Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Not a complete setComment: Received this today having discovered the entire 3 series was now available to buy on DVD. Only it isn't the complete 3 series as advertised. On the back of the box, in the small print, it states that episode 4 of series 1 "West Coast Story" is not available on DVD. Presumably, therefore, it is also missing from the series 1 DVD collection?
Very pleased to have the box set and will enjoy watching it, but it shouldn't be advertised as "complete" when it isn't.Customer Rating: Summary: Series 1 and 2 best. DVD transfer bad in places.Comment: First things first - Episode 4 of the first series, West Coast Story, is not included in this release. Rips off West Side Story a little too much to risk a worldwide release obviously. Also, the transfer to DVD of the first series is downright shocking in places, some scenes look like 3rd generation VHS copies. Not exactly what I was expecting for £26.
But on the whole I was still absolutely delighted with the content. As others have mentioned, the third series is the noticeably weaker than the first two, too many new characters introduced and storylines which stretch the believability factor a bit too much. But still a worthwhile purchase, though as mentioned above, i'd say try and track it down a little cheaper.Customer Rating: Summary: The Quiet Man of MysteryComment: I am so very very glad that this series was finally released on DVD.
The Hamish Macbeth series is not about a law enforcement officer in a small Scottish town. Rather, it's a series about a person who lives in a small Scottish town who "happens" to be a law enforcement officer. In short, the series endeavors to explore Macbeth as a man who lives in a small town and wants to continue living there ... with the ever-present knowledge that his accomplishments as a law enforcement officer, if noticed by "upper" authorities, could lead to a transfer elsewhere.
The series, therefore, does not dwell so much on the mysteries he has to solve (though he does solve them) as much as it does on the eccentricities of small town living and the effect of these eccentricities on the man assigned to keep order there (as well as those he calls his friends and neighbors). It is a rare police-related series that is highly character driven ... with one of the characters being the fictional village, Lochdubh, where the action takes place.
Sadly, it only lasted for 3 seasons ... and even then, encompassed only 20 episodes total. But they are 20 episodes worth seeing over and over again.Customer Rating: Summary: Wrong titleComment: Not being a native I enjoyed it enormously but I think that "Sex and the Hamlet" would have been a more appropriate title.Customer Rating: Summary: Well worth buyingComment: This is even better than I remember and I would highly recommend it.
Robert Carlyle is excellent as the lead character - v. sexy !
Great acting, beautiful scenery, some sad touching moments to make you cry, amiable eccentric characters, a cute dog, and the always wonderful Shirley Henderson. :)
The only negative thing I would say is that the 3rd series is slightly weaker than the first two but is still very good (with the exception of the episode 'More Than A Game' which bored me a little).
This is definitely one of my favourite box sets and well worth buying. I'll be watching it again and again.