Review of Henry`s Cat

Introduction

Another classic slice of television from the 1980s makes its way onto DVD, this time in the form of the Stan Hayward/Bob Godfrey collaboration "Henry`s Cat", so called because...well you`ll have to watch the disc to find out as all is revealed...

Once again, I`m afraid that I have to trot out that lazy cliche "that they don`t make them like they used to."

Video

Like the other 1970s and 1980s childrens TV releases, the picture is not the greatest in the world, featuring a fair amount of dirt on the print, and various changes of brightness at odd moments.

But its probably as good as the day it was first broadcast as most of these shows were pretty low budget. The quality of the visuals isn`t of the utmost importance though, as it`s the programme itself that really matters.

Audio

No big Hollywood soundtrack and so no surround sound encoding here, just a stereo track, which is the original mono replayed over both channels.

Some of the episodes sound remarkably clear, but one or two do sound rather muddy and muffled. You can still hear everything, it`s just not always as clear as it could be.

And you might think that the characters were voiced by Jonathan Ross, but this was before his time, and they were in fact voiced by Bob Godfrey.

Features

As well as classic episodes there are even some extra features.

There`s a Quiz which tests your knowledge of the show, and which might just lead you to a hidden "Secret Episode".

You can also read the story of how Henry`s Cat got his name (quite amusing), and also read about all of the characters (some of the descriptions are hilarious.

There is also the Miow Game, which teaches you how to draw Henry`s Cat!

Nice to see a little effort even on a budget disc.

Conclusion

A total classic and a very good DVD. The video isn`t brilliant, and the sound ranges from good to not so good. But the content is still great all these years on.

As with many other shows of the era, there are also quite a few jokes for grown ups in here, which will have sailed over your head first time round.

Highly recommended for classic TV lovers and nostalgic twenty- and thirty-somethings everywhere.