WELCOME TO LEVEL SEVEN! "MARVEL's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.' ARRIVE...

Ready to defend us. MARVEL's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Images: DISNEY/ABC TV

Ready and capable of handling the oncoming storm of dark and dangerous threats to Humankind in these unstable times when "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", The Avengers, are indisposed, the equally steadfast and reliable agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics) make their impressive debut on UK television from Friday, September 27th on the UK's CHANNEL 4, bringing with them all the humour, action and excitement seen with the organisations big-screen appearances across six incredible box office juggernaut comic book film adaptations from MARVEL STUDIOS, a bold and distinctive company now making their first brave and likely indelible foray into weekly, small-screen storytelling mode.

▶ Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Trailer 1 (Official) - YouTube
▶ Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Starts 27th September | Channel 4 - YouTube
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The popular Agent Phil Coulson, as played with sublime, straight-laced wickedness and a clear-cut patriotism by writer/actor Clark Gregg, had a love and dedication in bringing the at first dysfunctional Avengers line-up into miraculous being- no small task and one that seemingly cost him his life, yet good heroes are hard to kill, and he's now alive and well after all (how he got out of that one apparently being a relevant surprise to what lies ahead for the organisation!), bringing together his own new, formidable band of super-agents who, though they may not have the incredible powers of the Hulk, Captain America, the Asgardian Thor or Tony Stark's Iron Man, are still the best of the best within the worlds super-spy elite. Within this diverse and attractive, all corners brought bunch- looking like they've sprung from the pages of GQ magazine rather than MARVEL's acclaimed graphic novels- the Men (and Women) in Black who now wear Armani!- are ace pilot Melinda May (ER's sexy Ming-Na Wen), Black Ops specialist Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), cynical civilian recruit and top computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet), Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) -a top weapons specialist, and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Hesntridge)- a life sciences genius and sister to Leo. To say that their premier gathering is going to be interesting is likely to be an understatement!

Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) in action with S.H.I.E.L.D. boss Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in the first THE AVENGERS movie.

With new villains and technological terrors, both foreign and domestic, emerged from The Avengers first battle against extra-terrestrial dominions, bringing their own set of problems and challenges to the team, the series looks set to be glossy, thrilling fun all the way, as beloved geek film and TV adaptor/creator Joss Whedon, also surely mining fifty years worth of MARVEL history and characters (and past events from the previous films), brings that unique, just this right side of smart-ass fun of his, as well as ambitious high-tech adrenaline adventure set pieces worthy of James Bond, to a crowd-pleasing mix, in what is also likely to be one of DISNEY/ABC's most expensive TV series yet. If this is a success, there will be more like this on the airwaves in years to come, hopefully adding greatly to the popular audience main dish experience of the continuing superheroes in their movie series phenomenon...

Fingers, arms, legs and everything crossed for a successful and audience-hip UK debut...

TRUE LIES! 'HOMELAND' SEASON THREE BECKONS...

Fugitive hearts and minds. The main troika of HOMELAND Season Three. Images: SHOWTIME.

Having been the surprise hit of the previous year, and becoming seriously addictive television for both critics and fans, it was a shame that the following Season Two of the SHOWTIME terrorist thriller HOMELAND didn't win quite as much acclaim or respect-perhaps because the original premiere run was so satisfying and could basically have been told in one compete story that it didn't really need an actual continuation- but, hey, if you're an American TV series and its a hit, then the show, and the advertising profits, have gotta go on! Fortunately, the series would be blessed with two of modern televisions best and enterprising creator producers- Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon- finding a clever way to do just that for their TV superiors, and delivering, by year two's last episode, a very satisfying and disturbing finale that lends itself to an overall much better and more organic linkage with the upcoming, highly anticipated new third season, beginning at the end of this month in the US.

