The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	147
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ben Gosling Fuller
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Stephen Fry Tim McInnerney
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Grant Olding

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     I love English comedy and so was keen to take a look at this recent BBC series which consists of a Christmas Special followed by three episodes, which sort of have an Easter theme. It has the right sort of pedigree with stars like Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerney, David Mitchell and other well known English comedic faces. There are also some really funny ideas and some good laughs to be had, however, the sum total of this production is disappointment. It is a silly comedy based on some references from Dickens without really being a satire of Dickens per se.

     The story is based around a character called Jedrington Secret-Past (Robert Webb), his wife Conceptiva (Katherine Parkinson) and their children Victor & Victoria. At the beginning of the special, Jedrington owns and runs a shop called the Old Shop of Stuff. However, he soon finds out that due to a debt left to him by his grandfather, the shop and his family will be removed and all of them sent to debtor's prison unless he can pay the debt before Christmas Day. He is set this challenge by evil lawyer, Mr Skulkingworm (Stephen Fry). In the following three episode series he goes into business with Mr Grimstone (Tim McInnerney) which does not result in the outcome he expected.

     The biggest problem with this series is that the concept is not clear, the story really just serves as a vehicle for silliness and far too many comedy ideas are thrown at the screen in quick succession. This is not to say that there are not some really funny ideas just that the sum total is more annoying that funny. This show is not long but quickly becomes hard to watch. Stephen Fry is probably the highlight as his performance is evil and funny.

     Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this show.

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. The shadow detail was very good.

     The colour was very good.

     There were no noticeable artefacts.

     There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.

     There are no obvious layer changes during playback.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 and an Audio Descriptive Track in Dolby Digital 2.0.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to hear and understand.

     The music is suitable and sounds fine on this disc.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included music and motion and allows for audio navigation should you require it

    This show is available in the UK in the same format but not in Region 1.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall