Thick As Thieves (British TV)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C+
Some comedy shows either work or don’t, and some of them
have a certain type of comic niche that will only appeal to so many
people. In the case of the British situation
comedy Thick As Thieves (1974), a then-unknown Bob Hoskins is a convict
who just got out of prison after a three year stay. When he gets back home to his wife (Pat Ashton), he discovers
that she has taken up with his partner in crime (John Thaw) Stanley. The acting is top-notch, there is comic
timing that works and there is even chemistry, yet the show does not quite
work.
As I watched the eight half-hour episodes included in this
first boxed set from Acorn Media, I wondered if this would ever get better. Those shows are:
1) The Home
Coming
2) Happy
Release
3) Good
Conduct
4) Two Men
In My Life
5) The
Trouble With Tommy
6) Three
Into Two Won’t Go
7) Home
& Away
8) Holy
Deadlock
Unless you are outraged or really thrown off by the idea
of free criminals who have served their time and are trying to integrate into
society, you are not likely to enjoy this show that much. The situation has potential, but it is no
surprise this was not brought over to the United States in a remade version. After much consideration, I figured out the
problem: creators Dick Clement and Ian
La Frenais.
These are the guys who gave us the film version of The
Commitments, the Alan parker film about a Rock band that is one of the most
overrated films of the last decade. The
idea of reality and human interaction these guys come up with just never rings
true for me and all become subtly contrived very quickly. The twist is, many people never notice this
level of contrivance and mistake it for realism. Well, I do not and the “people talk like that” argument never
works. Just because they are not
histrionic does not make them realistic and unless you like that Parker film, Thick
As Thieves will wear thin quickly.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is from an older PAL source,
which is in good shape, but the halos from the older taping in some shots
cannot be helped (via misalignment of the primary colors and definition limits)
for color material that age in many cases.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is not bad, but still shows its age, yet
survives a bit better than the image.
The only extra is a text section of bio/filmographies of the cast and
crew, which I still like, no matter how many people cry out “imdb” over and
over again.
- Nicholas Sheffo
