Product Details

• Actors: James Bolam, Barbara Flynn, Dominic Jephcott, Terence Rigby, Danny Schiller
• Directors: Alan Parker, Alan Bell
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: March 2, 2010
• Run Time: 204 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002V3AM3Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,104 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"Leisurely, gently humorous mystery series" --The Sunday Times (U.K.)

Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne have settled down. Teachers at a run-down school in Leeds, they’re new parents to a son they call Firstborn. Trevor (James Bolam, New Tricks) is a jazz fan; Jill (Barbara Flynn, Cracker) wants to save the planet. One day a friend asks a favor: will they look after a refugee? His name is Ivan, but he’s not that terrible. Soon Trevor and Jill are harboring criminals, under police surveillance, and trying to convince the headmaster that their new school supplies aren’t stolen goods.

The conclusion to award-winning playwright Alan Plater’s Beiderbecke trilogy sees the return of beloved characters: Big Al, Little Norm, Detective Sergeant Hobson (now Detective Inspector Hobson, PhD), and Mr. Pitt, former town planner. The banter is easy and the humor wry in an offbeat adventure set to a jazzy, BAFTA-winning soundtrack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, the AWESOME COMPLETION OF THE TRILOGY SERIES, January 16, 2010

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Beiderbecke Connection (DVD)

Now, 3 sets available, this is the mystery/adventure conclusion of a pair of teachers turned lovers. A funny British subtle comedy/mystery that follows Acorn Media releases of "THE BEIDERBECKE AFFAIR" & "THE BEIDERBECKE TAPES". All recommended. Each stands as a separate season, but you'll want to see the entire trilogy.

In the finale (4 episodes but one meshed plot) Jill and Trevor, yet unmarried, are now with child. It's named "Firstborn", a fine example of the subtle humor, and witty dialogue chucked full of continual one-liners. Throughout the episodes the plot includes school supply shortages, a refugee live-in (perfect since he's a Jazz lover and Bix Beiderbecke fan), police surveillance, a thief in residence, an ex-hubby invasion, and assorted crime mystery. Interspersed is the homey romance of Jill (Barbara Flynn--"Murder Most English" worth checking out) & Trevor (James Bolam) who now loves Jill as much as Jazz and music by Bix Beiderbecke.

You have to love the British ways of mirth, wry, and the expressionless deliveries. It's done to perfection in the Beiderbecke trilogy DVD sets. You'll even enjoy the background 1920s-style award winning Jazz music.

Romance is keener in this final series, even with the lover's torts and retorts still flowing. And the shots of wee Firstborn are darling. Un-certificated family love and joy. Trevor is still the uninspiring shop teacher, but more romantic toward Jill, and in her words, "he tried maturity-didn't fit him." Jill, yet English teacher and protector of the wayward, leads the way for family and friends, keeping crime and right in perspective.

It's listed under British Mystery, ah, but it should also be under droll comedy and realistic romance. It's not rated, but good for the whole family.
Fix yourself a spot o' tea, a tray of biscuits (cookies), and expect dry UK entertainment. If you relate to the subtle British humor, it's bully, or crackin', or Yorkshire friendly.

Recommendation is buy all 3:
"THE BEIDERBECKE AFFAIR"
"THE BEIDERBECKE TAPES"
"THE BEIDERBECKE CONNECTION"
then be sad because, being a trilogy, there will be no more.
.
.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Last and Most Likable, February 13, 2011

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beiderbecke Connection (DVD)

"The Beiderbecke Connection," (2003), a box set of a light-hearted British television mystery/comedy/drama series, was made by Yorkshire Television for Britain's Independent Television stations (ITV). It's a sequel to The Beiderbecke Affair and The Beiderbecke Tapes, set in Yorkshire as were they, and was created by the award-winning Alan Plater, one of Britain's more prolific, entertaining writers. It broadcast on American public television stations (PBS), following its two predecessors. The series comes in a two-volume, two DVD set of four episodes, each taking place immediately after the other, and runs approximately 204 minutes.

Unfortunately, there are no subtitles. And the cast, from stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn - each of whom has frequently appeared in entertainments set in this part of the world, Bolam in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, among others; and Flynn in Cracker: The Complete Collection, and Cranford: The Collection (Cranford / Return to Cranford), among others --down to the bit players, has been encouraged to trot out their local accents. It makes for tough going for some of us, who may miss some of the witty byplay among the characters. But the plot is easy enough to follow.

The entertainment, as its predecessors, centers on a pair of wisecracking Leeds schoolteachers (and we don't often see Leeds on our side of the pond), caught up in some amateur sleuthing. And much is made of the inadequate funding of British schools, leading to the possibility that the pair is receiving stolen school equipment from friends and contacts. At any rate, the pair has settled down, and is raising their first child, a darling baby boy whom they're calling "Firstborn" because they can't agree on a real name. Jill Swinburne (Flynn) teaches English and wants to save the world. Trevor Chaplin (Bolam) is a befuddled but witty everyman, who teaches woodworking and loves jazz, particularly Bix Beiderbecke, a 1920s American jazz great. The couple agrees to take in, for friends, overnight, an immigrant boarder named Ivan (Patrick Drury), who is said to be not so terrible. And Ivan shares Trevor's love of Beiderbecke. But Ivan also has a past that comes back to haunt him and his friendly hosts in this offbeat comedy-drama.

Dudley Sutton (Lovejoy: The Complete Collection) repeats his supporting role as Mr. Carter, history teacher, at the dilapidated local high school, known as San Quentin High. We meet some entertaining new characters, a couple of lazy cops who seem to have wandered in from Miami Vice: The Complete Series; Jill's ex-husband, always short of money. Further adding greatly to the fun is the return of some favorites from the first series. Terence Rigby (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Big Al; his brother Little Norm; Mr. Pitt, former town planner, now owner of the jazz club the Village Vanguard (of beloved memory to some New Yorkers, and former New Yorkers). And Dominic Jephcott (The Scarlet Pimpernel), formerly Detective Sergeant Hobson, now Detective Inspector Hobson, PhD, who says, memorably, that he finds above all, the "most dark impenetrable mystery to be the psychology of Yorkshire."

The episodes in this series are:
1. Oh look-- it's average sized Trevor Chapman. The pair come back in contact with Big Al and Little Norm, who ask them to take Ivan in for the night. The next night the couple is asked to take Ivan to the Lincolnshire border.
2. Hello, Sir, Hello Miss. But Ivan returns the next day, and the couple are asked to take him to the Lancashire border. Trevor and Jill realize they are under police surveillance, and spend an evening at Mr. Pitt's jazz club.
3. Is he the lodger? We find out more about Ivan, and Jill's ex. DI Hobson explains why the house is under surveillance.
4. What do we have on hockey sticks? Problems with petty thefts that seem to be related to the school. Everybody takes a trip to the seaside. Trevor concludes there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who hear the music, and those who don't.

I actually liked this series best; it's my favorite of the three. Of course, the mystery moves along in a leisurely, gentle British fashion. It may be too slow for some viewers. But the banter's consistently wry and witty. So is the rollicking sound track, inspired by Beiderbecke's work, by the BAFTA award-winning musician Frank Ricotti (the BAFTA is the British Oscar equivalent): on the track, we hear solos by jazz great Kenny Baker. Ricotti and his All-Stars, in fact, are playing at Mr. Pitt's jazz club, the Village Vanguard, the night everyone is there: or at least a hand-printed poster says so. Alan Plater's credits include The Last of the Blonde Bombshells; Oliver's Travels, and A Very British Coup [1988]. He wrote the scripts for this trilogy based on his own novel. There is no onscreen violence, nor sex, for that matter. All concerned keep their clothes on, which is probably just as well, as all concerned are at least middle aged. And for some of us, a middle aged romance is really rewarding. The script is as light in weight as the production is light of heart, served up with heaping helpings of charm and whimsy, reminiscent of the zany mysteries of the 1930s and `40s. To me, this time, it's last and most likable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME COMPLETION OF THE TRILOGY SERIES, January 16, 2010

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Beiderbecke Connection (DVD)

Now, 3 sets available, this is the mystery/adventure conclusion of a pair of teachers turned lovers. A funny British subtle comedy/mystery that follows Acorn Media releases of "THE BEIDERBECKE AFFAIR" & "THE BEIDERBECKE TAPES". All recommended. Each stands as a separate season, but you'll want to see the entire trilogy.

In the finale (4 episodes but one meshed plot) Jill and Trevor, yet unmarried, are now with child. It's named "Firstborn", a fine example of the subtle humor, and witty dialogue chucked full of continual one-liners. Throughout the episodes the plot includes school supply shortages, a refugee live-in (perfect since he's a Jazz lover and Bix Beiderbecke fan), police surveillance, a thief in residence, an ex-hubby invasion, and assorted crime mystery. Interspersed is the homey romance of Jill (Barbara Flynn--"Murder Most English" worth checking out) & Trevor (James Bolam) who now loves Jill as much as Jazz and music by Bix Beiderbecke.

You have to love the British ways of mirth, wry, and the expressionless deliveries. It's done to perfection in the Beiderbecke trilogy DVD sets. You'll even enjoy the background 1920s-style award winning Jazz music.

Romance is keener in this final series, even with the lover's torts and retorts still flowing. And the shots of wee Firstborn are darling. Un-certificated family love and joy. Trevor is still the uninspiring shop teacher, but more romantic toward Jill, and in her words, "he tried maturity-didn't fit him." Jill, yet English teacher and protector of the wayward, leads the way for family and friends, keeping crime and right in perspective.

It's listed under British Mystery, ah, but it should also be under droll comedy and realistic romance. It's not rated, but good for the whole family.
Fix yourself a spot o' tea, a tray of biscuits (cookies), and expect dry UK entertainment. If you relate to the subtle British humor, it's bully, or crackin', or Yorkshire friendly.

Recommendation is buy all 3:
"THE BEIDERBECKE AFFAIR"
"THE BEIDERBECKE TAPES"
"THE BEIDERBECKE CONNECTION"
then be sad because, being a trilogy, there will be no more.
.
.