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Absolute Power : Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD]
 
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Absolute Power : Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD]

DVD ~ Stephen Fry
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £8.78 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this item with State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD] DVD ~ John Simm

Absolute Power : Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD] + State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]
Price For Both: £12.76

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Absolute Power : Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD]
70% buy the item featured on this page:
Absolute Power : Complete BBC Series 1 [DVD] 4.4 out of 5 stars (12)
£8.78
Kingdom - Series 1 [2006]
10% buy
Kingdom - Series 1 [2006] 4.6 out of 5 stars (16)
£5.98
State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]
10% buy
State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD] 4.8 out of 5 stars (60)
£3.98
Kingdom - Series 2 [DVD] [2008]
7% buy
Kingdom - Series 2 [DVD] [2008] 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
£11.98
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Product details

  • Actors: Stephen Fry, John Bird, James Lance, Zoe Telford, Sally Bretton
  • Directors: John Morton
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 18 Jul 2005
  • Run Time: 171 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0009WL8Q4
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,606 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Synopsis
Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe as they bring the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to DVD. Machiavelli has nothing on these two. Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe run a blue-chip London PR firm, heading up a team of ambitious young agents who work in the dark art of repackaging black as white. Whether defending a comedian caught beating up his girlfriend in the Ikea car park, or deflecting attention from a TV historian accused of faking his evidence, the company's mantra is that the public will swallow anything, just as long as it's made palatable. Exposing the inextricable collusion between press and PR, while holding a mirror up to our celebrity-obsessed times, this is a witty and satirical comedy about a world in which style triumphs over substance, tabloids are the new judge and jury, and where five minutes of fame is considered a long-term career. Features the six episodes from the first series of the television comedy. In "History Man" Charles strives to dig up a story on historian Nigel Harting which is suitable for a tabloid audience. Also features: "Pope Idol", "Tory Woman", "Mr Fox", "Country Life" and "Crash And Burn".

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:    (0)
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 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate Humour, 17 Aug 2005
By Paul Johnson - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
For years I've been of the opinion that the best comedy is to be found on the radio and more specifically Radio 4. A great deal of that comedy crosses over to the TV and becomes the best comedy on TV. Absolute Power is another in a long line of those crossovers and in my opinion it is even better on the TV than it was on the radio.

It centres around a PR company, Prentiss McCabe and each episode looks at the current client they are working with and the problems they are trying to turn to their advantage. PR has become such a big thing in recent years that it is extremely topical and you can't help but think that it is true to life.

The cast are all excellent, lead by Stephen Fry who plays Charles Prentiss, an excellent comedy character with no morals at all. You really will be stunned by the depths he will sink to. John Bird is the other lead playing Marin McCabe who like Charles is a master of spin, though he provides the occasional moral input to the partnership.

The supporting cast are all strong, with the two main secondary stars being James Lance and Zoe Telford, two junior PR executives, with Lance playing a devious schemer and Telford a slightly more naive though hard working character. They are excellent and valuable members of the cast. There are two other junors in the office who to be honest are of little importance and in my opinion could have been left out.

There are some brilliant one off parts with the most notable being Geoffrey Palmer playing an absoulutely brilliant part as a country gent who turns out to be trying to be a Nazi supporter (anything that can make that funny is clearly well written humour!)

Each episode contains many laugh out loud moments and there is not really any weak material in there. If you enjoy intelligent humour, look no further than this.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, but the radio series was exquisite!, 7 Sep 2006
I adore this programme - anything that can produce the line "what she really married Nigel for is his impressive collection of modern money" or the TV concept to chose the Archbishop of Canterbury "Pope Idol" has to be wonderful. Stephen Fry and John Bird are utterly priceless. The TV series never quite reaches the heights of the radio version, but then the radio version was so unbelievably funny, that's probably only to be expected.

Where is the 2nd series on DVD? Or indeed the radio series on CD???
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb comedy, 24 Aug 2005
By A Customer
This is intelligent humour at its best. Stephen Fry is brilliant as always, but my favourite charcter is the naive, slightly useless Zoe. Based around a PR firm it is so real life. Brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic - quick, timeless comedy
May be a few years old, but the quick-paced, well-written comedy is timeless - as others have pointed out, there are some great quotes and situations in it, and whilst it's not... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Carter

5.0 out of 5 stars the sharpest writing
this is some of the best and smartest comedy I have seen in ages. Series 2 is available in australia (region 4). Come BBC make availble in the UK.
Published 7 months ago by D. C. BROWN

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Having listened to the wonderful radio series of Absolute Power, which is sharp, intelligent and funny, i bought this on the strength of that and i must admit to being very... Read more
Published 22 months ago by J. Hope

5.0 out of 5 stars Biting observational comedy at its best
Stephen Fry and John Bird are at the top of their comedic game in the well-written series. The ironies of spin are magnified for our hilarious pleasure. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Shotokan apprentice

5.0 out of 5 stars Please distribute this in the U.S.
Howdy from the Left Coast of the United States. I caught this fun program on KNME in Albuquerque, New Mexico while I was visiting and got hooked. Read more
Published 24 months ago by C Ruiz-Esparza

5.0 out of 5 stars I need series 2 & I need it now !!
Absolute Power is a true comedy gem featuring Stephen Fry at his majestic best. Savagely funny & darkly cynical it is a must have. Read more
Published on 15 Jul 2007 by Timbo

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, ish.
When I first saw this quietly blending in to the DVD rental shelf I was overjoyed. PR, you say? Stephen Fry and John Bird, is it? Yes please. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2006 by Mitya

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastingly scary
The character of Stephen Fry is devious and mean. He's a master in manipulating the situation (and choosing the right words). Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2005 by depok

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a PR "Yes Prime Minister", but funny, anyway...
I was expecting this to be laugh-out loud material, having loved the radio show and admired, at the time, the great potential it had to be transformed into a terrific TV sitcom... Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2005

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