Review of Minder: Series 4 Part 3 of 4

Introduction

"Minder" was Euston Films` lighter-hearted followup to their classic thick-ear series "The Sweeney". Created by Leon Griffiths and starring Dennis Waterman and George Cole, the series ran for six seasons or 63 episodes and one tv movie.

Current copyright holders Fremantle Media have licensed the series to ClearVision, who are releasing the show two or three episodes to a disc with few if any frills.

Season Four was at the height of the show`s popularity, and Arfurisms such as "`Er Indoors" for the missus and his insistence to Terry that "the world is your lobster" had joined the national vocabulary. The show was frequently violent and occasionally featured nudity (hence the 12 rating), but was a sure-fire winner. Guest stars clamoured to be on the show, and these episodes are no exception with comedian (now film director) Mel Smith in episode 7 with Tomorrow Person Mike Holoway, and in episode 9 former Dr Who Patrick Troughton and one-time squeeze of Prince Andrew Catherine Rabett.

Video

There`s little to be said about the video or the audio on these discs. The episodes were shot on 16mm in standard tv framing (4:3), so the images are a little soft and grainy and image stability is not a strong point.

Audio

Not a high priority in the early 1980`s, so not surprisingly only mono.

Features

Very disappointing. No hard-of-hearing subtitles. The "animated menus" are simply short windowed clips of the episodes which lead through to a scene selection menu. There is text episode information and a short clip of what is to come on the next disc. Most disappointing of all is the "Cast and Crew Commentaries" which are textual quotes from Dennis Waterman`s memoir "ReMinder", which just happens to be advertised on the last caption.

Conclusion

Always watchable, "Minder" was a fine ensemble show with two likeable leads supported by a cast of strange and wonderful characters on both sides of the law. Sometimes the show is a little violent, but then nearly all television of that era went in for "gritty realism" (which usually meant gratuitous violence, nudity, swearing etc.) Witty writing by some of the top names in television at the time elevated the series to a level of popularity and awareness that modern shows can only aspire to.