P.D. James: The Essential Collection & P.D. James: Devices and Desires Mystery Bundle

Excellent series. If you are a fan of mystery, then you will love this. I am already looking for more.

When I finally began to view this series of 8 mysteries on 13 disks, I discovered that disks were missing and disks were mislabeled. The first disk, Death of an Expert Witness, parts I and II were correctly labeled but the disk labeled Death of an Expert Witness Part III contained Part 2 of A Taste of Death. All of the other disks were correctly labeled but there was no second disk for Dath of an Expert Witness. In addition, although the collection was supposed to include Original Sin, there was no disk with that label in the collection. What a disapointment! I have tried to contact Amazon.com to ask about this but can find no way to find out how to get a corrected version of this set. I am very diaapointed in amazon.com.

Roy Marsden is Dalgliesh! Great series, but one dvd is a copy of another one. So you don't get to see the 2nd half of the first story. Amazon was great and shipped a 2nd set, but it had the same problems. Guess I'll try again in a few months.

As another reviewer noted, the collection is defective, with the last disk of "Death of an Expert Witness" wrongly recorded. However, "Original Sin" is present and correct in my set. Having said this, and assuming this is a defect common to every copy of the The Essential Collection, the balance of the programs are excellent and remind us how effectively P.D. James' writing transfers to the small screen, and how well Roy Marsden plays Adam Dalgliesh, surely one of the more complex and interesting characters in english detective fiction. All of the characterizations are excellent, with England's endless collection of character actors called in to do wonderful duty peopling these stories. It would certainly be helpful if Amazon could figure out how to deliver a correctly-recorded version of "Death of an Expert Witness" and someone's quality control is clearly out of whack. However, the collection is well worth its price even if defective, and (worst case) you can buy "Death of an expert witness" separately. Now why the producers chose to replace Marsden in "Death in Holy Orders" (not included in this set) is a mystery in itself but his replacement does do an adequate if not exceptional job.

The stories are good, and I have all the books, BUT! The heavy British accents are difficult for an American to understand. I missed at least half the words. Beyond that, the British talk very fast. If the actor speaks in cockney, forget it. Why no subtitles? Many British films have them, and they make it much easier for Americans to understand. I have watched British films where subtitles were not used because the actors either spoke slower or there was less of a British accent. Let's face it, the words may be the same, but the spoken word is very different. The heavy accents spoiled this collection for me, and I doubt most Americans will understand the actors much better than I did.

Haven't looked at it yet, but very excited to do so. Love this Dagliesh...Hope to purchase more in this series!

The DVD collection of P D James first few novels has been a wonderful diversion from the bitter cold nights. We have all enjoyed...Young and Old..our time together w/P D James!

. . was introduced to Americans in PBS "Mystery" series based on the crime novels of PD James. If you liked Inspector Morse; Inspector Lewis; and, the current "Endeavour" series, you'll probably like Dalgliesh. . .I've been reading the British crime novelists for over 60 years; and, watching the adaptations of their work on PBS for over 40 years. . .And, there have been few (if, any) that I would not recommend. Dalgleish ranks (in my opinion) just below Morse and Lewis; and, just above Inspector Lynley. . .And, considerably above the Aussie, "Miss Fisher" . . .And, I would slide "Dr Blake (Aussie) in there next to Lynley. . . Ya maybe sense that I watch a lot of UK crime? And, I haven't even mentioned "Brokenwood" (Aussie); "Shetland" (Scottish Orkney Islands); or, "Vera" (Northunberland) All of which are excellent examples (Top Tier) of the UK crime genre. . ."Single-Handed" is "good" Irish crime. . on a par with Lynley. . .And, if you like a bit of "fun," try watching "New Tricks". . .a bunch of "retired, and, over the hill" British cops. . .I better end this. . .I've given you enough suggestions and recommendations to last a couple years! (smile)

I liked the series immensely. Yes, I did find the background noises distracting in the earlier episodes. I did have trouble understanding the dialogue in spots. It wasn't just the regional accents (which I quite enjoyed) but the sound was poor and some actors didn't enunciate at all. I found Marsden's red curly hairpiece in the Unnatural Causes episode totally distracting--in fact, I missed most of the first hour because I couldn't believe the make-up people would have inflicted something so hideous on poor Marsden. (I was relieved when, in the later episodes, he obtained one which was more sedately colored and combed.) I like the fact that the actors chosen are not the typical beautiful people you see in American films. Each one is individual and interesting. P.D. James is a superb writer. For me, this series has been a marvel.

Mom, really likes this very much. Anne

Very enjoyable