Plot: What’s it about?
Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) has been through a lot in her career in law enforcement, from joining at a young age to battling sexism within the department. But those trials and tribulations at work haven’t been her only ones, as her personal life has been stressful as well. She drinks heavily to ease her pain and has little success as far as romance, but she pushes on nonetheless. Now her father has been hospitalized and she faces pressure from her supervisor to not only retire, but do so without drawing attention to herself. Her lone outlet has been a young girl named Penny (Laura Greenwood), the best friend of a missing girl in the case Tennison is working on. Her illustrious career has been filled with high profile cases, but will her final investigation prove to be a proper sendoff?
In the field of detective and other crime solving shows, few can hold a candle to Prime Suspect. The series has had all the right elements, an ideal lead in Helen Mirren, great stories, and memorable characters. From start to finish, Prime Suspect delivers top shelf drama and remarkable performances. This seven disc collection brings together all of the Prime Suspect episodes, plus a selection of bonus materials. For fans, this is about as good as it gets. The end for a lot of shows, even great ones, is often a whimper, but Prime Suspect closes out with an appropriate finale. I don’t know if I’d call the best of the series, but Prime Suspect 7 is excellent and fans should be satisfied with the final installment. Mirren’s performance is the best of the series, thanks in part to the development of the role, as she has more depth and direction than ever before. Her character is so well written and evolved, its sad to see the journey end, but at least Mirren’s final performance is so superb. I cannot recommend Prime Suspect enough, especially in this terrific complete collection.
Video: How’s it look?
The episodes are shown in either full frame or 1.78:1 widescreen, but always as intended. As expected, the later episodes are more visually potent, with widescreen treatments and more refined overall technical merits. But across the board, the show looks great and shows little to worry about. The image always comes off as natural, which is important to the realism of the show and with seven discs, there’s no compression issues to mention. The colors are spot on and contrast is well balanced, so overall these episodes look as good as fans could demand.
Audio: How’s it sound?
You’ll find DTS HD master audio soundtracks here, which is great news. This show isn’t the kind of show off your sound system with, but the stereo soundtrack is more than acceptable. A few scenes could have been boosted a shade, but even then, the experience wouldn’t have been enhanced that much. The sound effects come across in fine form, with the same kind of audio presence you’d expect from a television show, though these days, some do provide a more immersive texture. No troubles with dialogue either, as vocals are clear and crisp throughout the episodes. In the end, the material sounds good and that is what counts.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release includes some still photos, a behind the scenes piece on Series 6, and an almost hour long Prime Suspect behind the scenes special.
