• Beyond The Fringe
• Not Only But Always...
• Butterflies Series 2
• Love in a Cold Climate
• Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour
• Tales of the Unexpected, Set 3
• King Arthur's Britain
• Midsomer Murders, Set 6
• Fingersmith
• Ripping Yarns
• Second Generation
• Cold Feet, Series 3
• Poirot The Classic Collection
• Butterflies
• The House of Eliott, Series 1
• Summer's Lease
• Two's Company, Series 3

Acorn Media announces the October 4, 2005, DVD release of Beyond the Fringe, the 1960s West End and Broadway hit revue that reinvented comedy. While another Fab Four was revolutionizing music, Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Jonathan Miller were giving birth to the British satire boom. With nothing but their brilliant writing and inspired performances, they created sidesplitting comedy that held nothing and no one sacred. In the process, the four performers became international stars. It was long thought that no filmed record of the original cast existed, until this gem was discovered in a producer’s vault. A 1964 gala farewell performance in London, it features the troupe’s classic sketches, including "Man Bites God," "Aftermyth of War," and "One Leg Too Few." DVD bonus features include background notes, cast bios, and original Broadway PLAYBILL® (DVD-ROM). Acorn’s DVD single has a running time of 116 minutes and is priced at $24.99 SRP. Pre-book date is September 6.

The Beyond the Fringe revue was first publicly performed at the1960 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show’s popularity secured subsequent runs in London (1961) and New York (1962). The performance seen on the new DVD release was especially recorded for television and boasts some additional material not included in the broadcast version.

Beyond the Fringe is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the October 4, 2005, DVD release of Not Only But Always..., starring Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) in a BAFTA Award-winning performance as Peter Cook and Aidan McArdle (Ella Enchanted) as Dudley Moore. This funny and moving drama probes the turbulent relationship between two performers credited with reinventing modern British satire. Tall, handsome, brilliantly glib Peter Cook and undersized musical prodigy Dudley Moore met as undergraduates in 1960 and became international stars as half of the legendary comedy revue Beyond the Fringe. That was the beginning of a riotously funny double act that redefined the art of comedy. But as they reveled in their perfectly matched comic genius in public, in private their collaboration roiled with tension and resentment. From their first triumph in London’s West End to Broadway and Hollywood to Peter’s tragic death in 1995, this is their story. DVD bonus features include commentary by writer and director Terry Johnson, career highlights of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and cast filmographies. Acorn’s DVD single has a running time of 100 minutes and is priced at $24.99 SRP. Pre-book date is September 6.

A number of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore collaborations are depicted in Not Only But Always..., including the 1967 movie Bedazzled, a satirically charged and surreal take on the Faustian legend that was remade in 2000. Also depicted is the duo’s 1965 comedy sketch series Not Only...But Also, which ran for five years and made Cook and Moore household names in the U.K.

Not Only But Always... is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the October 4, 2005, DVD release of Butterflies, Series 2, starring Wendy Craig (The Forsyte Saga) and Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By). Featuring eight episodes, this distinctive BBC series, both funny and poignant, revolves around a housewife frustrated by life with her detached husband and glib sons, and by her own dismal failure to master even the boring and repetitive tasks at hand. As a wealthy and handsome paramour pursues her, she guiltily flits from her real life to this exciting distraction like a butterfly aware that its time is running out. Created by prolific Britcom writer Carla Lane (The Liver Birds, Bread). The DVD set includes the show’s 1979 Christmas special. DVD special features include a Carla Lane biography and cast filmographies. Acorn’s DVD 2-disc set has a running time of 238 minutes and is priced at $29.99 SRP. Pre-book date is September 6.

In 1979, a U.S. version of Butterflies was piloted on NBC, starring actress Jennifer Warren, and directed by James Burrows (Will & Grace). Although the series was co-scripted by Carla Lane, it’s reported that the writer was hugely disappointed with the project and particularly displeased with changes that left out a good deal of the subtlety noticeable in the original version. The NBC pilot failed to gain the series a full broadcast deal.

Butterflies, Series 2 and Series 1 are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the September 27, 2005, DVD release of Love in a Cold Climate. Based on Nancy Mitford’s novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate—part thinly-veiled memoir, part biting satire, and part fascinating window on a vanished way of life—this witty drama from the BBC follows the romantic adventures of three young aristocrats between the wars. Starring British acting legends Alan Bates (Gosford Park), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Diary), Sheila Gish (Mansfield Park), and Anthony Andrews (Brideshead Revisited), with young stars Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day), Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh (Bertie and Elizabeth), and Megan Dodds (Malice Aforethought). Providing an authentic backdrop are several English castles and country houses, including Batsford Park, home of the Mitford family from 1916 to 1919. DVD bonus features include a biography of Nancy Mitford, production notes, and cast filmographies. Acorn’s DVD single has a running time of 155 minutes and is priced at $29.99 SRP. Pre-book date is August. 30.

Nancy Mitford was the eldest of six aristocratic children born to Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, the second Baron Redesdale. She was born in 1904 and grew up on the family estate in the Cotswolds, chiefly educated by her mother. Nancy’s writing career started in 1931 with the novel Highland Fling. This was followed by Christmas Pudding in 1932, the year she married Peter Rodd, a diplomat’s son. She wrote two more novels before achieving critical success with The Pursuit of Love (1945) followed by its sequel Love in a Cold Climate (1949). Both of these novels are thinly-veiled accounts of Nancy’s own bizarre childhood with Lord Redesdale (Uncle Matthew).

Love in a Cold Climate is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the September 20, 2005, DVD release of Penn & Teller’s MAGIC and MYSTERY TOUR. For 30 years, Penn & Teller have been amazing crowds from Broadway to Vegas with their unique sensibility and stunning illusions. Now it’s their turn to be amazed. Join the maverick masters of illusion as they trek to China, India, and Egypt, and witness astounding feats of magic and other inexplicable things. Pack your bags and take a funny and unpredictable trip with television’s best-known illusionists revealing rarely seen tricks, and outrageous characters. Special features on the DVD include production notes, additional footage, and Penn & Teller bios. Acorn’s DVD single has a running time of 150 minutes and is priced at $24.99 SRP. Pre-book date is August. 23.

Watch as Penn & Teller gawk in amazement at an Indian snake-swallower. See traditional Bengali performers "torture" family members, just as local authorities get in on the act. Venture to Calcutta for a "performance" of the legendary Indian Rope Trick. Enter the Egyptian tomb at Beni Hassan for a modern "inside" look at the ancient "cups and balls" trick. See how Penn and Teller survive a collision with a hay truck and enjoy a vintage performance in an extremely remote—and extremely cold—village.

Penn & Teller’s MAGIC and MYSTERY TOUR is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the September 27, 2005, DVD release of Tales of the Unexpected, Set 3, complete with a new look and new price for the entire series including Sets 1 and 2. From the master storyteller who brought kids such surreal goodies as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, here’s a twisted treat for grown-ups. Roald Dahl’s playfully gruesome adult stories launched this legendary British television series, which continues with stories of the same creepy ilk. Mixing dark humor with horror and fantasy, the tales are tasty tidbits of the macabre, each building up to a startling final twist. Episode casts feature top-drawer talent, including John Mills, Leslie Caron, Derek Jacobi, Susan Penhaligon, Shiela Gish, Phoebe Nicholls and Ian Holm. DVD special features include a biography of composer Ron Grainer, episode trivia and cast filmographies. Timed with the re-launch of Sets 1 and 2, Set 3 is released as a DVD 3-Vol. THINpakTM with a running time of 525 minutes. All sets are priced at $39.99 SRP. Pre-book date is August. 30.

Among the episodes featured in Tales of the Unexpected, Set 3 are three timeless classics from the series. The Vorpal Blade stars Peter Cushing as the elderly von Baden who starkly recounts a duel to the death he witnessed—and nearly took part in—at Heidelberg College in the 1930s. Operation Safecrack stars John Mills as retired criminal mastermind Sam Morrissey, who receives an offer he can’t refuse: if he can break into a new high-tech safe on national television, he gets the fortune within. Derek Jacobi features Stranger in Town as Sir Columbus, the quintessential British eccentric who charms the locals and their children with his magic tricks and japes. But does his bearded visage and outlandish clothing mask a darker purpose

Tales of the Unexpected, Set 3 and the re-launched Sets 1 and 2 are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the September 20, 2005, DVD release of King Arthur’s Britain. Examining the mysterious figure of King Arthur, British archaeologist and bestselling author Francis Pryor disputes the belief that Britain descended into near-anarchy after the Romans left in 410 A.D., sinking into the so-called Dark Ages until the Anglo-Saxon invaders restored order. The truth, he says, is far more complicated. In this three-part series, he uncovers the continuous culture that was not destroyed by outside invaders but rather strengthened by trade alliances and contact with the wider world. Ancient history comes alive at the scenes of bloody battles and key archaeological sites that reveal clues to this new account of early Britain. DVD bonus features include a biography of Francis Pryor and scene index. Acorn’s DVD single has a running time of 147 minutes and is priced at $29.99 SRP. Pre-book date is August. 23.

King Arthur’s Britain is chiefly based on Pryor’s book Britain A.D., offering insights from his 30-plus years at the forefront of British archaeological fieldwork. Pryor uses this expertise to bring historical fact and theory to the understanding of Arthurian legend. The series helps to debunk the principal accounts of King Arthur offered by the writings of Geoffrey Monmouth from the Middle Ages and later by Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d'Arthur.

King Arthur’s Britain is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media’s popular mystery franchise expands with the Sept. 13, 2005, release of a DVD set of five 100-minute episodes. With characters inspired by the novels of Caroline Graham, described by critics as the best mystery writer since Agatha Christie, Midsomer Murders is an update of the classic English village mystery. Likable and earnest detective Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) investigates murder and mayhem in a cluster of quaint villages. He and his young partner, Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey), peel back the seemingly charming facades to reveal the often-shocking truth. Lighthearted subplots focus on Barnaby’s relationship with his ever-supportive wife. Seen in the U.S. on A&E, the series is considered as must-see TV in the U.K. Midsomer Murders, Set Six has a total running time of 500 minutes. The 5-volume DVD boxed set sells for $59.99. Pre-book is August 16.

The DVD bonuses on Set Six include a Midsomer map, cast filmographies, a biography of author Caroline Graham, and production notes. Guest stars in Set Six include Honor Blackman (The Avengers), Amanda Root (The Forsyte Saga), and Phoebe Nicholls (Shackleton).

The episodes in Midsomer Murders, Set Six are: A Talent for Life, Death and Dreams, Painted in Blood, A Tale of Two Hamlets, and Birds of Prey. The Midsomer Murders home video franchise is one of a number of successful product lines than are licensed and distributed by both Acorn Media U.S. and its British counterpart, Acorn Media U.K.

Acorn’s Midsomer Murders titles are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the Sept. 13, 2005, DVD release of Fingersmith, the hotly anticipated adaptation of British fiction sensation Sarah Waters’s most acclaimed novel. It tells the wildly unpredictable tale of two young women in Victorian England whose lives collide with terrifying consequences. Plucky orphan Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins, Tipping the Velvet), raised in a den of petty thieves or "fingersmiths," agrees to help a young con man (Rupert Evans, Hellboy) defraud wealthy heiress Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy, Disco Pigs). But Sue’s plans are turned upside down when she falls in love with Maud. Then both Sue and Maud are thrown into turmoil as everything they know about each other—and themselves—turns out to be a lie. Also starring BAFTA-winner and Oscar-nominee Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) and BAFTA-nominee Charles Dance (The Jewel in the Crown). Acorn’s DVD single, with a running time of 180 minutes and an SRP of $29.99, features an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, character profiles, a photo gallery, and cast filmographies. Pre-book date is August

Fingersmith debuted on the BBC on Easter Sunday last March, receiving massive viewer ratings and enthusiastic reviews from the British press. The novel Fingersmith was likewise a popular and critical success on both sides of the Atlantic, and was nominated for both Canada’s Orange Prize and the U.K.’s Man Booker Award in 2002. That same year Waters’s first novel, Tipping the Velvet, was made into a highly acclaimed television drama, released on DVD by Acorn in early 2004. Waters’s stories are carefully researched period thrillers and lesbian love stories that have won her comparisons to Dickens and Henry James. She was named Author of the Year at the 2003 British Book Awards.

Fingersmith and Waters’s Tipping the Velvet are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the Aug. 30, 2005, DVD release of Ripping Yarns. The nine lavishly produced half-hour comedies—each starring series co-creator Michael Palin—spoof the stirring adventure stories that were a staple of Edwardian schoolboy life. Written by Python stalwarts Michael Palin and Terry Jones, the episodes feature unlikely heroes triumphing over adversity (or not) in such varied settings as Victorian London, Depression-era Yorkshire, German POW camps, Peru’s Andes, and the Indian Raj. Python cohorts John Cleese and Eric Idle are seen in cameo appearances. The DVD 2-volume boxed set has a total running time of 274 minutes and is priced at $39.99. Pre-book date is August 2.

This feature-rich DVD release includes commentaries for all nine episodes by Michael Palin and Terry Jones, a laugh-track-free audio option, a deleted scene, a photo gallery, Comic Roots: Michael Palin, a restoration clip, Michael Palin's original scripts (DVD-ROM), a commemorative booklet that contains an in-depth production history, and English subtitles.

As the Yarns were shot on film, the classic series has held up better than many other shows of the 1970s. Palin and Jones’s imaginative scripting provides a wealth of comedy throughout the nine episodes. On hearing of Acorn Media’s plans for the release, Michael Palin commented: "I am very excited about the release of Ripping Yarns in the North American market. From the days when I first showed them to the likes of John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray, the Yarns attracted a lot of fans in America. It's great news that these fans will now have access to this terrific new DVD."

While many considered Monty Python’s Flying Circus to have peaked in popularity, the Holy Grail Broadway spin-off Spamalot has renewed interest in all things Python. The hottest ticket on Broadway this season, Spamalot won three Drama Desk awards and three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Making the connection to the Yarns’ Python roots, Acorn is supporting the DVD release of Ripping Yarns with cross-promotions with Spamalot and top Python fansite PythOnline.com.

Often teasingly referred to as the "nice one" by the remaining Python team members, Palin has in recent years become well known in his native U.K. as the host and star of adventure travel documentaries. Many of his award-winning series have aired in the U.S., including Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole. His most recent travelogue, Himalaya, will no doubt follow.

Ripping Yarns and Acorn’s many other titles are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER) stars in Second Generation, an explosive contemporary drama about love, family, and identity set for release by Acorn Media on July 26, 2005. Traveling from Calcutta to London, through the Asian Underground music scene, East End curry factories, and homes of London’s second generation Asian immigrants, the story revolves around the fall of an aging patriarch (Om Puri, East Is East) with three daughters. The youngest, Heere (Nagra), is estranged from the family and engaged to a white music journalist (Danny Dyer, Human Traffic). Her father’s illness and her sisters’ treachery draw Heere back into the family circle and into the arms of her first love, a record-label and club owner (Christopher Simpson, White Teeth). Ultimately, she must decide where her heart and her loyalty belong. Also starring Bollywood superstar Anupam Kher and featuring an electrifying soundtrack by award-winning British-Asian musician Nitin Sawhney. The DVD single has a running time of 136 minutes and an SRP of $24.99. Pre-book date is June 28.

DVD extras on the release include an isolated music and effects track, production notes, bio of composer Nitin Sawhney, cultural notes about traditions that figure in the story, reviews of five Asian Underground albums, and cast profiles.

Produced for Britain’s Channel 4, the drama was written by Neil Biswas, whose own experience of young Asian life in Britain makes his truly the voice of a new generation. Recognizing the influence of bhangra, desi beats, and hip hop on the international music movement, Biswas recruited Sawhney to compose the score, which employs the talents of performers such as UK Apache (known for his smash hit "Original Nuttah," made in collaboration with the legendary Shy FX).

Second Generation is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Fans of this smart, funny, blockbuster British drama will welcome Acorn Media’s July 26, 2005, release of Cold Feet, Complete 3rd Series. Life goes on—and becomes even more complicated—for the three young couples facing the realities of love, sex, friendship, and parenthood. Adam and Rachel think about starting a family and getting married—in that order. Jenny and Pete try moving on, with mixed results. After the arrival of twin girls, Karen and David encounter old problems and new temptations. Familiar territory, but in Cold Feet it plays out in surprisingly funny and touching ways. Starring James Nesbitt (Waking Ned Devine) and Helen Baxendale (An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Friends). Previously seen on Bravo, Cold Feet is now airing on BBC America. All eight episodes of the third season are included in Acorn’s 3-volume DVD boxed set, which has a total running time of 384 minutes and an SRP of $39.99. DVD bonus features include a photo gallery and cast filmographies. Pre-book date is June 28, 2005.

Cold Feet has won more than 20 international awards starting with the pilot episode, which captured the Golden Rose at the Montreux Festival, European television’s top award. Other critical acclaim for Cold Feet includes four British National Comedy Awards, a BAFTA for Best Drama Series, and an International Emmy nomination. It was an unmissable ratings hit for all of its five seasons on British TV.

Acorn Media’s Cold Feet releases are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the July 12, 2005, release of Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Classic Collection, a megaset that includes all 36 hour-long episodes from the hit series collected in a distinctively packaged 12-disc media book. David Suchet stars as Christie’s lovably eccentric Belgian sleuth in the role that made him the most recognized face in detective drama. After becoming the most-watched detective in the history of the PBS series Mystery!, Suchet’s Poirot went on to become a hit all over again on A&E. Also contributing to the phenomenal success of the series are lush art deco period details, a superb ensemble cast, and scripts infused with Christie’s delicious wit. The Classic Collection features a written introduction by Suchet. DVD extras include biographies of Agatha Christie and David Suchet, cast filmographies, and resources for Agatha Christie fans. The DVD 12-volume boxed set has a total running time of 30½ hours and is priced at $199.99. Pre-book date is June 14.

In addition to these 36 hour-long episodes, there are nine feature-length specials from the series, which Acorn has released as singles and in two sets. Acorn has previously released the 12 discs in The Complete Collection as singles.

The Complete Collection and Acorn’s other Poirot titles are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

Acorn Media announces the July 12, 2005, DVD debut of one of the most distinctive Britcoms ever produced, the bittersweet Butterflies starring Wendy Craig (The Forsyte Saga) and Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By). Created and written by prolific Britcom writer Carla Lane (The Liver Birds, Bread), Butterflies is laugh-out-loud funny but also smart and sophisticated with serious undertones unusual in the genre. Craig plays Ria, a bored middle-aged housewife who begins to fear that life has passed her by. Her husband, Ben (Palmer), is a dour dentist obsessed with butterfly collecting. Their two aimless teenage sons (Nicholas Lyndhurst and Andrew Hall) also share the roost, chiefly, it seems, to trade barbs with their father. Little wonder then, that when Ria meets an urbane, wealthy businessman she is tempted to follow the relationship wherever it will lead. This is the situation that plays out in Butterflies—a woman on the verge is offered an escape, what will she decide? Butterflies, Series 1, consists of 6 episodes with a total running time of 181 minutes. The DVD single retails for $24.99. Pre-book is June 14.

DVD extras on Butterflies, Series 1, include an exclusive interview with Carla Lane, production notes, and cast filmographies. The title of the show obviously refers to Ben’s hobby, but Lane has also said it could refer to the sudden realization in middle age that time is running out, leaving people fluttering about like butterflies. The program’s theme music is a reworking of Dolly Parton’s Love Is Like a Butterfly sung by Clare Torry. Torry is also known for her vocals on Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon.

Butterflies, Series 1 is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

The smash hit BBC drama series The House of Eliott makes its DVD debut on June 28, 2005. Louise Lombard (Hidalgo, CSI) and Stella Gonet (Nicholas Nickleby) star as beautiful sisters born to privilege but left destitute when their profligate father dies. With talent and determination, they fight their way to the top of the cutthroat world of fashion design, as suitors try to woo them and scoundrels try to trip them up. Set in roaring 1920s London, the multimillion-dollar production is especially noted for its authentic costume design, for which it won Emmy and BAFTA awards. The series was a ratings blockbuster in the U.K. and won millions of new fans from runs on A&E, PBS, and BBC America. Extras on the DVD include production notes, photo gallery, 1920s fashion backgrounder, and cast filmographies. The House of Eliott, Series One, is a 4-volume DVD boxed set with an SRP of $59.99. Its 12 episodes have a total running time of 623 minutes. Pre-book date is May 31.

