This Is Coronation
Street (40th
Anniversary Compilation)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: B-
It began in a mom (or is that mum) and pop grocery store,
the first piece of drama that launched a television phenomenon in Britain. It was 1960 and this was the place for the
first scene in Coronation Street, an unbelievably successful
drama/comedy that ran for at least 40 years.
To release all those shows would take longer than Dark Shadows,
so a double DVD set was issued by Acorn instead called This Is Coronation
Street, which offers the first five shows on one disc, and an anniversary
special on the other.
The drama focuses on the lower-middle class that inhabits
the title location, their trials, tribulations and times. It was originally a live series, represented
here in kinescopes and videotapes, including many such clips in the
retrospective. The show is one of the
only in U.K. TV history to show all the changes the industry went through and
was constantly a hit. The first five shows
run under a half-hour each and are well written. It may be a played out show in England, but is an interesting
time capsule to others just the same.
The Anniversary special runs 75 minutes and is a good
retrospective that demonstrates why the show resonated with the public. It was never dumbed down and the acting and
characters were down to earth enough for the audience to relate to. This likely brings back memories for those
who have seen it, but this critic was less familiar with the show. In all this, it was a melodramatic soap
opera without being too sappy, which is why it has lasted over 40 years. TV fans will especially find this more
entertaining than expected.
The special is in anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 framing
and has various image quality like any documentary would. The first five shows are not quite as clear,
in their 1.33 X 1 frame and from archival footage that is lucky to survive at
all. It is on the average side, as is
its Dolby Digital 2.0 Sound, boosted up to something akin to Stereo. The special is the same, but clearer and has
no surrounds. This performance is as
good as it is going to get. Extras include
character profiles on the disc with the first episodes, while the 40th
Anniversary disc has a text on few famous faces and fun facts. TV expert Daran Little offers an essay in a
paper fold out in one of the DVD cases.
As a set, anyone would get a solid look at Coronation Street and
it makes for compelling viewing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
