Rumpole of the Bailey: Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
by John Glenister
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Actor: Bill Fraser, Derek Benfield, Leo McKern, Peggy Thorpe-Bates, Peter WhitakerDirector: John Glenister
Editor: Michael Johns
Editor: Paul Trevor Bale
Editor: Ray Ball
Editor: Trevor Waite
Producer: Jacqueline Davis
Producer: John Frankau
Writer: John Mortimer
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
DVD Reviews of Rumpole of the Bailey: Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
DVD Review: Was this the best they could do?
Summary: 2 Stars
A poor production, both sight and sound. Rumpole, and the people who love the series, deserve better. DVD Review: Fabulous rumpole
Summary: 5 Stars
Rumpole is a joy. The mixture of very clever writing by Mortimer and the eloquence of Mckern in the part as Rumpole combine to rivet the viewer throughout.DVD Review: Stellar casting, adequate scripts, only fair production values.
Summary: 4 Stars
This set is the first two seasons of "Rumpole of the Bailey", a British series combining comedy and law. The series is based on the character of Horace Rumpole, an aging London defense lawyer. The author, John Mortimer, has written a series of novels and short stories over many years. I highly recommend the books. They are able to add texture that the television series can't capture.
There are 4 discs, each containing 3 hour-long episodes. There are no sub-titles available. Since the sound quality is not the greatest, this is a real problem because there are certain parts of the dialogue that you will never get, no matter how many times you replay. The sound quality is not horrible, just not very good - like all British based television series from the time, the production values just aren't very high. The author, John Mortimer, introduces each episode. Mortimer is a well-known author of books from Rumpole stories to his memoirs. He also has written a number of screenplays and other television series. Mortimer was also a practicing lawyer who is known for making Pornography legal in England.
Each episode is based on a short-story concerning a case of Rumpole's. Also included are side stories of Rumpole's family and co-workers. The show is almost perfectly cast, especially Leo McKern who plays Rumpole. The supporting cast is also well-chosen. The series itself is wonderful because of the casting and the stories of Mortimer. The humor of the series is its strongest point. Each episode usually brings up some social issue like presumption of innocence or trial by jury. I especially enjoy the police, prosecution, and judges who are all opposed and ridiculed by Rumpole.
Given the current state of much of television, I much prefer popping in one of these episodes to viewing the latest garbage on the networks. The set is rather pricy(> 5 bucks an episode), especially given the paucity of extra features. Consider buying all the seasons or combinations of sets to get them cheaper.
DVD Review: Rumpole is a delight
Summary: 5 Stars
Each episode captivates the viewer. Just listening to a Rumpole monologue and his quoting of poetry, in itself, is enough to justify the purchase. The character is sorely missed in today's world of television. Fortunately, I can recapture the pleasure of the program through these episodes on dvd. If you have missed hearing Rumpole speaking under his breath while being admonished by a judge in the Old Bailey, this dvd package is for you. Even "she who must be obeyed" has her endearing qualities and humor. This was especially made apparent in an episode when she believed that Horace was showing an interest in pornography. A strong recommendation from this viewer. DVD Review: Classic legal comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
The combination of superb writing skills of John Mortimer and the living, breathing Rumpole delivered by Leo McKern make this a classic.
Description of Rumpole of the Bailey: Complete 1st and 2nd Seasons
Part lawyer, part detective, Horace Rumpole is one of the most colorful characters ever to approach the bench. With his brilliant mind and sly sense of humor, Rumpole's adventures behind the scenes and center stage in the British legal system are a delightful mix of comedy, mystery and courtroom drama. Justice has never been served with such style and wit. Now, for the first time and exclusively for this DVD collection, the acclaimed and much beloved PBS Masterpiece Theater series "Rumpole of the Bailey" has been brought together in its original sequence of stories. The ebb and flow of Rumpole's career, his relationship with "she who must be obeyed," the politics of "Chambers," and the cases themselves - from shoplifting vicars and philandering actors to tongue-tied husbands and improper English teachers - can all be enjoyed as they were first meant to be in the series the Wall Street Journal called "uproarious!" BONUS PROGRAM: The feature-length "Rumpole's Return" in which a retired Rumpole returns to uncover the mystery of a murdered Lord, a question of blood and their link to the mysterious "Children of the Sun." --- DISC 1 - SEASON 1RUMPOLE AND THE YOUNGER GENERATION Director Herbert Wise Young Jim Timson has been accused of robbery with violence - and his only alibi lies with a son of the Malloy family with whom the Timson's have a long-standing feud. RUMPOLE AND THE ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY Director Herbert Wise Rumpole finds himself on a commune called Nirvana in the West Country. He's there to defend a young girl accused of buying drugs from a policeman posing as a dealer. RUMPOLE AND THE HONORABLE MEMBER Director Graham Evans A local politician stands accused of rape - a charge he denies - admitting only to consensual sex with a fellow party worker. RUMPOLE AND THE MARRIED LADY Director Graham Evans "She who must be obeyed" believes that Rumpole has taken a mistress when he defends Mrs Thripp in a divorce action against her husband.
DISC 2 - SEASON 1 continued RUMPOLE AND THE LEARNED FRIENDS Director Graham Evans Rumpole has been called upon to assist in the defense of a safe blower who may have been 'set up' by Inspector "Dirty" Dickerson. RUMPOLE AND THE HEAVY BRIGADE Director Herbert Wise Regardless of his tatty hat, which has been the subject of idle gossip in chambers, Rumpole has been called to the Old Bailey to defend a murderer.
DISC 2 - SEASON 2 RUMPOLE AND THE MAN OF GOD Director Brian Farnham Rumpole is engaged in defending a vicar from a shoplifting charge, but the vicar will take neither the stand nor the oath in his own defense. RUMPOLE AND THE CASE OF IDENTITY Director Derek Bennett Christmas is coming - along with a complicated case of mistaken identity. And what is going on behind closed doors between the Head of Chambers and his new secretary Angela? DISC 3 - SEASON 2 continued RUMPOLE AND THE SHOW FOLK Director Peter Hammond It's an actor's life for Rumpole as he finds himself center stage in the case of an actress accused of murdering her philandering actor husband. RUMPOLE AND THE FASCIST BEAST Director Robert Knights Captain Rex Parkin, an avowed fascist, has been accused of inciting a crowd to racial violence and, to the surprise of many, Rumpole is eager to take the case in his defense RUMPOLE AND THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE Director Brian Farnham When a young English teacher finds himself accused of improper relations with one of his pupils, Rumpole rises to his defense, though intimate letters point a finger of guilt RUMPOLE AND THE AGE FOR RETIREMENT Director Donald McWhinnie Can retirement be just around the corner for Rumpole? And how did a14th century painting of Christ end up in Percy Timson's garage?
DISC 4 - RUMPOLE'S RETURN Horace Rumpole has been persuaded to retire with "she who must be obeyed" to Florida. But when Rumpole hears tell of a murder case in London - the stabbing death on a subway platform of the Honorable Lord Rory Canter by an innocuous accountant - something stirs in the sleeping legal giant. So it's off in the dead of night to London and the old Chambers, where his unexpected arrival causes quite a stir.
Before there was Quincy and The Practice, there was Rumpole. Rumpole of the Bailey is, quite simply, one of the finest television series, and it has served as a model for all law dramas that followed it. Edgy and satirical, Rumpole is based on John Mortimer's books of the same name. Esteemed actor Leo McKern portrays the antihero Rumpole, a determined and committed criminal defense barrister whose clients have included three generations of the Timson family, among others, at the Old Bailey (criminal court). As champion of the downtrodden, the self-righteous Rumpole loves to get in trouble with his wife, his peers, the head of chambers, and judges, to name but a few. A connoisseur of Wordsworth, cigars, and cheap liquor, McKern's usually disheveled Rumpole belies the character's dry sense of humor and astute skill as a barrister. His wife, the upwardly mobile Hilda, is played by Peggy Thorpe-Bates, known for her Miss Toliver in Alcatraz Island, and Justice Sir Guthrie Fetherston is played by Peter Bowles, known for his Richard DeVere in TV's To the Manor Born.
This four-disc set includes all 12 episodes from the first two seasons in their original sequence of stories, plus Rumpole's Return, the 1982 two-hour special that started off the third season. Typical of British drama, production values are low, while the caliber of scriptwriting and acting is unsurpassed. A rare example of a television serial that is as appealing and engaging on its 10th viewing as it is on its first. --Erik Macki
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