Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

The format is, of course, firmly established from the off. A variety of entrepreneurs get a chance to pitch their business idea to a panel of five potential investors. The problem, of course, is that these five potential investors take a lot of convincing to part with their cash, and aren’t shy of driving a very hard bargain.

For this first season of Dragons’ Den, the panel of five dragons featured Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Simon Woodroffe, Peter Jones and Doug Richard, and they prove to be a suitably hard group to impress. Pitches include umbrella vending machines, a magazine, a device to stop tables wobbling and a whole host more, and it’s a fascinating process to watch in action.

Frequently, even now, causing you to hurl advice at the television yourself, the first season of Dragons’s Den is very strong television, even if you end up convincing yourself that you’d be mad to sell your idea to these people. The six episodes in this set provide plenty of reward for your own investment, and are easily the safest way to enjoy the wrath of the dragons... --Simon Brew

Average Customer Rating:

GREAT, but where are all the other series?

Customer Rating:

Great i love the dragons den i never miss it on tv and i have never stoped watching the dvd. It's a great thing having it on dvd if your a fan it's perfected because it saves you looking for the repeat shows on Dave, BBC3 and BBC4. The DvD has no special features and no behind the scences stuff, which is another bonues for me because i don't like that they just put all that stuff in to get more money out of you, it just plays 3 episodes back to back although you can choose which order you play them in.

A great show, shame there's no subtitles though!

Customer Rating:

"Dragons' Den" is one of the few shows that I actually watch on TV nowadays & is always interesting to see what inventions the budding entrepreneurs have come up with & how bizarre some of them are! The 5 Dragons' are also quite entertaining, especially when they come face-to-face with an arrogant inventor, who doesn't take kindly to criticism of their creation! Anyway, it's a really good show, which I only got into during Series 3, so the DVD release of both Series 1 & 2 are very welcome, as it gives me a chance to finally see them in their 'proper' original hour-long episodes format, rather than the cut-up & messed about half-hour versions that the 'Dave' channel (on Sky & cable) always seem to show! The only complaints are is the total lack of any extras, as there are er... none! They could've had a commentary by the show's presenter, Evan Davis & maybe some or all of the Dragons, or a documentary about the show for example. Also, the "Where Are They Now?" follow-up episode about the first 2 seasons would've been good to have had as an extra too. However, the booklet included with this DVD is nice though! The biggest shame is that there are sadly no subtitles on this DVD, which is a real shame, as when the series was originally broadcast on BBC2, it did have them! This is a shame for any deaf or hard of hearing viewers, aswell as some of us who just like to watch a show with the subs on, incase we can't understand what is being said at the time etc. Series 2 doesn't have subtitles either, but hopefully if/when they ever release Series 3, they'll have subs on them! Still, aside from those minor quibbles, this is a worthwhile purchase if you're already a fan of the show! Even if you're not, give it a go, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!...

Great series but no extra features

Customer Rating:

It's fascinating to revisit the early expeditions into the den in light of how it has developed & with the hindsight to see how few of the products & services have hit the big-time. Stalwarts PJ & Duncan (Peter Jones & Duncan Bannatyne) are the only 2 dragons from the the 1st series to remain in the current lineup & were as ready to rumble then as they are now. It's enjoyable to watch the dragons posture with each other - Rachel Elnaugh & Simon Woodroffe seem particularly at odds with the others, demonstrating that there's no magic formula in business. Comparing the contestants in series 1 with those in the current series is like comparing the first-round entrants in X-Factor to those who make it to boot-camp. Most of the first to brave the den don't seem to quite know what they're in for or how good an opportunity it is - and come out brutally savaged. But there's still gold to be panned among the silt & whether the ideas are bad or good, with pitches as varied as a personal flying machine, a hammock to replace the household sofa, a gadget to stop tables wobbling & an 'organic' supermarket where not all the products will be organic... Disappointingly, the 'extras' are restricted to a booklet containing profiles on the dragons. This is surprising since the Dragons' Den website is packed with video profiles & interviews of the dragons & presenter Evan Davis - not to mention behind-the-scenes footage & mickey-taking sketches from Dead Ringers & Comedy Soup. The addition of just some of these would have made this package considerably more engaging. However, it's still an interesting & informative series which will hopefully inspire a whole new generation of entrepreneurs - and better that than a new generation of X-Factor hopefuls!