▶ Homeland Season 3: Official Trailer - YouTube
▶ Homeland Season 3: Tease - Haunted - YouTube
Homeland Season 3: Behind the Scenes - YouTube
▶ Homeland Season 3: From The Beginning - YouTube

Caught in a maelstrom of press attention, and having to testify about her difficult prior actions and decision-making to a tense senate sub-committee, CIA agent Carrie Mathison (an impressive Claire Danes) had seemingly regained her purpose in life, along with her senses and sanity, despite the pain of frustrations of her mental illness, but now has to deal with the incredible fall-out from the horrific terrorist car-bomb explosion that has wiped out half of her friends and workmates-some of "The Company"s finest, including her former lover David Estes (David Harewood). With her former lover -ex-marine and former terrorist Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis, getting the chance to add more complex layers of tensions and fractured loyalty to the role) well and truly framed for the heinous act by the murderous bedfellows he once pledged allegiance to, he had no choice but to desert his wife (oh-so-sexy Morena Baccarin) and two children and go overseas where, as a fugitive with few options open to him, soon becomes inexorably linked to new troublesome scenarios, many not of his making. Trying to find and shield him where possible, Carrie is also immersed in another kind of warfare- internal politics and rising ambitions with her superiors at Langley - her only friend Saul Berenson (the always watchable Mandy Patinkin), now risen up the office ranks to the challenging and difficult role of Director-ship- most of whom don't share her views about the set-up of Brody, eventually realising that he didn't die in the car bomb after all, and soon dispatching their special forces teams (including assassin Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend- now a series regular), already out securing other targets linked to the deaths, to quickly find and eliminate the homegrown threat once and for all, the once patriot and friend of America, now world enemy number one and still causing a stink in the political corridors of power- the man who almost became their president!

The steps of power. The Brodys (Morena Baccarin and Damian Lewis), Carrie (Claire Danes) and Saul (Mandy Patinkin) return for more drama and intrigue.

As big in scope as the previous season (with filming in Puerto Rico and a return to Israel for some highly charged finale episode scenes) drawn from the tense times we now live in, there are also promises of some smaller scale, but hopefully no less riveting, character drama- with the Brody family fallout being a key spotlight, alongside the producers hints that they want a John le Carre-esque feel to the new series spy-dom machinations. Meanwhile, the simmeringly unconventional, in many ways tragic, love story between Carrie and Brody, the true underpinnings to the shows success, certainly isn't over, surely evolving and intensifying-with lots more physical and psychological pain along the way for our separated lovers to endure...

Seasons One and Two of HOMELAND on Blu-ray: Homeland - Season 1-2 [Blu-ray]: Amazon.co.uk: Damian Lewis, Claire Danes, Morena Baccarin, Mandy Patinkin, David Harewood: Film & TV

ALPINE HORROR! 'THE RETURNED' ARE HUNGRY FOR LIFE...

Reflections in terror for two of the living and dead stars of THE RETURNED. Images: CHANNEL 4.

They may have been pretty darned slow in the off-take - years, in fact - in acquiring the kind of continental and European dramas that have becomes so classy and addictive to UK TV viewers, like The Killing, Spiral, Borgen and Braquo have been for the BBC and FX channels, but CHANNEL FOUR have at least gone into different genre territory with their exclusive screening rights to the new French Alps set horror/drama THE RETURNED, based on a 2004 movie They Came Back, starting from next Sunday 9th June.

Some genuinely eerie and disturbing edge of your seat (and perhaps behind it!) moments linked to zombies and cannibalism are apparently promised here, as well as a lurking serial killer who makes his dread presence tragically felt, part of an intriguing plot about a group of people from past and present thought dead who return to their homes, and families- the mystery and ultimate point of their resurrection not yet revealed, and the consequences of their arrival to the general populace nothing less than emotionally and psychologically shattering...

Out of the mist, past lives reawakened...

The Returned | Coming Soon | Channel 4 - YouTube

Starring Céline Sallette (from the Marion Cotillard’s film RUST AND BONE) and Anne Consigny (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY), written and directed by Fabrice Gobert, and a huge hit in its home territory, THE RETURNED (aka Les Revenants), looking like a mix of early TRUE BLOOD with the spooky beginnings of THE 4400 (but without the aliens!), and perhaps even a bit of the grim black humour of our very own BBC THREE series wonder THE FADES, THE RETURNED, with its distinctly edgy environment of isolation and unease, certainly looks set to win over genre fans and audiences who something new and hopefully innovative added to FOUR's schedules beyond programmes about human sexual body parts, teen angst and the housing property market!

THE DISTURBIA UNIVERSE OF 'BLACK MIRROR'

The future's not bright, and it isn't orange! DARK MIRROR returns. Image: CHANNEL 4.

