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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.
Jonathan Creek-The Clue of the Savant's Thumb (2013 Easter Special) (2013)

Jonathan Creek-The Clue of the Savant's Thumb (2013 Easter Special) (2013)

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Released 5-Mar-2014

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category TV Series None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2013
Running Time 89:20
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By David Renwick
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Alan Davies
Stuart Milligan
Sheridan Smith
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $24.95 Music Julian Stewart Lindsay


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

    The show Jonathan Creek, starring Alan Davies has been going in an on and off fashion since 1997 on the BBC, with four proper seasons of episodes and quite a few specials being made over the 16 or so years. The first special for a few years was an Easter special in the UK last year, The Clue of the Savant's Thumb. This was shown on television here in Australia later in 2013 and has recently been released on DVD by Madman Entertainment. This release is the subject of this review. A fifth season will start showing on the BBC this month.

    This movie length special starts with Jonathan having left the magic business to pursue a career in his wife's family company, however is drawn back into the mystery business by a case involving the goings on many years before in a girls convent school, Waxwood Hall. A girl died with a mysterious circle on her forehead and it has haunted the other girls for many years, especially Rosalind Tartikoff (Joanna Lumley). When her husband, Franklin (Nigel Planer) dies mysteriously and his body disappears from a locked room, Creek gets onto the case with his most recent colleague, paranormal investigator Joey Ross (Sheridan Smith) and wheelchair bound detective DI Gideon Pryke (Rik Mayall). How will the past affect the current case and where did the body go?

    It is good to see Jonathan Creek back on our screens, however, this episode is certainly not the best of the series. It feels quite flat and seems to be going through the motions from a plot perspective. The cast are fine especially Rik Mayall having fun as DI Pryke.

    An average Jonathan Creek special. Hopefully the new series takes it up a level.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature 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.The shadow detail was very good.

    The colour was generally good but a little dull at times.

    There was some motion blur but no other noticeable artefacts.

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

    The layer changes are not obvious.

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This set contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.

    Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to hear and understand, although the subtitles were useful at times. The soundtrack displayed some good front separation.

    The music sounds fine without standing out.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

    No extras.

Menu

    The menu included music and allowed for audio navigation.

R4 vs R1

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

    This disc is the same in Region 2.

Summary

    The 2013 Easter special of Jonathan Creek is somewhat flat.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are still in the locked room.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
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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