GEORGE GENTLY: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

Loved this TV series when it came out many years ago with great and realistic stories and down to earth acting. Bought the DVD box set many years ago but always felt picture quality wasn't as good as it should be despite the deliberate intent to make it look as if it was made actually filmed at that earlier time. The bluray edition literally transforms the quality /imagery . It’s much sharper and clearer and make watching yet again a real pleasure without taking away from the 60’/70’s setting. Fantastically well transformed/upgraded. Well worth the price. Ron

How does a boy become a man? Chief Inspector George Gently of Scotland Yard came to manhood on the beaches of Anzio. But his rigid sense of ethics has got him in trouble with the higher-ups who are on the take, and cost him the life of his cherished wife. He accepts an assignment in the northeast of England (note: The opposite of the US, it is the north of England where accents take some getting used to, even for Londoner Gently). You know that his assigned detective sergeant, John Bacchus, will be his opposite: Young, irrepressible, and given to cutting corners (such as assaulting suspects). It is 1964. England is changing, and John has come as far as his haircut. Homosexuals make him uneasy. "Electroshock might help," suggests Gently. "Nah, Guv; they just go right back," shrugs Bacchus. Gently regards him steadily. "I was thinking it might help YOU," he says. Abortion is still a crime. So is attempted suicide. The death penalty will linger. If Gently tells you, "Stand up," and carefully puts on his jacket and straightens his tie, you are going to be charged with murder. The viewer is not spared the hanging scene. We meet Baccus as a newlywed with a young daughter and a powder-blue MG, the "gift" of his father-in-law for "doing the right thing." But the marriage does not prosper, and soon he is haunting the new rock-and-roll halls. His dream is to win his way to London and Scotland Yard. Gently knows what awaits him there. So he reluctantly takes him in hand, via the most powerful teaching method of all: modeling. Bacchus watches in exasperation as "obvious" culprits go free -- for a time -- for lack of evidence. "I could beat it out of him, Guv," he urges. Gently replies, "We're supposed to be better than they are." They struggle together with the policeman's dilemma: Evidence, evidence, evidence. "Do you want.me to go back and break in, Guv?" says Bacchus. ""Ask me another way," replies Gently. "May I have the afternoon off?" "Yes. Don't get caught." They confront communities roiled by the rise of the antisocial delinquent, a problem with us still. Bacchus could have been the worst sort -- a corner-cutting, impulsive copper. But the steady modeling of a man he respects saves him, as he will save his own young sergeant one day. Thus the string of decency twines forward, while training sessions, tests, etc. try to fill in the gaps.

George Gently : The Complete Collection is an Outstanding and Engaging series. Set in the Unique and Changing Times of the Mid 1960's England it stars Martin Shaw as Inspector George Gently an Incorruptible and no nonsense cop who's been Transplanted from London to North East England and together with his new and somewhat cocky young protégé Sergeant John Bacchus ( Line of Duty ) investigate a series of Menacing and Mysterious Crimes as well as confront social and political changes happening throughout the country. This engaging and entertaining series includes 25 Gripping Feature Length Mysteries with such guest stars as Kevin Whately, ( Inspector Lewis ) Phil Davis, ( Poldark ) Helen Baxendale, Mark Gatiss, ( Sherlock ) Warren Clarke, ( Dalziel & Pascoe ) Gemma Redgrave and many others. A Classic BBC Mystery series for our time along the lines of Midsomer Murders and The Brokenwood Mysteries, others an excellent Crime Drama Series and a must for any mystery fan.

This is one of few British mystery series that I hadn't seen before, but judging from the results from my internet investigations, I thought that it was a safe bet to buy. The Blu-ray quality was good enough to satisfy me, and the story told throughout the series was engrossing. My only "disappointment" was the finality of the series ending, which leaves little hope for the revival of the series, except in a quite different form. I have to qualify the term "disappointment" I used, since it was a good logical ending. I won't say more since people that haven't seen the series don't need for me to give a spoiler with this review.

Anticipating that the Covid was going to result in a lot of enforced couch time, I stockpiled a few of the complete sets of the Euro-detectives I'd seen before on Netflix. Morse, Lewis, Frost, Rebus 1, Rebus 2, Maigret; I've re-watched them all, and THIS, George Gently, is the cream of the crop. The cast is superb, but it's the plots that carry the day. More than any others, while twisted and unexpected, they are not contorted or unbelievable, and the ubiquitous Master - Pupil relationship between Gently and his Sargeant Baccus, is the most natural and credible of all. Many of the episodes brought tears to my eyes. And even though it is set in the 60s, perhaps because it didn't wrap up until mid 2017, a lot of the controversies are relevant to today. If that's not enough, being the most recent series, the video is also of the highest quality on blu ray. Sometimes, the scenery (Northeastern England) is stunning, and the close-up of the charachter's faces can be embarassingly sharp at times. If you ever plan to do what I did, and binge-watch the detectives, save Gently for last so as not to put any of the others to shame.

This collection has twenty five episodes that are approximately 90 minutes long, give or take. I am playing these blu-ray discs on a 4K upscaling blu-ray player that is connected to a LG OLED TV. The picture quality is top notch. The episodes are well written with many twists and turns that keep you engaged with the story until the end. It usually is not until the last five minutes or so that you really figure out what the ending will be. The characters are well acted, believable, interesting and fully developed over the decade of time the episodes span. I find myself looking forward to the next episode. This collection is well worth the price of admission.

I received the George Gently complete series. Instead of season 3,4,5 I received two sets of series 6 thru 8. ??? The discs themselves were good and played well. There was some mixup in packaging.

George Gently is a great series. Detectives working together solve crimes and murders. Guy that plays Endeavor Morse is in the first episode! Good stories!