Why We're Here

A personal message from the founder of Replay

Imagine that one day you had the bright idea to try and release a DVD of a series that you love, but you have no experience whatsoever in this field, nor do you have any real idea of what's involved. Most people would consider you to be a hopeless dreamer or possibly just plain crazy. Even so, you feel so passionately about doing this to help your fellow fans that you decide to give it a go anyway. Well, that is precisely what happened with myself and Joking Apart. It's been far from easy, but against the odds, it's now a reality. I still find it amazing that it required such an extraordinary effort for this show to be finally available to all those who have wanted it for so long.

With over twenty years experience in television and a keen understanding of computers, I knew that the technical side of producing a DVD would not be a problem....But, as I now know, that's only a tiny part of the battle in making a DVD available to the public. The Joking Apart Series One release was the culmination of twenty months of hard work and a substantial personal investment. It truly was a labour of love. As a huge fan of the show, I was determined that it had to be absolutely perfect and I'm more than happy with the result.

For those of you who would like to know the full story behind our first release, click here for a superb article by journalist Graham Kibble-White.

In December 2008 we released our third title in the shape of Chalk, which, like Joking Apart, is another fantastic comedy from the pen of the talented Steven Moffat, the new chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who.

Chalk represents something of a landmark for me since it is the first release from Replay that is a direct result of suggestions from our customers, and that makes it particularly satisfying because when I started out on this project, I never envisaged doing anything beyond Joking Apart. Although it didn't take me long to realise that would be a real waste of all the knowledge I've needed to acquire, without doubt the best possible reason to carry on is that I'm well aware our first two DVDs have made a lot of people extremely happy. Some of the delightful messages I have received are proof of that.

I will confess that the period immediately after the release of Chalk Series One was an extremely challenging one. As a result of the recession, many people were reluctant to spend on anything other than essentials, a situation excerbated by crazy price increases on fuel and utility bills. When even the likes of the mighty HMV foundered, it's not surprising that a small concern like Replay was similarly affected. The problems were compounded by the increasing popularity of downloads, a not insignificant issue for a company which had invested in stock of physical media. I had dearly hoped to continue what I started - a range of DVDs produced by a fan, for the fans - but with a heavy heart I have to announce that Chalk will be our final offering and the website will only be maintained until we no longer have any stock of any of our releases or until people stop buying.

In the meanwhile, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported Replay and hope that I managed to put a smile on a great number of faces in return.

CRAIG ROBINS

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