Number 10 (1983/Acorn Media DVD set)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: B
Towards the end of British TV’s last Golden Era, one of
its greatest appeals was of how honest it could be about the dark side of
British History. I was reminded of this
again when watching the excellent mini-series Number 10 (1983), featuring the private stories of seven of the
most famous past residences of 10 Downing Street (the home of British Prime
Ministers when in power) and the teleplays by Terrence Feely are top rate.
The seven PMs include William Gladstone, Ramsay McDonald,
David Lloyd George, Arthur Wellesley, Herbert Henry Asquith, Benjamin Disraeli
and William Pitt. They do not get as
discussed about as they used to, so that makes this set all the more
interesting and to the advantage of their legacies. The cast of actors include Ian Richardson,
Jeremy Brett, Denis Quilley, John Stride, Bernard Archard, David Langton and
Richard Pasco, all surrounded by some great actors in a series well worth your time
and interest. See it at least once.
The 1.33 X 1 analog color PAL video image is weak
throughout, in part because of the age of the tape and its condition, for which
there is a disclaimer on the box and discs.
Still, the look is rich enough for a top rate TV production of the time
and color is consistent. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono sound also suffers from being a generation down and with the
usual audio limits of taped productions of the time. The combination is still watchable, but you
have to adjust and be careful of playback levels when switching to other
sound. Prime Minister text bios are the
only extra.
- Nicholas Sheffo