Popular British writer/satirist Charlie Brooker thankfully has no plans to be the next Rod Serling, but his edgy, futuristic and cautionary tales of a flawed humanity, as told within his often bleak and uncompromising anthology series, and TWILIGHT ZONE-ish tribute, DARK MIRROR, certainly keeps up the late playwright's bold storytelling and strong characterisation traditions-alongside the odd sting in the tail- whilst resonating with intellectual bravura and often grotesque bite.

Black Mirror Series 2 New Episodes (2013) - YouTube

This ambitious second run of three stories (all written by Brooker this time), after a previous acclaimed year, begins next Monday on Channel 4 and HD. The first tale, Be Right Back, sees a widow (star on the rise Hayley Attwell) trying to communicate with her dead husband via a new technology application- a reunion with surely horrific consequences. The third and final story is The Waldo Moment (about an animated bear on a children's TV show, voiced by a failed comedian (Daniel Rigby), that goes way beyond it's educational remit and turns out to be a subversive anarchist against the current political establishment). In the middle of the trio is White Bear- truly a modern-day ZONE-esque homage if ever there was one- about an almost amnesiac woman (Lenora Crichlow) waking up in a deserted city to discover its populace have entered a voyeuristic state of madness due to a mysterious transmitter signal. With its dark, obsessive technology core message, inside what will surely be a brutal and violent showcase, this looks set to be the most intriguing story yet, and one which also bears passing simlarities to that other fantasy master Ray Bradbury's classic novella, The Crowd.

Season One of BLACK MIRROR is now available on DVD: Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Rory Kinnear, Lindsay Duncan: Film & TV

NO PLACE TO HIDE? 'UTOPIA' IS HERE!

A dark future looms for our runaway young heroes, pursued by the mysterious and brutal Arby (Neil Maskell), in UTOPIA. Image: CHANNEL 4.

Being a devoted fan to a one-of-a-kind graphic novel can be fatal to your health, as five young and diverse background heroes (a fifteen year old slum housing tearway, a student nurse, an isolationist living in his dad’s basement, and a successful IT hothead) discover in the fascinating and uniquely different continuing drama series UTOPIA, of which its second episode (of six) on the UK’s CHANNEL FOUR continues tonight after an intriguing feature-length opener.

Created by Dennis Kelly, the series initiates a mysterious set of circumstances and a trail of bloody murder linked to a mysterious and lost graphic novel manuscript, conceived by its scientist creator who seemingly went insane with predictions of the end of the world and the birth of a strange new one: The Utopia Experiments. A small group of internet forum members, enthusiasts of the seemingly one and only first issue, are drawn into this terrifying world made real, embarking on a fugitive, perhaps revolutionary, course of future action whilst pursued by a mysterious agency of evil called The Network, whose two vicious agents (one a raisin eating babyface, Arby (played by Neil Maskell, who wouldn’t look out of place in a Harry Enfield sketch if he wasn't so cruel, the other his torture loving colleague) begin their brutal and sadistic hunt for them and the presumed lost second issue manuscript, whilst simultaneously mopping up any traces of their presence wherever and whenever the clues, and their victims, take them.

Beyond their killing associates, The Network also have equally shady links to the pharmaceutical business, influencing and corrupting British government and society through a weak willed Civil Servant, Dugdale (Paul Higgins), in a way that the comic book’s almost Nostradamus-like predictions have foretold…but can they be stopped before dark dreams take their ultimate form?

Trailers: Utopia - Features - Utopia Trailers - Channel 4

Best described as a conspiracy thriller meets urban fantasy, with a little twist of sci-fi (are The Network even human?), this is the kind of series format that will surely capture the attention of audiences who enjoyed such fare as alternative superhero drama MISFITS and the sadly one-off BBC 3 youth horror THE FADES. With a likable young cast of rising stars, the show weaves a visually inventive and atmospheric spell, too, intriguingly mixing a dark and twistedly surreal take on modern London and the UK as a whole, within a glossy colour palette that itself could literally have leapt from the pages of a graphic novel. Director Marc Munden mixes a little bit of David Lynch impressionism with the glossy bite shown by other Brit newcomers like Matthew Vaughn. Most importantly,though, the script stays dominant over the style, with UTOPIA surely revealing further plot twists that will keep viewers riveted (though, by the end of it, I'm not expecting all of the plot questions to necessarily have been answered).

