You have an anti-hero that the audience cares very much about, someone that many of us can empathize with.
One Day a Lemming Will Fly
When an effeminate 14-year old boy, Tim, is found strangled and hanging from a tree, the entire town is on edge as a child killer is loose in their midst. After Tim´s English teacher, Mr. Cassidy (Christopher Fulford), is saved from an attempted suicide, he becomes Bilborough´s prime suspect in the case, believing that his guilt from the crime drove him to try and kill himself. Fitz is brought in to comfort the grieving family and to evaluate and hopefully extract a confession from Cassidy. As Cassidy´s life slowly unravels, suspicions of his closeted homosexual attraction to Tim become a motive for the crime. However, without realizing it, Fitz is coming up against his most difficult foe yet, one that can play mind games as well as our man Fitz.
Slotted in between these three cases are Fitz´s efforts to work through his own failings and get his family back together again. Many might describe this benign storyline as a distraction from the real meat of the series but it actually accentuates Fitz´s flawed character by giving him a vulnerability that contrasts totally with his confident crime-busting alter ego. Another chink in Fitz´s armor comes in the form of DS Panhaligon, with whom he flirts at every opportunity. In fact, Fitz´s seesaw relationship with Panhaligon serves as an interesting side story that gives the show a romantic angle that will keep fans guessing throughout the series.
Video:
Unfortunately, despite the laudable effort on the part of HBO Home Video to introduce this excellent British crime series to a new audience here in the U.S., very little has been done to clean up the video presentation for this DVD set. Featuring broadcast quality video, "Cracker: Series 1" looks less appealing than even some older television series that has been updated on the DVD format. The night scenes are especially grainy and harsh. "Cracker" is presented in its original full frame broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 without any optional subtitles. Considering the extensive use of British slang words and sometimes hard-to-understand accents, subtitles could have been useful.
Audio:
The audio is just as disappointing. Although stated as encoded in Dolby Surround 2.0, the audio sounds like something that comes out of a regular television broadcast. As the show is mainly dialogue-driven, the surround speakers are never utilized. One highlight though, is the show´s use of obscure 80´s British pop music hits throughout the series. Listen for Alison Moyet´s "That Ole Devil Called Love" and Kirsty MacCall´s "A New England". These songs really bring back some memories.
Extras:
Extras? What extras? Only a biography of Robbie Coltrane is included.
--Miscellaneous--
The packaging for this DVD set is quite unique. It is in a form of a book with very thick cardboard covers. Opening it will reveal Disc One on the left panel and Disc Three on the right. When you open panel holding Disc Three, Disc Two will be revealed. There are no snaps or any type of mechanism to hold the package shut, just the disc panels themselves fit into each other.
Film Value:
At its core, "Cracker" is a detective series in the same vein as the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. More of a thinking man´s crime drama than an action-oriented show, I dare say that "Cracker" fits into the same mold as "CSI". Whereas "CSI" deals with the physical evidence, "Cracker" goes after the criminal´s psyche. The character of Fitz might seem like an unlikely hero: overweight, drunk and with a nasty gambling habit. Fitz probably has more issues than some of his adversaries. However, this is exactly what makes the show tick. You have an anti-hero that the audience cares very much about, someone that many of us can empathize with. Robbie Coltrane´s brilliant interpretation of McGovern´s flawed hero, Fitz seems to put the screws on the rest of the cast but the principal actors deliver excellent performances that glue the show together. In fact, without the great work of the supporting cast, "Cracker" will never have achieved the success that it had in Britain.
When an effeminate 14-year old boy, Tim, is found strangled and hanging from a tree, the entire town is on edge as a child killer is loose in their midst. After Tim´s English teacher, Mr. Cassidy (Christopher Fulford), is saved from an attempted suicide, he becomes Bilborough´s prime suspect in the case, believing that his guilt from the crime drove him to try and kill himself. Fitz is brought in to comfort the grieving family and to evaluate and hopefully extract a confession from Cassidy. As Cassidy´s life slowly unravels, suspicions of his closeted homosexual attraction to Tim become a motive for the crime. However, without realizing it, Fitz is coming up against his most difficult foe yet, one that can play mind games as well as our man Fitz.
Slotted in between these three cases are Fitz´s efforts to work through his own failings and get his family back together again. Many might describe this benign storyline as a distraction from the real meat of the series but it actually accentuates Fitz´s flawed character by giving him a vulnerability that contrasts totally with his confident crime-busting alter ego. Another chink in Fitz´s armor comes in the form of DS Panhaligon, with whom he flirts at every opportunity. In fact, Fitz´s seesaw relationship with Panhaligon serves as an interesting side story that gives the show a romantic angle that will keep fans guessing throughout the series.
Video:
Unfortunately, despite the laudable effort on the part of HBO Home Video to introduce this excellent British crime series to a new audience here in the U.S., very little has been done to clean up the video presentation for this DVD set. Featuring broadcast quality video, "Cracker: Series 1" looks less appealing than even some older television series that has been updated on the DVD format. The night scenes are especially grainy and harsh. "Cracker" is presented in its original full frame broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 without any optional subtitles. Considering the extensive use of British slang words and sometimes hard-to-understand accents, subtitles could have been useful.
Audio:
The audio is just as disappointing. Although stated as encoded in Dolby Surround 2.0, the audio sounds like something that comes out of a regular television broadcast. As the show is mainly dialogue-driven, the surround speakers are never utilized. One highlight though, is the show´s use of obscure 80´s British pop music hits throughout the series. Listen for Alison Moyet´s "That Ole Devil Called Love" and Kirsty MacCall´s "A New England". These songs really bring back some memories.
Extras:
Extras? What extras? Only a biography of Robbie Coltrane is included.
--Miscellaneous--
The packaging for this DVD set is quite unique. It is in a form of a book with very thick cardboard covers. Opening it will reveal Disc One on the left panel and Disc Three on the right. When you open panel holding Disc Three, Disc Two will be revealed. There are no snaps or any type of mechanism to hold the package shut, just the disc panels themselves fit into each other.
Film Value:
At its core, "Cracker" is a detective series in the same vein as the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. More of a thinking man´s crime drama than an action-oriented show, I dare say that "Cracker" fits into the same mold as "CSI". Whereas "CSI" deals with the physical evidence, "Cracker" goes after the criminal´s psyche. The character of Fitz might seem like an unlikely hero: overweight, drunk and with a nasty gambling habit. Fitz probably has more issues than some of his adversaries. However, this is exactly what makes the show tick. You have an anti-hero that the audience cares very much about, someone that many of us can empathize with. Robbie Coltrane´s brilliant interpretation of McGovern´s flawed hero, Fitz seems to put the screws on the rest of the cast but the principal actors deliver excellent performances that glue the show together. In fact, without the great work of the supporting cast, "Cracker" will never have achieved the success that it had in Britain.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.