Advantages: damn good laugh
Disadvantages: not on as often as Coronation Street

...The only thing I would change about this program is the appearance of Vonda Shepherd, the songstress. It's not that she is a singer, it's just that I feel her interjections lend a trite air to the performance. Otherwise I rate this show very highly. Ally is my favourite character after Elaine. Is her surname 'Vassal' a joke because she is a PA? Anyway, apart from the fact that she dances exceedingly well and looks even better she is a scream. All of those wacky inventions, like the head bra and the inappropriate comments. Her most endearing aspect though is her constant eavesdropping, much to the chagrin of the eponymous heroine. The love of Ally's life, Billy, passed away after having gone slightly do-lally as the result of a brain tumour. Which was a great pity I thought as his character had been improving dramatically. He began... Read review

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Advantages: educational, nice friend for little girl
Disadvantages: she goes on and on and on.....

...I've seen Amazing Ally advertised a lot, but her RRP is £70. I think this is extortionate for a doll so was pleased to find her for just £25 on one of Tv's selling channels. Since I bought her, I've found her in several toyshops for £24.99. Amazing Ally is an inter-active doll, designed to be the childs best friend. You have to program in your childs birthday, favourite colour, animal, holiday as well as the current time and date. This information is stored in the doll unless you switch her off or her batteries run out. She'll count down to your childs birthday, telling them they must be very excited from about three months before the date. When Ally's batteries are running down, she'll ask you to change them and specify which ones have run out. She takes 3 AA batteries and 3 AAA batteries. They do last a long time though... Read review

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Advantages: Light hearted fun
Disadvantages: Realistic?

...The Past, the Present and the Loud, Loud Girl (Ally's World) (Paperback) RRP 4.99 Meet the dysfunctional Love family: Father Love who's cool and caring, perfect Linn who hates the home because of its messiness and clutter, away with the fairies Rowan who never wears anything that matches and sleeps in a room full of fairy lights, cute, loveable and animal-obsessed Tor - and Ally, who is trying to have a normal life somewhere in the middle of it all. Which is not easy for Ally, as her house is like an animal hospital, courtesy of Tor and a DIY disaster. They all live together in a run down house in Crouch End. They live with 2 dogs, 5 cats, stick insects, gerbils, hamsters and other strays that Tor makes them take in. This book revolves around her time at school, her forgetting about a history project and having to deal with the new... Read review

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Advantages: perfect for younger babies
Disadvantages: none

...Allie the Cat is a VIP in our household. Made by Lamaze, this little cat has a huge personality and has certainly made a big hit with our daughter who is now 5 months old. We purchased Allie from Kiddicare in Peterborough (www.kiddicare.com) - normally priced at around £10, we paid £4.99 at the time of purchase (May 2005). Allie is very brightly coloured, which is what probably appeals to our daughter. Allie is also just about the perfect size for her to hug and hold and pull around (approximately 8 inches in height). Everything these days seem to end up in her mouth and Allie is no exception. I have found this toy to be very robust and very well made, considering it is chomped, chewed, sicked on and pulled around on a daily basis - easy to wipe clean too. To give you a run down on Allie: all four paws are made of a cloth... Read review

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Advantages: Rob Downey Jnr, Funny Scenes.
Disadvantages: Rob Downey Jnr getting kicked off the show.

...This is the best Ally McBeal season by far, I think the actors and the crew have finally worked out what goes, and how far they can push things. They're made Ally more naurotic in this season, and her 'fantasies' are much more funnier. But the thing for me that makes this season what it is, is the gorgeous bad boy Robert Downey Jnr. His portrayale as Larry Paul, a person Ally mistakes for a therapist even though he's a lawyer and then falls deeply in love with is fantastic. In every role I've ever seen him in, he's so smart and this shines through in Ally McBeal. He becomes a proper regular in episode 4 of the season, where he takes Ally's case when she's been sued. She's in the middle of dating two men, who are father and son (only Ally McBeal could pull that off) and he's dating her co-worker Nelle. My favourite episodes... Read review

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Advantages: Characters, Storylines
Disadvantages: Not on enough!

...ALly McBeal is probably the most original programme I have ever seen. Shows like Friends and Trigger Happy are becoming a bit samey, new dramas on the BBC are generally shocking, but Ally keeps coming up trumps. I have been watching the new series on E4, and I absolutely love it. Considering the rather limited scope for the series - how many stories can you come up with about a law firm and its goings on? - the range and content of the stories, and the amazing subtulties of the characters, and the way the whole programme manages to weave itself together leave me shaking my head is disbelief every time. Despite the show's name, there is certainly no obvious central character. The episode I watched tonight was based entirely on John and Richard, and other shows have concentrated on the affairs of John, Richard and Elaine with hardly... Read review

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Advantages: The writing
Disadvantages: Can be a bit naff

...Which T.V shw has the ability to make you laugh, Cry, think and ponder life in genaral all at the same time? The answer is Ally McBeal. Basically Ally is all about a neurotic 29 year old lawyer whose fantasis include a dancing baby and singing with Al Green! Alongside her bosses one with a remote flusher and the other obsessed with money, a secratary who invents weired things, the love of her life (may he rest in peace), the love of her lifes wife, Sub zero Nelle, her flat mate Rene and of course Ling(soft L soft G people pronounce it LinG it offends her) this show provides laughs aplenty. However in Season two the magic of David E Kelly created Angels and Blimps a show about a young boy who's dying and wants to sue God. Of course the inevitable happens and Eric dies leaving Ally and Ling bothe devistated even though Ling cries... Read review

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Advantages: Very real looking and sounding game
Disadvantages: none

...I bought Medal of Honour: Allied Assault (2 discs) for my boyfriend the very first day it came out, as he had been ranting on about it for ages. He had already played the game on the playstation and loved it so I knew it would be a good buy. I payed 34.99 for it from Electronics Boutique and up to now I dont regret the buy at all as my boyfriend has been on it every single day and enjoying every minute of it (in fact he is playing on it right this minute). First of all I will tell you the minimum system requirements as there is no point in even buying the game if your PC is too slow: *OS: Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP. *Processor: 450MHz (Intel pentium 2). *Memory: 128MB RAM. *Hard Drive: 1.2 GB. *CD-DVD: 8 Speed. *Graphics: 16MB. *3D Accelerator: OpenGL Compatible. *DirectX: Version 8.0. *Multiplayer: 1 CD per PC. *Network... Read review

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Advantages: The only advantages are that the unit-linked life assurance is useful for companies who need life cover to increase in line with inflation
Disadvantages: High premiums, high policy fees, huge commission, inflexible products and poor customer service.

...Having worked for Allied Dunbar and for an Independent Financial Adviser, I feel that I am in a position to comment objectively on the products and service offered by Allied Dunbar. Under no circumstances should anybody take out a policy with this company. The direct sales advisers are motivated purely and simply by commission and targets. The same may be said of all direct salespeople, but in this case, the incentives are massive. Advisers are offered trips to the Caribbean, Thailand and America for producing the highest figures in their region. In my own personal experience, one adviser was helped to falsely inflate his figures by his manager because managers are rewarded for branch production as well. This is what the policy charges pay for. Policy charges with all Allied Dunbar products are outrageously high compared... Read review

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Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Competence of people that pack your goods is abysmal

...My husband & I have just moved from Australia to the U.S & used Allied Pickford. We had just been married six months prior & had substantial delicate wedding gifts. We chose Allied even though it was more expensive as we wrongly believed they would be the most capable in moving our things. We couldn't have been more wrong. The way they packed our items was shocking, to the point, where the Allied unpackers in the U.S asked us whether we had our packed the things ourselves because they had never seen items packed so terribly. We had a very expensive fine bone china dinner set which they put in a box with only paper around the outside. The plates were not individually wrapped so no surprises that they were all smashed. The most shockingly packed box was the one where they couldn't even be bothered wrapping our wine glasses & just laid them... Read review

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