Phoenix DVD Blog

There was a different feeling to television in the 70s and 80s. You didn’t binge watch entire seasons in a weekend. You didn’t pause episodes halfway through to check your phone. And unless you owned a VHS recorder, if you missed an episode, that was usually it. Television felt more temporary back then, but somehow more memorable at the same time. Some of these shows were huge parts of my childhood. Others drift in and out of memory like fragments from weekday afternoons, summer holidays, or Saturday mornings in front of the TV with cereal before the rest of the house was awake. Looking back now, what strikes me most is how different those shows were compared to modern television. Most older series were built around self-contained episodes. Problems appeared and were solved within 45 minutes. Characters rarely changed dramatically. Major story arcs were uncommon. You could miss three episodes and still jump right back in without confusion. That’s very different from modern televis...

Television mattered more in the early 1980s than it’s easy to remember now. With limited choice and fixed schedules, TV wasn’t something you curated, it was something you shared . Families watched together, kids absorbed what was on, and shows repeated often enough to become familiar whether you followed them closely or not. What we didn’t realise at the time was that we were watching television slowly evolve, not just in production quality, but in ambition. Looking back now, the journey from brightly coloured, standalone episodes to fully serialised, long-form storytelling mirrors how our own tastes changed as we grew up. As television became more ambitious, more cinematic, and more willing to tell longer stories, it also made me look back differently at the programmes that first shaped my viewing habits. I’ve written more about those earlier shows and the wider viewing habits of the time in   The TV Shows I Grew Up With - Before Streaming Changed Everything , where I gather th...

I didn’t religiously follow every TV show that aired in the 1980s. Far from it. Most days were spent outside, messing about, only drifting indoors when it got dark, or when the weather turned properly miserable. Children use to do that back in the day. Television filled the gaps rather than dictating activities. But when it rained, and plans were cancelled, whatever was on the screen usually stayed on. That’s where a whole second tier of 80s TV lived for me. Shows I didn’t seek out, didn’t follow closely, but watched often enough that they became familiar and fondly remembered. I’ve already written about the 80s shows that had the biggest influence on me elsewhere. What follows are the ones I saw in passing , enjoyable, upbeat, and endlessly repeatable, even if they didn’t leave quite the same mark. The Shows That Were Always On Looking back through old photo albums, there is often one of these shows playing on the television behind me and other family members. They really were p...

If you’re new to World War II television, it can be hard to know where to start. Three series dominate the conversation — Band of Brothers , The Pacific , and Masters of the Air . They’re often mentioned together, share the same creative roots, and each tells a different part of the same global story. But they’re not the same experience. I have these two sets on Blu-ray, and I’m still waiting for Masters of the Air to get a proper physical release. If you jump in at the wrong point, there’s a good chance you won’t fully appreciate what makes them so powerful. So the real question isn’t just which one is best — it’s: Which one should you watch first? Quick Answer: Start Here If you want the simplest route: Start with Band of Brothers Then watch The Pacific Finish with Masters of the Air That order gives you the strongest emotional connection first, followed by a deeper and darker perspective, and finally a different viewpoint from the skies above Europe.  This is...

There’s a certain age, around 11 or 12, where going to the cinema feels like a major event. Not just something to do, but something you build up to, talk about for days, and remember for years afterwards. For me, that time is tied to a handful of films that still stand out today. Not just because of what they were, but because of when I saw them. I can still picture it clearly, standing in the queue at the sweet counter, convinced I was going to miss the start of the film. Even though we were always there early, at least 20 minutes before the cartoon started, it never felt early enough. At that age, you’re not analysing films, you’re just experiencing them. And somehow, those experiences stick. I had all of these movies before on DVD but sold them when things were tough. I continue to buy movies on Blu Ray these days but only when I really want them or I get a good deal.  ⭐ The Foundation – Star Wars at Home Before all of these, there was Star Wars . That was my ultimate h...