Hallelujah! – The Complete Collection (Acorn Media DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C-     Episodes: C

 

 

The last gap of The Religious Left on British TV may well be the short run of the Britcom Hallelujah!  It ran only 15 half-hours (including the obligatory Christmas show) and deals with three Salvation Army women and their crusade to clean up the world.  Appearing in 1983 from Yorkshire, Granada/ITV has pulled this out of that archive and Acorn Media is issuing The Complete Collection on 2 DVDs boxed.

 

The show is not bad, but it really comes down to a few jokes, though I liked the casting and some moments are amusing, it is a limited idea that was bound to only go so far and that explains why it only lasted one season.  I know of no cult for the show and it does not get broadcast in The States, but it is something different and before Thatcher’s policies really kicked in, the show was produced.  I doubt it could be made today and certainly not like this, as religion has become such an extreme matter that few would find the comedy as laid back and possible.  Still, it is a time capsule as the last golden age of British TV came to a close and is worth seeing if you are curious.

 

The 1.33 X 1 image is a bit harsh and detail challenged, coming from what looks like digital copies of the original analog PAL tapings.  The tapes may have even been lost in their original form and there is a disclaimer on the box over this.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also a generation down, but is not hot and noisy.  The combination is watchable, but you’d think you were a show from the 1970s with its condition.  The only extra is a few text frames on the founding of The Salvation Army.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo