Hamish Macbeth-Series 2 (1995) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | Menu Animation | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1995 | ||
Running Time | 297:53 (Case: 294) | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (26:23) Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Jonas Grimås Patrick Lau Nicholas Renton Sid Roberson |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Robert Carlyle Shirley Henderson Duncan Duff Brian Pettifer Anne Lacey Billy Riddoch Stuart Davids Ralph Riach Stuart McGugan Barbara Rafferty Valerie Gogan |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | John Lunn |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.29:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.29:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Hamish Macbeth is one of the great BBC comedy drama series of the 1990s. It was a short-lived series only running for three seasons from 1995 to 1997, totalling 20 episodes, which is a great shame. This second series includes 6 episodes (each of about 50 minutes) and unlike the DVD release of the first series all 6 are included on this set. I previously reviewed the first series.
The series is set in the Northern Scottish town of Lochdubh and centres on the local constable, Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle, in the role which kick-started his career) and the adventures of the various and eccentric villagers. He is much loved by the townsfolk and dishes out his own brand of justice which sometimes bends the rules. He is very clever and a good investigator but makes sure not to perform too well to avoid being transferred away from his beloved Lochdubh. He was born in Lochdubh but then his family moved to Glasgow. He has returned and now vows never to leave. The other key characters are:
This show is a great mixture of comedy and drama with some excellent characters, each with their own unique identity. Once you add to that some excellent acting, wonderful scenery and great writing, this show is a winner. One of the strengths of this show is that the characters are not just mad eccentrics, they are eccentric but are also fully-rounded real people. This series has a much stronger running storyline about the relationship between Alex, Hamish and Isobel which only adds to the quality of this series. This second series is probably the best of the three.
The episodes included are:
I would highly recommend this TV series to those who haven't seen it and this set is a significant improvement over the first release. I can now recommend this DVD release, unlike the first one.
The video quality is significantly better than the first series.
The feature is presented in a 1.29:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.
The picture was clear and sharp, however somewhat variable with the first episode being better than some of the subsequent ones. Overall, though, the level of sharpness was quite good and much better than series one. There was some light grain in most episodes, although worse in some than others. There was no low level noise. The shadow detail was decent.
The colour was generally pretty good although there was some minor bleeding and one or two patches of cross-colourisation.
Once again artefacts were significantly improved over the previous release although there was some minor aliasing such as in the credits of episode 1 and some bits and pieces of edge enhancement.
There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read although there were some minor changes from the spoken word.
The layer change causes a short pause on each disc.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is fine.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.
Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand except for some accents but this is an issue with the original material rather than the transfer. There was no problem with audio sync.
The music by John Lunn is jaunty Scottish style folk music, well suited to the program.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None.
The menu was very simple and still.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This series has been released in exactly the same format in Region 2 and Region 1. Call it a tie.
The video quality is quite good.
The audio quality is fine.
No extras.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Yamaha YST SW90 subwoofer |