Product Details

• Actors: Amanda Burton, Matthew Marsh, Poppy Miller
• Writers: Lynda La Plante
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008
• Run Time: 570 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001B43IW6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,572 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Commander Set 1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A complicated female cop from the creator of Prime Suspect

After 20 years with London’s Metropolitan Police, Clare Blake has reached the pinnacle of her profession. She’s New Scotland Yard’s highest-ranking woman officer, the Serious Crime Group Commander, and head of the Murder Review Team. The pressure is intense and so is the scrutiny.

Ambitious but reckless, Blake lets her personal life bleed into her career. She defies convention, risks her reputation, and always gets too close to her cases. Each misstep she makes pleases DCI Hedges, a shifty, self-interested colleague with a grudge to settle. And he’s not the only person who wants to bring her down. From award-winning writer Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect), this compelling thriller delivers gritty stories, intricate plot twists, and a strong, complex female lead.

Starring Amanda Burton (Silent Witness), Matthew Marsh (MI-5), and Poppy Miller (Attachments), with guest stars Hugh Bonneville (Iris), Saskia Reeves (Dune), and David Patrick O’Hara (Braveheart).

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE interview with star Amanda Burton, character retrospective with creator Lynda La Plante, supporting cast featurette, and Amanda Burton and Lynda La Plante bios.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE COMMANDER BASIC SEXUAL AFFAIR AVOIDANCE CLASS 101, October 17, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: The Commander Set 1 (DVD)

Clare Blake, (high praise for Amanda Burton's acting) takes the leadership of the Murder Review Team, but immediately does something that assuredly was in the "Commander Manual" in red lettering, #1 under the "DO NOT DO" list. Blake has a sexual affair with a murder convict just released that she herself had help get convicted. This affair gets publicized and creates a situation interfering with each the the murder investigations for the rest of the four episode, 570 minutes of top-notch murder mystery.

The 4-star rating is due to this UNBELIEVABLE action by the newly appointed Commander Blake. The movie even had the nerve to make this main character a female "BLOND". Would anyone in their right mind, especially the traditional conservative British population, make such a terribly wrong judgment error after a 20-year career of making the right decisions that get you appointed to the top leadership position?

Okay, now, getting beyond that initial event, the rest of the series is on-the-edge-of-your-seat, bewildering intrigue, plots braided together holding thrilling mystery, and 5-stars. Each of the 4 episodes (About 2 1/2 hrs each) have a new primary murder to solve. The MRT actors/actresses remain the same in each, additional cast in introduced related to the complex plots, Blake's affair with Murder Lampton resurfaces, Blake's family situations get involved, and the outcome will not be guessed, until the DVD does the disclosing.

There was the police shooting of a suspect, Cripps, that went awry and covered up for 4 episodes. Blake's blunder with the Lampton affair was further aggravated by her entrapment attempt. Will she never learn? The commander's sister gets cancer at the same time someone hacks into a hospital records system and begins murder blackmail. A special deputy, "Blackdog", is assigned to look into both the Lampton affair and the Cripps shooting. Plenty of police cover-up to go all around. And finally, date rape murders begin appearing with the first London victim being, of course, Commander Blake's goddaughter.

The DVD box warns about graphic scenes and nudity. Plenty of nasty victim scenes, so beware. There is no captioning so "Blackdog's" words are sometimes a bit hard to catch, but the rest is not bad.

Summary: worth watching for murder mystery fans, once you accept the dumb-blond syndrome of the Commander's initial "misjudgment."

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'The Commander', November 12, 2008

By 

Amanda Fan (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Commander Set 1 (DVD)

I highly recommend this boxed set, it is a terrific series. My only complaint is that this US release contains the episode 'Blacklight' & the earlier UK release didn't. so now all of us who bought the UK set have to buy this set also.....not happy Acorn Media

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Commander, November 28, 2008

By 

Barbara Pierce (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Commander Set 1 (DVD)

This is a brilliant series. I couldn't be torn away from it -- I was in its thrall for about 4 days, when I watched all 10 hours of it and couldn't wait to get back to the TV to watch more. The casting, acting, directing, photography are all superb, and the plot is complicated and compelling. My only (slight) reservation is that the last disk is a disappointment. It has nothing to do with the three previous ones, and seems like an add-on. (My inspiration to buy this was an interview that I heard on NPR with its author/producer, Lynda LaPlante, which is available on the internet. I recommend it highly.)