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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Gourmet Farmer-Series 3 (2013)

Gourmet Farmer-Series 3 (2013)

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Released 27-May-2013

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Main Menu Audio
Deleted Scenes
Interviews-Cast
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2013
Running Time 250:00
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Max Bourke
Matthew Evans
Studio
Distributor
SBS
Madman Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI $29.95 Music Kyls Burtland
David Cole
Brad Hayward


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

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Plot Synopsis

     In the early 2000s, Matthew Evans was a name well known amongst foodies as the restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald. He famously said that most restaurants in Australia serve 'crap' food and was sued for defamation by a Sydney restaurant. In 2008 he decided to pack it in and move to a small farm in Tasmania to get up close and personal with where food comes from and the hard work that goes into it. His life, successes and failures included, are being chronicled in the television series which is the subject of this review, Gourmet Farmer. The show has now concluded its third season, and this DVD set includes all of that third season. In this third season, he and his wife expand their business with an extra farm, Fat Pig Farm, a new shop in Hobart and a caravan based commercial kitchen for markets and festivals.

     The show is part travelogue, part cooking show, part investigation of organic and artisan food manufacturing, part real-life drama. We see Matthew as he learns the ways of the farm including tending animals, slaughtering, cooking his own produce, trying his hand at making wine and sloe gin and also preparing food for markets and retail. There are many ups and downs in this season with building of a new smoker, trying to develop the use of the new farm including geese and more pigs, plus fishing trips and events to break down a pig with a team of friends.

     This two disc set contains all 10 episodes of the third season, each of approximately 25 minutes.

     This is another interesting & enjoyable season of the show which was shown on SBS and would certainly appeal to foodies and those interested in artisan food making.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is good.

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

     The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout although it was affected by digital noise. Shadow detail was good.

     The colour is very good for DVD.

     There were a few minor MPEG compression artefacts and some minor aliasing.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired. They are clear and easy to read.

    There were no obvious layer changes.

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

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

     Dialogue was easy to understand throughout.

     The music sounds good and adds to the show.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

     Large selection of extra scenes.

Menu

     The menus featured music and a nice cursor motif.

Extra Scenes

     The second disc contains over an hour of extra scenes which were obviously cut from the show. They are mostly cooking scenes with Evans cooking for the camera. This includes many different types of pork products and by-products being prepared and then cooked into dishes. They are well worth watching and there are some interesting recipes on show.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This set only seems to be available in Region 4 at the moment.

Summary

    A quality television documentary series for foodies.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is good.

    Lots of extra scenes.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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