And Mother Makes Three – The Complete Third Series (1973/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Two/2/PAL format
software and can be ordered from our friends at Network U.K. at the website
address provided at the end of the review.
The final season of And
Mother Makes Three is a weak one, a show that feels like The Brady Bunch meets Please Don’t Eat The Daisies with Wendy Craig trying to do the
funny slapstick mother routine so popular at the time in U.S. sitcoms. She has two sons, no husband, boss she drives
nuts, the usual funny neighbors and an aunt who is not always helpful. Sounds like early episodes of The Lucy Show, but it is never that
good or interesting, but it was so successful that it was spun off into another
show to hold the audience and it worked.
All six half-hour shows are included on a single DVD and
that will makes fans happy, but it might be better to start at the
beginning. I had barely heard of the
series, never had seen it and doubt it make it to the U.S., but now hardcore
Britcom fans can catch it if they can play imports. Robin Davies, David Parfitt and Valerie Lush
also star.
The 1.33
X 1 color PAL image is a bit on the soft side throughout, though this looks
like a little better for its age and is a good transfer of what is early color
PAL material. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
is better, though has the usual harmonic distortion and sonic limits TV audio
at the time (especially for videotaped shows) that TV on both sides of the
Atlantic suffered. There are no extras.
As noted above, you can order this PAL DVD import
exclusively from Network U.K. at:
www.networkdvd.co.uk
or
http://www.networkdvd.net/
- Nicholas Sheffo
