Quote: Jack Massey @ July 23 2008, 9:35 PM BST

I rate Network as my favourite DVD company. Who agrees. There are two reasons why I think they're so great.

1) They release great archive television that will otherwise lay un-watched. If it wasn't for them I would never have seen the masterpiece Two in Clover.

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Agreed. They're extremely helpful, friendly people. I always look forward to their press department's e-mails.

Quote: Jack Massey @ July 23 2008, 9:35 PM BST

2) They don't get the scissors out and start cutting things to death. I love the way they even keep the ad-caps in.

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I don't recall having seen a commercial-TV release that didn't? Certainly those which state "End of Part One" etc?

I really like Dave at the minute as it is relatively new to me- but can see myself dis-liking it in about a years time. Though I wish they wouldn't show Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Whose Line Is It Anyway? - I don't rate either at all.

Quote: Chickenoriental @ July 23 2008, 9:40 PM BST

This is true but I only have Gold.. sob..

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Dave is on Freeview.

Quote: Aaron @ July 23 2008, 9:42 PM BST

Agreed. They're extremely helpful, friendly people. I always look forward to their press department's e-mails.

I don't recall having seen a commercial-TV release that didn't? Certainly those which state "End of Part One" etc?

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The Rising Damp DVDs were cut all over the place. No ad-caps there and the company who originally released Bless This House cut the ad-caps.

Glad I've not ordered Rising Damp if it's that cut then!

Yes - but it is a classic and a must-own DVD. But apparently the original tapes were wiped so most episodes only exist as copies.

I have recordings from ITV3 already, but had been considering the purchase.

Are these "cuts" of which you speak on what are now the masters, or were they administered by the DVD people?

Not seen the masters as they were a bit before my time but cuts certainly have took place between the DVD and the ITV3 repeats. But the DVD is just like the ITV3 episodes in that it has under-par picture and sound. This is due to only the copies existing.

What infuriates me about UK Gold now is that they have re-edited many post-watershed programmes, such as Blackadder and the Vicar of Dibley, to be shown any time of the day. I don't want to watch something if it's been butchered in order to fill up a schedule.

UKTV seem to be spreading themselves far to thinly with all the channels they offer, and this can only get worse with their complete brand overhaul this autumn. Wasn't UK Gold 2 pretty good for old stuff?

To be fair to them, I did hear a rumour - unconfirmed, but quite possible - that they're going to be shifting their content programming as well as rebranding and rearranging the channels themselves. Hopefully we'll get a bit more 'classic' stuff on the new GOLD.

UKTV Gold are one of my bug bears. It used to be a great channel, full of classic TV programmes that you wouldn't find anywhere else, and some that have never been repeated or even released elsewhere.

Here's a schedule from 1994:

7.00 - The Sullivans
7.30 - Neighbours
8.00 - Sons & Daughters
8.30 - Eastenders
9.00 - The Bill
9.30 - Flesh & Blood
10.30 - Juliet Bravo
11.35 - The Sullivans
12.00 - Sons & Daughters
12.30 - Neighbours
13.00 - Eastenders
13.30 - The Bill
14.00 - George & Mildred
14.30 - Rings On Their Fingers
15.00 - Knots Landing
16.00 - Dynasty
17.00 - Every Second Counts
17.35 - Top Of The Pops - The 70's
17.55 - Terry & June
18.30 - Eastenders
19.00 - The Two Ronnies
20.00 - Life Without George
20.30 - Rings On Their Fingers
21.00 - Tenko
22.00 - The Bill
22.30 - Top Of The Pops - shows from 1986
23.40 - Doctor Who
00.10 - Rockcliffes Babies
01.15 - Scotch 'n' Wry

And here's 2007:

06.00 - Doctor Who Omnibus (Pertwee episode in bad quality)
09.00 - Baywatch (American, on DVD)
10.00 - Baywatch (American, on DVD)
11.00 - The A-Team (American, on DVD)
12.00 - The A-Team (American, on DVD)
13.00 - Doctor Who (just released on DVD, repeated loads on BBC3)
14.00 - Doctor Who (just released on DVD, repeated loads on BBC3)
15.00 - Doctor At Sea (film, available on DVD)
16.45 - Carry on Henry (film, very available on DVD)
18.25 - Murder She Wrote (American)
19.40 - Porridge (also repeated on UKTV or BBC2, on DVD)
20.20 - Open All Hours (repeated too often, on DVD)
21.00 - Little Britain (been shown a million times on BBC1/2/3 & on DVD)
22.20 - The Catherine Tate Show (just come out on DVD!)
23.40 - Little Britain (same bloody episode again!)
02.15 - The Catherine Tate Show (same!)

It's just not interesting anymore. There's countless programmes they could repeat, some that we'll probably never see get a proper DVD release. But we have to put up with the same old garbage and *countless* repeats of Only Fools And Horses, Blackadder & Fawlty Towers... as for programmes like Catherine Tate and Little Britain, they should stay on BBC3 where they belong. It's just not what it was.

There's obviously an audience for archive television, so it's such a shame we don't get what we want. I guess DVD has helped, or perhaps hindered, the possibilities of such a channel, but there are programmes that will never see a DVD release - archive TOTP for instance - simply because the rights issues would make it impossible.

As much as I like 'Little Britain' it has been way too over-repeated.

I agree largely with what has been posted already, however is it not the case that in 1994 UKTV G2 (now Dave) did not exist and a lot of the shows that were shown originally on Gold ended up being split between the channels?

I still agree with a majority who have pointed out so far that OFAH and Blackadder and the like are repeated far too often, when some other quality sitcoms of their day dont seem to be repeated at all.

Quote: Sofa_Matt @ July 25 2008, 12:36 PM BST

I agree largely with what has been posted already, however is it not the case that in 1994 UKTV G2 (now Dave) did not exist and a lot of the shows that were shown originally on Gold ended up being split between the channels?

I still agree with a majority who have pointed out so far that OFAH and Blackadder and the like are repeated far too often, when some other quality sitcoms of their day dont seem to be repeated at all.

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Yeah why won't they repeat 'Beast'? Even though I'm sure I was the only person in the country who watched it, I still think it's up there with the funniest sitcoms of this decade (especially as it was made right at the beginning of the decade when good comedy was painfully thin on the ground!)

I think Aaron watched it too.