Dirk Gently (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	229
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Tom Shankland
Studio Distributor	ITVS Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Stephen Mangan Darren Boyd Helen Baxendale
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	$29.95	Music	Daniel Pemberton

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Until getting the opportunity to review this quirky, different and fun mystery series from the UK, I only knew of Douglas Adams as the author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It would seem that I had managed to avoid this other character of his, 'holistic detective' Dirk Gently (Stephen Mangan). Adams wrote two novels featuring this character in his lifetime and was working on a third at the time of his death. This is a great character, possibly brilliant, definitely annoying and probably a conman but also able to somehow solve mysteries using his basic belief in 'the interconnectedness of all things'. It is worth noting that the series is not directly based on the novels rather using elements of them to create a filmable series on a fairly small budget. Fans of the books may be a little disappointed, however, as someone who has not read the books, I loved this series.

     A pilot episode was made in 2010 and shown late that year on BBC4, their digital only channel. A further series of three episodes were commissioned and these were show on BBC4 in 2012. All four episodes are included on this 1 disc release. Subsequently, the BBC has decided not to commission any more episodes, which is a shame.

     Each episode includes one or two connected mysteries which generally see Dirk offending people, getting himself in trouble with the police, annoying his partner Richard McDuff (Darren Boyd), getting things thrown at him by his receptionist Janice or interfering in McDuff's relationship with his girlfriend, Susan (Helen Baxendale). His approach also tends to result in him not getting paid by his clients.

     Mangan is great as this excellent character, hilarious, self-serving, annoying, arrogant and yet also somehow lovable. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would recommend it to fans of British humour, light mystery series and Douglas Adams, despite it not being an exact adaptation of the books. Recommended.

Video

     The video quality is disappointing. I think most of the issues relate to jamming four hours of television on to one disc.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture is fairly soft for a recent show and is afflicted by a number of artefacts. Detail is quite lacking at times in faces especially long shots. Shadow detail is decent.

     The colour is decent but fairly dull.

     Artefacts include lots of aliasing and jagged edges are everywhere, probably due to the low bitrate. There is also grain and some macro-blocking at times. If you need anything else there was also some minor digital noise reduction artefacts.

     There are subtitles in English which are clear and easy to read.

    The layer change is not obvious.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound is obviously quite front focused.

     Dialogue was easy to understand and clear throughout.

     The theme music sounds quite good and fits the quirky nature of the show.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured music and allowed for episode selection.

    This series is available in the same format in the UK.

     A funny and entertaining comedy mystery series from the BBC.

     The video quality is disappointing.

     The audio quality is good.

     The extras are non-existent.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall