Cert:

Cat.no: GVD 014

Running time: 120 minutes

Year: 2001

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 28

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)

Languages: English

Subtitles: None

Widescreen: 16:9

16:9-enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 5

Price: £14.99

Extras: TV Trailers

Producer/Directors :

James Breen, Tim Quicke and David O'Neill

Narrator :

Daniel Hill

Popstars is this year's Big Brother, a show which actually gets the nation talking, despite whatever Eastenders pretends to declare on an incessant, regular basis.

I missed the first episode but was glued to the series afterwards. It became like a soap opera as the band members were eventually picked and we saw what happened to them as they got to grips with stardom, culminating in the finale on Sunday March 18th 2001, when, live, Suzanne, Myleene, Kym, Noel and Danny were announced as hitting the top slot with their debut single Pure and Simple.

It was obvious that they would because these days the singles releases are carefully scheduled so that the big, or the hyped, names don't have to try too hard to get there. Their only real competition was the previous week's No.1, Westlife's dire cover of Uptown Girl which was released in aid of Comic Relief, but they eclipsed them to sell over half-a-million copies in the first week, getting the fastest-selling single in the UK and heading for the third biggest seller of all time, after Band Aid and Princess Diana's 1997 cover of the Sugarcubes album track, Motorcrash... or something like that.

I know two hours can't summarise an entire series in full that ran for countless weeks, but this DVD release (also out on video at the same time) has been marked down because it misses out the highlights since the band were revealed, bar a few moments as they get together in the house, although it is slightly compensated at the start in the first ten minutes as they, individually, talk about each other to camera. However, it means we do miss out on scenes such as their Brits performance and the time when "Nasty" Nigel Lythgoe called Dracula's daughter, Kym, fat and she told him to fuck off. I can understand, though, the need to get this DVD out quick-smart in case the popularity of the band wanes earlier than expected.

There are also highlights which feature the entrants that didn't make the final cut including the other five from the last ten which were signed up for an, as yet unnamed, band, Claire who the papers felt was ousted because her large frame wasn't in keeping with the media's desire for anoxeric teenagers, the ginger tosser who lost his shirt while living la vida loca and the loony who reckons he *will* have a triple platinum album by the time he's 35, Darius.

For those who thought the band should've been called Popstars, not Hear'Say, it was alleged that wasn't possible because it was the title of the programme itself which has been a hit around the world in the respective incarnations. Since then, The Priory's Jamie Theakston has registered the name "Popstars" for himself so not even the show can use it for a second series, although they're preparing a similar show, Pop Idol instead in the search for a solo star. Will we get Darius again?!

I know of at least one section of the public who won't have enjoyed this series: the girl-band Girl Thing. They maintain that Pure and Simple was written for them originally. They kicked off even more when their failing singles sales led to them being dumped by their record company - and that's something occuring more and more these days. If an artist, even high-profile ones like Martine McCutcheon and Simply Red, has low album and/or singles sales, they're dropped quicker than a hot potato, so how long can our latest teen-band stay at the top for?

Suzanne - my favourite ;)

As per the TV broadcasts, the presentation is in anamorphic 16:9 widescreen and it frequently utilises the full width of the frame. For such a recent show you'd expect crystal clear quality with zero artifacts and, thankfully, Granada have turned up with the goods. The average bitrate is a steady 5.56Mb/s.

Sound quality is perfectly fine as well telling the tale for all of those with perfect pitch and those who sing like a seal, although many moments are just dialogue.

There are a decent number of chapters here with 28 over the two hours. No subtitles are to be found though and the only extras are 3½ minutes of trailers (10 in total) as used on TV, starting with a main one and including individual highlights for Darius and Suzanne.

DVD high-point: Suzanne's pneumatic chest.

DVD low-point: Shameless plugging of the show's sponsors, T&T Beverages. Leave it in the broadcast, not on the DVD!

Noel, Danny, Myleene, Kym and Suzanne
audition for the Colgate advert

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.