Sergeant Cork – The Complete First Series (1963/Network U.K./Region Two/2/PAL DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Episodes: B-
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.
Before
the Spy craze took off in the 1960s, the British were best known for their
Detective shows, occasionally offering action and usually being smart. In the early 1960s, a few hit shows surfaced
that were live and helped set the stage for the craze. When The
Avengers started out, it was a police procedural with an edge before a spy
show (the Honor Blackman shows retained the Detective style) and at the same
time, similar shows were still being made the same way. Sergeant
Cork was a competing show form ATV (later ITC) and it is a very strong,
lost gem of a series finally being issued on DVD.
The Complete First Season has 13 hour-long episodes (reflected
in the PDF episode guide included, though IMDB contradicts by adding the last
1962 show and all 1964 shows, equaling 40 shows!) and is recorded live on
kinescope, with some footage in 16mm.
John Barrie (Patton, Z Cars) is Cork and is excellent as the
CID’s expert detective. In the first
episode (Case Of The Reluctant Widow),
he is paired with new detective Bob Marriott (William Gaunt of The Champions and what may be the best
Roger Moore Saint episode, Flight Plan) and they immediately make a
very strong team.
The cases
are dark, set in the late 19th Century and for such a budget limited
production, produce a density that makes the show work all the more. Ted Willis created the show and it was an early
hit for ATV/ITC and a forerunner of so many of their great action hits. Julian Bond, Richard (Man In A Suitcase) Harris and Bruce Stewart are among the writers
for the show and anyone who enjoys strong mystery writing or the hit ITC shows
like The Saint, The Baron, The Champions
or Man In A Suitcase will find this
a very pleasant surprise and is deserving of rediscovery.
Guest
stars for these first shows include David Burke, Peter Halliday, Hilda Barry,
Edward Burnham, Ray Austin (eventually a stunt coordinator and director), Edwina
Carroll, Joseph Furst, Philip Latham, Ann Lynn and John Richmond in the regular
role of Superintendent Billy Nelson. If you
can adjust to the age of the show, you will be very impressed.
The 1.33
X 1 image is not bad for kinescopes their age (that is a special film camera
filming off of an old analog picture tube pre-videotape) and this is black and
white with softness and old-style motion blur.
However, the production and shooting looks very professional versus so
much of the color-gutted movie and TV production we have seen too often lately,
so this it not much of a stretch form that.
I like the look and production design of the show too.
The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono has the expected distortion you would expect for its age, but
it is clear enough here and Network did what they could to make this clean, so
it does not have a “hot” noisy sound. Extras
includes still on all DVDs and a DVD-ROM accessible ITC Episode Guide in PDF
form.
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
