Plus some TV!

TV on DVD makes life so much more fun!
VR5 was a 1990s series that died far too soon (and isn’t available on DVD, but I had tapes I could transcribe), wherein reclusive computer nerd Lori Singer discovers that she can access a realm of virtual reality where subconscious thoughts become manifest—which makes her of great interest to a sinister “Committee” that wants to exploit her to probe inside certain people’s heads? And just what did her father’s (David McCallum) research have to do with her strange skills? The high tech looks antiquated today, but the drama holds up well; also noteworthy for introducing Anthony Stewart Head to American TV (he was, at the time, known for his role in a series of Taster’s Choice coffee ads).
DANGERMOUSE was an eighties animated series about an unflappable British secret agent (who happens to be a mouse) dedicated to saving Britain from the schemes of corrupt Baron Greenback (a toad) and other fiends. Unfortunately, the world’s greatest secret agent is handicapped by having Penfold (hamster) the world’s greatest coward, as his assistance. I picked up a couple of seasons of this in a discount bin and enjoyed rewatching them.
GORMENGHAST was a four-part British series that finally brought Mervyn Peake’s first two novels in the series to the screen; though speeding up Peake’s leisurely pace startlingly, it captures a lot of the visuals of the stunning castle environment perfectly and boasts a cast that include Zoe Wanamaker (one of the twins), Ian Richardson (Sepulchrave—some of you may know him as Death from Hogfather or the politician from House of Cards), Christopher Lee as Flay and Stephen Fry as Bellgrove. The plot tends to focus much more on Steerpike, and the last two episodes really fudge some bits more than needed (and speed the plot up even more); still, it’s a great job and I doubt it could have been done better.