Rumpole of the Bailey: The Complete Series

One of the greater pleasures of my so-called life is reacquainting myself with the TV shows that one had grown up to in the past. Whilst I’ve had my disappointments in doing so, certainly, I’ve nonetheless learned that it’s a very special pleasure in my life when I see a show that largely sailed over my head at the time but I liked it (well, I was a kid!), and then seeing it again later when I was ‘grown up’ and supposedly much wiser that I learned the show in question was not only still terrific but it was even better than I remembered!!!Such is the case with RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY, which I had seen on their initial showings and I liked them back in the day but, being a callow youth growing up badly at the time, the finer points of the writing were lost on me. But, now all grown up, I readily see it as a masterpiece on many levels, not least the supreme writing of Sir John Mortimer being one such, which masterfully mixed drama and humour to hugely impressive effect – in fact, I think it’s funnier than about 90% of today’s sitcoms. Seeing it now, I’m in awe of how good it is: the humour and the drama act as one here, and don’t get in the way of each other as they frequently do elsewhere, and I can’t overstate how brilliant that is!Helping put it across was the peerless Leo McKern, who was born – nay, destined! – to play Horace Rumpole. In his hands, Rumpole is amazingly multifaceted; imperious, paternal, jocular, contemptuous, put upon…, like the writing, Maestro McKern’s bravura performance works brilliantly on all these levels and is captivating with it. But the added bonus is that the rest of the cast makes it mark too, including Peggy Thorpe-Bates and (later) Marion Mathie as the aspirant yet formidable Hilda Rumpole, who takes no crap from him, Peter Bowles and Peter Blythe as successive Heads of Chamber that Rumpole holds in varying degrees of contempt, Julian Curry as hapless colleague Claude Erskine-Brown and the great Patricia Hodge as his student and future wife Phyllida AKA Portia, who eventually outclasses Claude in every way – and almost becomes another Hilda to Rumpole on occasion!So what’s with the ‘BUT’ at the start of this review? Well, I’m perturbed to report that such a supreme piece of TV entertainment is contained in a fiddly and awkward package that threatens scratches and warped discs galore each time I use it, with the added bonus of discs catching in between the hinged disc holders, making it hard to shut without some shoogling. For a series like ROTB, this is beyond poor and really lessens the overall experience. I didn’t buy this to be one and done, rather I expect to return to the series as and when the craving arises, but this packaging acts as an impediment to this, hence the ‘BUT’ (and the rating I give it) – it’s a five-star TV show, but stored in a one-star pack. Rumpole deserves far better than that!

Hours of entertainment from old Rumpole and his ever-dotting wife. Came in time for Christmas, and in perfect condition for wrapping.

Rumpole of the Bailey will be familiar to all of us who lived through the 1970s and 80s. Leo McKern is the (even then) politically incorrect Horace Rumpole and playing the character to the hilt, simply brilliant and totally believable, despite being outright fiction. Or is it?All seven ITV seasons of six episodes are included in this collection, and it includes the feature length ‘Rumpole’s Return’ made between season 2 and 3. All that is missing is the BBC original Play for Today pilot.The mono sound is good enough on our excellent sound system, and has survived very well.The 4:3 625 line PAL standard definition image quality is generally good enough, especially on the video sourced elements, but I was disappointed to see the majority of film inserts are covered with dirt speckles both pos and neg. Clearly this is a simple transfer from basic archive with no restoration attempts at dirt concealment or even film cleaning when it was created.However, I can live with the film defects because the subtle touches, clever direction, excellent acting, well drawn characters, ingenious stories and gentle humour shine above any technical blemishes.I wish more modern TV was as good to watch as this.

Rumpole is one of television’s great achievements. And the transfer isn’t too bad to. Watch and enjoy.

It goes without saying that the content of the discs is fantastic. I have been a Rumpole fanatic from the start. The price I paid for this was great and it represents really good value. I have knocked a star off because of the packaging. When mine arrived I thought some discs were missing. The discs are stacked 2 on a spool and are not the easiest to remove. The internal layout leaves something to be desired. The disc content information is difficult to view being on the back of the cover insert. All that said it remains something of a bargain and will provide hours of top class entertainment.

The sort of classic drama you couldn’t possibly imagine being made today. I must admit I hadn’t realised it had lasted so long, but it seems both firmly rooted in its time and curiously timeless. If Leo McKern had never done anything else, his portrayal of the lovable, wily old scourge of the Bailey, who still quakes at the thought of “she who must be obeyed”, would assure his status as a national treasure. There is gentle humour, pathos, irony and a complete lack of sensation here; and if I were in a spot I’d rather have Rumpole representing me than any flashy L.A. LAW type. If you prefer your legal eagle slow-cooked rather than microwaved, this is for you.

Fun too see old films

As previously mentioned the disc arrangement in this plastic box is terrible from the point of view of accessibility, but pour yourself a large glass (well several actually...) of Chateau Thames embankment and sit down and enjoy this classic series. Sound quality is a point above what you will find on regular TV and subtitles are certainly helpful in places were the sound quality is downright diabolical in outdoor filmed scenes.