US Region DVDs of classic BBC Dramas.

May 8, 2004 8:48 AM

I'm a huge fan of the epic British TV-dramas from the 70s & 80s -- the type shown here in America on "Masterpiece Theatre." Though some of the most famous ones ("Upstairs, Downstairs", "I, Claudius") have been out on DVD for a long time, I've noticed that recently some of the more obscure ones are coming out ("The Charmer," "To Serve Them All My Days"). I usually get my DVD news from dvdjournal.com, but that site doesn't list British series. Does anyone know of a site that tracks them? I am specifically interested in versions for the US, since I don't have a region-free DVD player yet.
posted by grumblebee to media & arts (8 answers total)

I recently saw 'The Singing Detective' (walmart dvd rentals) and 'Edge of Darkness'. Pretty decent.

I would suppose that the BBC catalog must keep track of releases.
posted by Gyan at 9:15 AM on May 8, 2004

BBC America comes in handy for such things.
posted by thomas j wise at 1:17 PM on May 8, 2004

Thanks for the BBC idea. Alas, not ALL British drama comes from the BBC. I was hoping there's be one site that tracks these shows. I don't want to find out that one WAS available only after it goes out of print.
posted by grumblebee at 2:09 PM on May 8, 2004

You could just keep your eye on the relevant bit of amazon.co.uk. Just from a quick glance at the first page I noticed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Well worth seeing.
posted by influx at 4:25 PM on May 8, 2004

I can't help on the site tracker, but I recently bought The Beiderbecke Affair and it sounds like your cup of tea. Also, look out for State of Play when it's released on DVD.
posted by salmacis at 1:22 PM on May 9, 2004

I was a big fan of The Tomorrow People.

I know it's not epic.
posted by bingo at 2:37 PM on May 9, 2004

I often use this site to check out TV shows and I believe some of the TV dramas are listed. I'm not sure if it's that much more ahead of amazon.co.uk, though.
posted by rodz at 6:52 PM on May 9, 2004

Not an actual answer to your question, but relevant nevertheless - Hollywood is remaking Brideshead Revisited and it's going to star Jude Law and focus on the relationship between Charles and Julia. Wow.
posted by crazy finger at 7:31 PM on May 9, 2004