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I recently decided to buy series 1 and 2 on DVD. I got these from eBay. They are the Memphis Belle releases intended for the Netherlands Market. The Sleeve is printed in the Dutch language, the discs have the original English soundtrack. There are Dutch on-screen subtitles but these can be turned off from the main menu using the "Ondertitels uit" button.
According to DVD Decrypter the discs are region 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 so it would appear they are effectively region free and can be played on any equipment anywhere in the world, which might be useful for our North American (and other non-European parts of the world) members. I have no way of checking this because I don't possess anything other than region 2 equipment. So you need to make sure before you take my word for this.
Series 1 episodes 1 – 15.
Are on 4 DVDs. The episodes have been joined together to form 4 parts, one on each disc. Comparing them with the original separate stories as they were transmitted there does not appear to be anything missing. The edit would appear to be just the opening and closing titles. Except that is, for a notable exception – the omission of episode 12 "Cry of the Blackbird". The exact reasons why this was cut is not clear (and "Bloody Week" from series 2, more later).
Possibly it was to do with tape lengths available on commercial cassettes years ago (as this version was originally released on VHS) and / or perhaps it was felt the story was not a particularly good one. It certainly does not add anything substantial to the overall Onedin Line saga.
Series 2 episodes 16 – 29.
Again as with series 1 these are all the episodes from series 2 joined together then split to make up 4 parts one on each DVD. And once again an episode is omitted, namely 27 "Bloody Week". Why this was not included? Well you could make a case for the idea that the again the story line was not one that added anything to the overall ongoing plot. The story was also somewhat unlikely, I doubt even James Onedin would have risked getting involved in the wars going on in France at that time simply to recover a debt. The special effects were also truly dire, especially sound effects. There is an element of 'Allo 'Allo about it too, having said that it is an interesting episode to watch and really it is a shame it is not included.
From a technical point of view, I was slightly disappointed with the picture quality on series 1 and 2. Not that it is really that bad for a 30 – odd year old recording, but comparing them to the shows I recently recorded from UK Drama I found that those were marginally better. This suggest to me that UK Drama used original broadcast tapes (or the material was derived from these) and the DVD versions were made from second generation studio tapes which were sent out to various country's TV stations where the Onedin Line was shown. Having said that I find the DVDs perfectly acceptable.
Sound Quality is actually quite good (mono), but don't expect Dolby surround sound, there wasn't even any stereo sound broadcast when the show was made. To me this does not matter as the soundtrack is mainly dialog where mono can actually be more effective.
I'll add a review of the only other series available commercially (3 and 4) soon.
Bill.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
— In shiponedingroup@yahoogroups.com, "Bill"
<william.whittaker1@…> wrote:> Series 1 episodes 1 – 15.
>
> Are on 4 DVDs. The episodes have been joined together to form 4
parts, one on each disc. Comparing them with the original separate
stories as they were transmitted there does not appear to be anything
missing. The edit would appear to be just the opening and closing
titles. Except that is, for a notable exception – the omission of
episode 12 "Cry of the Blackbird". The exact reasons why this was cut
is not clear (and "Bloody Week" from series 2, more later).>>
> Series 2 episodes 16 – 29.
>
> Again as with series 1 these are all the episodes from series 2
joined together then split to make up 4 parts one on each DVD. And
once again an episode is omitted, namely 27 "Bloody Week".Hi all,
In case anyone is thinking of getting the the Dutch version of Series
1 & 2, please note that these are the same as the BBC and Playback
versions in the UK. As well as not including the two episodes Bill
mentions above, numerous cuts have been made, most fairly short.
Similary with the Australian version released in 2005 (which claims
to be the complete series – it isn't!)If you want the episodes in their entirety as originally broadcast on
TV in the 1970s, you need to buy the two US/Canadian DVDS (available
via amazon etc.), though only the first eight episodes of series one
have been released. Hopefully, the rest of series one plus series
two will one day be released in full.Diana
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