Hamish Macbeth – The Series 1 – 3 Collection (BBC DVD)

 

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

 

 

The detective show with the strange title, Robert Carlyle became a very hot actor as the BBC series Hamish Macbeth (1995 – 1997) became a big hit.  Because an episode is missing (permanently?) from the vaults, this is not being dubbed “complete” but a collection of the three seasons of hour-long shows.  That means only 19 of the 20 shows, but for the majority that survived, the three double DVD sets are slip-cased into this set.

 

The show from M.C. Beaton’s novels, offers Carlyle as the title character, as quirky as the show itself as he has to solve goofy problems and situations in his own almost eccentric manner.  Needless to say Carlyle excels in the role.  From car crashes that reveal much more than an accident, to whale watching, to pirate radio stations, to media entanglements and the occasional personal situation, it is a well conceived and written show.  However, not everything works and this is so different that unless you can really get into it, you might not like it from the start.  The volumes are sold separately, so you can start with just he first, but fans of Carlyle might just want the whole set.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is from soft, second-generation copies that may be older masters of the original material, but are too weak for their own good.  If you like the show enough, you are forced to settle for adjusting.  However, the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is better, simple and usually clear enough to hear everything.  The only extras include text cast and author bio, with a behind the scenes featurette on the second volume.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo