Cracker The Complete Collection (Acorn Media DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: B
After a
brief reprise, the original version of Cracker
with Robbie Coltrane folded and then the original episodes fell out of
print. No, Acorn Media has picked up the
rest of the series after issuing the A New Terror telefilm, which we
recently reviewed. To recap, Cracker
even returned as a U.S. series with a new star (see elsewhere on this site)
with Coltrane originating the fictional radio and real-life
psychologist Dr. Edward Fitz Fitzgerald, who helps the police on murder
cases. Here is the link to our previous
Coltrane coverage:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5894/Cracker++A+New+Terror:+The+Final
The show is more extensive than I realized, filling 10
DVDs for all 11 shows including the new one.
They include:
The Mad
Woman In The Attic
To Say I
Love You
One Day
A Lemming Will Fly
To Be A Somebody
The Big
Crunch
Men
Should Weep
Brotherly
Love
Best
Boys
True
Romance
White
Ghost
A New
Terror
The series is good, but not great, saved by Coltrane when
the mystery angle is not as intriguing.
The earlier shows are 1.33 x 1, while the recent show is shot in what looks like motion blur
filled HD and anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image with Cracker having some serious detail issues, barely consistent color
and soft definition. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo throughout has no real surrounds, but sound good like recent recordings
are expected to be. The only extra is a nearly
hour-long behind the scenes featurettes running about an hour fans will like
that is on the last show.
- Nicholas Sheffo
