McCallum – The Complete Series
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B-
As
another hoped-for medical detective thriller that did not work out, the Australian
series McCallum began in 1995 and
after eight shows over two seasons, star John Hannah was gone. Like many detective shows since the days of
1930s B-movies, the final show is about his successor and not so good, but that
definitely makes it a DVD box set that deserves to call itself McCallum – The Complete Series.
The show
is good, but it is also trying to be more broad and commercial like its
American rivals than more clever like the best U.S. and U.K. shows. This 5-DVD set is complete and seems to show
the episodes in chronological order, but instead of having Iain McCallum become
the detective; it pairs him with them at random. With the help of fellow Dr. Angela Moloney
(Zara Turner), he takes on cases from the morgue, which leads back often to the
crime scene and wherever he needs to go.
Unfortunately, except for Hannah’s distinctiveness, the show is a
visually darkened version of everything out there, which is simply a big reason
it did not survive.
Still, it
has its fans and we have seen much worse in the genre, so Mystery and medical
thriller fans will want to check it out at least once.
The
letterboxed 1.66 X 1 image is surprisingly soft and fuzzy for a show that ran
recently, shot that way as the U.K. broadcasters were not sure about a
finalized HD frame. It is just on the
weak side when it does not need to be.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Sound has the Dolby Pro Logic logo on screen as
each show begins, but this must be second generation at least, because any
surrounds are weak and restricting.
There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
