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2 entertain (more formally, the 2 entertain Group) is a leading British video and music producer and distributor. It is the parent of 2 entertain Video, which in turn was created by the merger of VCI Video and BBC Video. As part of the terms of the merger, BBC Worldwide — BBC Video's parent — achieved a controlling stake in 2 entertain Video, and BBC Video nominally retained its corporate identity as a division within 2 entertain Video.
Since 2004, 2 entertain Video have released Doctor Who, Torchwood, K-9 and Company, and The Sarah Jane Adventures DVDs worldwide. These DVDs have been supplemented by original documentaries commissioned and produced by the larger 2 entertain Group.
Overview
(Deeper explanation of the lead)
BBC Video
BBC Video began its life as division of BBC Enterprises, the forerunner to BBC Worldwide. It was tasked with releasing Doctor Who onto home video cassette. Fans attending the 1983 Longleat convention were polled to determine the first title to be released. The Tomb of the Cybermen topped the poll, but, as that story would not be recovered till 1992, BBC Video elected to release another Cybermen adventure instead. Thus, Revenge of the Cybermen became the first Doctor Who adventure released to home video.
While The Five Doctors had an illustrated cover, the releases up to and including 1989 were primarily photographic in nature. During the 1980s the stories released were also edited into a movie-length format, and sometimes contained other minor cuts. For instance, until the late 1990s, the early William Hartnell stories would also be edited to remove the 'Next Episode' captions that led into the next story. Carnival of Monsters was accidentally released with the 1981 edit instead of the unedited 1973 version and the episodic version of Death to the Daleks released in 1995 was also slightly edited. These edits prompted complaints from fans.
BBC Video ceased its VHS releases of Doctor Who in 2003, by which time the series' release to DVD had been underway for four years. In total, the division had spent 20 years releasing Doctor Who on VHS.
BBC DVD
"BBC DVD"' has been the brand identity seen on BBC Video DVDs released in Region 2 since the 2004 creation of 2 entertain Video. The first DVD to receive this branding was The Visitation. Prior to this release, the BBC's Region 2 DVDs went out under a simple BBC logo. The mark has never been used on Region 1 or Region 4 DVDs.
Production
Restoration
(explanation of how they're continuing BBC Video's relationship with the Restoration Team)
New material
(explanation of their role in commissioning and producing new material for DVD releases)
Releases
VHS
- See main article: List of BBC VHS releases
DVD
- See main article: List of BBC DVD releases