Star Trek Discovery on VHS!

There was that huge curved ball that CBS/Paramount bowled late last year when they removed Star Trek Discovery from Netflix just days before it was due to premiere. The press release was a classic example of working to the rules of positivity when a more empathic approach was needed for an action that affected every fan who didn't live in North America. The bottom line was "No more new Star Trek until your country gets Paramount+ as a streaming service. 

To say it created a storm of protest is an understatement and no doubt, had this been the late 60s, a harsh letter writing campaign would no doubt result in the company's postal room being snowed under for several weeks.

But this isn't the 1960s. It's the space year 2022 and there are solutions to these sort of problems and these solutions can be sorted out immediately.

Star Trek Discovery was quickly transferred to the CBS owned zombie streaming service PlutoTV where it "airs" for free at 9pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. It means everyone can see the episodes for free. Not at a time of their choosing admittedly but isn't that what TV was like in the 60s.

And there we are... back to the 60s again. Who knows, we might even get a revamp of the original 60s pilot episode to emphasise the comparison further?

This is all a roundabout way to present these two retro VHS covers I did. Back to the 90s though when we had to watch Star Trek The Next Generation et al on a two episode a month basis through the magic of VHS. It cost £9.99 a month too and took up yards of shelf space by the seventh season... Ah, the nostalgic memories... We never had it so good... did we???

If you like these anachronistic pieces of retro fluff, then you can show you appreciation of the artist by slipping him a coffee via his Ko-fi page. The link is here.

Beyond Vision Dalek Serials

Way back in the 'Before Times', there was a VHS label called 'Beyond Vision'. It was actually an encompassing brand name for Warner Home Video's Sci-fi titles. There was a trailer on each video extolling the virtues of the line. Titles included 'Blade Runner', 'Highlander', some of the Doug Mclure fantasy films of the 70s and a rather nice widescreen transfer of 'Forbidden Planet' with a stereo soundtrack. They also lumped in their episodic releases of 'Babylon 5' which actually ran longer that the label itself. 

In amongst these titles were the two Aaru 'Doctor Who' movies from the 60s. Both were nicely remastered in widescreen - unlike the previous VHS releases. 

I was quite taken at the time with the design of the artwork - grey metallic background, formal lettering and a typically 90s sci-fi logo of a glowy bald guy staring at a framework globe. It had a formal look but seemed to suggest it was taking the product range seriously for a change. 

I've recreated that branding for two new video covers that juxtapose the original movie design with ones for the original TV episodes. There's a few gags in there but I'm quite pleased with the authenticity of the designs. I even made an authentic 'Dalek Invasion of Earth' saucer in Photoshop. 

If you've enjoyed this or indeed any of the hundreds of posts I've shared, then you might like to consider buying me a coffee. You can do this via my Ko-fi page. The link is here.

Season 20 Now on VHS - Complete and Edited!

I done season twenty of Doctor Who.

If you liked this post (or indeed, any of the 400 odd others I've done over the years), why not buy me a coffee at my Ko-fi profile. The link is here.

The Complete Doctor Who Series One on VHS... as well!

Well, the Doctor Who season nineteen video covers seem to go down well...

So here's series one... using a variant of the 'Black Sheep' template. 

(Apologies for not using smoke and vortexes as often as they did back then, but I did get a little bored and wanted to give them a bit more distinctiveness.)

If you liked this post (or indeed, any of the 400 odd others I've done over the years), why not buy me a coffee at my Ko-fi profile. The link is here.

The Complete Doctor Who Season 19 Box Set... on VHS!

It's only a few months until the nineteenth season of Doctor Who makes its debut on shiny new Blu ray discs. 

Here's a version for the more budget conscious fan with too much spare shelf space... and a yearning for 80s tech nostalgia.

 

If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to consider buying me a Ko-fi. You can do that by following this link. Thanks.

 

Doctor Who VHSs are back! Live the dream..!!!

Back in the 80s, there was something wonderfully hi-tec and modern about having row upon row of chunky plastic videotape boxes weighing down shelves that were really meant for the odd china ornament or decorative ashtray. You could read their spines from your armchair without having to get up and put put your reading glasses on.

Now you can do it all over again with the purely decorative Doctor Who video boxes based on the current series. 

All you need is an extra room to house the complete collection! 

Every episode from Rose to Hell Bent. Complete and nostalgically bulky...

Doctor Who Series One - Soon To Be Available On BBC Video

This is an old chestnut. New Doctor Who on VHS. 

One of my earliest posts suggested that the BBC forgot to disband their BBCVideo department in the early 2000s and that it was still bubbling away, waiting for something to release. That came with the new series of Doctor Who in 2005 - after all, it was one of their highest earning series. 

I only did a handful of front covers but recently I was sorting through an old box of VHSs when I came across the video of "Daleks - The Early Years". Inside the inlay was a gaudy pastel coloured ad for other titles in the range. 

I couldn't really resist going back to the new series VHS range and producing this...



The following are full size versions of the artwork which you can right-click on to save. If you print them out back-to-back and cut the sheet down to size, it can be inserted into a clear amaray VHS case. You can then place it on your bookshelf or coffee table to amuse friends, if you're that way inclined...

More Doctor Who VHS Branding - full covers!

Prompted by the recent articles in TV's Doctor Who Magazine which chronicle the history of the series on VHS, I've returned to some old favourites and done some 'scans' of the full covers in all of their BBC Video branding glory...