Review of Cold Feet: The Complete Fifth Series

Introduction

It`s time for the final instalment of one of ITV`s most popular dramas, Cold Feet: Series 5.

Quick recap: Pete pursues Jo half way around the world and tells her he`s in love with her and she proposes marriage. The Sydney skyline seduces David and Karen and David puts his feelers out about working in Australia, but Mark has flown thousands of miles around the planet to see and woo Karen away. Things invariably don`t work out as planned and lead to anguish...

Episode Summary:

• Episode 1: Continuing about six months where we left off, Rachel (Helen Baxendale) and Adam (James Nesbitt) have a baby boy, Matthew. Pete (John Thomson) and Jo (Kimberley Joseph) arrive back in the UK but one thing leads to another and Pete`s mother comes to stay. Karen (Hermione Norris) and David (Robert Bathurst) are living apart, filing for an amicable divorce, but things are never so simple. Rachel is overprotective of the new baby and Adam is starting to feel pushed out. Pete`s mum can`t sleep at nights and starts vacuuming the house, which leads to an marijuana episode...

• Episode 2: Rachel is still being overprotective of baby Matthew and things come to a head with Adam during the baby`s naming ceremony and he walks out. Karen decides to start seeing Mark (Sean Pertwee) and this causes problems with David and he decides to wage all out war, via his lawyer of course. Pete and Jo have an immigration interview; Adam faces difficulties at work and is made redundant which in turn persuades Rachel to cut short her maternity leave. Can Adam cut it as a househusband?

• Episode 3: David, feeling vulnerable and hurt seeing his soon-to-be ex with Mark, has a fling with his divorce lawyer, while his children`s nanny, Ramona (Jacey Sallés), starts playing with the lifeguard from the local leisure club. Pete and Jo are a bit on edge waiting to hear from immigration and Pete confesses to Adam his doubts over why Jo married him conveniently after her visa had run out. Mark and Karen go away for the night, but an incident with the children brings Karen back home annoying Mark no end. Pete and Jo row, sleeping in separate rooms and immigration officers arrive to visit them the following morning.

• Episode 4: Adam and Rachel`s house is up for auction, it seems their landlord owed a lot of money and now their house is up for sale. An unwelcome visitor in the shape of Adam`s father drops in from Ireland and causes tension and Jo and Pete try to bridge the distance between them. David is serious about his relationship with his lawyer, Robyn, and arranges a dinner to introduce her to his friends. Jo goes away for a fitness sales conference and does something she regrets.

• Episode 5: Adam and Rachel are house hunting and have a difference of opinion and Adam makes peace with his estranged father. At the house auction, David is bidding on Adam and Rachel`s home for himself, which narcs Adam a bit. Something dreadful happens but I won`t say what, except that it had me in tears. A pregnant Jenny (Fay Ripley) arrives from New York and is invited by Jo to stay with her and Pete. This weird arrangement is just that, a bit weird.

• Episode 6: Romona and her boyfriend, Lee, get more serious and he proposes to her. Pete and Jenny catch up on old times while Jo watches from the sidelines. I shed more tears. Jenny reveals what really brought her back home to Manchester. Meanwhile, Jo`s regret from episode 5 catches up with her and lands her in real trouble with Pete. Jenny says she`s not going back to New York.

So, it`s just like old times, a roller coaster sequence of events with highs, lows, and something in between. Those of you that are a little sensitive may find a box of tissues handy; others might need just a sleeve, or two. This is what it comes down to, the last six shows.

Video

Presented with a 1.78:1 anamorphic video transfer, Cold Feet positively shines with vibrancy. Colours, contrast and balance are very good. There is minimal grain but it doesn`t impact on the image and the transfer remains detailed with few digital artefacts cropping up around fast moving objects. Otherwise it looks very, very good.

Audio

Just plain old Dolby Digital 2.0 encoded Dolby Surround. Cold Feet is pretty much dialogue driven, so the dialogue can be heard clearly from the front and sounds quite clear. Subtle if little use of the surrounds though.

Features

Nice looking menus with subtle animations going on in the background give us Play All, Episode Selection and not a single extra. Seeing as this is the last series, I expected something, anything. Where`s the Cold Feet retrospective?

Conclusion

For the last outing of the popular series, we get just six episodes and no extras. It`s a shame to end it this way. Thankfully the quality of the writing and the acting hasn`t changed. The script is still as sharp, funny and tragic as always and watching only six programmes sees the time really fly by.

I can`t really add much more to what I`ve already written for previous Cold Feet outings except that the consistency is there on screen. If you loved watching any of it, then this series will not disappoint. It`s sadder in part due to one of the storylines and it`s telling that I get so hooked when I watch it that my own emotions get a workout. With all the ups and downs that we`re brought along it`s still a worthy purchase and is something I know I`ll enjoy watching again. Without doubt for fans, and for anyone remotely interested in trying it out for the first time too. Just start from series 1! Heartily recommended.