Bergerac: The Complete Collection [DVD] [1981]

If like me you grew up in the 80s then this was a must watch, set on the island of Jersey and starring John Nettles as Jim Bergerac a detective sergeant solving crimes and dealing with his ex father in law Charlie Hungerford whenever he goes to pick up his daughter to spend time with her after divorcing his wife.Eagle eyed viewers who watch Doctor Who will notice there a couple of stars who appear as characters in the show, Annette Badland, Celia Imrie and Louise Jameson starts as John Nettles girlfriend in the show. Liza Goddard also portrays a memorable character, talking of who connections the series was created by Robert Stewart Banks who wrote stories for 4th Doctor Tom Baker and Graeme Harper also directed on Bergerac as well as Doctor Who .This series was unique as it was the first show to film in Jersey and show off it's beautiful scenery, there are shows that should be left alone in this era of Reboots as you can't recreate that magic that made those work and with Bergerac now getting the treatment it should be left alone.I recommend getting the original show to watch and see the charm and beauty of what made this show special and how John Nettles made Jim Bergerac iconic and a hard act to follow so really shouldn't be attempted.So if you want to see how John Nettles got to Midsummer than watch him as Bergerac to see him hone his detective skills.

This BBC detective series is just brilliant, and as far as I know I think Bergerac might have been the first detective show to have been set in Jersey (I could be wrong about that, of course). The show centred on Jim Bergerac (played by John Nettles), a Detective Sergeant based at Le Bureau des Étrangers ("The Foreigners' Office", a fictional department for dealing with non-Jersey residents), part of the States of Jersey Police.Bergerac ran for nine series consisting of 87 episodes, including Christmas specials, from 1981 to 1991 and was created by producer Robert Banks Stewart, after another of his popular detective series Shoestring, starring Trevor Eve, came to an abrupt end. The BBC wanted a series to replace the popular Shoestring, and Bergerac was thus created. The blend of holiday locations, the island's tax exile millionaire populace (including Bergerac's former father-in-law Charlie Hungerford, played by the late Terence Alexander) and, of course, some unsavoury criminals, proved a massive hit with viewers.I first saw Bergerac on a repeated run on the cable channel UK Gold (now called G.O.L.D. as that channel is dedicated to just repeating sitcoms and sketch shows these days) back in around 1999 or 2000 (I can't remember for sure), and thought it was great. A few years later I watched it again on another cable channel, Alibi, and still enjoyed the show. So because of that, I decided to buy this complete box set and enjoyed watching this series again and it stands the test of time very well. Very highly recommended.

Reading other reviews here, what comes over strongly is the affection and regard in which the series Bergerac is held, and I would certainly endorse that, as it is wonderfully nostalgic and watchable over and over again, unlike lots of other series of the time. Having seen several episodes recently on various Freeview channels, I wasn't sure that the boxset was totally necessary, but I am very glad to have purchased it.Seeing the full episodes it is easy to see just how hacked about the current TV-repeated versions are (the BBC can't even be bothered to show all episodes in a series based on current daytime showings on BBC2), and comparing the first ever episode with the chopped-down version that aired last week on TV it is clear that watching the restored DVD versions is way more enjoyable.John Nettles really develops the role as the series developed, and even though the latter episodes lost their way and were occasionally quite weak, there is still enjoyment to be had from seeing how the whole series developed over its lifecycle. Particularly enjoyable is the changing character of Hungerford - played by the excellent Terence Alexander - from rather brusque, unpleasant ex-father-in-law in the opening series, to a rather more lovable, gentler soul as the series progressed.All in all, recommended without reservation. Anyone else out there currently enduring the haphazard TV repeats as a way of enjoying the series and wondering whether the purchase is worth it - as I was - should simply go for it. Neatly packaged, restored running times, and including all episodes plus never-shown-again Christmas specials - a treat awaits.

Happy recipient of the box set

I worked away a lot in the 80s & 90s, so there are a lot of TV programmes that I have either only seen the first series or none at all. Begerac fits into the first category, so when I had an accidental warranty payout for something I had already bought a replacement for I bought this. I remember watching the first couple of series but everything after that is new to me. I watch a couple of episodes every evening and am much enjoying them. Land Of The Giants next, which I think I only saw a couple of episodes in the 60s when I was very young and am looking forward to.

We became fans of Mr. Nettles watching EVERY Midsomer episode up to his departure. (We don't particularly like his replacement. We watched up to series 15/16 at which time the episodes became almost indistinguishable from Hallmark Channel. )We discovered Bergerac quite by accident and had already bought a region free DVD player for other British classics unavailable in region one.The series, like Midsomer, starts slow. The early quality of production, acting, and plots were quite poor. As the series began to make money the quality of everything improved a LOT.Early on the episodes had the unfortunate tendency to just STOP abruptly letting the viewer fill in the blanks and form conclusions.No matter. It's all fun.The writing was spotty. Early it was poor and suffered by too many writers. We grew tired of the main character's endless troubles with women. Finally, the final episode, the Christmas Special, was so upsetting we did not finish it.At several points it was clear that the writers were copying Magnum PI and Miami Vice. It was ridiculous. Nettles is no Selleck or Johnson. The old car, whatever it was, was laughable.Frankly, after forty years now to concentrate even more wealth, snobbery, and restrictions on common income/wealth people I'd not be apt to visit Jersey. It was probably beautiful once and a friendly place for ordinary people.I am about Mt. Nettles age and can identify with the time period very well....also with being young and brash like the character frequently. Remember, we bought and watched the series to enjoy John's acting and development. A bonus was the scenery. The character who played Charlie Hungerford was a bonus. We liked him very much.Mr. Nettles is one of those actors who we especially like because we believe that he is probably a very nice person is "real" life. We like his acting and the occasional slight slip when we think we see some of his real personality showing through the lines etc. Not that we are groupies etc. It's just about respect.Just fun. And, yes, as some have said, some of the plots are uncomfortable. I want to just step into the action and take Detective Bergerac aside for some counseling. He probably would have just brushed me off. The character does that often enough in the series.In summary the series is fun, obscure, unknown in the US, and takes place in terra incognito as far as most Americans are concerned. We recommend it with all it's shortcomings. It's a slice of time we both lived through and fondly remember.Hey, John, Sir, if you read the comments, thank you!

Schnell geliefert. Endlich habe ich die Serie gefunden. Habe sie noch im DDR Fernsehen in den 80er gesehen. Bin seitdem ein John Nettles Fan und musste mich bislang mit Mr. Barnaby begnügen. Preis-Leistung passt sowieso.

Loisir.Grand plaisir de revoir cette vieille série des années 80 en version originale

I had never seen this show before so was eager to receive it. The seller shipped fast and it came well packaged and all discs were in their holders. So far I have watched 3 seasons and unfortunately most of the discs are damaged one way or another with my DVD player skipping over the damaged parts. On one disc the DVD player quit altogether.I will not be buying anymore DVD's from 2 Entertain / BBC as this is not the first set that has bad quality. Considering the price I paid, I expected a much better product. If you can get a different brand of this set, I would try that or be prepared to be disappointed like I was. Perhaps I just got unlucky with this set but like I said, it's not the first time BBC discs have been bad.

This series first introduced me to John Nettles as an actor and was quite impressed with his character of Bergerac.