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Category:    Home > Reviews > TV Situation Comedy > Britcom > The Gaffer – The Complete First Series (1981 – 82/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)

The Gaffer – The Complete First Series (1981 – 82/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: C+

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: This DVD set 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 or at finer retailers.

 

 

Bill Maynard plays Fred Moffatt, one of the great ornery TV cheapskates in the hit BritCom The Gaffer, juggling a new Recession, the beginning of The Thatcher Era and unions as he tries to keep his light-engineering firm alive and profitable in this surprisingly good comedy series.  Russell Hunter (Callan, reviewed elsewhere on this site) co-stars as the shop head in the debut season featured in this new DVD set.

 

The show remains relevant, though that the jobs that exist in this show ever existed may sadly be nostalgia to some, but the performances are top rate here, as it’s the writing and some of the jokes are funny.  You do not have to understand British humor (see how he handles traffic tickets in the opening credits) to get much of this and the Pop/Rock theme song is a howler all its own.  If you like Sanford & Son or Mr. Roper on Three’s Company, plus the likes of Absolutely Fabulous or The IT Crowd, you will find this hard to resist.

 

The 1.33 X 1 PAL image is not bad for its age with only minor haloing and aliasing to complain about, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono has the expected distortion you would expect for its age, but it is clear enough here.  There are no extras.

 

 

As noted above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively from Network U.K. at:

 

http://www.networkdvd.net/

 

or

 

www.networkdvd.co.uk

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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