The Official Network Thread

[DMRI2006]

The Elizabeth Taylor/Sophia Loren disc is back at Rarewaves, albeit $5 higher than when I ordered a few days back:

https://www.rarewaves.com/products/5...-loren-in-rome

[dr727]

For those who enjoy reading reviews and/or want to sort Network's
releases by decade, genre, or even streaming service . . .

Here's a Letterboxd List of Network's Blu-Ray Catalog!

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by DaniRyder23

Oh, bit late now, but can anyone confirm that Space: 1999 - The Ultimate Collection does include all the previous special features discs? I remember there being some stuff that was exclusive to Series 2 that didn't make it over to the original Series 1&2 box set..

I seem to remember a recent Network release was missing a good chunk of extras, but I can't confirm which release because thankfully I own their original releases of both seasons.

Imprint/ViaVision from Australia released an ultimate set including both seasons a while back, which is pretty packed with extras.

[alexrinse]

Originally Posted by DMRI2006

The Elizabeth Taylor/Sophia Loren disc is back at Rarewaves, albeit $5 higher than when I ordered a few days back:

https://www.rarewaves.com/products/5...-loren-in-rome

It's at HMV for normal price. Is it worth a punt?

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Researching into some Network titles and being reminded of why they’re important.

Of course sometimes with a title like The Lodger or Night of the Living Dead, a Criterion release comes out several years later that’s superior. The Thief of Bagdad has differing extras between the Criterion DVD and German Blu-rays, whereas the Network release was pretty barebones (similar with This Sporting Life). The Four Feathers doesn’t have the Criterion commentary and feels a little redundant if you already have Things to Come as the Ralph Richardson interview is the same. But then you get Black Narcissus being pretty much an equal to the Criterion release for half the price, The Happy Breed including three hours of The South Bank Show, Victim is one of the only Blu-rays of the film worldwide, still stuck on Eclipse DVD in the US - as is also the case with The League of Gentlemen and All Night Long.

Tales Out of School is the only release of the whole series, with different extras to the DVD of Made in Britain. The Ipcress File is definitely easier than tracking down Imprint’s Harry Palmer boxset.

Though many Network releases have limited extras (which is totally fair!), some of the DVDs like Cottage to Let and The Card include additional hard to find teleplays (The Prodigal Daughter and Edwin). Cottage to Let seems to have turned up on Talking Pictures TV, but if you want to watch the HD master, it doesn’t seem to have been made available digitally anywhere.

Other Network releases have quite good extras, like Kidnapped, Hell Drivers, Robbery, A Town Like Alice, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, Deadlier than the Male, Carve Her Name with Pride.

Sweeney! is missing the commentary from the DVD boxset (Kino’s US double feature Blu-ray features. different commentary). Regan retains the commentary and isolated score from the DVD, but drops the Ian Kennedy Martin interview.

Fly into Danger has already tripled in price!

Only the ITV DVD (of the 3 UK DVDs) release of Made in Britain has any extras (interviews with the writer & star) whereas the US Blue Underground DVD release has 2 commentaries (one has Tim Roth & the other has the writer David Leland and producer Margaret Matheson).

The UK 3 disc DVD of The Ipcress File includes the John Barry soundtrack but said soundtrack can be got fairly easily separately.

Do you have a list of Network releases that contain hard to find TV plays? I know some of the ABC Nights In releases have one or two in them.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by alexrinse

It's at HMV for normal price. Is it worth a punt?

I think when titles go OOP they stick around in HMV for longer than other retailers, as they have in store stock too not just warehouses.

[Modman]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Only the ITV DVD (of the 3 UK DVDs) release of Made in Britain has any extras (interviews with the writer & star) whereas the US Blue Underground DVD release has 2 commentaries (one has Tim Roth & the other has the writer David Leland and producer Margaret Matheson).

The UK 3 disc DVD of The Ipcress File includes the John Barry soundtrack but said soundtrack can be got fairly easily separately.

Do you have a list of Network releases that contain hard to find TV plays? I know some of the ABC Nights In releases have one or two in them.

Tales Out of School includes Digging for Britain: cast and crew reflect on the making of Made in Britain.

As regards plays the starting point would be Armchair Theatre: Volumes 1 to 4, that gives you 40 plays spread over 12 discs.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Modman

Tales Out of School includes Digging for Britain: cast and crew reflect on the making of Made in Britain.

As regards plays the starting point would be Armchair Theatre: Volumes 1 to 4, that gives you 40 plays spread over 12 discs.

There's also the Armchair Theatre Archive releases as well which i think has a total of 16 across the 4 volumes.

Looks like I need to get:

Armchair Theatre: Volumes Volumes 1, 2 & 4
Armchair Theatre Archive: Volume 4

[fatboyslim142]

Does anyone have a complete list of TV Anthology shows (all genres included) that Network released? I can work out what still need to get.

So far I know of the following & are there anymore anyone can add to this list:

Armchair Theatre - I know there has been episodes released across several volumes.
Armchair Thriller
Armchair Cinema
A Choice of Coward
Tales of the Unexpected
Storyboard
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
The Galton & Simpson Playhouse
Plays for Britain
Ripping Yarns
Six Dates With Barker
Rik Mayall Presents
Beasts
Dawson's Weekly
Tales Out of School (BD)
Espionage
Mystery and Imagination
Hammer House of Horror (BD)

[Modman]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

There's also the Armchair Theatre Archive releases as well which i think has a total of 16 across the 4 volumes.

Looks like I need to get:

Armchair Theatre: Volumes Volumes 1, 2 & 4
Armchair Theatre Archive: Volume 4

There's also Plays for Britain, Galton and Simpson Playhouse, Male of the Species (includes 3 plays with stars like Caine and Connery) and there's stage plays brought to TV like The Norman Conquests Trilogy.

[Modman]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Does anyone have a complete list of TV Anthology shows (all genres included) that Network released? I can work out what still need to get.

So far I know of the following & are there anymore anyone can add to this list:

Armchair Theatre - I know there has been episodes released across several volumes.
Armchair Thriller
Armchair Cinema
A Choice of Coward
Tales of the Unexpected
Storyboard
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
The Galton & Simpson Playhouse
Plays for Britain
Ripping Yarns
Six Dates With Barker
Rik Mayall Presents
Beasts
Dawson's Weekly
Tales Out of School (BD)
Espionage
Mystery and Imagination
Hammer House of Horror (BD)

You could add Chiller and Shadows, the latter was aimed at kids.

And of course the mammoth Edgar Wallace Mysteries.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Modman

There's also Plays for Britain, Galton and Simpson Playhouse, Male of the Species (includes 3 plays with stars like Caine and Connery) and there's stage plays brought to TV like The Norman Conquests Trilogy.

The Norman Conquests Trilogy is similar to the Judi Dench BBC series Talking to a Stranger in that the same characters appear in each episode albeit in the former they're just in a different part of the house for each episode unlike the same events being seen from different family members in the latter.

[Kieran Seymour]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Does anyone have a complete list of TV Anthology shows (all genres included) that Network released? I can work out what still need to get.

Thriller
The Frighteners
Tales of Unease
Shadows of Fear
Scorpion Tales
Dramarama: Volume 1
Dramarama: Spooky
Haunted
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

All DVD. The two Dramarama releases are kids series.

[Modman]

Another play release would be The Crunch and Other Stories (3 plays by Nigel Kneale).

[DaniRyder23]

Well, after the last few days I am broke, sad about the label's demise, excited for the sets I've ordered to arrive, and generally experiencing mixed feelings all around tbh. Maybe it's partly because I'm British, and grew up watching a lot of these shows on reruns - Network was never a label that I would have ever considered "boutique" before seeing how quickly they could go under (that really kinda highlighted how niche they actually were). Between the Gerry Anderson stuff, the ITC stuff, and the odd film (Capricorn One and Raise the Titanic being a couple that I remember having on VHS as a kid) it was always just "the British label", as far as I was concerned.

So yeah, some strange feelings right now...

[side__on]

After The Sweeney(2,3,4) I was hoping for The New Avengers,The Return Of The Saint and Thunderbirds all restored in HD.
As this is unlikely to happen now I'm going to watch an episode of The Professionals and raise a glass to Network for all they did put out.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by Modman

And of course the mammoth Edgar Wallace Mysteries.

Those are just a massive series of 47 B-Movies not a TV series.

[cutback73]

Originally Posted by dublinbluray108

Will any of the big broadcasters do regarding the TV rights for some of the Network shows that are out on TV schedules for the BBC, ITV, Sky Arts and Yesterday?

I would presume that they will continue to have them on air on air via linear TV for the foreseeable future?

Have BAFTA expressed any disappointment or disquiet behind the scenes over the recent liquidation of Network. I would imagine a lot of these shows that were offered to enthusiasts on DVD and Blu-ray from Network had won a lot of BAFTA TV Awards back in the day.

I was wondering the position for Talking Pictures TV - nearly all their TV content is Network releases.... We're still only half way through The Four Just Men and The Buccaneers is only on episode 4. Season 2 of Robin Hood only started last week!

As long as BBC and ITV are willing to licence the broadcasts, Noel at TPTV may be our only hope!

[fatboyslim142]

From Dr Retro (@retroramblings) on Twitter:

So sad about the end of @networktweets. Here are the titles I’ve been lucky enough to contribute to over the years, and there were 4 more coming out this year. Who else would release such an electric mix?

Here is a reply (question) to the above:

What were the four we may not see?

& here is the answer to the above question:

There was some classic sauce, plus some Ozploitation and Film 4 eighties weirdness.

Oh & the Film 4 title was a musical.

[The Hornets]

Those Talking Pictures broadcasts are nothing to do with Network as the licence is from the rights holders, mostly ITV. These don’t use Network remasters using the existing ITV SD masters as we saw with Fireball XL-5 this afternoon which gets its first U.K. TV broadcast for around 40 years.

Only time I have seen new Network masters on TV is when Amazon Prime had The Professionals in HD although it seems to come and go from there.