Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries-Series 2-Volume 2 (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Mystery	Featurette-Behind The Scenes-X 7
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	316
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	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Greg Walker

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 for the Hearing Impaired	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 (including a Christmas special which is not included here).

     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 aired on ABC1 recently 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. The second half of this series develops their relationship further.

     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 and 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 books 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 and Part 2. This is the second set and contains episodes 7 - 12 of the series but disappointingly not the Christmas Special. This second set is available separately or boxed together with Part 1.

     Recommended for murder mystery fans.

Video

     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.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     The 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.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     There are a collection of featurettes spread over both discs.

Menu

     The menu included music and motion in the style of the opening credits.

Cars (3:08)

     Featurette on the cars used in the episode based around women rally drivers and mechanics.

Guest Cast (3:09)

     Featurette about the guest cast of well-known actors who have appeared on the show.

The House of Phryne (4:00)

     Costume featurette focused on Essie Davis.

Winery (2:21)

     Short featurette about filming the episode set in a winery.

Polly Woodside (2:30)

     Short featurette about the use of the museum ship, Polly Woodside during shotting of one episode.

Stunts (2:22)

     Featurette about stunt performers and filming stunts.

How to Become Dr Mac (1:27)

     Featurette about makeup and hair required for the Dr Mac character.

    The show is only locally available at this point.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall