Synopsis
More grim and smart crime tales from England. Robbie Coltrane’s “Fitz” — criminalpsychologist Dr. Fitzgerald — is up against not just criminals, but also himself (gambling,drinking, rocky marriage and family) and the world in general. “Brotherly Love” sees himspecifically fighting with his brother Danny and the Catholic Church (all to do with the death ofhis mother). In “Best Boys,” Fitz has become a father again, and things aren’t exactly rosy.Danny becomes perhaps a bit…too friendly with Fitz’s wife Rose in “True Romance”. In andaround all this character stuff there are, of course, crimes being committed, and Fitz’s personaland professional life often fuse. A case in point is “True Romance,” where an obsessed youngwoman is sending Fitz love letters, and all the while burgeoning into a serial killer. The bonusepisode, “Lucky White Ghost,” sees Fitz off to Hong Kong, where he is drawn into theinvestigation of the murder of a Chinese businessman.
Grim though the storylines frequently are, the series also has a strong undercurrent ofsardonic humour, mostly centred around the often hilariously dislikeable Fitz. Thus, we aretreated to such gags as him unintentionally destroying the marriage of the very police chief he isworking for.
Audio
The audio is much the same as the other releases in this series: an acceptable, butunexceptional, 2.0. The sound is clear and the dialogue is distortion-free, but the surroundaspects are minimal. So you get some background noise in street scenes, but not a whole heck ofa lot else, even when Fitz is someplace crowded, like a casino.
Video
Again, as with the other releases, a pretty iffy picture. The contrasts and blacks are prettygood, and yet, at the same time, the picture is often rather murky, due to colours that are a bitdarker than necessary. The main problem, though, is that the image is very soft. Character facesare blurry even in full shots (and let’s not talk about long shots). The grain is a problem too.
Special Features
None. I don’t count an extra story as a special feature.
Closing Thoughts
The same as before: fine TV crime drama, poor-quality picture.
