Product Details

• Actors: Patricia Routledge, Dominic Monaghan, Derek Benfield
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 13
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: September 4, 2007
• Run Time: 1455 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000R349GQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,597 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The late-blooming sleuth who brings a lifetime of wisdom to the job

Acclaimed actress Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances) captivated American and British audiences alike as the 60-something housewife-turned-detective, Hetty Wainthropp. This collection captures Hetty’s entire sleuthing career in one complete set -- including some episodes not seen on the PBS Mystery! broadcast. Armed with little more than a no-nonsense attitude, a whip-smart mind, and plenty of moxie, Hetty takes on cases involving Mafiosi, missing persons, and murder, assisted by her eager apprentice Geoffrey (Dominic Monaghan, Lost) and doting husband Robert (Derek Benfield, Rumpole of the Bailey). Her old-fashioned common sense and unfailing compassion make Hetty a detective to be reckoned with -- and to cherish.

INCLUDES BONUS PROGRAM! Missing Persons -- Feature-length drama based on the novel by David Cook that became the pilot episode for Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE exclusive interview with Patricia Routledge (disc 1), production notes, photo galleries, and cast filmographies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthusiastically recommended and unfailingly entertaining boxed set, January 5, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection (DVD)

Now in a DVD boxed set containing all four seasons of one of the best British mystery series to every come out of the BBC production facilities, "Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" stars the brilliant British actress Patricia Routledge as a 60-something housewife-turned-detective. Her cases range from missing persons to homicides, all of which she tackles with the aid of Geoffrey (her young apprentice in the detective business) and the occasional assistance of her husband Robert. This boxed set not only contains all of the episodes in each of the four seasons of this popular series broadcast over PBS as part of their "Mystery!" programming, it also features a feature-length bonus program (Missing Persons) that served as the pilot episode, as well as an interview with Patricia Routledge, production notes, photo galleries, and cast filmographies. The thirteen discs comprising this enthusiastically recommended and unfailingly entertaining boxed set has a combined running time of 24 hours and 15 minutes.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Life Can Be a Hetty/Hyacinth Festival for Weeks, September 19, 2008

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection (DVD)

"Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection, "(1997) a lighthearted comic/mystery television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation, comes to us starring Patricia Routledge, beloved by many for her iconic turn as Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced as "bouquet,"you trailer trash) in Keeping Up Appearances: The Full Bouquet. That's the ever-popular 1990's comedy television series, also made by the BBC. The box set is a wonderful cornucopia, bringing us all 27 episodes of the show, plus the pilot, "Missing Persons," written and produced by David Cook, based on his novel of the same name: the series is based on these characters he created. (The set also includes some episodes not previous seen in the Public Broadcasting System telecast). In addition, the series co-stars Dominic Monaghan as Hetty's young sidekick Geoffrey Shawcross; this was his breakout role, before he became a star in The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions).

Routledge, a long-term star of stage and screen, who was voted the United Kingdom's all-time favorite television actress in a BBC poll, stars as the 60-something Hetty, who christens herself as a private investigator - without prior police experience, or indeed, any sleuthing experience. Yet she's able to solve mysteries, armed with the local Lancashire no-nonsense attitude, a smart mind, common sense, and plenty of moxie. She's assisted by Derek Benfield (Rumpole of the Bailey: The Complete Series Megaset,) as her supportive husband Robert, by John Graham-Davies as DCI Adams, and, eventually, by Suzanne Maddock as Geoff's girlfriend Janet Frazer. She's frustratingly impeded by Robert's foolish brother Frank (Frank Mills). The series is set, and filmed, in Lancashire in the North of England: you might say it does for Lancs. what Angela Lansbury's Jessica Fletcher did for New England's Cabot Cove. And, of course, what the American television hit did for women mystery fans of a certain age. And, praises be, and here comes the DePue subtitles report; as the series is chock full of delightful local accents and idiom, there are -unadvertised--closed captions, thank you, Acorn.

The production was filmed on site in the area of Bolton, Greater Manchester. There are trips to Darwen, Blackburn, and the Ribble Valley, and even, in "Blood Relations," the last episode, one to Yorkshire: Hetty tartly informs her husband that no passport is required. Scenes at the Women's Refuge in the "Woman of the Year" episode were made at Chaigley Manor, near Chipping. And the hotel scenes in "Daughter of the Regiment," in which Hetty and Geoff hilariously pretend to be Australian, were filmed in the "The Swan and Royal," on Castle Street in Chitheroe; a bit further up the hill from where Woolworth once was. (You can see the town landmark, the library clock, at several points during the episode).

Routledge, of course, is a bit older and heavier than she was in "Appearances" days; and this is a more serious part. But the humor is still there; you can catch many facial expressions that resemble Hyacinth's, particularly when Hetty takes the phone: pay attention in "Child's Play." In "Safe as Houses," Hetty gives us an old vaudeville song and soft-shoe to "Burlington Bertie." In the "Lost Chords" episode, we get to explore "Northern Food for Northern Folk," as one character says. We hear Hetty sing "Cuckoo" in "Daughter of the Regiment." In "A Minor Operation," Hetty admits that she was once on the stage, kicking up her heels in black fishnet stockings. And she uncorks a nice soprano to give us a hymn in "Blood Relations."

Hetty is noticeably younger, and gray-haired, in "Missing Persons," the pilot, made six years before the series. It's also noticeable that all the major male parts have been recast from the pilot to the series: it was filmed six years later, after all. And Hetty's hanging out with a flavorful bunch of people, much lower on the social scale than is usual for the later series: think Onslow and Daisy, rather than Violet and Bruce. "Missing Persons" is quite interesting on its own terms, giving us a close, insightful look at people not ordinarily seen on TV: they're much older than usual: and we get, in addition, a moving look at heartfelt life-long friendship and love among them.


Listen, this series is definitely the next-best thing to more "Keeping Up Appearances." Plus, you get so much for your money: your life can be a Hetty/Hyacinth festival for weeks.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful series, October 4, 2007

By 

T. L. Weiner (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: The Complete Collection (DVD)

Patricia Rutledge is a British jewel. The quality of the picture was good but the only complaint I have is that it si very difficult to remove the discs from the package. As I viewed each disc, I put it in another container. Whether she is doing comedy or serious parts, this lady is worth the price of admission