Cracker - Complete Collection [DVD]

Our hero here is a fat, sweaty, womanising, gambling alcoholic. The setting is slate-grey dreary, gritty Manchester. The subject matter is murder and rape, race and kidnap. Yet is it uplifting to watch because the quality of the series, particularly in the early episodes is so delightfully rare. The episodes are `why dunnits' rather then `who dunnits' and it is Fitz, played brilliantly by Robbie Coltrane is a genius psychologist with a rare gift to unravel a criminal mind, that plays them out. From the start of the series, when we watch him give a lecture and throw books at students, it is clear he is a magnetic character. What makes him so likable is his brutal honesty and his inability to conform. However, it is the whole package that makes `Cracker' so essential. The scripts, Jimmy McGovern are superb. He is a national treasure. There is also the strength of the supporting cast. In particular, I liked the characters of Jane `Panhandle' Penhaligan, and DCI Bilborough, (Christopher Eccleston in one of his finest roles) and the unhinged D.S Jimmy Beck. The greatest episodes are when these characters are involved and when McGovern writes. These episodes in themselves warrant the highest mark possible for this collection. The quality tails off slightly after this but the series is always engrossing. This box set does not offer any extras, but I doubt that many people will care. This is simply British drama at its finest, and essential viewing.

I'd forgotten how dark this was and OMG it's 20 years since it aired. Bleedy fentestic, this box set. Ol' Hagrid is off moonlighting to support his drink habit and he's not too worried about upsetting people, so he goes for it with gusto. Coltrane is working hard here, "doing acting" with real passion and skill and it's a million miles away from his famous typecasting. A remarkable, alienating performance which of course is not always unsympathetic but always oddly tragic. Against the anti-hero, we have some thought-provoking, involving television but as I think you've gathered, it's not exactly fluffy. It's enjoyable but not always "pleasant." Ten episodes feature David Eccleston as DCI David Bilborough, the role that really first put him on the map. (Discuss.) The absolute hi-light of the series is To Be a Somebody, the story between Coltrane, Eccleston and the absolutely terrifying Robert Carlyle. It's harrowing and heart-rending and among the best low budget drama I've ever seen and I'm not giving you any spoilers. Get it or borrow it, but see it.

I missed this when it was on television so it was ideal to watch it from the very first episode to the very last and I was not disappointed. Superb cast, superb storylines, and thoroughly gripping. Robbie Coltrane is outstanding as Fitz, one minute you feel sorry for him, next you are amazed by what a genuius he really is but at the same time you almost hate him for the way he treats his long suffering wife and the people who come into contact with him. Nobody else could have played this part so convincingly. Well worth buying. Just wish there had been more episodes. A truly amazing series.

I bought this after seeing a few re-runs on TV. Cracker was amazing. Brilliantly acted not only by Robbie Coltrane as 'Fitz', but also a great supporting cast. AND some great guest appearances including Samantha Morton and Robert Carlyle. Fitz is something of a stereotypical protagonist - he is basically a genius but with deep flaws. But what sets him apart from similar lead characters of the era is that Fitz has a complicated personal life, which is given just as much attention in the script as the crimes he is helping to solve. The writing - mostly by the brilliant Jimmy McGovern - is awesome. The series doesn't focus on realistic police procedure, but is more an observation of British social issues including racism, misogyny, poverty and class divide. The stories are never 'whodunnits' but WHY they did it. The dialogue is just as sharp as the acting, laced with some great, dry wit and one-liners. There are some quite harrowing scenes and it is also quite bloody in parts. My favourite episodes are all of series two and the opening of series three. These stories make the best use of the supporting cast, as Fitz's professional and personal lives clash the most here. My least favourite are the two extra 'specials' at the end of the series. They are OK but for me the end of series three was where they should have left the character. As for this DVD set, you get all 11 feature-length episodes (many of them over two hrs each). The reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because of the picture quality. It's not terrible but for a complete collection I would expect the series to have been remastered. Also, there isn't much by way of extras. You get a 45min 'behind the scenes' on the last disc, which is OK, but it would have been nice to have a commentary on a few episodes, too.

What can one say about Robbie Coltrane and the Cracker series, you either love them or hate them. I love them. I suppose that in the modern fashion anything over ten years old is regarded as 'vintage' or 'retro' and the original outings spanned the mid 1990s, I thought that the series were excellent when I saw odd episodes on television, bought the VHS releases, and have now upgraded to this DVD box set. I had forgotten how good this series really was until I watched them again just recently. The Jimmy McGovern screenplays are totally absorbing and the acting from the entire cast is of the highest standard. The final episode was added on as a one off ten years after the originals, this seldom works and although good it cannot quite be rated five star with the earlier series. Overall, I personally thought this set was worth every penny.

Police psychologist Dr 'Fitz' Fitzgerald is a cracker at spotting just what flawed rationalisations can sometimes lead the outwardly normal to commit obscenely violent crimes. However, his own flawed personality - often up to his eyes in debt and alcohol - lead to relationship issues with colleagues, a wife and a mistress, all of whom need him more than he can outwardly admit to needing them. Jimmy McGovern's scripts and characterisations are, quite literally brilliant- as are the performances of everyone in this class-act production. Everyone, that is, except Robbie Coltrane. His performance is peerless. If you watched the TV original then watch it again on DVD - remind yourself of why this is one cracker of a moment in great TV Drama. If you didn't then you're in for a real treat.( In view of recent developments, the episode that has as its background the Hillsborough disaster is nothing less than prophetic). Thank you, Mr McGovern.

I’d watched a few episodes on tv but I love being able to binge a good box set. Cast is a who’s who of nineties British tv and I loved it!

This is one of those series, that if you didn't catch it when it was originally on TV, you will be amazed and awed. Everything is well done. The acting, the writing, the timing, the direction, choice of material. Some of it will have you disgusted, fascinated, pulled in and wanting to look away but want more. It's like driving past a car crash. The array of actors in this is such that you watch it now and see all these now familiar faces starting out. It is definitely one of those "ooh that's such and such!" series. Robbie Coltraine is perfectly cast as a flawed alcoholic, gambling, cheating, brilliant psychologist.