Cracker (1993) (Box Set)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	1241:35 (Case: 1244)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (74:33) Multi Disc Set (10)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Stephen Cragg Michael Fields Tucker Gates Whitney Ransick
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Robbie Coltrane Christopher Eccleston Barbara Flynn Geraldine Somerville Lorcan Cranitch Ricky Tomlinson
Case	?
RPI	$149.95	Music	Angelo Badalamenti Roy Hay Julius Robinson

    First hitting our television screens in 1993, Cracker is a sensationally realistic and gritty drama series featuring some of the most intricately developed and well-written characters you are ever likely to see. While this is essentially a crime thriller series that contains a dominant police angle on all of the stories, it is so much more than a simple case of police catching the bad guys. It's the way the stories are tackled, the flaws that all the characters possess, the levels to which their personal lives are dissected without resorting to soap opera style melodrama and the cracking pace at which it unfolds that put it clearly ahead of almost all other police/crime series. Topics are handled that are often overlooked by other dramas for fear of upsetting people, but for Cracker writers Jimmy McGovern and Paul Abbot (the latter penned the last three episodes) these taboo topics all offered plenty of emotional material and a chance to really flesh out the characters in all their good and bad forms. No bastion of respectability was safe, with the church and religious groups copping a fair hammering, the sensationalist media mentality, workplace sexual harassment and male chauvinism, rape, prostitution, mobs, skinheads, and vigilantes, and even the flaws of the police themselves all saw episodes dedicated to them.

    The star is the larger-than-life Robbie Coltrane as the brilliant Dr Eddie Fitzgerald (or Fitz as he is universally known), a forensic psychologist who is called on by the Greater Manchester police to aid in investigations of serious crimes such as rape, murder and missing persons. Fitz is a remarkably intelligent man, able to tap into the subconscious of a criminal and provide police with a myriad of small clues or profiles about the wanted suspect. With a clever line of questioning he is also an expert at forcing a suspect to crack under pressure by targeting their insecurities and delving into secrets about their past that even the villain may not be aware of. Unfortunately for Fitz he sees many things in his work and he's just about the best in the business, but he cannot seem to function very well in everyday life. Much like the plumber who lives with the constant dripping tap at home, or the mechanic who drives around in a smoking old bomb, Fitz can look deep into the soul and mind of others and instantly see their flaws and problems, but he is unable to perform this same analysis on himself. He is the ultimate flawed hero. Overweight to the point of obesity, he's also heavy drinker - some six to seven bottles of whiskey a week is about average, and smoker - 50 to 60 per day. Coupled with an outrageous gambling addiction that often results in thousands of pounds lost at a time, he is a highly cynical and often incredibly rude person who is far too caught up in his own self-importance and bedazzled by his own intellect. It's fair to say that Fitz doesn't have too many redeeming qualities and his personal life suffers greatly, with his long-suffering wife Judith (Barbara Flynn) regularly on the verge of leaving him.

    But it is his psychologist experience that sees him used as an invaluable tool by the police. Disliked by many, he has a valuable ally in the force in DCI David Billborough (Christopher Eccleston) and enjoys a close working relationship with DS Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville). Penhaligon (or "Panhandle" as Fitz jokingly refers to her) is caught firmly under a glass ceiling as she tries to battle the outdated and often chauvinistic ways of those officers around her. Leader of the pack for arrogance and sexist remarks in the office is DS Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch), a copper so behind the times he would look at home in the 19th century. He despises the constant use of Fitz, feeling the real coppers are quite able to perform the job without the aid of this smart-mouthed and smarmy doctor of psychology. This attitude and dislike for both Fitz and Penhaligon festers for much of the series and provides pivotal elements of the story.

    Cracker is presented here as a ten-disc set containing ten episodes. There were originally three series broadcast between 1993 and 1995, with three major stories covered in each series. There was also a special stand-alone story screened in 1996. The programme was originally broadcast as 50 minute episodes (or one hour on commercial television) and each story lasted for two or three nights. Thankfully for this collection they have been stitched together to provide ten complete episodes that run for between 90 and 150 minutes each.

    A brief synopsis of the ten episodes follows. Please note that since a substantial amount of the plot of Cracker is effectively carried on right throughout the full ten episodes I have been particularly brief and a little unclear at times in my summation of the individual plots, since much of what is contained in the later episodes would be considered huge plot spoilers for the earlier episodes - and I really don't want to spoil the surprise. Believe me, if you have never seen this series the experience is worth it.
 

Episode 1 - The Mad Woman In The Attic - 1993 (98:58)

    The first episode introduces Fitz, his family, and some of the detectives in the CID office of the Greater Manchester police. It's almost immediately obvious that all is not well in the Fitzgerald household, with Fitz's drinking and gambling addictions reaching cataclysmic proportions and his tormented wife Judith threatening to leave him. Fitz has some other distractions to keep his mind off his family troubles, since he has been asked by the Manchester police to help them in a brutal murder inquiry. A young woman has been found butchered on a commuter train and the police, led by the bright but under-resourced DCI Billborough, have a suspect in custody. A young man claiming amnesia was found covered in the victim's blood laying on the side of the railway tracks near where the train passed. Fitz is called in to try and reason with the suspect, help him retrieve his lost memory and convince him to confess to the murder. Everyone is convinced this suspect is the killer - but Fitz, as usual, is not looking for the easy solution and has his doubts.
 

Episode 2 - To Say I Love You - 1993 (152:55)

    This episode was originally shown as a three-parter, hence has the longest running time of all ten episodes. Fitz is busy trying to rescue his disastrous marriage, even though he is beginning to flirt innocently with DS Penhaligon. He is again called on by the police to aid them in what is looking like the start of a serial killing rampage. A mentally disturbed and violent young man has hooked up with a young woman of loose morals. The couple discover that sex takes on new levels when violence is involved and so they set about targeting victims to satisfy their cravings. They first kill a loan shark to whom they owed money and then start targeting the police as their victims. When Fitz gets involved in the case he soon sees what is going on, but he might have just attracted the attention of the killers a little too closely and could possibly end up a victim himself.
 

Episode 3 - One Day A Lemming Will Fly - 1993 (97:20)

    The Cracker stories are really starting to heat up now, with the crimes taking on an even more grisly and disturbing aspect and Fitz's home and personal life becoming even more messy. When a 14-year-old schoolboy goes missing and is subsequently found murdered, all fingers are pointed towards a slightly odd-acting school teacher who may have had more than just a teacher-pupil relationship with the boy. Fitz is called in speak with the somewhat reticent parents of the boy to see if he can find a reason for the murder, and uncovers a little more than he was expecting. He also speaks at great length with the frightened suspect and while the police pressure for a confession, Fitz takes things slowly. Again it looks like a pretty simple case and all that is needed is for someone to cough up. But Fitz has his doubts that this shy gentle school teacher could ever possibly murder someone...
 

Episode 4 - To Be A Somebody - 1994 (148:03)

    This dynamite episode is probably the pick of all ten and is so good it would easily stand up for scrutiny by itself as a standalone feature film. Featuring a stand-out and emotion-charged performance from a young Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, Trainspotting) and more twists, turns and tension than most can handle, it also provides the catalyst for many further events that unfold over the coming episodes and as a result is one episode that cannot be missed or viewed out of sequence.

    Carlyle plays Albie Kinsella, a man in his early thirties who is grieving the recent death of his much-loved father. Both he and his father still bore the scars of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium tragedy where 96 Liverpool soccer fans were crushed to death in a mob stampede. With the death of his father, Albie finally snaps and in a fit of rage murders a Pakistani shopkeeper. Taking on the appearance of a skinhead he systematically sets about exacting revenge for all the needless deaths of Hillsborough - deaths he attributes to the stupid actions of the police. As the murder count starts to climb, DCI Billborough must decide whether to call in Fitz for help, even though the two have been at odds since the previous episode. Fitz is still having trouble with his wife and he's also being given the cold shoulder from DS Penhaligon over events which unfolded in episode three. Fitz finally arrives to lend a hand and instantly alerts the police to the fact that they have been on the wrong track all along with their inquiry. When the ever-slack DS Beck inadvertently lets Albie out of his grasp with some sloppy policing, the ramifications will send shockwaves around the force and affect all the people involved in the case for months to come.
 

Episode 5 - The Big Crunch - 1994 (147:42)

    An episode examining the bizarre world of a religious cult group. When school principal and leader of the religious group, Kenneth Trant, is discovered by his sister-in-law to be having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old schoolgirl the results are disastrous. Encouraged by his fanatical wife, Trant, his brother and sister-in-law end up performing some bizarre sexual/religious ceremony which culminates in the drugging and attempted murder of the girl. Planning on killing her off for good, the group enlists Dean, a simpleton from the Trant paper packaging factory to dispose of the girl and effectively perform the murder - and take the rap if he gets caught. But Dean doesn't go through with it and the girl escapes only to die in hospital from her overdose. In what looks like a simple murder inquiry, Fitz and Penhaligon aren't so sure of the easy solution and begin asking questions of the religious leaders. It's also been noticed that Penhaligon has been spending an awful lot of time with Fitz of late...

Episode 6 - Men Should Weep - 1994 (148:34)

    A critical moment occurs in this episode that shapes much of what occurs for the rest of the series, affecting the relationships between Fitz, DS Penhaligon and the rest of the officers at the police station. As a result this episode is on par with episode four for gut-wrenching emotion and tension, and would again almost stand alone as a feature film. Fitz is appearing on his regular psychology show on radio when a caller phones in claiming to be the serial rapist that has been terrorising Manchester women and tormenting the police for several years. Floyd Malcolm is a young black man who has been raping white women as part of some revenge-fuelled rage and has yet to be caught. When his crimes turn increasingly violent, resulting in the murder of a young woman, Fitz and the police know they must up the ante in an effort to catch him. Back at the police station, DS Beck is still struggling to come to terms with recent tragic events and appears on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Fitz meanwhile is pleasantly surprised when Judith suddenly shows up and is planning on moving back home, and she has a rather large surprise for him.
 

Episode 7 - Brotherly Love - 1995 (148:06)

    It's now several months since the events that occurred in the previous episode, leaving everyone shaken. DS Beck is still on extended sick leave but looks like returning to action soon and Penhaligon is still barely speaking to Fitz. Fitz's world is turned on its head when his brother arrives advising that their mother has died. In between organising her funeral Fitz must also assist the police with a murder investigation. The police have a suspect in custody over the brutal slaying of a prostitute, and the evidence against him looks solid, including DNA samples taken from the scene. Unfortunately for the police, while the man is in custody another murder occurs with a virtually identical MO. Fitz believes he knows what is going on and suggests it might be a case of brotherly love - the man they have in custody has a brother who would share similar DNA. Further complicating matters is the fact that the brother also happens to be a priest and Fitz also happens to know him - he's conducting his mother's funeral. This episode also ends with a confession to another crime from another episode that finally brings some closure to a horrible moment for one of the police station's detectives.
 

Episode 8 - Best Boys - 1995 (99:12)

    This is the first of the episodes not written by original writer Jimmy McGovern.  Paul Abbot is the man responsible for the last three episodes. It is the story of Bill, a young man who is on the run from a children's home after he failed to gain adoption from any of the foster parents he has previously lived with - a rejection he has not handled well. He finds an unlikely friend in an another man running a local factory who takes pity on Bill, giving him a job and letting him stay at his place for the night, knowing he has no home to go to. But the landlady mistakes them for being a gay couple and tries to kick Bill out on the street. In a fit of rage the men kill the landlady, and are summarily on the run from police. Seeking revenge on those who have wronged him in the past, Bill seeks out his old social worker, with the aim of killing him, and then seeking the ultimate revenge on the foster parents who rejected him. When the older man is captured and taken into custody by the police, Fitz is called in to assist in the interrogation and try to find out where Bill is hiding before he kills again.
 

Episode 9 - True Romance - 1995 (100:23)

    Fitz has taken on an admirer - and she's not the sort you'd want every day. When Janice, a researcher from a university in Manchester takes a shine to Fitz, she sends him a love letter which he somewhat erroneously reads out in a lecture. Embarrassed by this event, the psychotic woman lures two male students to her flat and chains them to her bed before electrocuting them to death. To get back at Fitz she then targets his son Mark as her next victim. Meanwhile, Judith is struggling with the recent addition to the family and is again questioning Fitz's capacity to be a good husband and father. This is being made all the more difficult by a romantic approach from Fitz's brother Danny. Penhaligon also has some bad news for Fitz that could effectively mean any chance he had with any woman is just about over.
 

Episode 10 - White Ghost - 1996 (100:22)

    This was a special stand alone episode screened after series three and features only Fitz and DCI Wise from the regular list of characters. Fitz is on a lecture tour in Hong Kong and is asked by the local police to help investigate the murder of a businessman, Peter Yang. Fitz makes a request back to Manchester for some assistance and hopes it will be Penhaligon that is sent over, but is utterly dismayed when crusty old DCI Wise rolls up. The boys from Manchester are assisted by a suspicious DCI Chueng who is none too impressed with Fitz's ability or credentials, but tolerates him. The police have a suspect for the death of Yang and Fitz sets about questioning the suspect with the hope of extracting a confession, but a confession gained under the duress of Fitz's intense and emotionally scarring questioning might just be worthless in Hong Kong.

Video

    There is not a whole lot to get excited about over this transfer. I would say I was disappointed that a series of this quality has been presented in quite a grubby and generally rundown manner. Certainly the earlier episodes (episodes one and two in particular) are grubbier and grainier than the later efforts, but even episodes seven to ten exhibit a certain softness and grime. I guess they are acceptable for their age, just nothing like we expect for quality television-based transfers in 2004.

    Originally produced between 1993 and 1996 when you could have your television in any aspect as long as it was 1.33:1, what we actually get here is a mix of a couple of different aspect ratios. Oddly, the first seven episodes are in an aspect of 1.45:1 (measured), while the final three (newer) episodes are presented in the standard television aspect of 1.33:1. None of the episodes are 16x9 enhanced.

    Overall, the transfer is nowhere near as sharp as I would have liked, with a general softness to the whole image. As a result there is no trace of any edge enhancement, although the whole image has sort of flat two-dimensional feel to it with nothing really leaping out at you. Shadow detail is acceptable, but has been tweaked at times to get the best clarity out of the picture. As a result black levels are at times really quite grey. This is at its worst in episode two where much of the action takes place at night, and the beginning of episode seven which is again filmed at night and is really quite soft and grubby. There is consistent grain which is more noticeable at times, usually on the brighter exterior shots or when inside the police station with its white and grey walls. There is no low level noise.

    Colours are really quite dull, with little to no vibrancy. I know this is set in the miserable north of England, but surely the place isn't that grey all the time is it?

    There are no apparent MPEG artefacts. Film-to-video artefacts are pretty much absent. Film artefacts are quite numerous, especially in the first three episodes.

    There are no subtitles.

    All ten discs are single sided and five of the longer episodes are contained on dual layered RSDL formatted discs. The layer changes for those discs are:

    Disc 1 - Single Layered
    Disc 2 - 74:33
    Disc 3 - Single Layered
    Disc 4 - 75:42   
    Disc 5 - 76:46
    Disc 6 - 74:27
    Disc 7 - 81:50
    Disc 8 - Single Layered
    Disc 9 - Single Layered
    Disc 10 - Single Layered

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There is only one audio soundtrack available on each of the ten discs, this being a fairly nondescript English Dolby Digital 2.0. The surround flag is not enabled in the bitstream but switching on Pro-Logic processing indicates there is certainly ample enough left/right/centre separation for it to be considered a surround track. There is also a Dolby Surround logo that appears in the first few frames of every episode which is the dead giveaway that it was originally a surround soundtrack.

    There really isn't a great deal to say about the audio. With this being a hugely dialogue based drama series, most of the action emanates from the centre channel, with audio like sirens and other outside street sounds getting picked up in the left and right channels.

    The often rapid dialogue coupled with the mix of Manchester and Scottish accents makes dialogue a little tricky at times, but none of this is attributed to the mastering of the disc, rather the source recording. There are no audio sync issues.

    There is essentially no surround use and no discrete subwoofer use.
 

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    Unfortunately there are no extras on any of the 10 discs in the set.

    The Cracker series is available as three separate titles covering the three series in Region 1 (series three is due for release in late April 2004). The Region 2 box set version is identical to ours with all ten episodes available in the one set. There appear to be no differences in content or quality terms between any of the releases.

    Cracker is television drama at its very best. Tight intelligent scripts, superbly crafted multi-dimensional characters that exhibit every flaw known to man, and acting so good you almost imagine these people are the real deal. There are no superheros here, just everyday people doing the best job they can in extremely trying circumstances. Robbie Coltrane is without peer as the flawed but brilliant psychologist. No taboo topic is ignored, with racism, sexual molestation, rape and workplace harassment, both mainstream and cult religion, media manipulation and sensationalism, mob vigilantes, drunkenness, gambling addictions, and many others used as key pillars for the stories.

    Of the many, many titles I have looked at for review in more than three years some have been garbage, many have been average, and a handful have been sensational. Despite the misgivings with the video transfer, the Cracker box set fortunately falls in the sensational category and is arguably the most enjoyable reviewing experience I have had to date. To revisit these marvellous stories was pure joy and I cannot recommend this classic series highly enough.

    Unfortunately the video quality is somewhat variable and on the whole would be labelled as disappointing.

    The audio is functional, perhaps a little lacking in fidelity, but certainly adequate for the job.

    There are no extras.

    A fantastic series to watch again. It is awarded five stars overall based solely on the strength of the plot .
 

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall