Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection

This review is for the  Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Collection : Complete BBC Series 1 - 4 [1996] [DVD ] set (and not the more recent Dutch import). Pretty much 'Life in a northern town' - Hetty Wainthropp Investigates was a great series that should have run for 7 seasons. The last episode was first aired back in 1998. ITV originally dropped the series in 1990 after producing the one-off feature length 'Missing Persons', and 6 years later the BBC made it its own, buying up the 1986 novel rights and producing four seasons before cancelling it. The BBC series starts with Hetty hitting 60 and becoming increasingly determined to do something with her life. With her sidekick, the 'adopted' wayward teenager Geoffrey, they slowly evolve into a highly believable private eye investigative agency, and are rather like a 'Miss Marple & son' for hire. Doubting hubby Robert adds some additional support, mainly noting how much trouble they get in to, and for such little reward. All of Hetty's cases are mostly gentle stories, as much character studies as crime capers. All are filmed beautifully, capturing a working class Lancashire atmosphere harking back to an earlier era (even Geoffrey has a scooter) - in fact you could think it is set in the 1970s or earlier, and only the cars and the odd jug kettle give away the fact it is the 1990s. There is often an air of menace though and the odd body (e.g. in 'Fingers' and 'The Runaways'). The pairing of a naive enthusiastic youngster with a kind, if rather nosey & determined, old lady works really well, and the two can go places and be tolerated without attracting too much aggravation, so the series is surprisingly non-violent. Again like Miss Marple, with an extra large dollop of common sense, humanity, insight and 'above all never letting go', ex-housewife Hetty [and young Geoffrey] nearly always win through - although they are often aided by a little sympathetic help and advice from DCI Adams of the local constabulary [played by John Graham-Davies].A typical episode is 'Lost chords' where all the contestants at Blainthorp Music Festival's Golden Voice competition start to lose their voices - Hetty is asked to investigate. This large DVD set has all twenty seven BBC episodes, but it doesn't include the older ITV pilot 'Missing persons' [that can be purchased seperately]. The BBC episodes are: The Bearded Lady, Eye Witness, Fingers, Widdershins, High Profile, Safe as Houses, Poison Pen, Lost Chords, Runaways, The Astral Plane, A Rose By Any Other Name, Woman of the Year, All Stitched Up, Daughter of the Regiment, Serving the Community, Fisticuffs, Childs-play, Pursuit by Proxy, A Minor Operation, Helping Hansi, How Time Flies, Something to Treasure, Family Values, Digging for Dirt, Mind Over Muscle, Blood Relations and For Love Nor Money. Plus there's an 'exclusive' interview with Patricia Routledge who loved making the series and was keen to get it resurrected, but sadly the BBC declined as it was expensive to film and viewer ratings at the time apparently disappointed them. The only other DVD extras are 'cast filmographies' and a picture gallery. The music from the series was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for best television theme in 1997. This nine DVD set is 4:3 standard TV and has subtitles on seasons 2, 3 and 4 [not 1]. Patricia Routledge (Hetty), Dominic Monaghan (Geoffrey), and Derek Benfield (Robert) are simply superb and totally convincing. So a days worth of quality TV viewing, and the perfect Birthday present for those of a certain age [e.g. my wife and mother]. It's rated for age 12 and above. We paid £34 in 2008 and £25 in 2010 for our two boxed sets direct from Amazon, which we thought was great value.PS. This AcornTV DVD set seems to be out of production at the moment and sadly I can't see a new 'all seasons' BBC set about (other than the  Dutch import ) - I'm going to ask Hetty to investigate...

If you're thinking of buying the complete Hetty Wainthropp, you may be wondering whether to buy the cheaper Dutch import or this new BBC release. The Dutch import is significantly cheaper, and has Dutch only subtitles and a menu in Dutch. It has no episode guide/listing anywhere on the packaging. If you don't need subtitles, or if Dutch subtitles are suitable for you, then you may be happy with the Dutch import; the menu in Dutch is easy to work out, the Dutch subtitles can easily be removed, and the episode titles in the menu are in English. You get all the episodes without English subtitles, and no extras. So what's to gain from paying more for the new BBC release? It has English subtitles for series 2-4 (but no subtitles for series 1) and the special feature is an interview with Patricia Routledge, discussing her roles as Hetty and Hyacinth and her early days in repetory theatre. Inside the slipcase are two dvd cases, one for series 1-2 and one for series 3-4. On the back of each dvd case is a full episode listing with a breif synopsis. So you do get a bit more for the extra money with the new BBC release. If you know what to expect from each version you can make an informed choice. I previously owned the Dutch import but gave it away when this became available to pre-order, as personally I do tend to need subtitles. Neither version has been remastered and the picture is a little grainy sometimes, it would have been nice if the BBC had cleared the picture for the new release but hey-ho.As for the show itself, it's wonderful. Enough drama and mystery to make engaging viewing, some gentle humour and it exudes warmth throughout. Patricia Routledge is an incredibly gifted actress, perfectly capturing the no nonsense sleuth with a droll sense of humour. There's no swearing or violence, and a dash to borrow a scooter in place of car chases. It's crime drama that leaves you with a cosy glow. Pick the version that best suits you, put the kettle on and enjoy high quality television.

Received this today (11th August 2017) 3 days earlier than the official release date. It consists of the whole series 1-4, gives one the opportunity to see a very young Dominic Monaghan, the late Derek Benfield, and John Graham-Davies, all acting with Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances -which I have). Routledge is excellent as Hetty Wainthropp. There is also an interview with Patricia, plus Cast Filmographies, Cast Interviews, and a Picture Gallery. It consists of all the four series, and is a welcome edition to my collection!So why am I grousing? There are no subtitles on Series 1, but there are on Series 2-4. It mentions this on the back of the DVD Box and on the back of the first DVD, and on the back of the packaging. There are a total of 8 DVDS, and I cannot understand why there are no subtitles on Series 1, but there are on the other 3 remaining series. Fortunately, the sound and speech are clear enough for me, but this is a surprising error by the BBC. Incidentally, the same situation occurred on the first DVD of the "Porridge" series, which I also have.Unfortunately, because of the lack of subtitles on Series 1, I am forced to give it 4 stars instead of 5! This is a great shame. I hope, if you do a new edition of the series, this error will be corrected!