Janet King (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Featurette-Making Of-Various
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	480
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	ABC Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Marta Dusseldorp Damien Walshe-Howling Vince Collosimo Christopher Morris
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	None Given

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

     A while ago, I reviewed an ABC television series called Crownies which was focused on a group of Crown Prosecutors in the Director of Public Prosecutions Office in NSW. It ran for 22 episodes which covered a variety of cases but also included the lives and loves of the characters as an equally important ingredient to the show. Crownies was not renewed and the show has now been rebooted with a new name, a reduced cast of characters, a smaller number of episodes and with a more focused style. It is now called Janet King after the character played in the original series by Marta Dusseldorp and focuses much more on her. A few of the younger characters are still included however generally to a lesser extent and more in the way they interact with Janet King than on their own terms.

     Another significant change is that this series is only 8 episodes and focuses on one major case with multiple strands, making it more of a mini-series rather than the ‘crime of the week’ style in Crownies. The case involves police corruption, political interference, murder and child pornography.

     These changes are all to the better generally speaking with a tougher, more gritty style than the previous show. There is less sex and relationships focus and more focus on the case and its investigation in conjunction with the police. The soap opera style stuff has pretty much been left behind in this new show. A couple of new characters have been added, Damien Walshe-Howling as new prosecutor, Owen Mitchell and Vince Collosimo as Jack Rizzoli, Major Crimes Squad boss in the Police Force. There is also a much bigger role for Detective Andy Campbell played by Christopher Morris.

     This is a quality local drama series and will certainly be enjoyed by genre fans. The acting is of high quality as is the writing generally, despite some occasional confusing sequences. Dusseldorp is excellent in the titular role and the ensemble behind her also does a great job. The production looks good and the direction is assured. The eight one hour episodes of this series are contained on three DVD discs.

     Bring on Season 2!

Video

     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 was quite clear and sharp throughout. The shadow detail was very good.

     The colour was very good with no issues to report.

     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 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 score is suitably dramatic and raises the tension.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu included music.

Behind the Scenes Featurettes (16:30)

    A collection of small promotional featurettes which cover the move from Crownies, stunts, cast, writing and other things. They are OK but light.

    This set does not seem to be available outside of Region 4.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall