Van Der Valk Mysteries – Set Two (1973) + Jennie:
Lady Randolph Churchill (1974/Acorn DVD Sets)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B-
Our
coverage of classic British TV continues with a pair of interesting releases
that connect with earlier coverage. We
covered the first episodes of Barry Foster in the Van Der Valk Mysteries at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9067/Van+Der+Valk+Mysteries+%E2%80%9
We also
covered the mini-series Jennie: Lady
Randolph Churchill in a U.K.
import edition when we were not certain anyone in the U.S. would
issue it:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8851/Jennie:+Lady+Randolph+Churchill+(19
It is
virtually the same edition as the Network U.K. Region 2 DVD import, down to the
transfers and likely the masters used, but Acorn has included text on Remick,
Cast Filmographies and a history of Blenheim
Palace.
Set 2/Series 2 of Van Der Valk
Mysteries is a good as the first, sporting seven episodes this time,
including:
1) A Death By Sea (Patrick Allen, Joanna
Dunham) – A man drunken on the beach is found in his Porsche 916 with a dead
body.
2) A Man Of No Importance (Ian Fairbairn,
Karin Fernald, Patricia Lawrence) – A man presumed dead resurfaces on a ship,
but is he a phony or is something more bizarre at play?
3) A Rose For Mr. Reinhart (Arne Gordon,
Paul Hastings) – Is a young woman being threatened by a common voyeur harasser
or is it someone with money and power playing games?
4) A Dangerous Point Of View (Lois Baxter,
Roy Evans, Pamela Duncan, Leon Vitali) – A private detective is killed in an
apartment while on surveillance for two weeks, but no one seems to know how or
why or what he was watching.
5) Season Of Love (Shane Briant, John
Bailey, Ronald Leigh-Hunt) – An older woman/younger man cross-continental
relationship takes a bizarre twist when the man disappears and the woman may be
a fatal target.
6) Rich Man, Poor Man (Christopher
Benjamin, Rod Beacham) – When a tractor factory blows up and a poor immigrant
barber is beaten to death in a place he could never afford, Van Der Valk stars
to find an odd connection that might give him some hard answers.
7) The Rainbow Ends Here (Margaret
Ashcroft, Donald Burton, Jim Norton, Lalla Ward) – A teen girl involved in an
adulterous relationship with an older man is snatched, why is her rich brother
more trusting of the kidnappers than Valk?
The 1.33 X 1 image and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono are
of the same dated quality as the previous set.
Extras repeat the text on creator Freeling and adds text on Foster.
- Nicholas Sheffo
