny discs will still play like new
when your videotape have turned to dust) that can contain up to 18 hours of material per
disc including multiple audio tracks and a plethora of supplemental material all instantly
accessible with a press of a button on your DVD player remote.
Browsing the PBS video catalog's a bit frustrating for a DVD aficionado like myself. There
are loads of titles I'd love to have if only they weren't on a format that I've grown to
loathe. The Irish RM, Last of the Summer Wine, Hi-De-Hi, 1900 House, Mr. Bean, Are
