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Remember Kinvig, Clone, Not With A Bang? These are the UK sci-fi sitcoms you’re unlikely to see on comedy best-of lists…

With E4 sci-fi comedy commissions, Tripped and Aliens, and in-development Channel 4 projects, Space Ark and Graham Linehan/Adam Buxton collaboration The Cloud, in the works, a new crop of sci-fi sitcom could be making its way to UK TV.

Making funny sci-fi on a small-screen budget is tough enough without the additional pressure of having to attract viewers more traditionally down-to-earth in their sitcom tastes. Sci-fi sets and effects can be seen as prohibitively expensive by comedy commissioners (which is perhaps why the best UK sci-fi sitcoms of recent years has been on BBC Radio), and the genre’s niche status doesn’t scream mainstream hit. Over the years, one or two stand-outs have managed to straddle the sci-fi and comedy TV worlds, but plenty more have stumbled in the attempt.

Legendary UK film studio Hammer didn't only dabble in films; Hammer also created thirteen one-hour shorts to be shown on television as Hammer House of Horror. These episodes aired on ITV during the fall of 1980.

I watched Witching Time to get a feel for the release as well as the series. It's a funny thing to pop in a DVD of a made-for-tv series and find the episode shows full nudity before the credits even roll, as is what happens in Witching Time. The UK has always been more open about such things than the supposed 'Land of the Free', and this was certainly true in 1980. That's not to say the nudity shown in Witching Time is overtly lascivious - it's fairly restrained, actually - but it is a reminder how lamely conservative our own "oh please, think of the children" television is.

Witching Time tells the story...

They are the Sweeney, son. And they haven’t had any dinner…Relive the most ground-breaking British police drama ever made which coincides with the big screen remake. Regan and Carter are part of New Scotland Yard’s infamous Flying Squad. Mixing with London’s seedy underworld they tackle the crimes to hard to handle for your everydaypolice officer. Remember what the fuss was all about by picking up this diamond 4-disc set which is available in High Definition for the first time now, Rrp £39.99. Seventies London has never looked this good. And neither has The Sweeney, son.

We have two copies of the Blu-ray to give away to our readers.

Check out the HD clip at:

Rough, tough and politically incorrect in the way that only the best 70s drama series can be, ‘The Sweeney’ is one of the major television successes of the last fifty years. Featuring John Thaw...

The Sweeney are back. With Nick Love’s update of the iconic 70s cop show starring Ray Winstone and Damian Lewis set for release on 12th September, fans of the original show will be able to revel in an all new High Definition re-release of the 70s classic with the 10th September release of The Complete First Series blu-ray boxset.

Those fans will be able to relive the most ground-breaking British police drama ever made for the first time in HD, ensuring that the 70s and The Sweeney have never looked this good before. This is where it all began for gritty cop dramas, and if it wasn’t for The Sweeney we undoubtedly wouldn’t have seen the likes of Life on Mars’ brilliant Gene Hunt.

Here’s the official synopsis of the boxset:

Regan and Carter are part of New Scotland Yard’s infamous Flying Squad. Mixing with...