Death in Paradise-Series 2 (2011) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Mystery | Main Menu Audio | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2011 | ||
Running Time | 468 | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3) |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | None Given |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring | Ben Miller |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Dual | ||
RPI | $31.95 | Music | None Given |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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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 |
Detective series come and go pretty quickly on the BBC, however, Death in Paradise has made it into this second series and a third is in the works. It is a high quality entrant to the genre which brings dramatic cases combined with lots of comedic touches, a fish out of water theme and exotic locations.
This second eight episode series kicks off with Detective Inspector Richard Poole (Ben Miller) being part of the local Sainte-Marie (a fictitious island in the Caribbean) police team, led by the commissioner (Don Warrington) and supported by fellow detective Camille Bordey (Sara Martins) and two uniformed officers, Dwayne (Danny John-Jules of Red Dwarf fame) and Fidel (Gary Carr). Poole was sent from the Met in London to investigate the murder of another British detective in the first series and whilst many would have seen this as a spectacular opportunity to get away from grey London and spend some time with sun, sand and beautiful women, Poole sees it as a punishment. He rails against his punishment by always wearing his normal suit and tie and refusing to get involved with the local lifestyle, cuisine or drinks. He is constantly searching for somewhere to get a decent cup of tea. In this second season he has the respect of his team but he still struggles to fit in with island life. Each episode brings a new murder mystery sometimes locals, sometimes visitors or travelling criminals. In this series there are episodes featuring murderous meteorologists, liquor smugglers and a poisoned singer.
This is an enjoyable and entertaining light mystery series with some great dialogue and nice comedic touches. Placing a wonderful comedic actor like Ben Miller in what is a fairly dramatic situation is an excellent choice because he adds comic timing to the role, which accentuates the fish out of water problems he faces. The supporting cast are great too adding to the style and substance of the show. The show was filmed in Guadeloupe and the scenery is beautiful. The eight episodes are about one hour each and are spread over 3 discs.
Unfortunately, Ben Miller will not continue as the main character in Series 3, being replaced by a new detective.
Recommended.
The video quality is very good.
The series is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture is clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail is very good.
The colour is very good showing off the tropical location to full effect.
There are no noticeable artefacts.
There are subtitles in English which are clear and easy to read.
The layer changes cause an obvious pause.
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The audio quality is good.
The discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.
Dialogue was generally easy to understand and clear throughout.
The theme music is suitably Caribbean in style adding to the atmosphere.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
Dialogue | |
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Overall |
The menu featured music and a still from the show.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This film is available on Region 2 DVD in the same format.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is good.
No extras.Video | |
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Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | SONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output |
Display | Sharp 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 Decoder | Built into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Marantz SR5005 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |