Hamish MacBeth : Series 1-3 (6 Disc Box Set) [DVD]

I missed this programme first time round but read a couple of the books recently and loved them. Its a wonderful programme, full of eccentric characters and clever storylines and the underlying sense of mysticism. TV John is a joy, the scenery is fabulous (Plockton and Kye of Lochalsh), the humour gentle and the characterisation is great. One or two bits are a little shocking and it can get a wee bit emotional at times but all in all a lovely programme that should appeal to just about everyone. The main upshot of it was that I now want to live in Lochdubh! Tissue alert: one of the episodes is a real tear jerker.....................

Great to see this series released on DVD. The tiny village of Lochdubh (pronounced Loch-Doo) and its quirky inhabitants keep pot-smoking policeman Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle) busy, frustrated and, occasionally, baffled. He loves the place and will do anything to stay, even giving credit for solved cases to more ambitious Police visitors so that his low profile is maintained. The casting of this series is really great and it stands as good entertainment on its own merits (despite the "not as good as the books" whingeing from another reviewer). The Scottish landscape is breathtaking and the quirkiness of the locals (reminiscent of 'Whisky Galore') is really funny. This is a series to watch again and again - it contains some shocks and surprises (no bad thing) but these serve to whet the appetite for more. I highly recommend this series.

Asked what I wanted as a xmas pressie this year, I picked Hamish MacBeth, the complete series 1-3. I have always likes Robert Carlyle as an actor, and I remember some of the stories from the original BBC broadcasts. Although the Highland accents are somewhat mixed, that is a small detail to an English viewer, as the acting of the varied cast more than makes up for it. The main star of the show is the village of Lochdubh, in reality Plockton, and the scenery. Second only to the scenery is the central character of Hamish MacBeth, a city policeman who prefers the slower pace of the countryside and will do anything to preserve his quiet life and stop interference from the "city boys". Add to this the kind of eccentrics found in small communities (on TV anyway), a low level of actual policework, and Hamish's on/off love life, and you have perfect sunday night or afternoon viewing. There is very little extreme in language, violence etc. and the pace is comfortable. Robert Carlyle was once quoted as saying that filming this show was one of the most relaxed times in his career, and I think most viewers would agree on the results.

This is an extraordinary TV series, not least of which it would never have been "allowed" under normal circumstances. (Chief) writer Daniel Boyle and the producers wanted to aim a Sunday night "detective" show at a dual audience - the older demographic (36+) for the scenery/gentle highland pace, and the "youth" audience (-36) for the "hip" wit, stories, etc. Helped by the fact that the BBC had no Unnessary Director of Pointless Interference & Ruining Good Ideas in post at the time, they managed to pull off Hamish MacBeth and pull off satisfying both desired demographics. The oldies tuned in for the glorious West Highland scenery of Plockton, a tiny village on a lagoon where the microclimate helped palm trees to flourish (thank you, Gulf Stream - the atmospheric phenomonen, not the plane). The youngies tuned in for the cute eye-candy of Doc Brown (actually much better looking and phwooar than Robert Carlyle, who was not bad looking himself) and the eccentric locals like Esme and Rory and the sight of the local bobby (Robert Carlyle) smoking pot with the local doctor (Duncan Duff) and also the edgy plots, for example, Series 1 included a mother murdering her own adult son and dumping the body in a tank of crustaceans which ate the evidence and were in turn eaten by the villagers (!) and also the death of a kwoot ittle dohgee (West Highland terrier) which, worryingly, caused more viewer concern than scenes of a mother murdering her child. Virtually every episode of Series 1 and 2 is a gem, some for the humour/comedy/wit, others for the emotional intensity of the story, and of course the real star of the show was the glorious natural beauty that every shot included without having to try. There is also Duncan Duff, who should have gone on to be a megastar thanks to those glorious velvet eyes, etc. The reason I give it 4-stars is because of Series 3 - amazingly, the show's producers decided to quit on a high after one more series (3) instead of not just flogging a dead horse but stuffing it, putting it on display and charging the paying public to look at it. Because of this everyone in Series 3 is a bit too relaxed, a bit too demob happy; Carlyle is clearly "phoning in" several performances and reversing the charges to boot, even the gorgeous Duncan Duff occasionally appears to have really been smoking the waccy baccy and Ralph Riach, who played TV John, had his pyschic abilities go from the sublime to the ridiculous. That's not to say Series 3 wasn't very good - it was, but Series 1 and 2 were outstanding and if the cast and crew had just kept it tight and focussed for their swansong, the show would have deserved about 6 or 7 stars. NOTE: as several reviewers have pointed out, the TV series bears no resemblance to the books of the creator, MC Beaton, who began the Hamish MacBeth series before her later, more famous, Agatha Raisin murder-mysteries. At the time the showed aired, Mrs Beaton's series was only published in the USA. Recently, I had the chance to meet Mrs Beaton, who was very diplomatic, but also very clear that the reason Agatha R never made it onscreen was because of the HM TV show fallout - being naive in TV-land, the author signed away all creative control of the TV series, and alluded to a claim that Mr Carlyle refused to do the show unless the eponymous HM was allowed to be shown on screen as a dope-befuddled layabout (see Series 1) despite being a police officer, which demand was acceded to, despite the way the show was written already having the character come across as morally weak, two-timing and not that bright. Mrs Beaton expressed that there is tentative hope of Agatha Raisin being televised, but that this time, the books will be rigorously adhered to and the characters will not be on-screen assassinated by those who play them.

Great comedy, beautiful scenery and the wife loves it.

I've never been one for allowing reviews to determine what I buy or don't buy, I buy because I found something interesting in something, it's the same with this meloncholy series about Highland village life, I've never read the books, so I can't make a comparison, I just enjoyed the series. I've liked Robert Carlyle for many years, more because he brings a sense of realism to the characters he plays, none more so than Hamish Macbeth. It's not the complete 20 episode series, West Coast Story is missing from series one, but it's been so long since I've seen this endearing series, it doesn't really matter. It's an acquired taste, for fans of the series. Five stars...

This was quite good. I found the books more interesting. This was only loosely based on them.

Love it. Arrived in good condition and plays on my Australian Bu Ray Player. What not to love? ESTHER

Fast delivery, well packaged. Great series, and I've fallen in love with Hamish.

Vorsicht: diese Serie macht absolut süchtig. Nach den ersten zwei Episoden konnten wir überhaupt nicht mehr aufhören. Hamish McBeth ist Polizist in einem kleinem schottischen Dorf und muss ständig abwägen zwischen Recht und Ordnung und mal Fünfe gerade sein lassen, um sich nicht mit seinen Dorfbewohnern zu überwerfen. Es passiert in dem Örtchen recht viel, die absolut umwerfenden Charaktere machen jede Episode zu einem Unikat. Es geht aber auch recht schottisch zu: Es gibt Prügeleien, Tote und Geister; viel Fisch und Ale und viel Wetter! Nur zur Vorwarnung: es sterben auch mal Figuren, die in einem deutschen/amerikanischen Film niemals ein solch herbes Schicksal erleiden würden. Ein wichtiger Tipp: Da das schottische Englisch ziemlich anders ist, empfiehlt es sich die Untertitel für Gehörgeschädigte einzuschalten.

Allerdings ist die Serie komplett anders als die Bücher. Der Hauptcharakter heißt zwar Hamish, entspricht aber über Haupt nicht der Beschreibung aus den Büchern, einige Charaktere aus den Büchern sind nur kurz vorhanden, es kommen neue dazu. Aber trotzdem eine schöne Serie!

La qualité n'est pas terrible, uniquement en anglais c'était noté mais surtout: si loin des livres....