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Category:    Home > Reviews > Mystery > Drama > Murder > Detective > Crime > France > Relationships > Britain > Legal > Racism > The Accident (2006 - 2007)/Ackley Bridge: Series One (2017)/Dear Murderer: Series 1 (2017)/Detectorists: Series 3 (2017)/East West 101: Series 2 (2009)/MidSomer Murders: County Case Files (2018 compil

The Accident (2006 - 2007)/Ackley Bridge: Series One (2017)/Dear Murderer: Series 1 (2017)/Detectorists: Series 3 (2017)/East West 101: Series 2 (2009)/MidSomer Murders: County Case Files (2018 compilation/all RLJ/Acorn DVD Sets)



Picture: B/B-/B/B-/B-/B- Sound: B/B-/B/B-/B-/B- Extras: D/C+/D/C+/C/B- Episodes: C+/B/B/C+/C+/C+



With so much junk on cable/satellite, good shows are not being picked up like they should and many happen to come from the U.K., Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia. Fortunately, Acorn Media is putting them out on DVD in the U.S. ands here's the latest sets intelligent viewers looking for more might be interested in...



Bruno Solo stars in the French mystery The Accident (or L'Accident - 2016/2017) a show that's sure to pull at your heartstrings AND make you scratch your head. Centering around a brutal car accident in a French beach town, a man's wife falls victim under his unusual circumstance. While autopsy reports suggested that she was drunk, her husband Gabriel Cauvy (Bruno Solo of Blood on the Docks) is convinced there's more to story as she never drank. Soon, everyone close to her becomes a potential suspect... in this small town where carnage seems to be a more regular occurrence.


The show consists of six episodes, all of which are presented here in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The presentation is compressed yet up to DVD standards and is pretty cinematic despite its television feel.


No extras.


While it has an interesting premise and decent acting, sometimes the pacing seems to drag and some plot points a little predictable. Still, there's a lot of interesting stuff here that makes it worth checking out.



Ackley Bridge (2017) is an interesting look at diversity from the creators of Shameless and takes place within a small school district. Engaging, funny, and socially relevant, this show will appeal to just about anybody that's faced these sorts of criticisms upon race or religion.


Consisting of six episodes, this mini-series stars Amy-Leigh Hickman, Jo Joyner, and Paul Nicholls to name a few.


Presented on standard definition DVD with an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, the show looks and sounds up to par on DVD but isn’t anything particularly mind blowing. The British drama has a very professional sounding mix and no real issues, aside from obvious compression that comes with the format.


Special Features...


Behind the Scenes Featurette (46 min)



Dear Murderer (2017) also lands on disc and stars Mark Mitchinson (The Hobbit) as New Zealand's most controversial lawyer Mike Bungay and is based on true events. If you're into procedural courtroom dramas and murder mysteries (as the title blatantly suggests) than this foreign thriller may be up your alley. The show is smartly written with great performances and events that are shocking to think really happened.


This first season consists of five episodes which include A Good Toss To Lose, I Spy, Dog Days, Family Matters, and Three's a Crowd.


The show also stars Beth Allen, Mark Mitchinson, Rowan Bettljeman, Katy Beasley and Ella Becroft.


Presented in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, the show looks and sounds pretty good for DVD, but not as good as HD obviously. The show is nicely shot and lit with vivid colors that give the show a stylish feel that isn't completely naturalistic.


No Extras.



Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Toby Jones (Captain America, Witness for the Prosecution) team up for the third season of the BAFTA award winning series, Detectorists. The two men are on a search across the Essex countryside for gold while dealing with their stressful personal lives that are often a cause for laughter. Competing with the construction of a solar farm, a mother-in law, and a demanding daughter, the two men end up in one hilarious situation after another resulting in a British comedy that's definitely worth checking out.


6 Episodes span two DVD discs in this release and are presented in standard definition DVD with an anamorphically enhanced widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a 2.0 stereo mix, the show looks and sounds fine on the aging format, but is nothing to particularly write home about. The best feature is that there are no commercials!


Special Features:


Cast Interviews


BTS Featurette



East West 101 is a heavy hitting drama that is political and dramatic. If you haven't checked it out yet and like shows like The Americans, then this may be for you. This season revolves around Detective Zane Malik (Don Hany, Serangoon Road) who is a Muslim man fighting stereotypes in post-9/11 Australia. As his community fears Islamic extremists following a Sydney suburb car bomb, Malik launches his own investigation that brings him face to face with a suspected arms-dealer. Of course, things get a bit hairy from here and Malik must protect not only himself but his family and friends as well.


Series 2 stars Don Hany (Underbelly, Serangoon Road), Susie Porter (Janet King), Gerald Lepkowski (Silent Witness), Daniela Farinacci, Renee Limm, and Aaron Fa'Aoso.


7 episodes span two standard definition DVD discs with an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a fine sounding, if lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix. The show is pretty cinematic and shot well with much of the style being more based in realism than colorful. For what it is, it looks fine here.


Special Features...


43 min BTS Featurette



Though many previous episodes/sets of this British murder mystery are posted elsewhere on this site, here's yet more of MidSomer Murders.


One of the longest running British TV shows of all time, MidSomer Murders lands on disc (yet again) in this collection of some of the series' big highlight episodes. While some mysteries are a bit more engaging than others, there's no denying that there's an impressive amount of material here and some of the series' highlights.


Each episode highlights a unique murder set against England's most murderous county... which makes you wonder why people live there to begin with! Cleverly written for the kind of show it is, MidSomer Murders may attract you if you're a fan of murder shows or procedural cop dramas.


The mysteries in this set include:


The Christmas Haunting

Let Us Prey

Wild Harvest

The Flying Club

The Killings of Copenhagen

The Dagger Club

Murder By Magic

The Salad of Midsomer County

A Vintage Murder

Habeas Corpus

The Incident at Cooper Hill

Breaking the Chain

A Dying Art

Saints and Sinners

Harvest of Souls


The episodes were released previously in Set 25 and Series 16, 17, and 18.


Presented on standard definition DVD with anamorphically enhanced widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, the show looks and sounds up to standards on DVD with natural looking colors and tones that capture the foreign territory nicely. The show is well shot and produced and this set features a staggering 23 hours worth of material.


Special Features...


Behind the Scenes Featurettes


Celebrating 100 Episodes


An Interview with Gwilym Lee


Features about the Actors


Murder by Magic


Photo Galleries



- James Lockhart

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