Today we're going to review the DVD uses of cabbages.

The cabbage is not much use when one is engaged in the activity of viewing a DVD, not only does the cabbage not have a viewing screen but it also does not have a sliding tray for the insertion of the DVD disc. Even if it did have both of these features it would also be greatly let down by the lack of a power lead and absolutely no speakers.

But the cabbage does have some advantages over a traditional DVD player in that it is quite edible. So I have to conclude that it's a pretty good choice, while you might not get to watch your favourite show on it you can cook it along with some meat and other veg then eat it.

6/10 for the cabbage then.

Unless you've been living under one of the few rocks without television for the last forty odd years you should already be aware of Tony M. Nyphot's Flying Risccu (That's Monty Python's Flying Circus to you), the undisputed king of zany, madcap sketch show humour.

This is the smaller version of the Monster Boxed Set that was released earlier and it contains almost all of the same stuff, it's just missing the T-Shirt, the inflatable parrot (he's sleeping) and the Monty Python's Personal Best Sampler disc. So in essence this is everything you could want as long as you're not an utterly devoted fan with the collectors bug.

Contained within the box is all four series of the show, the special editions of 'Life of Brian', 'The Holy Grail' and 'The Meaning of Life' plus ordinary versions of 'And Now For Something Completely Different' and 'Monty Python Live at the Hollywood bowl'. The first three of these (Brian, Grail, Life) are just fantastic movies that should be watched by everyone, the other two are filled with material that will entertain the fan and the lover of comedy alike. I really don't know what else to say about this show that other people haven't already said. I know!

It's complete and utter rubbish and rips off all it's jokes direct from Little Britain!

No, I don't actually mean that, in fact the opposite has happened (Little Britain USA ripped off the mosquito hunters sketch a few weeks back). Monty Python is just perfect and almost timeless comedy, if you love it you already know the lines and if you don't then you're a very naughty boy.



Packaging:
The set is well packaged in a familiar style which is simple but very Monty Python in it's style. Inside the large external box comes three fold out books with holders for two discs per 'page'. The plastic holders are pretty decent, they're the clip kind that always feels a little scary while you push the DVD back in place (I prefer the soft plastic push kind) but they hold the discs snug and safe. Each of the fold out books is unfortunately identical to the others, no attempt has been made to give us three different holders personalised for the discs inside and that's a shame. But it's also the only real complaint I have about the sets appearance. The 16 Ton Monster Boxed set is more attractive, but this one is far, far more practical as it's the same height and depth as a standard DVD case. Meaning it fits on your shelf just fine.

Extras:
While the set isn't exactly packed with extras it does include a few. Specifically each of the three big films is the special edition version and as such it comes with a huge selection of special features both on the original disc and on an extra one.

But the original series discs do not have any special features what so ever, this is hardly surprising considering the age of the show.

Price:
This set is currently available both online and in store at £39.99 from Zavvi. This is 2.34ppm, which is in the upper bracket for British TV and is a very decent score.

Details:
Region: 2
Format: PAL
Number of Discs: 15
Subtitles: English Hard of Hearing (Plus additional for other languages on some discs - it varies)
Aspect Ratio: Varies 1.33:1 for the series, between 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 for the Movies.
Runtime: 27h 28 mins plus extras
Sound: Varies, Mono for all except Grail, Brian and Life which are 5.1 Surround.

It is worth noting that this set has not been digitally remastered, so the resolution isn't that impressive.

The true fan(atic) will probably want to get the 16 Ton Mega Set version of this, but this is the better value for money version in my eyes. It's very practical and contains all the material you'd ever want to watch plus more. The price right now is a great one and it's unlikely to go any lower first hand so it's well worth picking up. The only reason to hold off would be if you wanted a higher definition version and were willing to wait just in case the series was remastered and re-released with high def. But who knows when or even if that will happen.