Doctor
Finlay – No Time For Heroes (Set Three/Scottish TV)
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: D Episodes: B-
David Rintoul is Doctor Finlay in the very
successful TV series of about a man’s work coming back home after the World War
II experience in this third set issued by BFS.
To recap, his is medical business partner Dr. Alexander Cameron (Ian
Bannen) is thrilled that he Finlay has returned knowing he is one of the best
there is, while Finlay runs twice into an obnoxious traveler who turns out to
be overambitious and somewhat crude Dr. David Neil. Neil is on his way to work for Cameron, not knowing who Finlay is
his business partner.
Though there is a share of melodrama involved, the shows
are not bad and continue to be interesting.
Episodes from this third set (in a gray box under the subtitle No
Time For Heroes) and are as follows:
1) Old
Flames
2) Time
Will Tell
3) Private
Lives
4) The
Earth’s Sweet Being
5) A
Natural Mistake
6) The
Greatness & The Power
7) No Time
For Heroes
That breaks down to three episodes on DVD 1 and two
hour-long episodes per DVD, equaling around 7 hours. As created by A. J. Cronin, the time period would usually be a
safer place to be, and as this was on Masterpiece Theater, the
restrictions of “quality television” dictate that nothing too violent or
challenging will happen. With that
said, this is a very literate show and remains unsappy despite its
repetitions. The casting helps and the
often socially conscious and historically realistic storylines help, but the
show continued to stray from the characters in later episodes more than it
should have. Maybe just because it is a
Scottish series, it has a fresh-enough prospectus by default to work. Rintoul is just right for this role and
carries the show well, but few shows on TV anywhere today have such a good,
limited cast.
The 1.33 X 1 full frame image is exactly slightly poorer
than the previous sets, with a slight monochrome look to the shots, but the PAL
video has been down a generation and Video Black suffers as a result. Also, there is a look like grain and
digititis in a slightly broken-up manor.
Part of this is the look of the show; part is the transfer and the
source. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo,
on the other hand, is also similar on the previous sets and offers healthy Pro
Logic surrounds throughout both. That
is less compromised. The same few text
cast biography and filmography information is also on both DVD sets, but that
again is it. You should start with the
first set, reviewed elsewhere on this site, but should go for this one if you
enjoy the first set or two enough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
