Little Britain-The Complete Third Series (2003) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Comedy |
Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Audio Commentary-Matt Lucas, David Walliams Deleted Scenes-Little Documentary Featurette-The South Bank Show Featurette-Little Britain Night Highlights Featurette-Richard and Judy Interview Featurette-David Walliams on Top Gear Bonus Track-Heresy - audio only Trailer-Little Britain Live |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2003 | ||
Running Time | 170:40 (Case: 334) | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Declan Lowney |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Matt Lucas David Walliams Tom Baker |
Case | Amaray-Opaque-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | David Arnold |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.75:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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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 | Yes |
If you're unfamiliar with the characters and concept of Little Britain, can I suggest that you first check out my reviews of series one and series two.
The first episode of the third series of Little Britain screened in the UK on BBC One on November 17th 2005. It was some months later, in mid 2006, before Australians got their chance to view the series when the programme went to air on the ABC.
Little Britain has retained and consolidated an incredible following ever since the first series, even though most characters still carry the same basic joke. We know what the final outcome of these sketches will reveal, but we are still compelled to see how it gets there. This is testament to David Walliams and Matt Lucas, who give these characters such an alluring presence. The program has now even spawned a live stage show that has been touring the UK in 2006 and will reach Australian shores early in 2007.
Naturally, many of the favourite characters from the first two series return in the third - this includes Tom Baker's excellent narration. But as was the case with the second series, some new characters have been added to promote continued interest and freshness. A couple of characters appear only once in the series, while others are a little more frequent. These include Bubbles De Vere's ex-husband Roman (Rob Brydon) and his new wife Desiree (David Walliams). Sir Norman Fry (David Walliams) is a wealthy MP with a reputation for scandal. Mrs. Emery (David Walliams) has a severe incontinence problem that she is totally oblivious to. Dudley (David Walliams) is full of anticipation when his new Thai bride, Ting Tong (Matt Lucas), arrives - problem is, Ting Tong has a secret. Pat (David Walliams) and Don (Matt Lucas) are frequent visitors at an Indian restaurant. Leonard (David Walliams) is more a hindrance than a help at an old people's home. Lette (David Walliams) loves her frogs, just as long as they aren't real. And Sid Pegg (David Walliams) runs the local neighbourhood watch scheme. The characters of Harvey Pincher and Dennis Waterman have been dropped for this series.
Rumours of cameo appearances in the third series by the likes of Kylie Minogue, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Nicolas Cage and the real Dennis Waterman sadly never eventuated. But at least the David Walliams web site now reports that a fourth series of Little Britain is highly likely.
The video transfer for Little Britain series three is on par with the two previous series.
The episodes are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1, which is 16x9 enhanced.
Sharpness and clarity was certainly an asset in the first and second series - thankfully this continues with the third. Blacks were crisp and clean, with no low-level-noise. Shadow detail was equally impressive.
Colours were beautifully balanced and appeared perfectly natural.
There were no MPEG artefacts in this transfer. Film-to-video artefacts didn't present as an adverse issue and film artefacts simply don't exist.
English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. They are easily legible in white and are very accurate.
Both discs are single sided, dual layered discs. The layer change on the first disc occurs between episodes, so there is no disruption. The layer change on disc two occurs at 25:41 during The South Bank Show. It is very well placed and was not at all easy to detect.
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The audio transfer is also on par with the previous two series.
There are two audio tracks available, English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).
Dialogue quality was impressive throughout and audio sync appeared spot on.
David Arnold again provides the music with his familiar style from the two previous series. The well-known theme music has naturally been retained for this series.
With no real directional sound placement, the surround channels were only active with music and ambient sound.
The subwoofer kicked into action during bass elements of the music and with occasional bass enhancement, but otherwise it was fairly low-key.
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Staying consistent with the previous editions of Little Britain, the selection of extras on offer for this third series will again delight the fans.
The menus on both discs are a little more subtle than previous, but are still well designed and easy to navigate. The series three menus are themed on a View-Master slideshow, with options rotating to reveal each selection. Various menus feature audio samples of Little Britain characters and theme music. All menus are 16x9 enhanced.
David and Matt again provide a comprehensive commentary for all six episodes of series three. If you are keen to learn more about the behind-the-scenes element of the series and to hear some amusing anecdotes, then listening to these commentaries is mandatory.
A selection of thirty-one scenes, including some new characters that did not make the final cut of sketches in series three. These scenes play consecutively and can be viewed with an optional audio commentary by David Walliams and Matt Lucas. After initially viewing these scenes, the commentary option is recommended to gain an insight into their omission from the final wrap.
The South Bank Show is a long-running ITV arts magazine program hosted by Melvyn Bragg. This particular program is dedicated to Little Britain and was originally screened in the UK on Christmas Day, 2005. Matt and David consented to the cameras following them around during the production of series three. We get an informative, behind-the-scenes look at some of the rehearsals for the third series, right through to opening night of the Little Britain "Live" stage show. Apart from the generous and insightful dialogue with Matt and David, there are also contributions from the likes of Barry Humphries and Ronnie Corbett. We also get to meet David's family and Matt's Mum. Naturally, various Little Britain clips are also incorporated into the content.
This one off special aired in the UK sometime around the beginning of 2006 and is hosted by Rob Brydon, who plays Bubbles ex-husband Roman in Little Britain. Matt and David discuss the origins of Little Britain and in particular the third series. They are later joined by Ruth Jones (Myfawny) and Anthony Head (Prime Minister), who discuss their roles in the show.
Matt and David are guests on Richard and Judy's chat show, talking about the third series. Judging by the Christmas tree in the background, it would be safe to assume this aired in the UK in December 2005.
Top Gear is a British television program for motoring enthusiasts, which naturally discusses all things car. This segment is the David Walliams guest spot, where he talks about his vehicle preferences and also performs the celebrity time trial.
David Walliams and Matt Lucas are guests on the BBC Radio 4 program Heresy which is hosted by David Baddiel. This is audio only and plays over a static screen.
This is the trailer for the DVD of the Little Britain stage show. This same trailer also plays automatically at the beginning of disc one.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
At the time of this review, there is no R1 edition of Little Britain Series Three available on DVD.
However, the R2 UK version appears to be identical with this local edition. Therefore there seems no logical reason to track down an alternate version.
The eccentric characters of Little Britain return for the third series with enough material to hopefully offend everyone in some small way. All seems well placed for a fourth series - fingers crossed.
The transfers are both excellent.
The selection of extras will please the fans.
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Review Equipment | |
DVD | JVC XV-N412, using Component output |
Display | Hitachi 106cm Plasma Display 42PD5000MA (1024x1024). Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080i. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Panasonic SA-HE70 80W Dolby Digital and DTS |
Speakers | Fronts: Jensen SPX7 Rears: Jensen SPX4 Centre: Jensen SPX13 Subwoofer: Jensen SPX17 |