The Tony Hancock Collection [Import anglais]

The label ‘comedy legend’ is, sadly, banded about with frequent abandon now, often rewarding those whose body of work hasn’t yet earned such words (if at all). Yet there’s little doubting the pedigree of Tony Hancock, one of Britain’s greatest comedy talents. And there’s no better place to enjoy his work than in The Tony Hancock BBC Collection.

The set brings together a goldmine of Hancock’s television work, with the 37 episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour still in existence brought together. 17, sadly, are seemingly lost forever, although PDF files of the scripts of these episodes are included in the box, which proves to be a very welcome inclusion.

When it comes to the surviving content itself, though, what else can be said? Some of the material here is simply peerless, a splendid marriage of its superb leading star, blistering writing from Galton and Simpson, and a supporting cast that includes the likes of Sid James and Hattie Jacques. Backed up with fresh supplemental material, Hancock’s Half Hour is a British comedy iconic, and there’s plenty of evidence why in this set.

It should be stated that The Tony Hancock BBC Collection has little extra to entice those who have bought all the previously released Hancock DVDs. But for those with just a handful of those, or looking to start their collection, then this set is simply superb. A treat for fans of classic comedy young and old. --Simon Brew