Stars: Chris Barrie, Pippa Haywood, Julia St. John, Harriet Thorpe, Michael Burns, Tim Marriot, Judy Flynn, Russell Porter, Jill Greenacre

Director: Mike Stephens

Summary: News filters through that Gordon Brittas has been killed whilst on a course in Bulgaria and the staff are both happy and relieved... Business at the centre picks up and a peaceful calm enters the building. All this changes when Gordon returns from the dead... Features every episode from the second series. 'Back From The Dead', 'Temple Of The Body', 'An Inspector Calls', 'Set In Concrete', 'Mums And Dads', 'Safety First' and 'New Generations'.

The second series of THE BRITTAS EMPIRE gets off to an auspicious start as it is reported that Gordon Brittas has been killed on a management training course in Bulgaria. Whitbury Leisure Centre is set to flourish under the staff's joint efforts, that is, until Brittas returns from the dead and wreaks havoc once again in the pool area. This 2-Disc release comprises seven episodes, originally broadcast in early 1992.

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The ultimate depiction of workplace perdition has to be Whitbury Leisure Centre in The Brittas Empire, despite the later claim of The Office to the title. And while David Brent seems all too uncomfortably real, Chris Barrie's Gordon Brittas carried the gung-ho officiousness of mediocre middle-management to its surreal conclusion. The Brittas Empire could never quite make up its mind if it was a quasi-realistic sitcom or a fantasy comedy, and it's this uneasy mixture that invites you to question whether there's anything terribly funny about unplanned single parenthood, childcare problems, assault in the workplace and women who are addicted to prescription drugs (see also Waiting for God) because of their partners' behaviour. Then, just as you're pondering all this, Brittas comes out with another mouthful of managerial psychobabble that makes you realise that only this kind of tragi-comic exaggeration is robust enough to stand up to Barrie's monstrous creation.

This second series treads a fine line between the merely bleak and the really rather nasty with exquisite precision. It opens with the news that Brittas has been killed abroad in an industrial accident, prompting his tranquillizer-addled wife to mourn him for less time than it takes her to remarry--except, of course, that Brittas is alive and well. Along the way, receptionist Carole attempts to murder Brittas with a JCB when she mistakenly thinks he's assaulted her baby, which she keeps in a cupboard under her desk.

On the DVD:The Brittas Empire, Series 2 carries all seven episodes on two discs, together with several extras including a gallery, a profile and a Brittas Management Quiz (don't ask!). --Roger Thomas

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Brittas Management Quiz, GMTV Interview, Weblinks, Star Profile, Stills Gallery
Year:	1992
Release Date:	October 20, 2003
Runtime:	203 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E K A 50012
Keywords:	Comedy, Two, General, Series, Empire, Tv, Complete, Discs, Brittas
Genre:	Comedy