Rosemary & Thyme – Series Three

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Episodes: B-

 

 

Oh no, another stuffy British Television Series!  Well if this is your mind set you are dead wrong.  Rosemary and Thyme - Series Three is a new excellent release from of neighbors from across the sea.  Though for years the American Entertainment Industry has been stealing (or leasing?) British reality TV ideas as well as game shows, other brands of British entertainment has been left alone due to the feeling that we as Americans have a more crude sense of humor, adventure, and mystery.  Well with DVD sets being pumped out more and more it is no surprise that America is seeing a plethora of British TV series on our store shelves.

 

This reviewer would have to agree that many series are stuffy for an array of reasons such as atmosphere, dry story line, or bad picture and sound quality; but Acorn Media seems to find the best of the best British Television for American viewers to partake in.  To summarize what the series is about, this 3 disc, 8 episode set follows professional gardeners and amateur detectives Felicity Kendal (Rosemary) and Pam Ferris (Thyme) as they fix up the gardens and stumble into strange mysteries that they are sure to solve.  The series, overall, is quite inviting and interesting each mystery being very unique, and the women being a great dark comedy to the series.

 

Episodes for this installment include:

 

Disc One -

 

In a Monastery Garden

The gardeners are called in to fix-up an old herb garden that must be revived in time for a Royal visit.  In the process of fixing up the old monastery’s grounds, some of the locals seem unsettled by the gardeners’ presence and soon a young girl is murdered.

 

Seeds of Time

A fellow, famous, botanist has passed away and Rosemary and Thyme are called in to make the deceased garden presentable for the home’s sale.  Soon into the organization of some seeds and the grounds a strange murder takes place in the garden, leading to Rosemary and Thyme to put on their monocles and detective hats.

 

Agua Cadaver

An old flame calls upon Rosemary to come to Spain to create a Moorish garden for him on his hillside home.  Soon after their arrival Rosemary and Thyme know something is amiss.

 

Disc Two -

 

Three Legs Good

Rosemary and Thyme are called upon to recreate the original plantings of the famous Regent Park’s Garden in London.  Due to their personalities and charming skills Rosemary and Thyme meet many interesting people, but murder soon brings happiness to a halt.  This murder makes the sleuths start sniffing the grounds for clues, while making a new three legged friend.

 

The Gooseberry Bush

This is a two for one mystery.  While fixing up a garden for a woman who is to remarry her ex-husband, Rosemary and Thyme discover a baby in the garden.  After this young discovery, an artist across town also ends up dead, creating an even deeper mystery.  What will the team do?

 

Racquet Espanol

While in Spain (of course fixing up a Garden) a young tennis pro dies after a night out on the town.  Of course suspecting foul play (not foul ball) Rosemary and Thyme abandon their new hobbies discovered in Spain and start Sleuthing.

 

Disc Three –

 

Enter Two Gardeners

Fixing up an outside theater’s garden, Rosemary and Thyme’s efforts are thwarted by a terrible stage ‘accident.’  Rather than doing their normal detective duties Thyme seems to be caught up in theater rather than mystery theater.

 

The Cup of Silence

A mystery that is more tangled than the weeds they seek to destroy, Rosemary and Thyme find themselves caught up in one final case for this set when a wine columnist unexpectedly dies at the site of the vineyard.

 

 

The technical features of this DVD set adequate, but not wonderful.  The picture is presented in a pleasant 1.78 X 1/16 X 9 Anamorphic Widescreen that is crisp and clear.  The only gripe with the picture is the occasion where picture seems too bright, but that is not often.  The sound is clean in its Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with combined Pro Logic surrounds. The crisp sound presentation makes for an enjoyable British Television experience, which on other sets can make the atmosphere even stuffier.  The extras are not very good, being very basic in nature on presenting as a stills section, cast bios, text production notes, and a few more features which overall are drab.

 

This reviewer found this series to be far superior to some other British Series that are monotonous, stuffy, and overall boring.  The women of this series combined with good mysteries and a thoughtful sense of humor, make this for a superb British series.  This reviewer had never seen any of the previous Series (the previous ones are covered on this site) but found this set to be enticing and griping.  For mystery fans this set is a jolly good time.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty