A selection of episodes from the Thames era of the young adult drama series.
Network has already provided Dramarama: Spooky, which collected together many of the entries into the series that had a genre connection, but a few slipped through the gaps, and are included as part of this collection.
Like its predecessor, this two-disc set features its fair share of ham acting, low production values and 1980s hair cuts and music, all of which might put you off, but actually contribute to the nostalgic feel. Of the genre stories, only Mr Stabs was created especially for Dramarama, and even then it features David Jason playing a character from Ace of Wands originally created by Russell Hunter (Lonely from Callan). It’s a low budget Harry Potter, but focusing purely on the bad guys, it’s an enjoyable half hour of hokum.
The other genre entry is Mr Magus is Waiting For You that gets included in this set as an extra, alongside School for Clowns, since it was rebroadcast under the Dramarama banner. Based on the book by Gene Kemp, it’s quite scary, with Geoffrey Whitehead coming across as a combination of the Wicked Witch and an evil version of the Professor from the Narnia stories.
Verdict: Both are worth a look, and there are some enjoyable other tales within the eight non-genre episodes. 6/10
Paul Simpson
Network DVD, out now
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