SEAN’S GUIDE TO THE INCOMING AND OFFERS PAGES

Hi everyone! Ceri’s away again this week, so here's my summary of the latest updates to the Incoming and Offers pages.

A couple of retailers are now advertising Network’s Hazell: Series Two set, which now seems to be scheduled for release on the 31st of January 2005.

 It seems the various rights issues that prevented the series' release earlier this year have been resolved. The set will feature twelve fifty-minute episodes, which were originally broadcast in 1979.

A few posts over at our friends at the Mausoleum Club have confirmed that the second Network release of Public Eye, which will feature the thirteen episodes of the 1971 series, should be out in time for Christmas, but initially only at a premium price through Network’s revamped website (not yet up and running). For fans of this excellent series, the Mausoleum Club has a picture of the cover slip for the four-disc box set.

The 28th of March next year sees the release of the third and final season of the classic science-fiction TV series Lost in Space from Fox.

The release date of Fox’s poorly-received Alien Vs Predator has been put back slightly to the 7th of March.

Fox’s next release of The Simpsons (Series 5) has also been put back a couple of weeks, to the 14th of March 2005.

Also from Fox on the 14th of  March is a new Special Edition of Alan Parker’s very popular 1991 hit The Commitments. A number of extras have been cleared by the BBFC.

The first BFI release (and hopefully not the last) of a collection of British Transport Films (BTF) has also been delayed, this time until the 28th of February 2005.

HBO has shifted the release dates for two of their forthcoming titles: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Series 3, due on January the 31st, will now be released on February the 7th, and Carnivále - Series 1, due on February the 21st, will now be released on March the 7th.

A new Special Edition of Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs is out from MGM on 9^th May, with a raft of interviews, documentaries and other extras at £15.99.

Walt Disney’s Bambi is released by Buena Vista on a two disc set on the 14th of February at £22.99 with a whole host of extras, including; (Disc 1): Inside Walt's Story Meetings: watch the film alongside script notes and meetings with Walt and the animation team as they plan out the final picture; (Disc 2): Deleted scenes: Winter Grass and Bambi's First Snow; DisneyPedia: Learn all about deer and other woodland animals in this educational look at how the real life animals compare to their animated friends; The Making of Bambi - A Prince is Born: a featurette broken down into six different sections all about the making of the film; The Legacy Continues: the legacy of Bambi is continued in a brand new adventure - a sneak peek of Bambi 2: This Time It's Personal; Restoring Bambi - a behind the scenes look at how the film was restored; Art Gallery: stills and images from art to animation in this Disney classic;  Tricks of the Trade - a behind the scenes look at the animation tricks of the trade, filmed in 1957 and hosted by Walt Disney; The Old Mill - an animated short from 1937 that has been cited as one of the influences for the Bambi artists; Disney Time Capsule - a journey back to 1942 to see what the world and the Walt Disney Studio was like; Set Top Screensaver.

Extras now listed for the 24^th January release of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence include An Interview with Producer Jeremy Thomas; a Making of... documentary, a text interview with Director Nagisa Oshima, and a theatrical trailer.

Cinema Club is releasing the 1972 movie adaptation of the BBC classic series Henry VIII and his Six Wives on the 21st of February. The film, which was directed by Waris Hussein, stars Keith Michell as Henry VIII, Donald Pleasence, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Frances Cuka, Lynne Frederick, Jenny Bos, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Michael Gough, Brian Blessed, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Hepton, Garfield Morgan, John Bryans and John Bennett. The RRP is £9.99. Inexplicably, the original BBC series remains unreleased in the UK, although it is available in the US.

Acorn’s Wartime Stories (£50.99) and Tom Brown’s Schooldays (£16.99) are now both confirmed as being due on the 10th of January.

Next Monday sees Universal release an interesting £39.99 Coen Brothers Collection, containing the films: The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink, and Blood Simple. Extras include an audio commentary by Jim Piddock on Blood Simple (scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen), deleted scenes from Barton Fink and a stills gallery.

The BBC are releasing Alas Smith and Jones next year. Alas, it’s only The Best of… out on the 25th of April.

And now for a few new bargains listed on the Offers page...

Amazon UK are currently offering some BIG discounts on their Gerry Anderson box sets, including Joe 90: The Complete Series at £23.97 (£46.02 off!), Stingray: Complete Series Boxset at £21.97 (£38.02 off!) and Thunderbirds: The Complete Series (Digistack) at £61.97 (£62.03 off!). Ideal for Christmas…

DVD Popcorn are offering pre-orders of Series 2 of Hazell at £30.99 (£9.00 off!), Bambi at £14.99 (£7.00 off!), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at £19.99 (£10.00 off!) and Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (Special Edition) at £13.75 (£6.24 off!).

Thanks to Borad for letting us know that the cheapest pre-order price for next year's BBC release of the Quatermass box set is currently from Sendit.com at only £17.99 (£12.00 off!) How low can it go…?

The (Complete) Alan Bennett Talking Heads box set is currently available for pre-order at Choices Direct at £18.74 (£6.25 off!)

Thanks to Ceri for posting of two bargains over at Benson’s: Donnie Darko (Director’s Cut) is up for £13.79 (£6.20 off!), and Space Rangers (with a free copy of Dune) at only £9.99 (£13.99 off!)

Benson’s are also knocking £12.79 off pre-orders of Acorn’s Wartime Stories, at only £38.20.

That’s it for now!