The premise is exceedingly simple. Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal, of The Good Life), a learned plant biology professor, suddenly finds herself out of a job when her boss must look for redundancies (layoffs). Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris, of The Darling Buds of May), is a former cop whose police officer husband leaves her for a younger woman. These two strangers, brought together unexpectedly when a mutual friend dies under suspicious circumstances, find out that their love of horticulture is matched by their nosey curiosity and their acute powers of observation and deduction. Teaming up to offering gardening services to wealthy landowners, the pair find a true friendship in doing what they love, while seemingly drawing corpses like flies whenever they light somewhere for a job. Decidedly not detectives, the women can't help but get involved whenever they dig up clues to the various homicides that plague their travels, much to the consternation of the either obtuse or obstinate local authorities.

What immediately drew me to Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection were the absolutely spectacular gardens and stately homes that populate the various episodes in the series. If you're a gardener, you'll find the travelogue nature of Rosemary & Thyme an equal or greater draw than any other aspect of the series. Each episode features some facet of gardening or horticulture or botany that plays a significant part in the central murder, so if plants or flowers or trees are your thing, you'll love this subtext. Locations aren't just restricted to England, however; the production makes side trips to Italy, Spain and France (due to the relatively short summer season in England), with equally dazzling results.

Connoisseurs of mysteries, particularly English country mysteries, will no doubt find much of Rosemary & Thyme familiar. Each episode is structured along a similar pattern: the women arrive (in Rosemary's to-die-for battered Land Rover) at some tucked-away, quaint spot, ready to do a gardening job for a wealthy patron or perhaps an old acquaintance, when a murder occurs. A cast of eccentric characters files by, with Rosemary and Laura sniffing out the clues almost by accident as they go about restoring and beautifying their gardens. You won't find too many surprises as far as the mysteries go in the series; I'm never one to actively try and figure out such things (I just like to let the mystery elements wash over me, enjoying the suspense of being out of the loop), but I didn't have too much difficulty in determining the murderers in Rosemary & Thyme.

But baffling or confusing the audience doesn't strike me as the raison d'etre of Rosemary & Thyme. On the contrary, Rosemary & Thyme is a like a comfortable old shoe, a laid-back, genial, sedate folly that relaxes rather than excites. I'm sure there might be detractors that say the series is too calm for its own good, but that line between "casual" and "boring" is tough to walk, and Rosemary & Thyme does it expertly. It's an amusing, rather than laugh-out-loud funny show, creating yet another layer of warmth that's perfectly in keeping with the show's informal design. If ever there was a British TV mystery made for having the viewer sink down in their comfy chair, while put up their slippered feet, and enjoy a cuppa, it's the languid Rosemary & Thyme.

Key, of course, to attaining this kind of gossamer atmosphere are the various production elements (all top notch here, particularly the crystalline lensing), along with the leads, who have to make a believable team. And as with the basic series structure of Rosemary & Thyme, Ferris and Kendal are equally unflappable. One of the elements I found disarming about Rosemary & Thyme is the fact that we don't get a lot of soul-searching or breast-beating about the characters' storied backgrounds or their current lot in life. Certainly, the subtext of two mature women, shunted aside both economically and emotionally, only to team up and make a new, exciting, fulfilling life for themselves, is bubbling under the surface of the show. But to its credit, Rosemary & Thyme doesn't make a big deal about that. We get to know the characters gradually, but there are still elements of their lives for which we don't get full explanations, adding a bit of mystery to their makeup. Not everything is spelled out for us.

And pros Ferris and Kendal make a marvelous go of bringing Laura and Rosemary to life. While the two characters can be described in terms that might sound clichéd (Laura is instinctual and sometimes emotional, while the intellectual Rosemary is more clinical, more exacting in her deduction), Ferris and Kendal bring a nicely mocking tone to their portrayals that's quite enjoyable to watch. Always snickering or feigning surprise when they overhear a bit of juicy gossip that will later play a key role in the investigation, Ferris and Kendal do very well with making Laura and Rosemary gardeners first, and accidental, amateur sleuths second. The series is always careful to make sure that the team never comes off as some sort of British knock-off of Scooby-Doo crossed with Murder, She Wrote; Laura and Rosemary never announce themselves as sleuths, nor do they ever get any credit (or money) for their investigations; it all just sort of happens to them, very randomly. And that indiscriminate, happenstance central core fits in just perfectly with the series' delightfully fey atmosphere.

The DVD:

The Video:
The anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen image for Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection is beautifully clear and sharp, with vibrant, correctly hued colors, and no compression issues.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo soundtrack is perfectly suited for this kind of show, with the dialogue crisply presented, and the haunting, lilting theme song beautifully woven throughout the episodes. There are, unfortunately, no close-captions or subtitles available.

The Extras:
The only extras included are a seven minute on-set interview with the two lead actors, as well as a photo gallery, some text production notes and bios, and a trivia game.

Final Thoughts:
Leisurely, unruffled, genial British murder mystery, with two delightful stars, Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection was a marvelous surprise for me - what a pity it didn't run longer. Still, the 22 episodes included in this complete series collection should find welcome viewers who like their murder mysteries with a light, knowing touch. Beautiful backgrounds, and a fey, charming atmosphere mark Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection as a real sleeper. I highly recommend Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Collection.