Rumpole Of The Bailey – Set Three

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Episodes: B

 

 

By the time Leo McKern got to his later season playing Rumpole Of The Bailey,

He had so absorbed the character that it became second nature in ways it could not have in its pilot and earlier seasons (reviewed elsewhere on this site), but A&E has continued its upgraded reissues the entire series with this six-DVD Set Three.  The episodes for the whole series are as follows, usually starting with “Rumpole &” for each title:

 

Set Three:

 

1)     Bubble Reputation

2)     Barrow Boy

3)     Age Of Miracles

4)     Tap End

5)     Portia

6)     Quality Of Life

7)     A La Carte

8)     Summer Of Discontent

9)     Right Of Silence

10)  At Sea

11)  The Quacks

12)  The Prosecution

13)  Children Of The Devil

14)  Miscarriage Of Justice

15)  Eternal Triangle

16)  The Reform Of Joby Jobson

17)  Family Pride

18)  On Trial

 

Once again, the DVDs are in the nice, convenient slender cases that collector’s like (and need) to store their favorite shows.  Creator John Mortimer (see Brideshead Revisited reviewed elsewhere on this site) continued to write all the teleplays, which explains why these shows are so consistent throughout as well.  They all tend to be about his character and the people around him as much as they are about any of the cases, but the cases are always interesting.  The show has not been equaled since.

 

The full frame 1.33 X 1 images were shot on the old analog PAL format and look good for their age, despite some softness.  The outdoor shots look film-like, as so many such productions did back then on British TV.  They are all a bit better than the pilot too, but not by much, yet look a tad sharper than the original Warner Home Video release.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 features a boosted Stereo version of the original monophonic audio, especially at a higher 384 kilobits-per-second rate than the Warner edition did, so the sound is definitely better there than that older set in that respect.  The performance combination is an improvement on material that runs from 1978 through 1987, with spaces in between.  A good job was done on the digital remastering.  Joseph Horovitz’s theme song and score for these shows working nicely still, adding another layer of class to the “proceedings” as it were.

 

Extras include brief introduction from the creator on all the shows, with DVD 6 adding text bibliography and biography with select credits on Mortimer, a repeat of Official Executioners Of Newgate Prison and About The Old Bailey text from the previous sets, McKern’s Memories with Leo daughter, actress Abigail McKern, “newspaper evidence” and Spot The Barrister highlights with Mortimer’s impromptu appearances on the show.  I did not think the show could hold up and go on for so long, but it does, making Rumpole Of The Bailey one of the most durable long-term detective shows in TV history.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo