With the help of his right-hand man, TV John, police constable Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle) keeps the peace in Lochdubh's mean streets in his own idiosyncratic way, with little regard for police regulations and every in... more »tention of avoiding promotion. Promotion would mean leaving his police home, the wild, beautiful Scottish countryside, and Wee Jock, his beloved West Highland terrier. So the less his superior officers in Inverness know of his policing activities, the better.« less
Some will really enjoy this while others will not.
Movie Reviews
Five episodes are better than none...
Katherine | Colorado, USA | 08/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This little gem of a series is one of the most entertaining tv shows I've ever seen. It's funny, sad, quirky, dramatic and can make you laugh one moment and weep the next. Each of the characters is unique and brings their own brand of nuttiness to the Scottish village of Lochdubh. In the middle of it all is Constable Hamish Macbeth, solving crime while trying to stay low-key enough to not be promoted to a precinct in one of the big cities. The Scottish accents can be a bit overpowering at times but it shouldn't deter. Robert Carlyle stars as Hamish and he's wonderful (as he always is), but there are really two stars of this series that make it memorable: the incomparable scenery of Scotland and a little West Highland White Terrier by the name of Wee Jock. A warning to fans of the MC Beaton, HAMISH MACBETH mysteries...the television series bears no resemblance to the book series. The tv series and the books are entirely separate entities and should be enjoyed as such. Thank you BBC for giving the fans dvd's in the region 1 format. Please give us season 2 and 3 also. ADDED NOTE: I agree that it's a shame "West Coast Story" isn't included in this collection but you'd have to take your gripe to the US movie studio that holds the rights to the movie, "West Side Story". Because the Hamish Macbeth episode uses some of the music from the movie, the producers of the dvd either cannot afford to obtain the rights or the studio has refused to grant them permission to use this episode on the dvd. Nothing can be done and it's really too bad. However, the show is still worth having on DVD, because the five episodes you can see are brilliant."
BOO!! Hiss - episode #4 is missing!!
Deborah MacGillivray | US & UK | 10/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While I am thrilled they are FINALLY putting Hamish out on DVD - WHY did they fail to include the FULL YEAR??? first six episodes were
1)The Great Lochdubh Salt Robbery
2) A Pillar of the Community
3) The Big Freeze
4) West Coast Story (MISSING FROM THIS COLLECTION)
5) Wee Jock's Lament
6) A Bit of an Epic
So while the series is wonderful and great to have they are cheating us out of #4 episode. Are they going to drop an episodes from 2 & 3? SO we end up missing 3 full episodes? Or do we pay for the "Lost Hamish Episodes". Just a tiny note that says "We regret Episode 4 "West Coast Story" could not be included in this collection." Och, that is mean!
This series is brilliant. The characters of zany Scots comes through loud and clear. It's one that bears repeat views.
Just don't cheat us!! TV John would not be amused!
246 minues on 2 discs. Closed Captioned"
Think of Scots "Northern Exposure"
D. Schulz | PLANO, TX USA | 09/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A long-time fan of both the BBC TV shows, and of the novels that provides their namesake, the TV show is distinctly different from typical fare. The best comparison I know is with Northern Exposure ... a character driven comedy based on the eccentricities of remote villagers. Any who have visited the town of Kyle of Lochalsh (where much of "Lochdubh" is shot) will recognize the similarity to Alaskan outback. And Hamish? Well, Robert Carlyle's performance is spot-on as a slightly worldlier-but-disdaining-of-big-city-life police constable who's main ambition is to NOT be transferred to "Sunny Inverness."
If the episode "West Coast Story" is not included in the set, it is likely wrapped up in the issue of musical rights, as it leaned heavily on Bernstein's work as integral to the plot. A shame, if so: it also introduces a great hippy character, "Zoot", who appears occasionally through the series."
Hamish coming to America!!!!
Jason P Montgomery | Cincinnati,Ohio | 08/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally our favorite Constable Hamish Macbeth is making his way to the states!
This is one of my favorite programs. Not only is the scenery breath taking, but the characters of Lochdubh well developed and quirky, each in their own unique way.
The program aired for 3 seasons and I enjoyed every episode!
Thanks BBC for finally making this avalible for Region 1 viewing.
Cheers!"
BOOK, CD, DVD--THEY'RE ALL GREAT:
Orrin C. Judd | Hanover, NH USA | 03/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Wife and I are big on British mysteries on TV and have been working our way through the whole Midsomer Murders series via Netflix. So when the Recommendations feature popped up the intriguing sounding Hamish MacBeth -- starring Robert Carlyle, who has a great star turn as a psychotic soccer fan in the original Cracker -- it seemed worth a try. (Of particular note is that several episodes are directed and/or written by Danny Boyle, with whom Carlyle later made Trainspotting.)
The series turns out to be a delightfully idiosyncratic concoction, sort of reminiscent of Local Hero, but with Carlyle playing a Scottish police constable who disguises his own ability from his superiors in order to avoid promotion and get to stay in the quirky seaside town of Lochdubh. There he watches over the oft-times larcenous doings of the inhabitants and tries to keep them out of trouble, protecting them from both the law and genuine evil-doers. Carlyle gives us a MacBeth of appealing emotional fragility -- especially where his dog, Wee Jock, and the not-always-requited love of his life, Alexandra MacLean, are concerned. It's very amusing, though the last two episodes of Season One took a darker turn and left us with an emotion-wrenching cliff-hanger.
The books, at least the first two (I found a British edition that contained both), feature a tougher and more devious MacBeth -- who poaches and conducts other schemes in order to send money home to his large family -- making them enjoyable in a different way. His sidekick, TV John, is also missing and rather than Alex he loves a Priscilla Halburton-Smythe.