In spite of the show’s often incredible amount of realistic violence- which left me feeling a little bit queasy after the premier episode: so be prepared new viewers!- and the obvious press controversy it will court, UTOPIA has on its side a bold and different story to reveal, standing out in a current sea of bland modern television as a genuinely intriguing and unique new series worth following, and thus making it essential KOOL TV.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM KOOL TV!

Friends reunited in THE SNOWMAN AND THE SNOWDOG. Image: Channel 4.

What better way to celebrate the evocative wonder and splendid magic of Christmas for children and families across the world than with this terrific image from the eagerly anticipated Channel 4 Xmas Eve screening of the sequel to Raymond Brigg's classic and beloved children's book/animated tale, now in it's Thirtieth Anniversary, THE SNOWMAN: the surely equally charming and festive THE SNOWMAN AND THE SNOWDOG.

Trailer: Video: The Snowman and The Snowdog trailer - Telegraph

KOOL TV wishes its friends and readers worldwide the warmest, safest and Happiest Xmas, and a prosperous 2013!

MURDER AND MADNESS: 'THE FEAR'

Brighton Rock! Peter Mullan is a gangster with severe problems in the new drama: THE FEAR. Image: CHANNEL 4.

One of Scotland's finest exports-the dark and intense talent that is actor/writer/director Peter Mullan makes a welcome return to British TV screens this week with the new four-part gangster drama given an unusual new storytelling edge: THE FEAR, showing on the UK's CHANNEL 4 Monday to Thursday, from tonight. The straight talking, hard edged, eyes seemingly ready for violence Mullan is Richie Beckett, once an old-time, ruthless crime lord of his Brighton beach patch now gone straight and seemingly respectable, running his now legitimate empire with his two sons, the highly strung and aggressively ambitious Cal (Paul Nicholls), operating their shadowy other world of profitable drugs and prostitution, and his more mature and reasoning brother Matty (played by GAMES OF THRONES excellent young rising star Harry Lloyd). But when a family of thoroughly evil Albanian gangsters- surely the modern world's most archetypal heavies these days (and tailor-made for use in film and TV!)- arrive on the scene and see a gap in the market ripe for exploitation, the Becketts, caught in an opening business negotiation turned sour, are quickly thrust into a street war against their edgy and equally dangerous new opponents. So far, it all seems pretty good plot-wise anyway (think BRIGHTON ROCK meets THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY!), and, from early trailers, this looks like quality stuff, especially with it's top drawer cast. But what's intriguing, and will surely add extra plot story and character dimension, is the revelation that Richie is beginning to have serious mental health problems whilst all this is erupting, affecting his memory, decision making, his relationships with his family and a sudden blurring of the lines between what is real, what's happened in the past, and what lies beyond in his already dark and fractured imaginings...

Trailer: The Fear Trailer (Peter Mullan - Channel 4 ) - YouTube
The Fear - Interviews - Peter Mullan Interview - Channel 4

Well supported by Richard E. Grant as one of Richie's old nemeses whom he turns to for medical advice, and Anastasia Hille as his bitter ex-wife with a secret, Mullan's performance will surely win further kudos. With its heavy violence and epic, cinematically glossy storytelling, mixed with the personal and affecting tragedy of dementia, THE FEAR looks set to bolster CHANNEL 4's reputation for unique drama just that little bit more, ready to lead viewers into Christmas with a darkly disconcerting, unsettling, paranoid and delusional bang!

THE POLICY OF POWER. INTO THE 'SECRET STATE'

Amidst the horror of an industrial explosion, Gabriel Byrne begins his quest to find the truth in the new thriller SECRET STATE. Image: CHANNEL 4.

