Savoring Kuralt’s ‘On the Road’ and Other Classics

Video shelves are brimming this week with such goodies as a documentary tribute to Charles Kuralt, three classic British TV series, the first Oscar-winning short from the creator of “Wallace and Gromit” and a retrospective of a legendary ‘60s rock band, the Doors.

“A Tribute to Charles Kuralt” (CBS Video, $15) is a warm, heartfelt celebration and remembrance of the longtime journalist who died in July at age 62.

The documentary originally aired on “CBS News’ Sunday Morning,” which Kuralt hosted for many years, and features excerpts from Kuralt’s journeys from “On the Road With Charles Kuralt,” archival footage from his early days as a CBS News correspondent and interviews with Kuralt. “A Tribute to Charles Kuralt” is hosted by Charles Osgood, current anchor of “CBS News’ Sunday Morning.”

New from BBC Video is Dennis Potter’s masterpiece “The Singing Detective” ($100). The literate, innovative, award-winning six-part series, which aired on PBS in 1988, stars the perfectly cast Michael Gambon as P.E. Marlow, a writer of pulp detective fiction. Marlow is in the hospital suffering from a painful skin disease. In his feverish state, he tries to mentally rewrite one of his early works.

The lines of reality and fantasy are soon blurred in his mind, and he envisions himself a ‘40s gumshoe.

The late Potter also includes pop music from the ‘40s era to dramatize the characters’ inner thoughts. Potter once gave this reason for using music: “These songs are chariots; they take you somewhere. The little bounce of the music can deliver you back, or forward, into some of your finest emotions.”

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the ribald, saucy British comedy series “Are You Being Served?” BBC Video is serving up three funny holiday-themed episodes ($15): “Christmas Crackers,” “The Father Christmas Affair” and “Top Hat and Tails” on one tape.

First telecast in England more than 20 years ago, the series follows the loony antics of the eccentric store employees of the staid Grace Brothers Department Store. Repeats of the series are seen on KOCE.

For sci-fi fanatics, there’s “Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy” (BBC, $100), a three-volume set featuring the classic episodes of the long-running British cult series: “Full Circle,” “State of Decay” and “Warrior’s Gate.” Tom Baker stars as the witty interplanetary time traveler.

British animator Nick Park of Aardman Animations is best known for his delightful clay creations, the befuddled Wallace and his dutiful dog Gromit, who star in the shorts “A Grand Day Out” and the Oscar-winning “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave.”

Fox Video has just released his first Oscar-winning short, “Creature Comforts,” a witty, clever satire done documentary-style with an unseen camera crew interviewing groups of zoo animals. Subjects include an unhappy Brazilian jaguar who yearns for “space,” a brainy tortoise who reads to get away from the rest of the animals and a young hippo who admits that living conditions are rather messy. Park used real-life recordings of his interviews with students, children and visitors to the zoo as the voices of his animal creations.

Also included on the video ($15) are three more shorts from Aardman: Peter Lord’s Oscar-nominated “Adam” and “Wat’s Pig” and the truly bizarre “Not Without My Handbag.”

Fans of sexy rocker Jim Morrison and the Doors might want to check out “The Best of the Doors” (Universal, $15), a collection of greatest hits and rare interviews.

Executive-produced by the remaining members of the seminal ‘60s band--keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger--the tape features previously unavailable performance footage taken from the band’s personal archives, including a groovy black-and-white clip of the group performing “Hello, I Love You” live in Hamburg, Germany, in 1968. Also included are “Strange Days,” a new video created from rare footage; funny on-the-road clips of the band teaching Morrison how to play poker in a hotel room; and the last known filmed interview with Morrison and the Doors in 1971.