The second season of the British period comedy The Irish R.M. picks up just where the first season left off. Major Yeates (Peter Bowles) is a rather stuffy (but good-hearted) Englishman who's assigned to be the resident magistrate for a rural area in Ireland. He's made friends with some of the locals, but he's still flummoxed on any number of occasions by the hijinks and crazy plans of the imaginative (and none-too-scrupulous) Mr. Flurry (Bryan Murray). The six episodes of the 1983-1984 season are likely to please viewers who enjoyed the first season with this cast of characters.

The Irish R.M. sometimes pokes gentle fun at the pretensions of the British upper class, in the form of Major Yeates, who presume to know more about how to run Ireland than the Irish themselves. But this is by no means a political satire; the comedy stays entirely on the level of the personal foibles of the characters and the misadventures that they all end up having, courtesy of Flurry Knox. It's the cast, in fact, that really makes The Irish R.M. worth watching; Peter Bowles and Bryan Murray turn in consistently solid comic performances, but the supporting cast members also do a nice job.

The period setting and attention to local detail will also please fans of British drama; the show was filmed entirely on location in County Kildare, Ireland, and there are plenty of opportunities to appreciate the scenery (especially if you appreciate watching horses and hunting, the main excuses to get out and about in the country in these stories).

I found that the greatest charm of The Irish R.M. was earlier in its run, when the "fish out of water" nature of Major Yeates' situation was more on center stage, but these episodes do a nice job of handling the gently comic, slightly absurd stories that are the hallmark of the series. The season opens with "A Horse! A Horse!", with (no surprise here) Flurry involved in some dubious horse-trading deals. Major Yeates, of course, gets drawn in somewhat unwillingly... and as usual, things go well for Flurry but not so well for Major Yeates. The following episodes offer more variations on the twin themes of "Flurry's escapades" and "Major Yeates having trouble with the locals." "The Dispensary Doctor" features the major attempting to act as the patron of a local regatta, though not without distractions courtesy of Flurry. In "Holy Island" a shipload of rum washes ashore, but then mysteriously disappears when the police come looking for it. "Oweneen the Sprat" puts Major Yeates and Philippa in an unfortunate conflict with one of the dangerous men who live in the local hills, while in "A Royal Command" Flurry sets up what turns out to be a quite eventful polo match. The season ends up with the charming "The Aussolas Martin Cat," in which Major Yeates teams up with Flurry to try to prevent Mrs. Knox from renting out Knox Castle.

If you enjoyed all of Series 1, it's a pretty safe bet that you'll enjoy Series 2 as well. It's not quite as fresh as the first season, unavoidably so, but it's still charming and fun to watch.

The DVD

The six 51-minute episodes are split across two DVDs in individual plastic keepcases, which fit inside a glossy paperboard slipcase.

Video

The Irish R.M. appears in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the print looks to be in poor condition, worse than Series 1 to my eye. The generally grainy look isn't too bad, but on top of that, colors are muddy, contrast is too heavy, there's considerable edge enhancement in some scenes, and small print flaws are commonplace. It's watchable, but it certainly requires viewers to cut the show a lot of slack in the image department.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack squeaks by with an average mark, considering the early-1980s vintage of the show. The sound is slightly flat and occasionally a bit muffled, but has no other faults. The delightful theme music sounds quite nice here.

Extras

There's not much here by way of extras. We get a text biography of Peter Bowles and a profile of Somerville and Ross, the writers of the original Irish R.M. stories. Four recipes from "Mrs. Cadogan's Kitchen" are also included, as are cast filmographies.

Final thoughts

I've given this set a "Rent it" recommendation mainly because of the lackluster video transfer here; this is a set that'll warrant a purchase only if you're sure that you'll like it and are willing to put up with less than stellar image quality for a chance to complete your Irish R.M. collection. But though it's not something that I'd suggest for a blind purchase (for that, you'd want to start with Series 1 anyway), viewers who really liked Series 1 will certainly enjoy the episodes here, as the series continues on a fairly even keel with its charming, low-key stories and gentle humor.