Making a welcome, and long overdue, return to US shores after his two season critical success in HBO's psychiatry drama IN TREATMENT, Gabriel Byrne re-enters the political thriller genre with CHANNEL 4's latest glossy four part mini-series starting this Wednesday night: SECRET STATE. Based around former Labour MP Chris Mullin's popular and controversial eighties political thriller A VERY BRITISH COUP (which itself was also made by FOUR into a very successful 1988 series starring another fine Irish character actor, Ray McAnally), STATE sees Byrne playing Deputy Prime Minister Tom Dawkins, a thoughtful, good intentioned man- a rare breed who would be totally out of place in real-life Parliament!- caught up in a webs of lies, murder and political/establishment intrigue after the unexpected destruction of a small town in the Teeside area, caused by an industrial accident from a powerful international petrochemical company, whose links to the world of big business, enterprise and politics reaches into the very heart of British authority. A further horrific situation sees Dawkins becoming Prime Minister, where he soon finds himself in an isolated place as he tries to unravel and expose the huge cover-up taking place around him, and stop the escalating power games of the big companies and corrupt officials who ultimately have such frightening control over the country and the world we live in. Dawkins may be the ultimate player in the game against the almost overpowering capitalist threat, but are other forces manipulating him into a scenario of which even he has no control?

With the kind of storytelling that wouldn't be out of places in today's newspaper headlines, of which it's overall story looks unlikely of having any kind of happy ending for the crusading figure of Dawkins,  the idea of a modern remake of COUP looks interesting. In my book, Byrne's previous work in the excellent eighties British thriller set in Fleet Street during the end of the Cold War, DEFENCE OF THE REALM, will take a lot to beat, but despite a rather condemning review from THE GUARDIAN newspaper, which declared SECRET STATE as glossy tosh that's totally implausible and more like an hysterical episode of SPOOKS, I'm looking forward to seeing this. At least it's one more drama series with a top draw cast (including the always good value for money Charles Dance and Gina McKee) and behind the scenes team to help shore up FOUR's often inconsistent quality output, instead of more crappy reality TV!

THE GAMES THEY PLAY... 'HOMELAND' SEASON TWO

Opposing forces: Claire Danes and Damian Lewis return for more dark drama in HOMELAND. Images: SHOWTIME.

At the end of its first stellar, critically acclaimed, award-winning season, the emotionally spiky but intuitively brilliant and determined heroine of HOMELAND, CIA agent Carrie Mathison (skillfully played by Claire Danes) was having a very bad time of things: her emotional/ sexual involvement and investigation into charismatic solider and former Iraqi prisoner of war Nicholas Brody (a powerfully complex Damian Lewis), a hot political figure on the rise within the upper echelons of American power, had now been revealed to her unhappy superiors, whilst her strong beliefs in his being a traitor to an America she's sworn her life to protect have now been deemed compromised, her once thought talents seemingly on the brink of self-destruction: her credibility as an agent blown ever wider after almost being killed in an unexpected terrorist explosion. As the walls of madness and frightening unpredictability were closing in around her, Carrie, in a closing tragic sequence never to be forgotten by viewers, had to face her personal, inner demons and a true edge of darkness as the frightening final moments of her former life seemingly disappeared with a shocking but necessary electro-convulsive shock therapy, so as to curb her aggressive and manic bipolar disorder.

A life not ordinary. Claire Danes as CIA agent Carrie Mathison.

Vote Brody! Soldier turned politician Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) has never been more dangerous.

Meanwhile, Brody, having critically removed Mathison from the picture, has no hang-ups and problems in his life now, despite his own failed attempt to detonate a bomb in Washington, as he continues his sworn pact of dedication to both Al-Qaeda and his extremist Muslim faith conversion, aided by equally dangerous helpers/conspirators behind the scenes in American society and inadvertently by the protective outer circle of his loving but often troubled family and friends, ready to forgive and forget any further quirky occasional character and emotional fallibility's that might show through his normally calm exterior (blaming such problems on the stresses and anxieties of his previous eight years of incarceration). Brody seems invincible now, with the luck of the devil on his side, as his hidden dark side agenda, against his once US military and political paymasters for the death of the young child to his terrorist cell leader/guru Abu Nazir (a chilling Navid Negahban), stays silently true to his personal convictions despite occasional doubts, whilst his terrorist brothers enjoy their key converts rise to power: his clean cut and heroic looks as the true all-American hero poster boy, whose path to the White House centre seat looks unstoppable...

In bed with power. Brody makes his presence felt in politics and with the CIA.

