Cracker-Series 1 (1993)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	364:38
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Simon Cellan Jones Tim Fywell Julian Jarrold Charles McDougall
Studio Distributor	Time Life Video & TV Shock Entertainment	Starring	Robbie Coltrane Christopher Eccleston Geraldine Somerville Barbara Flynn Lorcan Cranitch Edward Peel Kieran O'Brien Tess Thomson Wil Johnson Ricky Tomlinson
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	David Ferguson Julian Wastall Rick Wentworth

    Originally released a couple of years ago as a mega ten-disc box set featuring all of the Cracker episodes made to that date (a new 11th Cracker episode premiered in 2006, but is yet to find its way to DVD), this sensationally written, directed and acted drama series starring the larger-than-life Robbie Coltrane has been re-released as separate titles for each of the three series. Series One features the first three episodes of this excellent programme and was originally shown on television back in 1993.

    For those not familiar with Cracker or if you haven't read the earlier review of the ten-disc set, here is a summary of the overall story plus a brief synopsis of the first three episodes.

   Cracker is a 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 in 1996) 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 seeming 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 a 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.

   A brief synopsis of the three episodes of series one 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 (154:32)

    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 (99:30)

    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 to 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...

    This is a classic series that does not lose its impact even after 13 years since first airing. Highly recommended if you enjoy a great drama.

Video

    It would appear this transfer is the same one that graced the ten-disc set released a couple of years ago. Back then I said there was not a whole lot to get excited about over the transfer and it's pretty much the same this time around. I was disappointed back then that a series of this quality had been presented in quite a grubby and generally rundown manner and my sentiments are echoed here. I guess they are acceptable for their age, but are nothing like we expect for quality television-based transfers in 2004.

    Originally produced in 1993, these early Cracker episodes are presented in the full frame format of 1.33:1. None of the episodes are 16x9 enhanced.

    Overall, the transfers are 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. 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.

    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 across all three episodes.

    There are no subtitles.

    Both discs are single sided and dual layered with the layer breaks occurring between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There is only one audio soundtrack available for this release, with 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 in this set.

    A similarly specified Cracker series is available as three separate titles covering the three series in Region 1 (though do not get it confused with the poor American rip-off of the series that was a virtual copy made several years later starring Robert Pastorelli). There appears to be no differences in content or quality terms between any of the releases. Cracker in Region 2 can be purchased as either part of a ten-disc set or individually packaged episodes.

    Cracker is television drama at its very best. Superbly crafted multi-dimensional characters that exhibit every flaw known to man, and acting so good you almost imagine these people are real. 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 and no taboo is ignored, with racism, sexual molestation, rape, workplace harassment, mainstream and cult religion, media manipulation and sensationalism, mob vigilantes, drunkenness, gambling addictions, and many others used as key pillars for the stories.

    Unfortunately, like the earlier ten-disc release, the video quality is still 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.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall