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McCallum: The Complete Series
Koch Vision // Unrated // July 11, 2006
List Price: $59.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Coroners, forensic pathologists, crime scene investigators… the cracking of a good murder mystery from the corpse on up is one of those television formulas that refuse to get old. You toss me a dead body in need of an icky once-over and a lead character willing to go beyond the natural boundaries of his/her job in order to solve the crime, I'm one happy guy.
The BBC's mid-1990s entry into this field was "McCallum," which began as a movie-length special in December 1995, ran for two brief series in early 1997 and again in early 1998, then wrapped up with another movie-length special in December 1998. (Ah, bless the BBC and their erratic scheduling!)
A heavily accented John Hannah stars as Dr. Ian McCallum, ace forensic pathologist for St. Patrick's Hospital of London's East End. He's the kind of hero most comfortable in his leather jacket, sticking it to the man. And, because this is a crime drama, he's often taking on the case when the cops fail to follow through. And, again, because this is a crime drama, work too often wins out in Ian's personal life, much to the dismay of beleaguered live-in girlfriend Joanna (Suzanna Hamilton). It doesn't help Ian's case that he's kind of a jerk, a bit too self-involved - and even quick to jump into the bed of another lady.
And, again again, because this is a crime drama, Ian has at his disposal a group of supporting players both whip-smart and eccentric - coroners who dig classic heavy metal, struggling young investigators, stuffy types, strict types, that sort of thing. Ian's partner (Zara Turner) gets plenty of air time, her own personal life getting so much attention that she's essentially the second lead (and the provider of many of the series' steamier scenes).
The mysteries are all typical Brit television, intricately plotted with plenty attention to character, drama being the driving force here. The direction here is mood first - much of the scenes are lit in darker colors, often with a bluish tint to them, suggesting a seamier side of the night. "Dank" is as good a word as any to describe McCallum's world, and that dankness sets the tone for some very involving, highly somber people-driven mystery yarns. The whodunit angle and the use of technology to aid in the investigation are important parts of "McCallum," yes, but overall, this is a somber work of drama above all else.
And, well, it's a sexy one, too. The series' brooding attitude and lack of shyness around the more, ahem, romantic scenes gives the show an attitude often missing from American television. Hannah's confidence in his role and his relationships with both girlfriend and partner add a much welcome bit of steam to the proceedings.
In an odd turn, the BBC opted to continue with the series despite the departure of both Hannah and Turner. The December 1998 special ("Beyond Good & Evil") brought in Nathaniel Parker as Dr. Dan Gallagher, yet, for reasons that seem logical only to fans of "Valerie's Family," the Beeb felt it reasonable to title the show "McCallum" anyway. (Granted, many of the supporting players did return, so there is continuity, but still. Weird.) The gamble didn't pay off, and, despite its being a rather gripping thriller on par with the rest of the series, this special marked the end of the "McCallum" franchise.
Hannah would return to the format in a series of BBC adaptations of Ian Rankin's "Rebus" mysteries (although he would also be replaced later on), proving just how much Hannah is as a perfect fit for Brit TV mysteries - and "McCallum" is perhaps the best example.
The DVD
Koch Vision has collected all nine mysteries onto five DVDs, handsomely contained in a digipak housed in a cardboard slipcover.
In a move that will disappoint purists, the seven stories that comprise the main two seasons have been re-edited from their original fifty-minute episode format. Each of the seven two-parts have been cut into single movie-length (99 min.) episodes, with the closings for all the part ones and beginnings of all the part twos sadly absent from this set. The editing has been done so well that you won't really notice, however. Indeed, the only thing that first clued me in on all of this was the strange mistake in the episodes of the first series: the title cards for each of these three episodes still read "episode one," yet there is no "episode two" in sight. Whoops. The error has been corrected for the series two episodes.
Still, the idea of getting this series in an edited form instead of its original state is a bit of a sticking point.
The episodes included in this set are:
Disc One: "The Key to My Heart," "Sacrifice."
Disc Two: "Touch," "Dead But Still Breathing."
Disc Three: "City of the Dead," "Harvest."
Disc Four: "Dead Men's Fingers," "Running on Empty."
Disc Five: "Beyond Good & Evil."
Video
I'm not sure what to make of the show's aspect ratio. The series is letterboxed, but at an odd ratio I estimate at around 1.50:1 - too wide to be full screen, too short to be widescreen. Considering the non-anamorphic presentation here and the downright narrowness of those black bars, I'm tempted to guess that the show was filmed in a 1.33:1 television format, then slightly cropped artificially in order to simulate a theatrical look. As such, the flat letterboxing of the image shouldn't be seen as a detriment.
With all that out of the way… Everything looks pretty darn good here. The shady, moody imagery gets a fine treatment here, sharp, slick, and nicely contrasted.
Audio
Each episode still features a "Dolby Surround" logo in the bottom right corner at the start of the opening credits (a throwback to the "in stereo where available" text that networks loved in the late 80s/early 90s)… although instead of Surround, we only get Dolby 2.0 stereo. Curious, yes, but not disappointingly so, as the stereo soundtrack is rich and properly balanced and simply gets the job done.
No subtitles are available, so when it comes to Hannah's accent, you're on your own.
Extras
None, unless you count the trailers for "Antone's: Home of the Blues" and "The David Steinberg Show" that automatically play as you load up Disc One. And no, I'm not counting the web link to Koch's website Disc One also provides as a bonus feature, either.
Final Thoughts
So the extras are nonexistent, and the audio and video presentation, while quite good, leave a few odd questions up in the air. But the series itself is why we're here, and "McCallum" is such a sleek, intelligent mystery-drama that that it's solidly Recommended to anyone looking for more character-driven goodness in their forensic thrills. Come for the whodunit, stay for the attitude. And, of course, all those naked rear ends.
The BBC's mid-1990s entry into this field was "McCallum," which began as a movie-length special in December 1995, ran for two brief series in early 1997 and again in early 1998, then wrapped up with another movie-length special in December 1998. (Ah, bless the BBC and their erratic scheduling!)
A heavily accented John Hannah stars as Dr. Ian McCallum, ace forensic pathologist for St. Patrick's Hospital of London's East End. He's the kind of hero most comfortable in his leather jacket, sticking it to the man. And, because this is a crime drama, he's often taking on the case when the cops fail to follow through. And, again, because this is a crime drama, work too often wins out in Ian's personal life, much to the dismay of beleaguered live-in girlfriend Joanna (Suzanna Hamilton). It doesn't help Ian's case that he's kind of a jerk, a bit too self-involved - and even quick to jump into the bed of another lady.
And, again again, because this is a crime drama, Ian has at his disposal a group of supporting players both whip-smart and eccentric - coroners who dig classic heavy metal, struggling young investigators, stuffy types, strict types, that sort of thing. Ian's partner (Zara Turner) gets plenty of air time, her own personal life getting so much attention that she's essentially the second lead (and the provider of many of the series' steamier scenes).
The mysteries are all typical Brit television, intricately plotted with plenty attention to character, drama being the driving force here. The direction here is mood first - much of the scenes are lit in darker colors, often with a bluish tint to them, suggesting a seamier side of the night. "Dank" is as good a word as any to describe McCallum's world, and that dankness sets the tone for some very involving, highly somber people-driven mystery yarns. The whodunit angle and the use of technology to aid in the investigation are important parts of "McCallum," yes, but overall, this is a somber work of drama above all else.
And, well, it's a sexy one, too. The series' brooding attitude and lack of shyness around the more, ahem, romantic scenes gives the show an attitude often missing from American television. Hannah's confidence in his role and his relationships with both girlfriend and partner add a much welcome bit of steam to the proceedings.
In an odd turn, the BBC opted to continue with the series despite the departure of both Hannah and Turner. The December 1998 special ("Beyond Good & Evil") brought in Nathaniel Parker as Dr. Dan Gallagher, yet, for reasons that seem logical only to fans of "Valerie's Family," the Beeb felt it reasonable to title the show "McCallum" anyway. (Granted, many of the supporting players did return, so there is continuity, but still. Weird.) The gamble didn't pay off, and, despite its being a rather gripping thriller on par with the rest of the series, this special marked the end of the "McCallum" franchise.
Hannah would return to the format in a series of BBC adaptations of Ian Rankin's "Rebus" mysteries (although he would also be replaced later on), proving just how much Hannah is as a perfect fit for Brit TV mysteries - and "McCallum" is perhaps the best example.
The DVD
Koch Vision has collected all nine mysteries onto five DVDs, handsomely contained in a digipak housed in a cardboard slipcover.
In a move that will disappoint purists, the seven stories that comprise the main two seasons have been re-edited from their original fifty-minute episode format. Each of the seven two-parts have been cut into single movie-length (99 min.) episodes, with the closings for all the part ones and beginnings of all the part twos sadly absent from this set. The editing has been done so well that you won't really notice, however. Indeed, the only thing that first clued me in on all of this was the strange mistake in the episodes of the first series: the title cards for each of these three episodes still read "episode one," yet there is no "episode two" in sight. Whoops. The error has been corrected for the series two episodes.
Still, the idea of getting this series in an edited form instead of its original state is a bit of a sticking point.
The episodes included in this set are:
Disc One: "The Key to My Heart," "Sacrifice."
Disc Two: "Touch," "Dead But Still Breathing."
Disc Three: "City of the Dead," "Harvest."
Disc Four: "Dead Men's Fingers," "Running on Empty."
Disc Five: "Beyond Good & Evil."
Video
I'm not sure what to make of the show's aspect ratio. The series is letterboxed, but at an odd ratio I estimate at around 1.50:1 - too wide to be full screen, too short to be widescreen. Considering the non-anamorphic presentation here and the downright narrowness of those black bars, I'm tempted to guess that the show was filmed in a 1.33:1 television format, then slightly cropped artificially in order to simulate a theatrical look. As such, the flat letterboxing of the image shouldn't be seen as a detriment.
With all that out of the way… Everything looks pretty darn good here. The shady, moody imagery gets a fine treatment here, sharp, slick, and nicely contrasted.
Audio
Each episode still features a "Dolby Surround" logo in the bottom right corner at the start of the opening credits (a throwback to the "in stereo where available" text that networks loved in the late 80s/early 90s)… although instead of Surround, we only get Dolby 2.0 stereo. Curious, yes, but not disappointingly so, as the stereo soundtrack is rich and properly balanced and simply gets the job done.
No subtitles are available, so when it comes to Hannah's accent, you're on your own.
Extras
None, unless you count the trailers for "Antone's: Home of the Blues" and "The David Steinberg Show" that automatically play as you load up Disc One. And no, I'm not counting the web link to Koch's website Disc One also provides as a bonus feature, either.
Final Thoughts
So the extras are nonexistent, and the audio and video presentation, while quite good, leave a few odd questions up in the air. But the series itself is why we're here, and "McCallum" is such a sleek, intelligent mystery-drama that that it's solidly Recommended to anyone looking for more character-driven goodness in their forensic thrills. Come for the whodunit, stay for the attitude. And, of course, all those naked rear ends.
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