Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries-Series 2-Volume 1 (2011) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Mystery | Featurette-Behind The Scenes-X 5 | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2011 | ||
Running Time | 324 | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Tony Tilse David Caesar Kate Dennis Emma Freeman |
Studio
Distributor |
ABC Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Essie Davis Nathan Page Ashleigh Cummings Hugo Johnstone-Burt |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Greg Walker |
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 |
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was a successful show for the ABC last year and they followed the first season up with another season of 13 episodes this year.
This show is something a bit different for a local Australian production, more in the style of English period mystery series like Poirot or even more like Marple (although much sexier). This new series is currently airing on ABC1 and is being well received by critics and the public. The series is based on the books of Australian author, Kerry Greenwood, who created the main character, Phyrne Fisher (Essie Davis). Miss Fisher is an independently wealthy lady, who returns from Europe to Melbourne in 1928. She is suave, sophisticated, saucy, witty, independent and hedonistic. She has returned to investigate the murder of her sister and to live and enjoy life in 1920s Melbourne. In each episode she investigates and tends to solve a murder mystery much to the chagrin of Det. Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page). Over the first series their attraction grew and the sexual tension between them drives some of the plot. They are clearly working together more in this series.
The other main characters are Miss Fisher's housemaid, Dot Williams (Ashleigh Cummings), a devout Catholic girl who also assists in the investigations and Constable Hugh Collins (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) who assists Det. Robinson. They also start a relationship although theirs is much more tentative than that of Miss Fisher and Detective Robinson. Other recurring characters include two cab drivers who help Miss Fisher, Cec & Bert.
This is an enjoyable light mystery series which should be enjoyed by those who like the murder mystery style of show such as those mentioned above. The period detail in sets, costumes, cars, trains, locations and other detail is very well done and creates an atmosphere that is believably 1920s Melbourne. The various stories are intriguing and make for a very worthwhile series for genre fans. Those after a grittier style of television mystery such as Taggart or Cracker should probably look elsewhere. The cast are good in their roles with Essie Davis and Nathan Page working together well. I have not read the books but I believe some fans of the book were disappointed by some plot changes, however the author was heavily involved and in the extras talks about how much she likes the series and that the stories she didn't write in the new series fit in well.
The DVDs are split into two sets of two discs each, Part 1 & Part 2. This set, Part 1 is being released earlier and features the first 6 episodes and a small set of extras.
Recommended for murder mystery fans.
The video quality is very good for DVD.
The series is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout and the shadow detail was very good.
The colour was very good with no issues to report.
There are no obvious artefacts.
There are subtitles in English which were clear and easy to read.
There are layer changes on both discs which cause obvious pauses.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
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Grain/Pixelization | |
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Overall |
The audio quality is good.
These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.
Dialogue was quite clear and easy to understand but the subtitles were useful at times.
The music such as the jazz theme sounded good on this transfer.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
There are a collection of featurettes on disc 2.
The menu included music and motion in the style of the opening credits.
Short intro with producers and author talking about season 2.
Discussion about the actress and her character.
Short featurette about filming on location in Queenscliff, Victoria.
Short featurette about the episode which features boxing and preparing for it.
Featurette about the fashion flavoured episode.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The show is only locally available at this point.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is good.
The extras are OK but short.Video | |
Audio | |
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 |