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Father Brown: Set 1
R1 - America - Acorn Media Review written by and copyright: Sam Scott. (17th January 2007). |
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The Film
 If there's one genre that the British seem to continually make great success of for television, it's good old fashioned murder mysteries, usually taken from novels. From Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot right through to the newer A Touch Of Frost and Cracker, not to mention the most famous of them all Sherlock Holmes, we can't help but keep churning out some thoroughly engrossing screen adaptations. But for every great show, there are plenty of mediocre ones, such is G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown. Set in the 1920s, Father Brown (a priest, obviously) always manages to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, as someone at the whichever place he is visiting, always manages to be murdered. Not being the type to sit back and let the police doall the investigating, Brown can't help himself but to try and solve the crime, by working out what could be motives from differen people to finding small clues that have been overlooked by the professionals. Even when the crime looks unsolvable, Father Brown always gets his man. Unfortunately, whilst the idea is certainly a good one, there are plenty of problems. The fifty minute episodes rarely engross the viewer and many times I found myself thinking about other things when I was trying to concentrate on the show. The stories are stretched over to long of a time period and could have easily been condensed into a more watchable half hour time slot. Other than Kenneth More whose acting is pretty good as the title character, the supporting cast's talents are dubious at best. A couple of times during the first seven episodes of this set, a character fluffs their line but carries on regardless. Obviously, the budget didn't account for such cock-ups. Also, it can sometimes feel a bit too far fetched that the police would say, openly investigate the murder in the first episode in the local pub. Unfortunately, this just doesn't match superior shows from the UK and America (like Diagnosis Murder or Murder She Wrote), and is left struggling to find some of the limelight. The storylines are great, but they just haven't been bought to the screen particularly well. Here is a brief episode guide for this set which features episodes 1-4 on disc 1 and 5-7 on disc 2. The Hammer Of God - A retired colonel, who is now a landlord, is found dead with his skull smashed in after having an adulterous affair with one of his tennents when her husband is away. The Oracle Of The Dog - Father Brown finds himself staying at the house of a colonel in order to use his library. The colonel soon turns up dead but no murder weapon can be found. The Curse Of The Golden Cross - A mysterious voice in a cave tells an archaeologist he is going to die after he is accused of stealing a golden cross. The Eye Of Apollo - Father Brown suspects foul play when a self proclaimed priest of Apollo manages to get a follower to change her will only for her to die. The Three Tools Of Death - A Scottish philanthropist is found dead shortly after having a live radio discussion with Father Brown. The Mirror Of The Magistrate - Father Brown must race to stop an innocent man getting sent down for the murder of a controversial magistrate. The Dagger With Wings - When a man's children start to die after he dabbles in black magic, it is up to the resourceful Father Brown to investigate.
Video
Acorn Media have provided us with the original aspect ratio of 4:3 and it's pretty poor. The colours are extremely washed out throughout and there are a large amount of scratches on the print. Dirt is also present for all episodes aswell as edge enhancement and ghosting, probably caused by a PAL>NTSC transfer. No subtitles have been included.
Audio
Acorn Media have provided us with the original mono track in English, and it's perfectly adequate. For a dialogue driven show with little background music or need for sound effects, you don't need much more. Volume levels are consistent and dialogue is clear 99% of the time, with the occasional mumble. There is also an occasional crackle in the mix but nothing too bad.
Extras
Nothing substantial but we do get a Biography for G.K. Chesterton and filmographies for six cast members all on disc one.
Overall
Distinctly average show that only big fans of murder mysteries should pick up.
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