Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)Well for the benefit of the woman who asked me to explain the difference in the Poirot collections back when the Acorn sets of the "original series" came out, now she and others who waited can complete their collection and save space at the same time. This indeed is all 12 feature length episodes released to date that were shown here on A&E. For those of you bought them like me in either the smaller sets of 4 and/or individuals, their is nothing new here, but at least this set like the 2 Acorn sets (1 of the hour length shows, the other of the 2 hour ones both of which aired "here" on PBS and A&E later on) will take up less space on your shelf. Since nothing new was added, I will be content with what I have, if by now 7 years after they started you have not gotten any of the A&E ONLY aired stories now is your chance to get them all together. 12 for less than $100 is most definitely a bargain.

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Tony Award-nominee David Suchet is Hercule Poirot - dressed to the nines, impeccably mannered and infuriatingly arch, he is a detective like no other. Adapted from Agatha Christie's celebrated mysteries, each film features beautiful settings and an impeccable cast.Now, for the first time, twelve of Suchet's feature-length Poirot mysteries are available together in this collector's set. Produced by Brian Eastman (Traffik, Jeeves & Wooster), these exquisitely crafted tales of death and deception were filmed on location around the world, and features enough murder and mystery to test the mettle of our inimitably beloved Belgian sleuth.AGATHA CHRISTIE S POIROT: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION contains all twelve A&E feature-length Poirot films: THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD: Poirot's retirement in a quiet country village ends abruptly with the death of his disagreeable neighbor. LORD EDGWARE DIES: Intervening in a sticky marital situation, Poirot suddenly finds himself in the midst of murder.MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA: Poirot visits an ancient site in Iraq just before the head archeologist's unpopular wife is killed.EVIL UNDER THE SUN: Death intrudes on Poirot's island holiday, and only he can determine who is responsible.DEATH ON THE NILE: A pleasure cruise down the Nile turns deadly when a murder is discovered on board. Thank goodness Poirot is along for the ride.SAD CYPRESS: The solution to a double-murder case appears to be cut and dry, but Poirot's impeccable instincts eventually lead him to the real truth.THE HOLLOW: A weekend retreat where all the guests appear to despise one another finds Poirot hard at work doing what he does best.FIVE LITTLE PIGS: Poirot agrees to help a young woman prove her mother's innocence, 14 years after being sent to the gallows.THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN: When the daughter of an oil magnate is found dead on the famous Blue Train to the French Riviera, Poirot must investigate the past to reveal the killer.TAKEN AT THE FLOOD: Mystery surrounds a young woman after her new husband is killed in the London Blitz, and the mystery deepens when a man who may be her first husband shows up dead.AFTER THE FUNERAL: Following the murder of a wealthy patriarch, Poirot is called upon to begin an investigation. The case takes a wild twist however, when his prime suspect turns up dead.CARDS ON THE TABLE: When a woman is found dead at a card game, four investigators--including Poirot himself set out to discover which guest is the killer.

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Inspector Lewis: Series 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)The Inspector Morse mysteries were perhaps the finest television mysteries ever developed. I loved Morse and enjoyed every episode and ultimately purchased them all in the complete DVD edition. The Inspector Lewis mysteries are equally excellent television. They are a fine successor to the Morse series and deserving of five stars and my firm recommendation. I would like to buy a complete set of these, too, and I may, but from Amazon UK. Then I'll have to buy an all-region DVD player.
So why did I rate this DVD set only two stars? As the other reviewer discovered and wrote about, PBS is cutting about ten minutes from each episode to leave time for the extra introduction and to keep the entire length at 86 minutes, leaving time for PBS commercials. Each Inspector Lewis episode in the British DVD sets (Region 2) is 93 minutes. Each episode in the PBS version is 86 minutes which includes the extra introduction by PBS host Alan Cumming. The PBS Series 2 run time is listed as 602 minutes because this includes seven episodes, the four in British Series 2 and the first three in British Series 3. The last episode of Series 3, Counter Culture Blues, is omitted.
But that's not all. Again, as the reviewer said, these Inspector Lewis sets are one or more years behind schedule for U.S. patrons. The complete Inspector Lewis Series 1-3 DVD set has been available in the UK since April 2009. Here's a complete list of what's actually completed and available:
Pilot
Inspector Lewis
Series 1
Whom The Gods Would Destroy
Old School Ties
Expiation
Series 2
And The Moonbeams Kiss The Sea
Music To Die For
Life Born Of Fire
The Great And The Good
Series 3
Allegory Of Love
Quality Of Mercy
The Point Of Vanishing
Counter Culture Blues
The pilot episode is available by itself (in full length of 95 minutes) or as part of Series 1 with four DVDs in box. The other two series have four episodes/DVDs each. All three sets are available for less than $17 each on Amazon.co.uk, quite a bit less than the PBS price.
I strongly urge PBS to issue FULL-LENGTH episodes when they get around to selling the complete series box set.
Update (2009 October 8): I did purchase Series 1-3 of Inspector Lewis plus an all-region DVD player from Amazon UK. The process was painless, no different from ordering from the U.S. Amazon.com. I give these Lewis DVDs 5 stars. While the original Morse episodes were better due to the outstanding acting skills and persona of John Thaw, both Kevin Whately, who plays Inspector Lewis, and especially Laurence Fox, who plays Detective Sergeant James Hathaway, are excellent actors whose character relationship works well. There is no reason to rate these full-length episodes less than 5 stars.
Update (2010 April 28): Today I pre-ordered Series 4 from Amazon UK; it will ship in May. Needless to say, this DVD set is not available from PBS at all and the episodes haven't even been shown on PBS yet (but will be this summer as revealed by previews). A synopsis of each episode is available on the Amazon UK site. Here are the titles:
Series 4
The Dead Of Winter
Dark Matter
Your Sudden Death Question
Falling Darkness

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Oxford's Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately), protégé of the legendary Inspector Morse (John Thaw), and his brilliant, brooding partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox) are back with four twisting new thrillers, and this time their personal connections to their work threaten to expose more than a killer. Inspired by the Inspector Morse novels of Colin Dexter

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A Touch of Frost - Season 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)A Touch of Frost is an outstanding British mystery series, and it is high time it was released on DVD. This set contains the entire first series--three 100-minute episodes entitled "Care and Protection", "Not with Kindness", and "Conclusions." At the time of writing, series two is also available (for preordering), and I only hope that the video company will see fit to release the entire series.

David Jason (Only Fools and Horses, The Darling Buds of May, Open All Hours, Micawber), who personally is one of my favourite British actors, stars as Jack Frost, a dedicated, single-minded detective inspector with a nose for ferretting out criminals. Frost is a bit like a dog with a bone when he sets his mind on something, and he doesn't worry too much about letting little things like rules, procedures, tactfulness, or even legality get in the way of finding out the truth--if he can get away with it, that is. This is a man whose loathing for the criminal element--for those who hurt or destroy the lives of others--verges on the personal. At the very least, his dedication to duty is more than just a job for him, it's his whole life--his raison d'etre. Certainly, his personal life suffers greatly from his dedication--indeed obsession--with his work.
The series opens with Frost's wife on her deathbed. Even in such a situation (perhaps, indeed, because of it--for Frost does not handle personal tragedy well), he is unable to spend the time at his wife's side that is expected. While this may sound rather morbid and depressing, I must emphasize that overall the series is not. Certainly, the crimes that are committed are serious and tragic, but like the Inspector Morse series (a series with which this one compares well), the episodes are punctuated by quite a healthy dose of humour, and like Morse it is primarily character humour. In other words, it arises out of the idiosyncrasies in the inspector's character, which become more apparent as we become more familiar with the character. In Frost's case, apart from his questionable tactics, he's extremely disorderly, and his dedication to his work is matched only by his loathing for paperwork--a trait which often has him at odds with his punctilious boss, Superintendent Mullett. Indeed, Frost is perennially ducking into doorways or skipping out of the office in attempts to avoid the unwelcome confrontations. One thing Frost does not have, unlike Inspector Morse, is a regular "Sergeant Lewis" in tow; rather, he has a different sergeant assigned to him for almost every episode.
One aspect which, in my opinion, makes A Touch of Frost such a good series is the powerful punch of irony that usually occurs at the end of each episode. Often one can really sympathise with the killer or at the very least understand his or her motivation. Sometimes we find that it's one trifling incident--someone in the wrong place at the wrong time--or a petty misunderstanding that sets the wheels in motion for a tragic outcome. Often it seems that the bringing of the criminal to justice is the greatest injustice.
In conclusion, this is a well-acted and an extremely well-written mystery series--one with quite hard-hitting stories, thus making the comic relief all the more welcome. It is a series which I recommend very highly to fans of British mysteries in particular--if you enjoy shows like Inspector Morse, for example, or have enjoyed PBS's erstwhile Mystery! series, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. I would, however, go so far as to recommend this series to anyone looking for a superior quality mystery series, British or otherwise. Personally, I've always wondered why it was never made a part of PBS's Mystery! series, for it was certainly worthy of inclusion.

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"18 million viewers tuned into the super-length detective series." - The TimesA Touch of Frost is one of Britain's most successful detective series and stars award-winning actor David Jason as Detective Inspector Jack Frost, a policeman with a knack for attracting trouble. Set in the dreary town of Denton, Frost approaches each case with his characteristic dry wit and a sense of moral justice. A Touch of Frost Season One includes:In "Care and Protection," Frost investigates a missing child case, as his terminally ill wife languishes in bed. A chance digging turns up a 30 year-old skeleton chained to a strongbox. A former bank employee with links to the strongbox is murdered and Frost must find his killer. In "Not with Kindness," Frost grieves for his recently deceased wife, whose visiting sister from the States makes his life unbearable. Frost searches for a missing teenager and a victim of threatening phone calls wakes in the night to find her home engulfed in flames.In "Conclusions," an elderly man is killed in a hit-and-run that involves a prominent local official's son. A casino is robbed of the night's takings. An armed and dangerous fugitive takes a pair of hostages.Episodes: Care and Protection Not with Kindness Conclusions

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