Fortunately, for us and the series (surely one of the best and most innovative American shows of recent years with its high quality, silently compulsive storytelling and fine acting), Carrie isn't a quitter and will surely be back in some shape or form to trail and discover Brody's plans. Recovering from her treatment, with the protection and support of her family around her, she may thinks she's lost her abilities and edge, feeling out of her depth in handling any job within the CIA, a place of which she was once so dedicated and loved being a part of, but a critical series of events emerging from Beirut will soon put her back on the right path, awakened for action and duty alongside her old friend and mentor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) and former lover turned antagonist superior, David Estes  (David Harewood). Whether an earlier and vital clue she discovered about Brody's conversion, which Carrie was on the brink of losing from her mind in last seasons finale, will return to her consciousness is an important plot element from series creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon that must surely and intriguingly be revealed soon, as the maelstrom drama of her emotionally charged, but also chilling, opposing forces reunion between her and Brody begins anew...

Trailer: Homeland - Homeland Season 2 Trailer - YouTube

Order and chaos. The brilliant sexual chemistry between the actors/characters continues...

HOMELAND Season Two airs in the US on the SHOWTIME channel. It begins its UK run exclusively on CHANNEL 4, weekly from tonight...

Previews: 'Homeland' Season 2 Spoilers: Executive Producer On Where Carrie And Brody Will Be, Plus Obama And More

Carrie Gets Her Mojo Back and 6 More Homeland Insights - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

Check out the official FACEBOOK page: Homeland

KOOL TV WANTS ON DVD AND BLU-RAY: 'HILL STREET BLUES'

"Let's be careful out there!" The award-winning ensemble cast of the classic cop series HILL STREET BLUES. Image: FOX.

It's hard to believe, I know, but the seminal seven year running eighties cop-show created by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco, which changed the face of episodic TV forever and inspired/launched a whole new approach to the genre (tough and uncompromising, yet also showing a lot of heart and humour) and bringing us innovative multi-arc story telling (both in its scripting and visual realisation), alongside beautifully conceived and acted characters, is not properly available on DVD or Blu-ray. All those dedicated HSB fans are most likely shouting at their screens whilst reading this article that the first two seasons of the show were released on DVD in the US and later in the UK, but I'm not counting those, especially the CHANNEL 4 UK releases which were very low quality conversions at best, often from VHS tapes (the transfers containing picture noise! Something you should never get on a DVD!) which were notably cut versions of the episodes then edited down further for violence (HSB never shied away from it and always commendably presented it in a non fantastical, realistic way) so as to make the release palatable for general viewers as a 12 certificate. And, with only one of the UK season releases having any type of extras (a cast and crew reunion special and cast commentaries), it's not unfair to say that British fans of the show would be poorly served compared to what was on the US releases (extra commentaries, deleted and alternate scenes, trailers).

Season Six titles: Hill Street Blues - Season 6 Intro (1) - YouTube

Episode trailers for Seasons One and Two: Hill Street Blues - Trailers (1) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - Trailers (4) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - Trailers (5) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - Trailers (6) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - Trailers (8) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - Trailers (10) - YouTube
NBC PROMO - HILL STREET BLUES - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - A Season 4 Roll Call and Intro (Phil Esterhaus Dies) - YouTube
Hill Street Blues - The Last Scene - YouTube

Despite the differences, though, one thing was sadly consistent with HILL STREET BLUES debut on DVD, and that's the fact that, for reasons I just cannot understand, the two individual box sets failed to sell enough copies in either territory to make it commercially worthwhile for the TV companies to release further additional box sets- a real shame of a situation. With the passing of time since those mid-2000's releases, the way series are now released on home DVD and Blu-ray has thankfully changed considerably-as lots of well known older and classic titles which prior captured high esteem with critics/audiences are now being sought out for audience viewing consumption, as have selected attempts by TV companies, desperate for profits, to seek out additional special materials to accompany them.

I think the time is both right and ripe for somebody out there in Hollywood/FOX to re-evaluate the award winning HILL STREET BLUES and put it in a fully restored, complete and unedited form, entire series box set. If released with clever marketing, alongside a solid but not bank busting price tag, plus a really worthy set of extras alongside it, I think it would sell very well.

As one of America's finest and iconic ever TV series, of which shows like THE WIRE, THE SHIELD and SOUTHLAND owe it so much, it deserves no less special treatment...