Customer Reviews

Cold Feet - The Complete 1st Series

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent TV series from the UK. It follows the life of three English couples, one newly dating (Adam and Rachel (played by the same actress who played Emily in Friends), who meet in the pilot), one newly married and trying for a child, and one that already has a child and seems destined to end.

The show is great because of the dialogue and the story, and was also compelling to me because the scenery is quite different from anything that we would see in the U.S. (either on TV or in the real world).

The show won an award from the British Academy of Film and Television. It deals with real life issues, including sex, and is probably too open with these issues to air in the U.S. without some censoring. There's actually only one or two scenes in the entire 5 seasons that actually shows any nudity, and its very brief and contextually appropriate (i.e., one involves a woman giving birth and the other a woman who takes a night job at a strip club).

If I had it to do over again, I'd watch series 1, 2, and 3. The show stalls a bit in series 4 and I hated the way the series ended in series 5. But, series 1, 2, and 3 are well-worth buying if only to watch once.

Although I'm writing this review before the release of this DVD, I have actually watched the entire series. I bought them from www.amazon.co.uk and watched them on a DVD player that is capable of playing Region 2 disks. If you are so inclined, there are a number of other good shows that have not been released here, including Teachers and Black Books, which you can buy at amazon.co.uk. In fact, this title is much cheaper (and you can get all 5 seasons) if you buy it on amazon.co.uk. However, in order to view UK DVD's, you must buy a region free dvd player.

You can find one by searching the web for "Region Free DVD Players." Amazon also sells the Gateway DVD Recorder and the LiteOn DVD Recorders, which are capable of being made Region Free (check out www.dvdrhelp.com for instructions) and can play the UK versions without any trouble.

If you like this show, you will also like Teachers and Black Books, which are also available at www.amazon.co.uk.

Set in Manchester in the late 90s/early 2000s, Cold Feet is a brilliantly written, impeccably acted, and very creatively directed comedy-drama about relationships. In particular, it draws attention to the differences between the sexes, and it does so in some very creative ways. For example, rather than relating the story in strict chronological order, pivotal scenes are often presented through the use of flashback as the characters relate incidents to their friends. In this way the male perspective is hilariously juxtaposed with the female, fantasy is juxtaposed with reality, and so on.

The series chronicles the lives and relationships of three couples. Firstly, there are Adam and Rachel--who aren't actually a couple when we first meet them. With an eye for the ladies, Adam (James Nesbitt--Ballykissangel's Leo) is a flirty, cocky, self-assured system's analyst--whatever that is--who is positively full of himself. Rachel (Helen Baxendale--An Unsuitable Job for a Woman), on the other hand, is overall much more serious and reserved--not to mention mature--than Adam. Adam is so upbeat, good-natured and playfully charming, however, that he brings a lightness into Rachel's life and, despite his inflated ego, it's not hard to see what she sees in him.

Adam's best friend is his mate Pete, an overweight, easy-going bloke from a working-class background whose two favourite pasttimes are watching football and downing a pint at the local pub. He's saved from having the life of a slovenly couch-potato by his marriage to Jenny, a laid-back, fun-loving, vivacious woman who's nobody's fool.

Rachel's best friend is Karen (Hermione Norris--Wire in the Blood), who despite being quite sophisticated with a cultured accent has a bit of a rebel streak. She has a baby and a posh home, but she's far from contented. Part of the problem is her husband David, who is a wealthy, high-flying management consultant. He's an extremely serious, anal-retentive, work-obsessed snob who was, um, born with the Financial Times up his arse (or so it's been said!). Being a connoisseur of fine wine with no interest in football and no noticeable sense of humour, he couldn't have less in common with either Pete or Adam.

This boxed set contains the pilot (1996) and all six 50-minute episodes that comprised the first (of five) series (1998). The first series is the lightest, with the humour often being of the comedy of errors variety. Though it is a very modern series (definitely one for mature audiences--this isn't family entertainment), it's not dirty; and though sex is often at issue, it is neither gratuitous nor drawn out and pornographic.

In conclusion, Cold Feet is a well-acted, well-written, and well-directed series--and that goes for all five series. It is witty, insightful, and funny to the point of being hilarious. In short, it is a thoroughly satisfying show to curl up with--one which becomes more dramatic and increasingly more addictive as the series progresses. Like the best British productions, it is a series that can be watched and rewatched. I personally have seen the first few series so many times that I've lost track; still, I never tired of rewatching it. The element of surprise may be gone with multiple viewings, yet somehow it just doesn't seem to matter. This is, without question, one of my all-time favourite series (of any genre), and it is one which I highly, HIGHLY recommend!

I love well-written, well-acted shows that make me laugh. Cold Feet began that way, and the first disc of the first season is by far the best. However, the series develops into more soap opera than comedy. Lots of affairs, betrayals & cliffhangers. This pattern continues and intensifies in the rest of the seasons (2-5). If you like soaps, definitely buy this DVD set and the rest in the series. If you prefer comedy, rent the first disc and stop there.

Order all 5 seasons from amazon.co.uk for about $60-$70 (recently went through a big price reduction--used to be the equiv of $110 with the exchange rate)(Current exchange rate is about $2 to the pound--so look for the price to be around 30 pounds)
11 discs!
And then look up your current DVD player's model number in a search engine with the words "code free" or "hack code" and then you can find the codes you enter with your remote control to make your dvd player code free.
It is worth it to see all the seasons for a very reasonable price! About $10 per season.

Like most fans of this show, I first watched this show on Bravo. During the past few years, I've been hoping that the day would come that it would be available on DVD for us American couch potatoes to add to our video collection.

Now, after all these years, it's finally here! I was absolutely floored when I saw it available on amazon.com. Now, I can watch the first series unedited and uncut, and enjoy it all over again.

Now, I'm patiently waiting for further seasons of the show to become available in the future.

There's not much to add to the above reviews. Yes, it's funny, sad and there is a great ending to the final series. But what made this show for me, is the normality of the basics to the show, with so much you can relate to - you quickly feel part of the show. Most of us will know Adam's Rachel's and Pete's in our world. It's not the type of TV entertainment that I would normally go for, but it's ended up being one of the best series I've ever seen. The soundtrack is fabulous too, btw.

What a clever little show this is. A fusion of comedy and drama set in the North of England in Manchester, once the home of the wealth and glory forged in the white heat of the Industrial Revolution and now the home of the greatest soccer team in the world, Manchester United.

This series has got it all. A mix of class and a little race thrown in with your obvious stereotypes. Modern men and somewhat less modern women against a backdrop of post modern England with the trams on the streets and emancipated women but where the same old problems of men relating to women appear again and again. The music is the sort of techno pop for which Britain became famous in the late 1990s and there is more than a little Cool Brittania about this show.

Others have dwelt upon the characters and plot lines of the show which are of less importance to me in the construction of this review.

What fascinates me here is the parallels which are established between three couples based on a combination of two friendships, two men and two women who between them draw in two other people which establishes the basis for the show. The relationships between all of the characters develop each week where clearly a longer time has passed enabling a snapshot of their intervening lives to be taken. In a fascinating crossover we experience a full gamut of emotions resulting from the complexities which evolve from both the developing relationships as well as the emerging histories of each of the players.

The cameras follow each couple from a common starting point each week which establishes a base and then as the comedic drama unfolds the complexity and the situations become almost moving stories themselves. The decision to site each character in a different work / home environment places that character in their own milieu which adds to the depth of the character development and brings a sense of normalcy to the proceedings which people of differing social groups can relate to.

I find too that the situations are also very credible and lifestyle depictions are also very realistic particularly the boys in the pub after work whilst the women of the household are waiting at home with their own priorities cast aside. While the female actors are all excellent I do find that the male actors exhibit a lot of the aspects of men which women love to hate and find comfortable at the same time. Having said that one of the great strengths of the scriptwriters is their uncanny knack of showing which gender is the clevere of the two.

All in all this is a very well produced, very entertaining and very thought provoking show which brings laughter and tears and which bodes well for future seasons.

Highly recommended

I rarely review or write about television programs but Cold Feet is probably one of the best of the genre. I sent to England to get the complete series. Our Brit friends do it well and do it often. Much like William and Mary, the show becomes so habitual and part of your life that there is a great sadness when it's finished. The actors, from leads Nesbitt and Hermione Norris all the way down to the minor parts are cast with care and grow in front of us over the course of the series. I can not hear the name Rachel again without living the lives of these regular folks. There is a rare eloquence in how lovingly this show was produced and directed.

Thank god someone out there listens!! I have been begging for this to be released on a Region one DVD for years and it was finally worth the struggle. This is a great show and I'm so glad I can finally share it with my friends here and not just my high school friend who lives in Scotland. Please keep the seasons coming!! Most of the US viewers never got to see this show all the way to the end, myself included. I've already got season 2 on my wish list!!!

I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys the BBC programing like Ballykissangel (also a must purchase) or watching Friends, Mad About You, etc.


I saw an episode of Cold Feet on the BBC cable channel. After watching it I knew that I had to start from the beginning and watch each season. I've finished season one and am moving onto season two. This show makes me laugh. It's a must purchase.