The House of Eliott was created by celebrated actresses Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh, the same team that created Upstairs, Downstairs, the landmark period drama about the contrasting lives of the rich and the working classes in which Marsh memorably starred as housemaid Rose Buck. The House of Eliott also contrasts the glamorous life of London’s upper classes with the more prosaic lives of the city’s working class, but in this case two upper-class characters are forced by circumstance to work for a living. Despite the odds against them as naïve women untrained to compete in a man’s world, the Eliott sisters find encouragement from the blossoming suffragette movement that paralleled the free-spirited flapper craze.

The House of Eliott, Series One is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com. Acorn plans to release The House of Eliott, Series Two, in 2006.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

The breathtaking Tuscan countryside costars with the legendary John Gielgud at his wittiest in Summer’s Lease, a BBC drama set for release by Acorn Media on June 28, 2005. London housewife and art enthusiast Molly Pargeter (Susan Fleetwood) finds a lovely villa in Tuscany for her family’s summer vacation. She dreams of enjoying culture and family fun under the Tuscan sun, even though her husband and teenage daughter begin complaining before they leave home. What’s worse, her eccentric father (John Gielgud), a sometime journalist, insists on tagging along. When the villa’s water supply fails and a neighbor dies suddenly, Molly tunes out her quarrelsome family and begins to wonder about their mysterious absentee landlord. Her father helps her investigate when he isn’t busy wooing a wealthy expat who lives nearby. Written by Rumpole of the Bailey’s John Mortimer and based on his novel of the same name. With a running time of 220 minutes, Acorn’s 2-volume DVD set has an SRP of $39.99. Pre-book date is May 31.

Gielgud was nominated for a BAFTA award for Summer’s Lease and won an Emmy Award after the drama debuted on Masterpiece Theatre. It was his fifth Emmy nomination and only win. Summer’s Lease also received BAFTA nominations for best drama series and best film editing.

Barrister and writer John Mortimer drew upon memories of his father to create the best-known barrister of all time, Horace Rumpole. He has written prolifically for television and film, including the Emmy-nominated adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Three of Mortimer’s novels—Summer’s Lease, Paradise Postponed, and Titmuss Regained—have been successful television miniseries.

Summer’s Lease is available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212

With its June 14, 2005, release of Two’s Company, Complete Series Three DVD, Acorn Media offers more hilarious episodes of a comedy gem from the archives of British television. In a pairing unparalleled in U.S. television, two stage legends, one American (Elaine Stritch) and one British (Sir Donald Sinden), star opposite each other in a mostly two-handed comedy about a cross-cultural odd couple. Stritch plays a brash, thrice-divorced American thriller writer living in London who hires the perfect British butler (Sinden). Cultures clash and sparks fly as she pits her blunt anti-British, pro-feminist views against his old-school attitudes and witheringly polite putdowns. Acorn’s DVD single, with an SRP of $24.99, contains all 8 episodes in Series Three and runs 194 minutes. Pre-book date is May 17.

DVD extras include Elaine Stricth, and Donald Sinden biographies plus cast filmographies.

Stritch became a Broadway star in the 1940s and 1950s with acclaimed turns in productions such as Pal Joey, On Your Toes, and Bus Stop. Most recently, she triumphed in the one-woman musical Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, for which she was showered with awards, including a 2002 Tony. Sinden, a highly respected Shakespearean actor and member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, went on to leading roles in British films of the 1950s and then character roles in films and television. Knighted in 1997 for his career accomplishments, Sinden currently has a featured role in the hit British TV series Judge John Deed.

Acorn’s Two’s Companyrealease are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn at 1-888-870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media is one of North America’s most active providers of British television on home video.

Contact: Brian Clucas
Public Relations Manager
bclucas@acornmedia.com
(800) 999-0212